Optimization of the human resources structure of an enterprise may require its responsible managers to carry out serious work related to determining the staffing level. What is this indicator? How is it determined?
What is the staffing level?
To begin with, we’ll deal with the definition. Staffing is the number of employees determined by internal regulations of the organization, which is necessary to ensure that the relevant business entity fulfills production plans taking into account available resources and conditions. Based on the staffing level, the organization’s management forms the wage fund, as well as the staffing table.
The main task in determining the staffing
The main task of competent managers of the enterprise is to correctly calculate the indicator in question. It is quite effective to carry out the calculation of the staffing of the company by using departmental regulations. Despite the fact that they are adapted for use mainly only in the sphere that is governed by the issuing authority, those principles and formulations that are contained in the relevant sources of norms are quite suitable for private organizations. Among the most common departmental legal acts, the provisions of which make it possible to determine the standard number of employees, is the Order of the Federal Archive No. 9, adopted on January 14, 2004. Consider its main provisions.
Determination of staffing levels: Rosarchive methodology
According to this agency, the staffing is an indicator that is recommended to be established on the basis of intersectoral, sectoral, as well as local standards related to labor relations. The main thing is that the provisions of these sources make it possible to determine what should be the optimal number of various functional units of the institution or individual employees.
The staffing , according to Rosarchive, should be separately established for specific structural units, managers and ordinary specialists of the organization. The methodology proposed by the department allows us to determine the optimal staffing of the institution in accordance with the noted approach. The most important criterion for successfully solving this problem is the use of relevant standards related to labor relations. Consider their specifics in more detail.
Standards for staffing: the methodology of the Federal Archives
According to Rosarchive, in order to calculate the optimal staffing, it makes sense to apply such standards as:
- the norm of working time;
- the rate of production indicators;
- the rate assessed in terms of controllability;
- the norm of time for the provision of services;
- standard of service.
Under the norm of working time, the agency understands the amount of costs for working time, which is set for the employee or group of specialists to carry out the unit of work for the given resources and conditions.
Under the norm of development, the Rosarchive understands the fixed volume of work, which is to be performed by one employee or group of specialists within the unit of working time within the existing resources and conditions.
By the controllability rate, which is taken into account when determining the optimal staffing level of the enterprise
according to the methodology of Rosarchive, we mean the number of employees whose activities can be effectively coordinated under given resources and conditions by one manager.
Under the standard of service, the agency understands the optimal number of units of certain devices, jobs, customers of the enterprise, which an employee or a group of specialists are required to service within a unit of working time, again under given resources and conditions. The norm of the time of the provision of services is understood as the amount of working time necessary for an employee or a group of specialists to carry out the previous standard, that is, the standard of service.
How are staffing rates applied?
Based on the noted norms, the company management determines what the staffing and staffing should be, which allow the business entity to stably carry out the main activities. As a rule, these standards allow you to cover all key aspects of the organization of the production process at the enterprise.
The most important aspect of calculating the relevant indicators is the classification of work positions in the enterprise’s staff by various groups. We will study it in more detail.
Classification of staff when determining the staffing: nuances
So, the staffing level is a value determined by the internal regulations of the organization, which shows how many employees of a particular specialization need to be hired by an enterprise to solve business problems within the framework of its main activities. At the same time, employees of the company can be distributed according to work positions classified on the basis of criteria established by responsible managers.
Rosarchive, as well as many municipal organizations operating in Russian regions, prefer to adhere to the methodology for classifying work positions, according to which the staff of the institution is divided into 4 main categories:
- managers;
- specialists;
- technical performers;
- attendants.
Thus, the calculation and approval of staffing carried out for each of the noted categories of workers separately. Consider the specifics of these groups of employees in the context of calculating the indicator in question, in more detail.
Classification of staff in determining staffing: managers
Managers or administrative staff are employees of the company who perform functions related to the organization of the production process, managing subordinate employees within their powers. The specific tasks, as well as the competencies that managers must have in order to solve them, are most often prescribed in an employment contract with the employer.
As a rule, the considered group of employees of the organization in terms of number is the smallest in the staff list. But it is important, having employed even a small number of managers, to determine the authority for them so that they can organize the work of their units most effectively. Thus, the approval of the staffing level of managers is a simple task in terms of determining the number of specialists in a given profile, but difficult in terms of determining the scope of authority of these employees, taking into account which the number of staff members for other categories of employees of the organization is determined.
Specialists
This category of employees is responsible for the main surplus product in the company, which is created through the production or sale of goods by the enterprise, the provision of services, and the implementation of investment activities. Thus, the formation of headcount indicators for this category of workers is a key task for enterprise managers.
Specialists can solve a wide range of problems, and those job positions in which they carry out labor activities can be classified on additional grounds. So, the following categories of specialists can work at the enterprise: consultants, engineers, developers, personnel managers, accountants. For each of them, individual indicators can be determined by staffing levels.
Technical executors
Some experts prefer to combine this category of workers and the previous one. But there can be a very noticeable difference between them: technical executives, as a rule, only help specialists in solving their problems. However, their role can also be very important. The reduction in the number of staff in this category can be extremely undesirable from the point of view of ensuring that the enterprise achieves optimal production performance.
Technical performers can be represented by programmers, network administrators, electricians, installers. It is worth noting that the selection of workers in these professions in the category of technical executors will be carried out only if the main activity of the company is not related to their work. If it is the other way around, then they, in turn, can be considered from the point of view of classifying personnel as specialists. The status of technical executives will already have other employees.
Service staff
Another possible category of employees is maintenance personnel. In turn, it can be considered quite close to the previous group of workers. However, the category of personnel under consideration, as a rule, is least related to the main activity of the enterprise. Their task is not to help specialists, as technical performers do, but to ensure the functioning of the enterprise infrastructure.
Thus, cleaning staff, plumbers, repair workers can be considered as service personnel. Their work is also important, and in many cases the increase in the staffing of this category of employees may be required by the enterprise even more than the invitation of new specialists, since there may be tasks associated with the need to improve the functioning of the organization’s infrastructure.
Summary
Thus, to calculate the staffing, responsible managers can apply: the methodology of Rosarchive in terms of standardizing staffing numbers, common approaches to classifying staff into separate categories, according to which individual indicators can be determined by the size of the staff. The main task facing responsible managers is to identify the real need of the organization for specialists with a specific level of competence and authority.
Staffing is one of the key criteria for organizing effective enterprise management. How well the managers of the company will carry out the work in terms of determining it will greatly affect the efficiency of production, and hence the competitiveness of the business. In solving this problem, it is important to observe consistency in assessing the needs of the enterprise, as well as pay attention to the necessary detailing of production processes when choosing human resources, which will play a crucial role in ensuring the efficient use of enterprise capacities.