{"id":8107,"date":"2020-10-12T09:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T08:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sage-people-scraping-gb.local\/?p=1096"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:08:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:08:48","slug":"7-steps-for-developing-staffing-strategies-that-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/7-steps-for-developing-staffing-strategies-that-work\/","title":{"rendered":"7 steps for creating staffing strategies that work"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/people-leadership\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">People &amp; Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t7 steps for creating staffing strategies that work\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2020-10-12T09:00:19+01:00\">12 October, 2020<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"7 steps for creating staffing strategies that work\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/7-steps-for-developing-staffing-strategies-that-work\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/jessicafuhl\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/10\/Jess-fuhl.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" height=\"40\" width=\"40\" fetchpriority=\"high\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Jessica Leyshon<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A dedicated staffing strategy is crucial for any business wanting to understand its people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your people are your company\u2019s biggest asset and can give your business a competitive edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But looking after those people requires a people-focused approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"#gate-a37fa7ea-ea38-4c63-a74f-1f061404a164\">Request a free, live demo of Sage People and discover how it can help your organisation attract the best people, retain your key talent and increase productivity<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-a-staffing-strategy\">What is a staffing strategy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Staffing strategies are often confused with recruitment strategies, but they are not the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recruiting is a single step in the employment journey, it involves seeking and encouraging prospective candidates to apply for roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Staffing is an ongoing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It does involve the initial recruitment step but it goes way beyond that to include how you manage and retain a competent and satisfied workforce, fit for purpose, in the right roles at the right time to meet the company\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, it\u2019s also going one step further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not simply filling positions but looking at your workforce as a whole to gain insight and design great workforce experiences for your people, so that you attract and retain the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this way, staffing strategies are more like \u2018People strategies\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People strategies look at where your high-performers are, and how you hold on to them, and considers things such as how you provide them with meaningful work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are our seven steps to building an effective staffing, or people, strategy in this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"#gate-545e8389-80aa-478a-ab0d-21960ee0b3bc\">Download your free guide, 6 ways to create amazing workforce experiences<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-determine-your-business-goals\">1. Determine your business goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The best starting point for a staffing or people strategy is your organisation\u2019s business plan, which should contain both short term and long-term goals for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether it\u2019s to increase turnover, expand into new sectors, launch new products or grow through acquisition, these goals are all inherently driven by your people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So your strategy needs to be fully aligned with the company\u2019s objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-establish-your-current-people-landscape\">2. Establish your current people landscape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you know what your organisation\u2019s objectives are, you need a complete picture of your current workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having an accurate view of your people starts with a single source of truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your people data is held in disparate systems and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/speed-up-business-processes\/\">spreadsheets<\/a>, this must all be consolidated into one system to give you maximum insight into your people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From here, you can build reports and actionable insights about your people, such as having accurate headcount reports, establishing skills gaps, and identifying high potential candidates for leadership roles as part of succession planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-analyse-people-patterns\">3. Analyse people patterns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s always a natural ebb and flow of staffing levels throughout any organisation; staying one step ahead of potential movements can ensure there are no surprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the most basic level, having a clear view of leaver dates and information will help you recruit and backfill these positions well in advance, minimising the risk of losing knowledge when someone leaves without completing a handover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking this a step further, you can analyse your workforce to identify potential movements well in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/sage-business-cloud\/people\/\">modern HR and people system<\/a> will tell you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The number of employees nearing retirement age<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Forthcoming maternity and paternity leaves<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Upcoming promotions that will require a succession plan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Individuals who are approaching the company\u2019s average service length.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By leveraging such reports, and analysing these patterns, this allows you to plan ahead to address potential gaps and plan accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"#gate-545e8389-80aa-478a-ab0d-21960ee0b3bc\">Download your free guide, 6 ways to create amazing workforce experiences<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-identify-staffing-and-people-needs\">4. Identify staffing and people needs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For a successful staffing and people strategy, you first need to understand the skills, experience and resources required to achieve your business goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To maximise the efficiency of the recruitment process, you also need to consider the timeline of activities required to fulfil each role, and plan accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll need to analyse further data to establish this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, what roles do you need? How long does it typically take to recruit them? What\u2019s the time frame for induction and ramping up to full productivity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your existing workforce data will provide useful insights that you can use as a benchmark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-create-a-future-staffing-projection\">5. Create a future staffing projection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With the current workforce picture complete, it\u2019s a good idea to build a long-term staffing plan for the next five to 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This needs to be done alongside your executive leadership team, owners or shareholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They will need to share the long-term vision for the company so you can factor in if there\u2019s going to be a company restructure or any future acquisitions that will bring new or different staffing needs to the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, work into the projection succession planning as different employees get promoted during the course of the next five to 10 years \u2013 as well as which departments are going to become vital to the future success of the company and therefore likely to expand in size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as creating this projection, understand what is needed to meet this in your company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you have an adequate size recruitment team to match your projections? What about budget?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Create this plan alongside your projection in a format that is clear and others across the business will understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-develop-a-strong-employer-brand-and-workplace-culture\">6. Develop a strong employer brand and workplace culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you have employer branding and People Marketing strategies in place to attract those you need?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding how you build an environment in which people love to work is vital to retain the best as part of your strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t assume that everything you need to create the perfect people strategy can be gleaned from within the walls of your own office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reach out to your peers in other companies, and ask to pick their brains \u2013 nine times out of 10, they will be more than willing to share their experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Search online for models you can replicate, attend workshops and seminars, and use social media to ask for ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-7-review-the-plan-regularly\">7. Review the plan regularly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The business needs can change rapidly so even scheduling an annual 12-month review of your plan is unlikely to be enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regularly review your plan to ensure you can flex and adapt the people needs of the business if conditions change at a moment&#8217;s notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The termination or signing of your single biggest client could have a drastic impact on your staffing requirements and operating margins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If creating great workforce experiences is at the heart of your people strategy, you\u2019re using data to gain true actionable insight on your employees, and following these steps then you have all the ingredients for creating a successful staffing and people strategy that works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Sage People live demo<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Want to attract the best people, retain your key talent and increase productivity? Request a free, live demo of Sage People and discover how it can help you achieve your goals.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-a37fa7ea-ea38-4c63-a74f-1f061404a164\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Request a free demo<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"999\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/z.5E3A0481_All-Uses.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/z.5E3A0481_All-Uses.jpg 999w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-b1a63862-3fa0-4a5e-bb67-c76b88bbc6b8\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your people give your business a competitive edge. Follow these steps to develop a successful staffing strategy helps your business succeed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":7863,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[41],"business_type":[3],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[69],"imagine_tag":[92,217,96],"coauthors":[397],"class_list":["post-8107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people-leadership","tag-hr-process","business_type-medium-sized-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Jessica Leyshon","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/07\/SmartDeploy_2019_Intacct_0168.jpg","imagine_tags":{"92":"HR and Payroll","217":"HR processes","96":"Medium businesses"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/7863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8107"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=8107"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=8107"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=8107"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=8107"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=8107"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=8107"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}