Great vision without great employees is of no importance. To accomplish your long-term business vision, you need the right employees. That’s where staffing and recruitment come into play. The way you optimize your staff & recruit new members into your workforce will determine your business’ fate.
However, most new-age business professionals make the mistake of assuming that staffing and recruitment are the same. They use the two terms interchangeably & end up doing neither efficiently.
Let’s explore the differences between staffing and recruitment & understand their importance in building skilled and competent workforces.
What Is the Key Difference between Staffing and Recruitment?
Staffing is a constant function that’s carried across all levels within a business at all times. Right from the time employees apply to join the organization, till the time they leave – the company’s staffing department must optimize their professional journeys & get the best out of them.
Recruiting is the systematic process of finding potential employees for specific job positions. These candidates are then short-listed as per their qualifications. The best candidates are officially ‘recruited’ to fill the vacant positions.
Once employees are recruited, they’re officially ‘hired’ by the employers. The difference between recruitment and hiring is the same as the difference between staffing and recruitment. One cannot happen without the other.
Without a proper staffing department, you can’t determine your recruitment needs. Without the right recruitment strategies, you can’t hire the right people. Staffing vs hiring vs recruiting – performing all three tasks efficiently is equally important for business leaders.
But, some tasks are more important than others. Just assess the recruitment and hiring difference – you’d argue that efficient recruitment is more important than hiring, right? Similarly, staffing in general is way more important than the other two.
Here are some more differences between recruiting vs staffing that shine a light on the extra importance of efficient staffing –
Scope
Recruitment is just one aspect of staffing.
Staffing has a wider scope and involves multiple more steps than recruitment.
Type of Business Function
Staffing is a vital management function.
Recruitment is one of the multiple functions of staffing.
Timescale
Staffing is a continuous, never-ending process because workforces will always have needs that managers must need.
Recruitment is a temporary & short-term process. Companies may not recruit new workers for months/years.
Players
Staffing is a core managerial function that’s carried out in all departments of the business. From the cleaning staff to your board of directors – different groups of workers will have different staffing needs. Each group must be led by managers who take care of all staffing-related duties.
Recruitment is performed by the company’s HRM (Human Resource Management) department.
Let’s explore these two processes in depth to further understand the differences between them.
What Is Meant by Staffing?
From sourcing candidates to training new workers to evaluating employee performances – every aspect of managing human resources in organizations falls under the category of ‘staffing.’
Staffing company means third-party companies that handle all staffing-related tasks on their clients’ behalf. For example, let’s say you’re running an American company & you’re trying to build an Indian workforce in India. In that case, you’ll need US staffing.
What Is the Purpose of Staffing?
The purpose of staffing is to create & sustain a workforce full of employees who are qualified to perform the tasks at hand.
What are the types Of Staffing?
There are two types of staffing – short & long-term. Short-term staffing is performed to address the immediate workforce-related needs of the company. Long-term staffing is the process of being extra-proactive about your company’s staffing requirements & employing year or even decades-long HRM strategies.
Suggested Read: External recruitment advantages and disadvantages
Different Steps of Staffing
- Planning
- Recruitment
- Selection & Hiring
- Orientation
- Training
- Appraisals
- Promotions & Layoffs
Who is Responsible for Staffing?
All managers have to perform their staffing-related duties.
What Is Meant by Recruitment?
Recruitment is the process of finding, sourcing, attracting, & selecting new employees to fill job openings in an organization.
What are the Types of Recruitment?
Internal & external recruitment
What Are the Steps of Recruitment?
- Identifying what business requirements new employees need to address
- Creating suitable job descriptions
- Creating a recruitment team & a recruitment plan
- Searching for potential candidates
- Reaching out to qualified applicants & informing them about the job opportunities
- Phone or video screening
- Background checks on all applicants
- Personal interviews
- Offering the job
- Onboarding the new employees
Suggested Read: How To Choose The Right Recruitment Agency For Your Company?
FAQs
Is recruitment and hiring the same?
No. Hiring is just a part of recruitment which is a much more extensive process.
Difference between temp agency and staffing agency?
Temp agencies work on temporary contracts. Staffing agencies offer long-term services.
Difference between HR and recruiter?
An HR professional will handle all aspects of staffing. A recruiter will only recruit new employees.