Blended staffing ensures quality output

Organisations experience the absence of quality personnel and skilled staff, especially as an aftermath of downsizing. With particularly low-skilled employees having been shown the door, only a handful of talented employees are left in these companies. Technology and knowledge-based work processes have become the norm of workplaces. And the dearth of talent is compounded by the lack of this knowledge among available employees

Companies have certain set targets and demands to meet. They cannot let not-so-talented employees dominate the scene and experience a decline in the quality of their output. In order to escape the shortages owing to the paucity of talent and make the most of the skilled employees available, companies are resorting to, what is known as blended staffing. The system is in accordance with the guidelines of strategic staffing.

Under this method of staffing, companies retain skilled employees and give them positions crucial to the company’s functioning. This way, well-qualified and qualitative staff deal with the central workload. They are usually long-term employees, with a higher degree of permanency. Many companies are hiring freelancers, interns, on-the-site employees, part-timers and assignment staff for tasks linked with their core functioning. These employees could be chosen for particular assignments, generally on a short-term basis. To enable such arrangements companies have been attempting to build flexible workplaces with a focus on the core skilled team of employees.

The key to success in this mode of staffing is teamwork, team spirit and team management. The workplace culture must be encouraging and kindle the right spirit in the employees. While core employees might be performing important tasks, the overall functioning that temporary employees aid is extremely important for the smooth functioning of the organisation. Therefore, co-ordination is vital to infuse the right temperament and interaction between the two sets of employees.

Strategies for effective blended staffing at the workplace:

• Boundaries: Blended staffing works on the formation of a core skilled group, around which the team of assignment staff and short-term employees works. It is the essential interaction of these dual teams of employees, the cooperation and coordination of tasks that sets the momentum of the organisation. Therefore, there should be clear-cut boundaries for the skills and basic requisites that the two teams, the core and short-term teams must possess.
  
• Selection: The basis on which one is selected for either of the two teams must be defined, to aid easy categorisation. Selection processes and qualifications essential for each set of employees must be outlined too. This apart, the extent to which each category of employees can participate in the overall administration and management of the organisation should also be spelt out.
  
• HR: Special policies and programmes can be designed and implemented to promote the efficient functioning of the blended staffing system. This will ensure that all the rules and regulations are well written and guidelines laid down to endorse this mode of employment.
  
• Teams: The short-term and assignment employees can be formed into teams, depending on the specialisations and assignments they work on. However, the teams must work in coordination with one another, the core employee team and the management to foster cooperation and ensure smooth work flow. The flow of communication must be steady, without any barriers or hurdles. This will encourage a team culture, sans territory hassles while assuring the employees that their voices would be heard.
  
• Training: Training can be imparted to short-term employees in their areas of work, by the core team or an external body. This will not only provide them with a chance to update their knowledge and know-how, but also aid their growth in the workplace. In cases of remarkable performance and display of exceptional skills, these employees can be absorbed into the core team and given a permanent position with the company.

Monitor: When the workforce is segregated into teams and varied types of employees, it is extremely vital to integrate them into one body. Appointment of an on-the-site coordinator can ease this arduous task. He could ascertain steady, uninterrupted work flow. In addition, the quality of output must be monitored frequently, to keep alive the purpose behind blended staffing.

According to a study, among the few top notch companies where talent spotting and retaining is a matter of concern blended staffing has proved its effectiveness. Thus, the strategy can be a boon when finding those tailor-made employees becomes an uphill task.

Preeti Raghunath

Courtesy : The Hindu Opportunities