STAFFING AND SUCCESSION PLANNING

Abstract Staffing and Succession Planning are recognized globally as two important concepts in the practice of human resource management. To a large extent, both terms can be said to be inter-related in their functions and purpose yet distinct in approach and practice. This paper will attempt to fully explain the meaning of the two concepts and their roles in successfully managing the human resource and by extension, the whole activities of an organization. Efforts will also be made to explore the relationship between the two terms to highlight key differences and similarities. Furthermore, the current trends in the practice of the two concepts in Nigeria will be examined in order to suggest remedies to observed inadequacies and lastly, a brief discussion on emerging thoughts that could shape the future of both concepts will be undertaken. Key words: Human resource, management, succession, planning.

INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS 1. Human Resource Management

Without doubt, a comprehensive exposition of the concepts of staffing and succession planning can not be done without referring to the larger concept of Human Resource Management (HRM). In fact, staffing and succession planning are derivatives of HRM, thus making them a subset of the latter. Therefore, a brief description of the subject called HRM will suffice to provide a veritable platform for an informed analysis of the two concepts under review. According to Edwin B. Flippo (1979), HRM is "planning, organizing, directing, controlling of procurement, development, compensation, integration , maintenance and separation of human resources to the end that individual, organizational and social objectives are achieved." Again, While Miller (1987), sees HRM as those decisions and actions which concern the management of employees at all levels in the business and which are related to the implementation of strategies directed towards creating and sustaining competitive advantage". From the above, it can be rightly said that HRM is the total set of activities involved in managing human talents to achieve organizational objectives. The activities involved in the process defined above are called HRM functions, one of which is staffing. Succession planning is also an aspect of HRM planning.

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Staffing

Staffing management is one of the important functions of management. It is through the combination of materials, money, machines and men that ensures the growth and survival of any organization. The success and failures of an organization depends on these resources. The employment of suitable manpower is necessary for efficient use of other resources. This is only possible through the process of staffing management. Staffing is defined as that function of human resource management which is involved in recruiting, selecting, developing, training and compensating employees of any organization. Of course, it's correct to say that it means keeping the right type of employees at the right job and at the right place. 3. Succession Planning

In organizational development, succession planning is the process of identifying and preparing suitable employees through mentoring, training and job rotation, to replace key players such as the chief executive officer (CEO) within an organization as their terms expire. From the risk management aspect, provisions are made in case no suitable internal candidates are available to replace the loss of any key person. It is usual for an organization to insure the key person so that funds are available if she or he dies and these funds can be used by the business to cope with the problems before a suitable replacement is found or developed. Succession Planning involves having senior executives periodically review their top executives and those in the next-lower level to determine several backups for each senior position. This is important because it often takes years of grooming to develop effective senior managers. Sometimes, there is a critical shortage in companies of middle and top leaders for up to five years, therefore, organizations will need to create pools of candidates with high leadership potential to forestall such a situation. At this juncture, an in-depth study of the two concepts will be undertaken.

THE STAFFING FUNCTION The importance of staffing to the overall success of the management process can not be over emphasized. Scholars and practitioners alike agree that staffing is one of the core functions of management. In fact KOONTZ and O DONNEL seem to buttress this line of reasoning with

their widely accepted classification of management functions as Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling. Several definitions abound for staffing but it is important to note that each definition only reflects the perspective and thoughts of the authors. Therefore, there is no one definition adopted by all but some popular ones are listed below: "Staffing means filling and keeping filled, positions in the organization structure." (Harold Koontz, 2004). Dr. Karminder Ghuman, (2010) defines staffing as acquiring and retaining the right kind of people at the right positions in the organization at the right time. According to Theo Haimann, (1978), staffing pertains to the recruitment, selection, development, training and compensation of subordinate managers. Again, M. Sakthivel Murugan, (2007), describes staffing as a process of determining quality and quantity of human force needed for the organization, making all necessary arrangements for acquiring it through recruitment and selection, maintaining them for longer period of time by making and implementing suitable personnel policies, and finally developing their capabilities and potential to the maximum. From the definitions examined above, it is very clear that staffing plays a pivotal role in the management process such that it harmonizes all functions undertaken to establish coordination between the position and the individual. A. NATURE AND SCOPE 1. Staffing is an important managerial function- Staffing function is the most important managerial act along with planning, organizing, directing and controlling. The operations of these four functions depend upon the manpower which is available through staffing function. Staffing is a pervasive activity- As staffing function is carried out by all mangers and in all types of concerns where business activities are carried out. Staffing is a continuous activity- This is because staffing function continues throughout the life of an organization due to the transfers and promotions that take place. The basis of staffing function is efficient management of personnel- Human resource can be efficiently managed by a system or proper procedure, that is, recruitment, selection, placement, training and development, providing remuneration, etc. Staffing helps in placing right men at the right job. It can be done effectively through proper recruitment procedures and then finally selecting the most suitable candidate as per the job requirements.

