Chapter – 14 Approaches to Staffing

Learning Objectives
 staff as an asset; staff as a cost
 flexible workforce: multiskilling, part time and temporary, zero hour contracts, flexible hours, home
working and outsourcing
 distinction between dismissal and redundancy
 employer/employee relationships: individual approach and collective bargaining.

Staff As an Asset
Employers who view their staff as an asset will
 value their employees and have concern for their welfare
 recognize that their efforts will help the business to perform more effectively
 try to meet the needs of employees
 make effort to retain them
They know employees want to be challenged, acknowledged and rewarded and know that while money may
not be the motivator for all employees, it is still important and they may well provide above-average wages.
This approach is likely to help recruit, retain and motivate high-quality staff.
This might involve providing:
acceptable remuneration
reasonable holidays, sick leave, maternity/paternity leave and pensions
a safe and comfortable working environment
training, so that staff can develop skills and carry out successfully and safely
job security and opportunities to interact with colleagues
recognition and professional relationships
clear and effective leadership
chances for promotion
opportunities to solve problems, work in teams and be creative

Staff as a Cost
Employers who view their staff as a cost will
 Like any other cost, they will try to minimize it wherever possible.
 lower employment costs, but it may also be a 'false economy'.
 productivity might be lower due to poor motivation.
 Staff turnover and rates of absence may also be higher and
 there may be more conflict between staff and management.
 Treating staff as costs may leave workers feeling exploited, neglected, stressed and unhappy in their work.
This might involve:
paying just the legal national minimum wage
using a zero-hours contract
neglecting investment in training
using financial incentives to raise productivity
providing the minimum legal 'employee rights' in relation to sick leave, holiday pay and working conditions
having penalties for employees who are late, break rules, etc. and who incur costs for the business
using cheap and inferior recruitment methods.

FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE

 It helps a business to adapt to change more easily.

 If output needs to be increased quickly, a business with a flexible workforce might be able to make more
use of temporary workers.
Businesses can increase the flexibility of their workforce using a number of methods.
Multiskilling:
 Multiskilling is a term used to describe the process of enhancing the skills of employees.
 Giving individuals the skills and responsibilities to deal with a greater variety of issues will allow a
business to respond more quickly and effectively to problems. This would result in a quicker response
to the customer's enquiry.
 It would also free up time for other people to work on more demanding activities.
 Giving individuals more skills and responsibilities can improve their work performance.
o A criticism of multiskilling is that Individuals are only given more skills so that they are expected to
work harder without any extra pay.
o Problems may also result if workers are not trained adequately for their new roles.
Part-time and temporary staff:
 Part-time workers are defined as people who normally work for not more than around 30 hours per
week.
 provides flexibility for businesses.
 can be employed during weekend peak hours for a limited period. For example, farmers need workers
to help out during the busy harvest period and many postal services around the world take on
temporary staff to help deal with a greater volume of post at Christmas.
o Lack of commitment, training costs
Zero-hour contracts (Casual Contracts)
Zero-hour contracts mean that:
workers are on call to work when the employer needs them
employers do not have to give them work
employees do not have to work when asked.

 They are used in hospitality industry, which includes hotels, restaurants and catering at events and
administrative and support services such as cleaning and office support.

 they are entitled to the minimum or living wage, paid holiday, rest breaks and protection against
discrimination, excessive working hours and illegal wage deductions.
 they help provide a flexible workforce and are cheaper alternative to employing agency staff.
 They are used to cover for temporary staff shortages.
o in some countries, the zero hour contracts are illegal because they are considered exploitative.
o they give too much power to employers, putting people with families and mortgages to pay in a difficult
position.
o They are considered a financially insecure form of employment.

 The advantage temporary staff to workers is the opportunity experience and skills without the
requirement to accept full-time contracts.
Flexible hours and home working:
Different ways of arranging flexible hours;
staff might have to work a number of hours in a particular time period, say 1 week, but have the choice
as to when the work during that week.
they might work a reduced number of days, but longer hours each day.
Some people for might be asked to undertake shift work. For example, a factory that wants to operate
24 hours a day is likely to operate three 8-hour shifts.
 they can often remain open for longer.
 A range of options for full time employees is available. For example, workers can take days off using a
flexitime system.
 They can also take long term leave for periods of between 1 and 6 months.
 full-time employees the chance to take up to 20 extra days of unpaid holiday each year (subject to
conditions).
 There are also schemes for part-time workers that help staff when planning their childcare
arrangements
Home workers may be full time or part time and may also be self-employed. They prefer it because
 it suits their lifestyle.
 It also reduces travelling time to and from work
  Businesses benefit from home working because certain costs, such as office space, equipment, heating
and lighting might be reduced.
 fewer problems with staff absence rates and less disruption due to bad weather and transport delays.
o communication problems if staff cannot be contacted
o it is more difficult to monitor the quality and quantity work undertaken.

