Managing Understaffing and Overstaffing Challenges: Some Tried & Tested Tips
October 19, 2021 / by admin

- Understaffing
- Overstaffing
[1] Understaffing:
This takes place when a firm or business doesn’t have the required number of skilled workers to function and grow as it should be.Outcome
- Employee stress: Workers feel weighed down and stressed due to the enormous volume of work that come their way almost on a daily basis.
- Overworked and undervalued: They also feel overworked and undervalued.
- Reduced productivity: The productivity of the business nose dives.
- Low work quality or pathetic performance levels: Workers give low or sub-standard quality work even as their overall work performance decreases.
- Lack of business growth: Business doesn’t grow or expand much and continues to be where it was earlier.
Solutions
- Outsource Tasks: To get the high level of work done, outsource some work–preferably the ones not very important–to other workers or agencies.
- Open an Internship programme: This will help your business have access to a good pool of young employees. Your company can groom and train them and use their newly developed skills without paying them much.
- Seek Staffing Agencies: Check with some reliable and well-known staffing agencies to run your business properly, and fulfill your company’s growing staffing requirements, without any problems.
[2] Overstaffing:
Outcome
- High costs: Too many workers mean you have to pay more money than you could have to meet your work requirements.
- Lack of engagement: Lack of work for many workers may bring down their level of engagement and inspiration.
- Low Morale: Sitting idle may not help and bring down the morale of your workers.
- Reduced Profits: When you have a large pool of active workers on your payroll, you have to pay them a significant amount cutting down your profits in the process.
Solutions
- Layoffs: Remove some workers to save money on their salaries. You can remove them– either on a permanent or a temporary basis. When your business starts growing and getting more work/orders again, you may bring some such workers back.
- Use Technology for a Better Workflow: You will find many good technological tools in the market to assist you with this.
- Manage Your Calendar Better: Ask your HR Team to prepare helpful calendars so that your business makes the most of the huge manpower that it could have.