Strategic staffing approaches and organizational implementation

Strategy of Strategic Staffing

Human Resources

The Strategy of Strategic Staffing: Assessment, Efficacy, & Utility

The Strategy of Strategic Staffing: Assessment, Efficacy, & Utility

The professional landscape of the 21st century requires flexibility and innovation with regard to human resources, and that new methods such as strategic staffing, in alignment with an organizational strategy demonstrates efficacy and utility to the organization. The issue of the strategy of strategic planning is an issue that is an amalgamation of a few issues including the many failures of organizations to create alignment of staffing strategy with organizational strategy, the obstacles and tools for managing the flexible workforce; and taking a moment of deliberation to refine the careers & the industries of the 21st century and implications for staffing strategies. The world has changed a great deal in a plethora of ways over the past two decades, and specifically within the 21st century. Companies that want to keep up and lead need to adapt business practices that are in tune with the times and the markets. Strategic staffing is a tool at the disposal of all, but at the use of a rare few. Ever more rare are the successful implementations and approaches to strategic staffing.

A core issue within strategic staffing is the attitudes that people have toward it. The people who must conduct the research and preparation for the strategic staffing are often not properly trained in the methodology. Furthermore, managers that have to perform strategic staffing preparation may not directly see the utility of the exercise; they may quite frankly view it as something impossible and/or as a waste of time. Executive managers do not often use the information used for strategic staffing as it can be best applied, if applied at all. In the relatively few instances where strategic staffing has thus far been implemented, the approaches and attitudes to the implementation directly inhibit the success of the organizational change and/or the staffing change. The perspective of the paper is that strategic staffing is a tool that does not get used very often or very well, but when it is, it proves to be invaluable and directly related to measureable achievements of the organization in question. Misconceptions and lack of adequate education in strategic staffing keep it from use and keep the business from further prosperity.

A problem with strategic staffing is that there are managers that are ill-equipped to perform what is necessary to complete it. There are also managers that are inadequately prepared or informed as to utilize the information gathered as part of the strategic staffing process. Furthermore, there are organizations that do not see the utility in undertaking strategic staffing at all because they do not know what it is or how it behooves them to try it. Ployhart articulates the misconceptions and the unfulfilled potential of strategic strategy as he writes:

These challenges [of the 21st century] might lead one to think that organizational decision makers recognize staffing as a key strategic opportunity for enhancing competitive advantage. Because talent is rare, valuable, difficult to imitate, and hard to substitute, organizations that better attract, select, and retain this talent should outperform those that do not…although staffing should be one of the most important strategic mechanisms for achieving competitive advantage, organizational decision makers do not understand staffing or use it optimally. Given that the war for talent is very real and relevant to organizations around the globe, it is critical that organizations and organizational scholars recognize the value of staffing. (Ployhart, 2006,-Page 870)

Organizations do not perceive the value or utility of strategic staffing while the minority of organizations that do, often are industry leaders or at least provide a formidable, respected presence within the field. This is an area that has not yet been fully maximized for the purpose of productivity, efficiency, cohesion, stability, and profit in a great deal of organizations, according to Ployhart (2006). In the 21st century, organizations should every department and every aspect within reach to unify under the commitment to the organization's success. This problem in strategic staffing is evidence that not every department is fully used or exploited in service to the company.

Highly effective strategic staffing comes with interaction with other facets of the human resources department and/or existing management. The Minnesota Department of Employee Relations offers insight into the effective use and integration of strategic staffing:

The proper alignment of participant roles and responsibilities is significant to the model is success. A shared responsibility between line supervisors, managers, and HR professionals is important in identifying the critical human resource issues in strategic and operational plans. In addition, line managers must lead the development and implementation of staffing plans while human resource staff provides consulting and technical support for data collection, analysis, measurement, and staffing activities. The effectiveness and efficiency of the Strategic Staffing model cannot stand alone; it must be integrated with other human resource processes… (DOER, 1999,-Page 6-7)

This is yet another reason and another challenge to the effective use of strategic staffing in business. There is little practical knowledge. General attitudes toward it are that it is useless. The traditional perspectives regarding it are that it is best used as a reaction to a situation and that its use is an isolated incident of the concern of the human resources department only. It is a formidable weapon in the battle to stay ahead in nearly every existing industry in the 21st century. The misconceptions and disadvantageous attitudes toward strategic staffing leave it being like the sharpest knife in the drawer that never has the chance to cut.

