,Week 1
Prerecorded lecture 1- Staffing and Planning
A) Definition of Staffing
Staffing = the process of acquiring // deploying // retaining a workforce of sufficient quantity and
quality to create positive impacts on the organization’s effectiveness.
Process = organizations use multiple interconnected systems (planning/recruitment/selection
systems). What happens in one system automatically affects the other system --> it affect the whole
staffing cycle.
E.g. helpdesks = due to technological developments, robots can do the work. This a new way of
staffing. Less jobs are necessary, but jobs necessary = more technical and highly skilled. This leads to
different ways of hiring (e.g., using specified recruitment sources). Also, you might strive for long-
term contracts, since persons are more rare and difficult to recruit.
B) Model of staffing (chapter 1 book)
1. Mission and Goals & External environment
2. Organizational strategy // HR & Staffing strategy
3. Staffing policies, programs and activities
Planning // Job analysis // Rewards // Recruitment //
Selection // Retention
E.g. as an organization influenced by technical developments,
you are focusing more on technical staff and this has
implications for HR policies = long term contracts // competitive
rewards // provide training to get those skills.
C) HR Planning
HR planning = forecasting demand and availability of staff, identifying gaps and making action plans
for the next coming years.
• Forecasting the demand = Either done statistically (ratio analysis, trend analysis, regression
analysis) trying to use historical data to see how the development of e.g. customers is going. Or
judgementally, arising from top-down dictates such as business plans. E.g. sell different type of
products in the future. What do you need to attain this? This leads to estimates of how many
employees are needed.
• Forecasting the supply of staff = Either done statistically (markoff analysis – using historical
patterns of job stability and movement among employees to predict availability). Or judgemental
= managers judge about expected promotions and turnover in own departments.
• Identify gaps = surplus of staff // shortage of staff
• Make action plan = solving surplus and shortages → see page 123
Pro-active planning
Planning is proactive rather than reactive = make yourself prepared for what is going to happen.
E.g. replacement and succession planning = not about seeking a replacer for someone who is leaving.
Proactive planning = preparing yourself for people leaving the organization, being able to adapt.
Entails mapping out in advance which employees have which skills and knowledge // what vacancies
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, they want to replace. You also make development plans. Then you know which people in your
workforce can replace person and whether this person needs more training.
D) Replacement planning
• Replacement planning = identifying promotable employees by assessing current competencies.
Aggregate data → composite of talent availability.
• Succession planning = process of anticipating and planning to replace an important employee
(i.e. leader) by identifying internal candidates before the current employee leaves.
o Specific type of replacement planning. It is focused on identifying the gaps and filling this
with training. Who is going to succeed for the leaders? It goes with training a bit further.
Replacement planning practice
In practice → organization’s do not engage in replacement planning or only in succession planning.
They just use posting or slotting = only when someone is leaving a vacancy is posted internally or
they know someone who might be good for the job. It is more of an ad hoc procedure.
In practice → if organization do engage in replacement planning, decisions are made very early on.
Only 5-20% are considered eligible for succession programs even though there are still many gaps to
fill and years to cover. This has disadvantages.
E) Rink & Ryan (2018)
People were either seen as a successor or not.
Then Rink and Ryan measured leadership
ambition and commitment to the organization.
The difference between seen as a successor or
not was big. → People seen as non-successor had
lower ambition and commitment.
➔ Disadvantage of engaging in succession
programs from early on. Be thoughtful!
F) Conclusion
• Staffing is a process in which all elements are interconnected
• Planning = forecasting demand and availability, identifying gaps and filling them
• Planning = pro-active, not reactive (biggest advantage)
• Planning contributes to fluent and high-quality staffing
• Succession programs are an example of good planning, but they have disadvantages.
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