Difference Between Staffing and Recruitment

When should staffing and recruitment come into the picture? 

Well, as an employer, you know what needs to be done for the business to prosper. But the crucial question here is: who do you choose to handle the ‘prospering’?

This is where  staffing and recruitment answer your cries.

Both are tools that enable you to decide who you work with. And this cannot be undermined for your workforce is an important element for a competitive edge. 

More often than not, we make the blunder of confusing staffing and recruitment, or even worse,  using them interchangeably. 

They’re different. I’ll explain how.

What is Staffing?

Staffing is basically sustainable addition of human resource in an organisation. That means it encompasses all the processes involved in building and retaining the workforce of the organization. 

Here’s what goes on behind the Staffing scenes –

• Human Resource Planning – Determine your organisation’s workforce requirement. Plan the number of employees you require and the qualities you expect in them.
• Recruitment– Search and obtain prospects for the vacancies. Create conditions and stimulate job seekers to maximize the number of applications for the vacancy.
• Selection – Among the pool of applicants, shortlist the right candidates who display the expected qualifications and skills.
• Induction and Orientation – Introduce your new employee to the organisation and align him/her to the job responsibilities and work culture.
• Training and development – Train your employees as per the technical knowledge required in their jobs. Also, focus on their holistic development.
• Performance Appraisal – Regularly review your employee’s job performance and overall contribution to the organisation.
• Employment decision – Take decisions regarding their promotions and career planning.

What is Recruitment?

Recruitment is part of the staffing process. 

What you essentially do in recruitment is to search and obtain prospective candidates for the job. Furthermore, the best candidate is chosen through the selection process which is a part of staffing.

• During the recruitment process, the organisation needs to stimulate job hunters and get as many applications as possible from them. 
• To stimulate the job hunters, the recruiter must amplify the visibility of job vacancy. This is done through promoting the vacancy and the organisation on job portals, social media, newspapers, direct calls and texts, etc.
• It is through the recruitment process that people (in general) come to know that your organisation has vacancies. Now it’s upon them to send across applications for the same.
• Recruitment entails hiring from within or outside the organisation. The process is known by the terms internal and external recruitment respectively. 
• The recruitment process ends once you receive applications from job seekers.

Wrapping up the difference between Staffing and Recruitment

Now that we are clear about what Staffing and Recruitment stand for, let’s quickly explore the differences between the two. 

When it comes to staffing and recruitment, one cannot exist without the other, but they’re far from being the same. 

The next time you go through the process of obtaining and retaining your employees, you’re staffing. And within the staffing process, when you work towards maximizing applications for the vacancy, you’re recruiting.