Chapter 13

Staffing

Learning Objectives

• Describe the staffing process.• Discuss the legal considerations related to

staffing.• Explain the recruitment component of staffing.• Explain the interviewing component of staffing.• Explain the selection component of staffing.• Describe other staffing concerns such as handling

layoffs.

Staffing Defined

• Staffing is the process through which employees are recruited, interviewed, selected, and oriented.

Overview of the staffing process

• 6 steps:• 1. Analyzing and specifying• 2. Forecasting• 3. Recruiting• 4. Interviewing• 5. Selecting• 6. Orienting

Recruiting• Recruiting involves all the activities needed to bring in applicants, such as

advertising job openings, and screening applicants.• Supervisors do not play a major role in recruiting, unless there is a need to

fill a vacancy at a short notice. Strategies:• 1. Keep a list of all positions for which you are responsible. Note the

positions you have to fill most frequently.• 2. Determine how long the positions remain filled on average and the

reasons employees give for quitting. Is there something you can do in response to these reasons?

• 3. Determine whether the high turnover positions have been filled from inside or the outside.

• 4. Using this information, develop a chart that forecasts likely turnovers in your unit for the next 12 months.

• 5. Decide sources to attract new applicants. Keep an updated telephone directory of telephone contacts for quick reference. Stay in touch with your contacts.

Selecting

• Supervisors play a role in answering the factors to consider in selecting the best applicant:

• 1. Which applicant has the best technical skills?• 2. Which applicant appears to have the best

growth potential?• 3. Which applicant has the best generic work

skills (dependability, loyalty, personable)?• 4. Which applicant will best fit into the team?

Human resources and staffing

• Human resource personnel help ensure that the selection is fair, equitable, and legal.

• Staffing has evolved into a potentially litigious activity for organizations.

• Gone are the days when supervisors could hire whomever they wanted.

Legal considerations of staffing• Equal pay act• Civil rights act, Title VII• Age discrimination in Employment Act• Occupational Safety and Health Act• Equal Employment Opportunity Act• Vocational Rehabilitation Act• Employee Retirement Income and Security Act• Freedom of Information Act• Privacy Act• Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act• Minimum Wage Law• Pregnancy Discrimination Act• Civil Services Act, Title VII• Americans with Disability Act

Equal Employment Opportunity• Staffing policies, procedures, and practices must

ensure equal employment opportunity for all people.

• They cannot discriminate based on race, gender, age, national origin, handicapping conditions, religion, or marital status.

• The equal employment opportunity comes from 2 federal legislations:

• 1. The Civil Rights Act (Title VII).• 2. Equal Employment Opportunity Act.

Disparate Impact & Treatment

• Disparate impact involves discrimination that affects a protected class of people (minorities, women, and the handicapped).

• Disparate treatment involves discrimination against individuals.

Disparate Impact Court Process

• 3 steps:• 1. The employee who feels wronged files a

complaint alleging discrimination.• 2. The employer is required to show how the

staffing practice relates to the job. For example, an individual cannot be required to pass a heavy lifting test unless it can be shown that heavy lifting is a part of the job.

• 3. The employee is required to show that the employer’s justification in step 2 is unacceptable.

Disparate Treatment• Cases alleging disparate treatment focus on the intent of

the employer.• The key question is “ Did the employer implement a staffing

process with the intent to discriminate?”• The burden of proof shifts to the employer if:• 1. The complainant is a member of a protected class.• 2. The complainant applied for the job, was qualified for

promotion, was eligible for raise, etc.• 3. The complainant did not get the job, promotion, raise,

etc.• 4. The employer continued the job search, gave another

person the promotion, gave another person the raise, etc.

Handbook for Human Resource Personnel

• The handbook used by human resource personnel for ensuring compliance with equal opportunity laws is Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, published by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

• It is available in most college and university libraries.

• Supervisors can benefit from familiarizing themselves with this document.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Vocational Rehabilitation Act, Vietnam Era

Veterans Readjustment Act• Age Discrimination in Employment Act:

singled out people between 40 and 69 for special protection in the workplace.

• Vocational Rehabilitation Act: made people with mental and/or physical handicaps a protected class.

• Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act: extended special protection in the workplace to Vietnam veterans.

Compensation and Benefits

• Two key concepts in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are those of exempt and non exempt employees.

• Non exempt employees are those to whom all the provisions of the law apply (minimum wages, maximum hours, overtime guidelines, and child labor standards).

• Exempt employees are those in executive, administrative, and professional positions to whom certain provisions of the law do not apply (overtime pay provision).

• Companies are not obligated to pay overtime pay to their salaried managers and professionals.

Forecasting Staffing Needs• The key to forecasting is to estimate the time needed to accomplish a

specific amount of work.• 1. Clearly identify the amount of work to be done during the period in

question: Example process 250 packages in 60 days.• 2. Compute the direct labor needs: The art is in determining the total

number of employee hours needed to complete the work. Then you can use this to determine the total number of employees needed ( 8 hours per day, 20 work days a month).

• 3. Compute the indirect labor needs: New support personnel (indirect labor) may also be needed (clerical help).

• 4. Add the direct figures to the indirect figures to get a total labor figure: The indirect position is added to the direct labor for a total forecast of employees needed.

General Interviewing Guidelines

• 1. Be relaxed and business like: You do not want to lose a well qualified employee because they did not interview well.

• 2. Ask open ended questions and let the applicant do most of the talking.

• 3. Listen intently to the applicant and do not create distractions.

• 4. Prepare before the interview. Prepare a list of questions.• 5. Do not hurry. Applicants should not feel rushed.• 6. Remain Neutral. The time for comment is after the

applicant has departed.

Open Ended Questions

• Open ended questions do not predetermine the answer or the nature of the answer.

• They typically begin with:• Tell me about…• Describe for me…• Explain…

Bona Fide Occupational Qualification

• Only ask questions that are directly related to the job.

• You may have to show how the question is a genuine job related qualification.

Questions to Avoid in an Interview• Questions to avoid are questions that do not relate to occupational

qualification:• 1. Race, color, or culture 2. National origin, ancestry, lineage 3. Pregnancy

4. Gender 5.Personal preferences (sexual or otherwise) 6. Religion. 7.Credit rating 8.Age 9.Birthplace 10.Marital status 11.Citizenship 12. Children 13. Relatives 14. Place of residence 15. Membership in organizations or clubs 16. Criminal record 17. Disability 18. Military service (type of discharge) 19. Physical ability

Contacting References

• References may be reluctant to give information beyond verifying employment dates (because of litigation).

• One question that is safe for references to answer is “Is the applicant eligible for reemployment with your company?”

• The answer to this question will tell you a great deal.

Adverse Impact

• Employers who need workers with basic literacy skills are using professionally produced tests that have withstood validity and reliability tests.

• Tests that have adverse impact on protected classes of people are not allowed.

Integrity Testing

• Proponents of integrity tests say they can predict whether employees are likely to lie and steal on the job.

• Opponents claim that they discriminate unfairly, invade the privacy of the test taker, and are not valid predictors of behavior.

Selection

• 1. Put aside personal bias.• 2. Make a checklist of skills, qualities, and

characteristics you are looking for.• 3. Require a physical examination.• 4. Check references.

Terms Summary

• Analyzing• Civil Rights Act• Equal Employment Opportunity Act• Forecasting• Interviewing• Selecting• Staffing• Recruiting• References• Orienting

Home Work• Answer questions 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13,16, 17, 20, 21, and 24 on page 206.• 2. What are the 6 steps in the staffing process?• 3. What role do supervisors play in recruiting?• 4. What role do supervisors play in selecting the best applicant?• 5. Why is it so important to have the assistance of human resources personnel in the staffing

process?• 10. Explain the 3 step process the courts use in handling cases of alleged disparate impact?• 11. What is the key in determining disparate treatment?• 13. What is the handbook used by human resource personnel to ensure compliance with equal

opportunity laws?• 16. List the 4 steps used to forecast staffing needs.• 17. List 6 general guidelines for conducting interviews.• 20. List 5 areas in which questions should not be asked in an interview.• 21. If references are reluctant to give you information, what is the best question you can ask?• 24. List 4 pointers for improving your chances of selecting the best qualified among a group of

apparently qualified applicants.