Effective staffing begins with a thorough analysis of the organization’s needs, and goes beyond creating traditional job descriptions. This may sound overwhelming but can be accomplished more easily by:
- Looking at the goals set by the management team
- Determining what it takes to meet those goals, and
- Breaking that into manageable tasks.
Here are some key areas to focus on to keep operations running effectively in the present as well as in the future, as the business environment evolves.
- Define Authority and Competency
Start by looking at your ability to define authority and competency and then drive workflows from these definitions. All roles in an organization need to be reviewed and broken down into tasks. Each of those tasks will need someone with the authority to do the task but also the ability to do the task.
Example:
John reports to Jane.
John knows how to requisition a purchase but he doesn't have the authority, so he cannot complete the task.
Jane has the authority to requisition the purchase but doesn't know how to do it.
One, both, or a third party should have both the authority and the ability to requisition the purchase, and that is the person who should be assigned the task.
2. Define What it Takes to Be an “Employer of Choice"
Employers today operate in an agile marketplace. Organizations need to adjust strategies more quickly to become an attractive company to work for, to what is for the foreseeable future, a limited number of sought-after skilled young workers.
One of the strongest competitive advantages an organization has is a skilled and engaged group of people. Identify what needs to change to truly make your organization an “Employer of Choice” within your industry, and create an action plan to implement those changes.
3. Be Aware of Where Skills Reside Within Your Workforce
Identify the ideal competencies and attributes for each position. Then look closely at who has the skills you require. Do you have a healthy range of ages across your employees throughout the organization? Are you grooming the younger people within the organization and are you becoming a draw to skilled workers in other organizations?
4. Hire Right the First Time. Retain Skilled Employees
Making the right initial hires and retaining skilled employees is critical to maintaining a healthy culture and a healthy bottom line. The dollars and the time invested in the recruitment process, the reduced productivity through the learning curve, and the stress it puts on other employees who are picking up the slack or who are involved with training and mentoring new employees can be substantial.
Evaluate your recruitment process, from initiating the search through interviewing and making the offer. Are you being effective throughout each of these stages?
Understand why top performers are leaving and look at what can be done to keep them employed, engaged and motivated with your organization.
These are not one-time exercises. Effective staffing for today and into the future requires ongoing reviews and adjustments to ensure you have identified the necessary jobs and have the right people in those the jobs.