A staffing plan starts with the workload, turns it into a number of people, and ends with a cost check. The steps below work on any staffing case.
This lesson is part of SPM Business human resources. Use the business case answer planner to lay out your written version.
What are the five steps?
- Workload: what must be done, and when.
- Number: how many workers that needs.
- Source: recruit from inside or outside, full-time or part-time.
- Preparation: how the new worker learns the job.
- Cost check: whether the extra wages are worth the extra benefit.
Back each step with one fact from the case. If the case is silent, state an assumption.
How does it work with numbers?
Restoran Selera serves 120 customers at lunch on weekdays. One waiter can serve 30 customers in the lunch period. The restaurant has three waiters.
Waiters needed: 120 ÷ 30 = 4. Current waiters: 3. Shortfall: 1 waiter.
The lunch peak lasts three hours, so a part-time waiter fits better than a full-time hire. The owner can recruit externally, using a notice at a nearby college, and train on the job by pairing the new person with a current waiter for two lunches.
How do you check the cost?
The part-time waiter earns RM60 a day for 26 days, which is 26 × RM60 = RM1 560 each month. If the extra waiter helps serve 30 more customers a day at RM12 each, extra sales are 30 × RM12 × 26 = RM9 360 each month.
Extra sales are not extra profit, because food costs are also higher. The answer should say so and conclude carefully: “The wage is small compared with the possible extra sales, so hiring looks sensible, provided food costs leave a surplus.”
What does a strong answer sound like?
“Restoran Selera needs four waiters for 120 lunch customers but has three. It should hire one part-time waiter from outside, because the demand is only at lunch. On-the-job training with a current waiter keeps service steady. The wage of RM1 560 each month looks affordable against possible extra sales.”
The answer has a number, a reason tied to the case, a training step and a cost check.
Which mistakes cost marks?
- Recommending hiring with no calculation of how many.
- Choosing full-time staff for a short peak without a reason.
- Treating extra sales as profit, and skipping the cost of food or materials.
Check yourself
A fictional call shop receives 90 enquiry calls in the evening. One worker handles 15 calls in that period. It has four workers. Does it need more staff?
Answer
Workers needed: 90 ÷ 15 = 6. It has 4, so it is short by 2 workers. Two part-time evening workers may suit, because the demand is only in the evening. The owner should still compare their wages with the value of the calls they would answer.
What to study next
Read separating business theory from promises about this tuition service to sharpen how you word conclusions, then test the chapter with the practice set.
If you want a teacher to rework staffing cases with you, see online one-to-one Business tuition.