Mochal's second component is the alignment of each position and employee's responsibilities to the organizational goals and strategy of the company. In the case of the sporting goods store, the main goal is to provide a top range of products for a discerning public and to achieve competitive differentiation by means of innovative and excellent products. This is a philosophy that should be promoted by the staff recruited for the four proposed stores, as well as the manufacturing and distribution plant.
The third component is filling openings. Because four new stores are being opened, a large amount of openings will have to be filled. To do this effectively, attention should remain upon the requirements for each position, rather than being driven by deadlines, which could lead to hasty decisions. The focus should always be on the optimal operations of the company.
Another very important component of staffing is staff balance; this is where legal compliance becomes an issue. Companies are legally required to provide an equal opportunity for employment to prospective employees. In recruiting employees, the company will therefore not discriminate on any other basis than qualification and suitability for the job. Employment opportunities will therefore be open to all races, both genders, persons of disability, and any other differentiating factor. Full legal compliance will therefore be ensured throughout the recruiting process.
The diversity goals of the company are related to the above-mentioned legal compliance goal. To promote appropriate diversity in the company, especially in the customer service division, job recruitment advertisements will be offered in all community newspapers. Each community will also be investigated to determine the ethnic and social composition. Because they are working directly with the community, customer service personnel must be representative of this composition. This will optimize the communication of staff with customers and ultimately help the company reach its sales goals. The diversity goal should not, however, influence the focus on hiring the best recruits...
In other words, the company's diversity goals should not be allowed to override its discernment of the best personnel to fill each position.
The rest of the staffing strategy components concern the period after hiring employees. In terms of this, the staffing strategy does not end when employees are hired. One of the most important components here is the retention strategy. According to Hollenbeck and Wright (2007, p. 545), this concerns elements like staff training and working conditions.
When hiring personnel, their ability to be trained should be assessed, as well as their requirements to remain fulfilled and happy in the workplace. Training strategies should therefore be constructed in terms of the needs of personnel for further professional development. Furthermore, the working environment should be constructed in such a way that personnel can perform their best work. Communication strategies should therefore also be in place to allow personnel to voice grievances if these should arise.
The staffing strategy constructed above complies with legal requirements in two respects: no discrimination is made in terms of differentiating factors such as gender, age, disability, or ethnicity. Secondarily, once staff is recruited, personnel satisfaction will be ensure in terms of working conditions and occupational safety.
In conclusion, any organization seeking to construct a staffing strategy has a number of factors to consider. These concern both the hiring process and the retention of personnel once employees are hired. The company is only as strong as the quality of its personnel.
References
Biech, E. Four Reasons to Invest in Training. Nonprofit World, Vol. 25, No. 6.
Hollenbeck, N. & Wright, N. (2007). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, Second Edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies.
Mochal, T. (2003, Sep. 10). Develop a staffing strategy when making hiring decisions. TechRepublic. Retrieved from: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/develop-a-staffing-strategy-when-making-hiring-decisions/5062217