Strategic staffing is a tool for longevity in business. It requires managers to evaluate their organizations presently, even historically, and then make projections. Strategic staffing asks managers for some foresight into their industries and into their organizations. There are numerous industries that do not change very much over time, and there are those whose changes come, but come gradually or at a manageable pace. There are other industries such as information technology and computer science which continue to evolve and revolutionize themselves in cycles composed of a few to several months. How can management in field such as those implement strategic staffing? How is using strategic management in those scenarios a worthwhile use of time?

As with any issue, the clarification of terms and phrasing is key before engaging in a close examination, analysis, or discussion. Who should care about staffing? Is staffing isolated to one field or industry? Staffing is for any place with more than one employee or laborer working on behalf of and receiving salary from an organization. Ployhart explains the universality of staffing succinctly:

Staffing is broadly defined as the process of attracting, selecting, and retaining competent individuals to achieve organizational goals. Every organization uses some form of a staffing procedure, and staffing is the primary way an organization influences its diversity and human capital. (2006,-Page 869)

Strategic staffing is a fairly new term in the human resources and management lexicons. There is a phrase that is sometimes used interchangeably with strategic staffing, which is "workforce planning." They both involve conceptual, strategic, or other type of methodology toward human resource management, yet the terms are distinctive.

Strategic staffing occurs at various stages within a business or organization. Strategic staffing is most effective when a change in the business or organization is in the preparatory stages. The change could be an organizational change, a cultural change, a change to structure, business philosophy or game plan with regard to the clients. Strategic staffing is a tool to smooth the facilitation and solidification of organizational transitions of many kinds. Bechet, a leader in the field of strategic planning, defines and distinguishes it as the following:

I define "strategic staffing" as the process of identifying and addressing the staffing implications of business plans and strategies, or better still, as the process of identifying and addressing the staffing implications of change. The impact on staffing should be defined (or at least discussed) whenever changes to business plans are being considered (whether near-term or longer-term)…Others call the process "strategic workforce planning," but to me, "strategic staffing" emphasizes the longer term, business orientation of the process. (Bechet, nd, Page 1)

Therefore, the use of strategic staffing acknowledges and prepares for a coming change. Strategic staffing requires leaders to consider the array of affects an organizational change may have overall and plan accordingly.

Bechet refers to strategic staffing as a long-term business strategy. Thus strategic staffing is not a tool for the shortsighted or for a temporary business venture. Strategic staffing reflects a plan of longevity.

Some managers in more volatile areas, where business is changing rapidly, question the validity and value of processes that ask them to provide estimates of staffing needs for points in time that are well beyond their ability (or need) to plan. Staff planning is often incomplete -- required staffing levels may be forecast, but required capabilities are not. (Bechet, nd, Page 2)

Even when conditions are ideal, there is moderate likelihood that the task of strategic planning will be somehow incomplete. What is useful is the exercise itself and the thought-process it compels people to go through when considering changes in the work environment.

Some companies give up on the [strategic staffing] process right away because managers lack the skills and understanding to predict their long-term staffing needs reliably. In other companies, predictions are made and staffing plans based on those predictions are produced, but the plans are not implemented because the predictions they are based on are not perceived as accurate. Consequently, managers often view these long-term staff planning efforts as something that may be nice to have, not as a required, valued component…think of [strategic planning] as a way of creating a longer-term staffing strategy that can be used as a context within which the most effective near-term staffing plans can be made and staffing actions implemented. (Bechet, 2002,-Page 11)

Just as in examples of the natural environment such as some wetlands, a jungle, or beneath the surface of the ocean, the elements in the work environment are tethered together. When there is a change in one aspect of the environment, the entire landscape experiences the change and there are a variety of results. Environmental changes do not have isolated affects, no matter the location, whether in the tundra or within the headquarters of a non-profit organization.