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Staffing is performed by all managers depending upon the nature of business, size of the company, qualifications and skills of managers, etc. In small companies, the top management generally performs this function. In medium and small scale enterprise, it is performed especially by the personnel department of that concern.

B. IMPORTANCE OF STAFFING 1. Key to managerial functions - The four managerial functions, i.e., planning, organizing, directing and controlling are based on availability of manpower. Human resources help in the implementation of all these managerial activities. Therefore, staffing becomes key to all managerial functions. Efficient utilization of human resource - Efficient management of personnel has become an important function in the industrialized world of today. Setting up large scale enterprises requires management of large scale manpower. It can be effectively done through the staffing function. Motivation - Staffing function not only includes putting right men on right jobs, but it also involves motivational programs, i.e., incentive plans and performance rewards etc. Therefore, all types of motivational plans become an integral part of staffing function. Better human relations An organization can stabilize itself if human relations development is strengthened. Human relations become strong through effective control, clear communication, effective supervision and leadership. All these can be achieved through effective staffing. Staffing function also looks after training and development of the work force which leads to co-operation and better human relations. Higher productivity - Productivity level increases when resources are utilized in best possible manner. Higher productivity is a result of minimum wastage of time, money, efforts and energy. This is possible through the staffing function and its related activities (Performance appraisal, training and development, remuneration).

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C. STAFFING PROCESS The staffing process is made up of several steps which are equally important to the entire course of action but it is widely believed that the planning and forecasting stage is the most important, making it the first step from which other activities are initiated. The steps are: 1. Manpower Planning/Requirements: Manpower Planning which is also called Human Resource Planning consists of putting the right number of people, right kind of people at the right place, right

time, doing the right things for which they are suited for, to facilitate the achievement of goals of the organization. Human Resource Planning is central to industrialization. Human Resource Planning is usually implemented using systems approach and is carried out in a set procedure. The procedure is as follows: y Analyzing the current manpower inventory. Knowing the status of manpower will help the manager identify immediate and future needs but the following factors are considered in analyzing manpower: type of organization, number of departments, nature of department and employees in these work units. Making Future Manpower forecasts. Once the factors affecting the future manpower forecasts are known, planning can be done for future manpower requirements. The Manpower forecasting techniques commonly employed by the organizations are as follows y Expert Forecasts y Trend Analysis y Work Load Analysis y Work Force Analysis y Modeling y The Delphi Technique

In selecting the appropriate technique, certain factors are considered. Gephart and Charach (1984), identifies cost (e.g. of data collection and processing), availability of data, technical sophistication of users of data, and time constraints. y Developing employment and training programs. Immediately the current inventory is compared with future forecasts, the employment programs can be framed and developed accordingly, which will include recruitment, selection procedures and placement plans. The training programs will be based upon the extent of diversification, expansion plans, development programs, etc. of the organization. They also depend upon the extent of improvement in technology and advancement expected. The main focus is to improve upon the skills, capabilities and knowledge of the workers.

Monitoring and control of implementation of plan This helps to ensure that achievement of actual output is close to, if not exactly the same with stated desired output. Any observed difference is traced and addressed based on the plan drawn up at the initial stage.

Cason (1978), has advised that the above steps should not be seen as an all-embracing, policy- making activity, producing precise forecasts on a rolling basis, but as a regular monitoring activity providing a platform for responding to unforeseen events. 2. Recruitment/Decruitment Recruitment means locating, identifying, and attracting capable applicants. It is an activity concerned with the availability of o pool of potentially employable personnel from which to make selection of the most qualified and most outstanding candidates. y Sources of Recruitment Recruitment sources can be of two types internal and external. They are also referred to as recruitment methods. They both have their advantages but most organizations prefer to combine both methods to gain their merits, in a given situation. A. Internal Recruitment: The internal sources of recruitment include transfers, promotions and upgrading, re-employment of ex-employees etc. The process involves encouraging current employees to apply for higher level jobs and responsibilities. This situation happens regularly where the organization has a policy of giving first consideration to potential candidates within, in filling any vacant position before looking outside. Usually, internal recruitment is done by internal advertisement on notice boards, official memo, e-mail or publications in in-house journals. Internal recruitment has the advantage of reducing cost of employing new workers; employees are already familiar with organization s culture; employee morale is boosted; and finally, knowledge and sensitive information are kept within the organization. But others argue that this method lowers the morale of employees not considered for higher positions. It breeds negative internal competition. It also leads to stagnation, inbreeding of ideas and prevention of infusion of new ideas to do a job more effectively, and finally current workers may likely not make essential criticisms needed to move the organization forward.