Outsourcing:
 This involves getting other people or businesses to carry out tasks that were originally carried out by
people employed by the business.
 Outsourcing allows a business to focus on its main capabilities and lets others carry out the surrounding
work.
 costs are lower and capacity can be increased.
 The work outsourced may also be undertaken more effectively -especially if specialists are employed.
o the loss of control and the dependence on suppliers that businesses may develop.
o if suppliers fail to deliver on time the whole production process can be held up.
o Employees may also respond negatively to outsourcing because their jobs might be threatened.
 THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF A FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE
Allows a business to expand and contract quickly in response to Peripheral workers may have less loyalty to the business where they
changes in demand for its products. work temporarily. They may be motivated mainly by financial gain.

Businesses may also be reluctant to take on new permanent staff in Some businesses have found that their outsourced work has been of
case demand falls again and they are left with too many staff. poor quality, damaging their reputation with customers.

Some specialist jobs need to be done but it would be wasteful to When employing temporary staff, there is no guarantee that they will
employ a permanent worker to do them. perform their job as well as a permanent member of staff.

In some cases, temporary staff or subcontractors are cheaper to Communication can be a problem. Peripheral workers are not
employ than permanent staff. (In some cases, it may be more necessarily available when the business would like to communicate
expensive because temporary staff or their agencies are able to with them, although IT and the mobile phone has partially solved this
secure higher pay.) problem.
Temporary staff can be laid off almost immediately when they are The peripheral workers move on and do not have to take
not needed, with little cost, which is not the case for permanent responsibility for the poor work, but the business may have lost
staff. customers as a result.
Employers are responsible for training their permanent workers. By Too many peripheral workers employed alongside core workers can
outsourcing work or employing temporary workers, businesses may cause demotivation among the core workers. Constant turnover of
be able to pass that cost onto subcontractors or whoever has paid peripheral workers may lead to core workers feeling unsettled.
for the training of a temporary worker.
Employing workers who can job share or work flexible hours may Employing peripheral workers can be a costly process.
allow a business to operate more efficiently.
Distinction Between Dismissal and Redundancy
Dismissal:
 Dismissal means when a worker is told to leave the job because he is incapable of doing a job or
misconducted.
If an employment tribunal finds that a person has been dismissed unfairly, it has the power to restore the employee to their
former position.

Redundancy:
 Redundancy occurs when there is insufficient or no work for the employee to do.

EMPLOYER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPS
Relationships between employees and employers can be difficult.

Rates of pay; Employers often attempt to restrain wage growth to help control their costs and remain
competitive. In contrast, employees want higher wages to keep up with rises in the cost of living and
hopefully raise their living standards.
The introduction of technology; Employers are often keen to use new technology because it helps to
increase efficiency in the business. However, employees may resist the introduction of technology because
they are anxious about learning new production techniques or may fear losing their jobs as work processes
are taken over by machines
Flexible working; Employers prefer to employ a flexible workforce because it helps to manage production
more effectively and keeps costs down.
 Work conditions; Employees may want better conditions or facilities from employers, such as the provision of
care facilities for workers' children.

The relationship that exists between employers and employees can be shaped
using two approaches.
Individual approach:
 Individuals will negotiate wages, holiday and other benefits, hours of work and other terms of
employment, directly with the employer. If an employee has a work-related dispute, it also has to be
raised and discussed with their employer.
o With an individual approach, pay and other conditions may vary between employees. Those individuals
with good negotiating skills may get a 'better deal. This might be a source of conflict in itself.
o Many would argue that individual bargaining in this way favors the employer. In a large firm the bargaining
skills of most individuals would not match those of an experienced and trained human resources manager.
Many employees would prefer to be represented by an equally skilled and trained body - perhaps
collectively.
Collective bargaining;
 This involves determining wages, conditions of work and other terms of employment through a
negotiation process between employers and employee representatives, such as trade union
representatives.

 Trade unions represent the views of their members and try to negotiate in their interests. A representative
body, such as a trade union would have more strength and influence to negotiate for its membership.
Without such a bargaining process, employers and managers would be able to set wages and conditions
without taking into account the interests of employees.
For collective bargaining to take place:
 employees must be free to join representative bodies, such as trade unions
 employers must recognize such bodies as the legal representatives of workers and agree to negotiate with
them
 such bodies must be independent of employers and the state
 bodies should negotiate honestly in their members' interests
 employers and employees should accept negotiated agreements without having to use the law to enforce
them.
The Possible Advantages and Disadvantages of Collective Bargaining

Agreements are transparent and legally enforceable. Negotiations can result in more bureaucracy and take
longer.
May be more cost effective to have just one set of The views of individuals are not always reflected by unions.
negotiations.
Rules and terms are more likely to be respected by Negotiation costs can be high and are usually met by
both parties. businesses.
Outcomes may be fairer because power between A failure to agree can have serious consequences, e.g.,
both sides is equalized. strike action
Unfair treatment of individual who are bullied or Owners may feel their freedom to manage is
'favorites' of their managers may be avoided. compromised.

Employee representatives are democratically

elected.