Even if managers are within quickly shifting industries, forecasting trends and patterns is a worthwhile activity in of itself, or with respect to investing, as well as with regard to strategic staffing. Morfield comments:

...the business world is changing at a dizzying pace, and what makes sense today may not a year from now. Technology, in particular, is constantly redefining the nature of work. And despite the prevalence of the phrase "strategic staffing," most recruitment activities can be described as tactical at best. In fact, more often than not, they are reactive: An employee quits, and the human resource department, through no fault of its own, scrambles to fill the vacated position. While this may seem unavoidable, almost any recruiter or HR generalist will argue that there is a more effective way to staff a company. (2002,-Page 1)

If the markets project stability or a shift, managers can surf the changes with greater confidence when looking ahead for the purpose of strategic staffing. Human resource management could make recommendations for positions that will soon become vital within an industry before competitors come to the same awareness. The efficacy of strategic planning is directly related as to when in the process of change it is implemented -- the earlier in the game the better. Some of the most profitable industries in the 21st century are industries that move and change rapidly; companies need to stay ahead in their staffing needs as part of their strategy to be a competitor and/or leader in the field.

Morfield's comment suggests that strategic planning would prove more beneficial and fruitful if human resource management and executive management to a more proactive attitude with regard to strategic planning, rather than the traditional reactive perspective. Strategic planning, then includes, the ability to perceive patterns and estimate trends in a profession or industry. It additionally includes assessing the current status of the organizations, estimating what the some likely future needs will be, and then staffing the agency, business, corporation, etc. with people who will help take the changes in the market, industry, or the internal changes in stride and with ease.

Since there are misconceptions regarding the value and what strategic staffers do, let the paper provide a space to provide some insight in these matters. Strategic staffing, no matter on what scale, requires the same relative processes and actions. Strategic staffers identify and categorize the staff levels and types of employees present as well as needed. Strategic staffing is a sort of educated guess regarding what kinds of employees are necessary at a predetermined point in the future. The strategic staffer may discover or create these positions based on a great deal of data and analysis to develop a plan to organize and utilize the future, potential staff. Hence, strategic staffing requires taking meticulous stock of the resources available presently and researching what kind of resources should or will be available by that predetermined point in the future.

Many factors must be considered and taken into account for great accuracy and success. The Corporate Executive Board Company explicates the most significant qualities a strategic staffer can bring to the table as well as the most crucial functions the strategic staffer perform whether in-house or outsourced:

High-Impact Talent Advisor Capabilities and Behaviors: Bring the voice of talent strategy to hiring decisions; Challenge -- don't just satisfy -- hiring managers; Leverage deep labor market expertise to influence hiring decisions; Build targeted pipelines; [and] Convey the business logic of recruiting recommendations. (Corporate Executive Board Company, 2011,-Page 13)

There is opportunity for strategic staffing to fundamentally and exponentially benefit a business or organization.

What are some practical reasons for an organization to implement strategic staffing? Why and how should an organization approach staffing generally? Strategic staffing gives focus and directionality to an organization. Part of the process of strategic staffing is for organizations to make clear and definite goals as well as a long-term plan over a specific duration of time. Strategic staffing plays a role in the overall strategy of the organization's endeavor to implement a change, great or small, such as increase profits, improve customer satisfaction, lower employee turnover, go green, and more.

Business and economics often take many organizations by surprise. The necessity for organizational changes becomes apparent as the trends show in 21st century business practices. These changes were not predicted, but leaders across many fields have share some similar perspectives and tactics, one of which is strategic staffing. Strategic staffing can also serve as a way for organizations to stay current or ahead in their respective industries.