B. External Recruitment: Sourcing for manpower from outside the organization. It involves lots of money and time. The external sources of recruitment include unsolicited applications, advertisement, educational and training establishments, government labor exchanges and registry, agencies and recruitment consultants, executive search consultants (head hunters), and employee referrals. This method has the advantage of revitalizing an organization by infusing new ideas and perspectives. It also brings the opportunity of knowing competition s secrets through the new in-takes. Again, better results are obtained because a larger pool of people is involved. However, the following are the draw backs of the method: new employees will have to take time to fit into the organizations culture; some don t at all. It costs more than internal recruitment. It may negatively affect the morale and commitment of internal candidates. It may not yield immediate results because of the longer time it takes new employees to settle down.

Decruitment: If manpower planning shows a surplus of employees, managers may want to reduce the organization s workforce through decruitment. It is also called rightsizing and down-sizing.

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Selection Once the recruitment effort has developed a pool of candidates, the next step in the staffing process is to determine who is best qualified for the job. This step is called selection or screening of job applicants to ensure that the most appropriate candidates are hired. Hiring errors can have far reaching implications. Types of Selection Devices: y Application Forms y Initial screening y Tests (Written Performance-Simulation Tests) y Interviews y Assessment centers y Physical Examinations y Background Investigations/Reference Checks

Usually, a combination of two or more steps are employed by organizations depending on the given situation and level of position being considered but the most common ones are application forms, tests, and interviews. The decision to hire is the last but not the least of the selection process. It is crucial because it is the time to consider all information obtained from the selection process so as to hire the best candidate that will contribute immensely to the firm s competitive advantage. Differences between Recruitment and Selection Basis Meaning objective Process Sequence Cost Time Obstacles Recruitment It is an activity of establishing contact between employers and applicants. It encourages large number of candidates for a job. It is a simple process. It precedes selection It is an economical method Less time is required Candidates have less hurdles to cross Selection It is a process of picking up more competent and suitable employees. It attempts at rejecting unsuitable candidates. It is a complicated process. It follows recruitment It is expensive More time is required The odds are really stacked against the candidates here.

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Placement and Orientation Once the candidates are selected for the required job and the individual has accepted the offer, they have to be properly fitted as per the qualifications. Placement is said to be the process of fitting the selected person, at the right job or place, into the organization. This usually occurs within the first few days of resumption. The orientation process can either be formal or informal, though most organizations use both methods. Generally the information given during the orientation program contains details of the corporate culture and structure of the organization. This can be broken down into, organization values, norms, history, artifacts and myths, employee and organizational layout, type of organizational structure, departmental goals, rules and regulations, standing orders and conflict resolution system. Induction This is the process of receiving and welcoming employees when they first join an organization and giving them basic information they need to settle down quickly and happily to start work, (Michael Armstrong, 2006). According to him, induction has four aims:

y To smoothen the preliminary stages when everything is likely to be strange to the starter; y To establish quickly, a favorable attitude to the company in the mind of the new employee so that he or she is more likely to stay; y To obtain effective output from the new employee in the shortest possible time; y To reduce the likelihood of the employee leaving quickly. Induction is usually formal or informal and this is largely dependent on the size of the organization. That is, the larger the organization, the more formal its induction process and vice-versa. Induction has the merit of reducing cost and inconvenience of early leavers replacement cost in all its ramifications; to increase commitment resulting from first impression upon assumption of duty; to clarify the organization s beliefs and assumptions, norms, values and attitudes; Furthermore, induction helps to accelerate the employee s progress up to the learning curve and finally, to socialize smoothly. Below is a typical agenda for the induction of new employees, which is usually prepared before their first day at work: 1. Reception and welcome to the organization by the designated officer. Part of the welcome includes an overview of the company and its operations. The level of welcoming officer depends on the level of the arriving employee. 2. Introduction to co-workers. This is influenced by level of new staff, size and location of organization. The co-worker provides continued support after induction. 3. Completion of paper work. This relates to contractual papers

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Training Development Remuneration Performance Management Promotion and Transfer.

SUCCESSION PLANNING