Nice site is Workforce.com — This q/a particularly was of interest.
Please reply & share your methods of proper staffing. We find it to be
a challenge to match the need before it becomes TOO great to the number
of staff without over populating and carrying staff without enough to
do. The rule of thumb is that people will expand their duties to fill
the time available. On the other side, you don’t want to be so crushed
that quality suffers!
This is from the workforce.com website:
The role of staffing, like many human resource functions, must be
included as a part of your company’s long-term strategic planning
process. In the recent past, planning for staffing levels is something
that occurred sometime in the third or fourth quarter to project the
needs for the upcoming year. The occasional exception occurred when
companies knew there would be a large increase in the capacity of a
department or a facility, or that a new product or territory was being
added.
To properly staff an organization to remain competitive, your
organization must ensure itself that staffing has priority in the
planning process equal to that of the business areas that are perceived
as the most important (such as production, sales and marketing).
Staffing projections should consider five critical areas when
determining needs.
Basic business requirements. Each business unit of the organization
must assess its needs against the projected operational needs of
company. Each manager should be challenged to determine what his or her
staffing needs will be, by position, to support the projected business
requirements both short term and long term.
Future growth and technology. What is the vision of your organization
and your business product in three to five years? Project whether
increasing or maintaining market share requires more staff, or if this
can be accomplished with technology. If the introduction of new
technology is the answer, can it be serviced with your current staff or
will it require hiring additional employees with special skills?
Average turnover rates. Your organization’s history of turnover may give
insight into what to expect in the future. This can help to identify
specific positions or job levels to prepare for future staffing needs.
Since it better serves the business to keep employees rather than
replace them, it would be in the best interest of your organization for
each manager to establish and be held accountable for personal turnover
goals.
Local competition. Explore the local landscape to determine where you
may be vulnerable to turnover or difficulty in recruiting. Look at your
compensation, benefits and workplace environment to determine whether
you have the potential as a company that people prefer working for. For
specific positions, you have to determine if your compensation rates are
competitive with local employers and in some cases nationally.
Critical positions. Identify positions you can least afford to lose to
be competitive. Establish strategies to retain, develop and recruit
talent for these positions. Work with local schools to assist you in
developing your current employees to move into critical areas and to
serve as sources of future recruitment.
Joyce J Perrone
De La Torre O&P, Inc & PROMISE Consulting
300 Alpha Drive Pgh PA 15238
412-599-1112