It is simply impossible to identify and address the staffing implications of business objectives. To define its staffing requirements, an organization needs to define what it plans to do throughout the planning period in order to achieve its objectives (e.g., become the low-cost producer). Once a plan of action has been proposed or defined, it is possible to determine the numbers and types of staff that will be needed to fully implement that plan. (Bechet, 2002,-Page - 10)

Strategic staffing is a key element when implementing change. Without it, an organization may be ill-prepared in a situation with costly effects. An organization's plan may very well fail because of lack of staffing or inappropriately qualified staff, again with costly results. Strategic staffing supports organizational change and limiting internal losses.

Morfield continues that there is more than a new perspective and approach to staffing that is necessary in order for strategic staffing to prove useful to an organization. Again, planning and focus are critical components in strategic staffing; if the company does not have a precise idea of the goal, then the company will be not in advantageous position to provide the adequate number of staff as well as the number of adequate staff to complete the goal on the timetable that certainly should be a part of the company's plan for a change or toward achieving a specific goals.

A solution analysis should be focused squarely on optimizing the current and future workforce. It is important, therefore, to consider alternatives to traditional "permanent" employees. "Blended staffing" is becoming an increasingly popular business strategy that enables firms to expand and contract their workforce as needed. It involves maintaining a core group of employees possessing skills aligned with the organization's area of specialization, and assigning work that is noncritical to the business to contingent staff. This purposeful mix of fixed and variable workers allows firms to better manage and reduce costs by paying for labor only when needed. More importantly, it facilitates corporate agility. (Morfield, 2002,-Page 2)

Strategic staffing is a nontraditional approach to a new, uncertain, dynamic, fluctuating, and changing times. Strategic staffing calls for rethinking traditional staffing methods and adapting them to the organization, and the organization's intended change. Effective strategic staffing includes in-depth research, analysis, and assessment of the available & desired workforce. A number of organizations have additionally used strategic staffing as a means to save money and/or redirect portions of the budget normally allocated for payroll back toward the project or goal while maintaining or surpassing industry standards.

The changes in industries and technology are some of the distinguishing characteristics of the 21st century professional landscape. The 21st century provides many challenges that were otherwise imaginable because of innovations and changes in industries and emerging technologies. Technology has a much greater hand than in previous moments in human history over the nature of existing industries as well as in the determination of what kinds of industries are possible. Relatively radically and nontraditional forms of staffing are useful in the 21st century professional landscape. Strategic staffing is such an unconventional strategy as a way to keep up with the times and the demands they present.

As with any organizational change itself, strategic staffing as an organizational change or action requires collaboration, initiative, and follow through. Strategic staffing may occur within the human resources department, but effective decisions from strategic staffing come with consultation and interaction with various groups, information, and individuals within the existing business. To be as effective and useful as possible, whatever kind of strategic staffing model that will be implemented is not an isolated incident.

The organizational strategy and staffing strategy of companies, within the flexible work landscape of the 21st century, should include definition (and likely redefinition) of possible as well as existing careers. A specific problem or issue within strategic staffing that contributes to lack of alignment with organizational strategy and the staffing strategy is the attitude that staffing is a human resource issue. Staffing is an issue that affects the entire populus of the organization. Strategic staffing requires collaboration and cooperation on a conceptual level as well as on very practical level. Strategic staffing requires communication and interaction among various departments to complete the staffing needs adequately and with definitive strategy.

The effective development and implementation of Strategic Staffing and its subsequent strategies and actions require the involvement and commitment of individuals who both participate in and access resources from the human resource function…Depending on your Strategic Staffing plan, others may become involved in the processes as needed. They may include finance and budget staff or committee, training departments or other related resources, employee assistance program staff, lobbyists or legislative liaisons, and communications staff. (DOER, 1999,-Page 8 -- 9)

Strategic staffing is a process and an action. There are consequences and affects that are experience organization wide when there is organizational change as well as staffing change(s). When many departments have to interact because of an impending change, it is an opportunity for further cohesion and assessment of the organization as well as the organizational & communicational structures present.