With increasing competition, it has become critical for companies to hire competent and high-quality employees as otherwise it would become difficult for them to survive in long run. Today, staffing has become an important management function directing an organization towards effective management of several other functions. Staffing refers to a process through which capable employees are selected, correctly trained, successfully developed, rightfully rewarded, and their attempts harmoniously incorporated towards attaining business objectives (Aswathappa, n.d.). Similar is the case with ABC coffee shop located in New York as it also wants to staff the coffee shop initially and throughout the next three. For effective staffing it is vital to have a recruitment plan and strategy considering different aspects as developed here in regard to the ABC coffee shop.
Recruitment Plan and Strategy
The ABC Coffee Shop cannot recruit new employees in a random manner as needs careful planning and consideration of different aspects that are as follows:
The number of employees needed for different jobs: Initially, the Coffee Shop need around 3-4 employees for managerial level that include store manager, kitchen supervisor, accountant etc. In addition to this, the coffee shop also needs 5-6 employees at lower level that includes attendants’ and waiters.
Time when employees will be needed: All these employees will be needed in next 3-4 months as season starts for travellers coming to visit city. In next three years, the number of employees required will double once coffee chain becomes recognized throughout the city (Aswathappa, n.d.).
Succession Planning: Subsequent to the development of strategy and aligning it with recruitment plan, the next step is to do succession planning. In case of coffee shop employees, employees working at lower levels like attendants and waiters etc may leave their jobs within next 6 month with an aim to join somewhere else with high salary or join some further learning courses. Employees working at higher or managerial level may not leave the coffee shop in next 3-4 years if offered with healthy and adequate career development opportunities.

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Identifying skills and abilities of current employees: Subsequent to succession planning, it is vital for the management to identify the skills and abilities of its current employees along with an evaluation of their education, skills, and experiences on different types of job with periodical skill assessment (Cornelius, 2001). In this regard, skills inventory need to be developed that in turn will help the coffee shop recruiters to identify the actual need of staffing in present and the possibility of promoting current employees on vacant positions (Jex, 2002).
Present and Future Supply of Potential Employees in the labor market: This information could be obtained easily from New York government agencies, trade associations, and professional organizations working in this regard. In present and future, the supply of potential employees in the labor market is about to increase with growing potential of service industry (Smith & Taylor, 2004). With increasing impact of travel and tourism on New York economy, the country government is doing hard to manage required labor supply. In future with expansion also, the Coffee Shop management will be able to acquire required labor easily with attractive compensation packages (Gary, 2010).
Recruitment Strategy
For successful execution of recruitment plan it is vital to have a recruitment strategy that in case of the coffee shop is to recruit employees with internal as well as external sources so that inspiring work environment can be developed with the help of performance-based opportunities, diverse leadership, talented people, flexibility, and value-based climate (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2011). The key internal sources that would be used in present as well as throughout next 3 years are transfers, promotion, upgrading, retrenched employees, etc. In addition to this, the external sources that would be used by the ABC Coffee Shop recruiters are press advertisements, online advertisements, educational institutes, placement agencies, employee referrals etc (Jex, 2002). Use of both the internal and external recruiting sources is vital in present to have talented staff and these methods will also persist in future also as a key strategy of recruitment (Cornelius, 2001).
Communication Message
If you really love the aromas and sounds of brewing coffee and value how important that morning cup is, there’s no better place for you to work and enjoy than an ABC Coffee Shop. ABC Coffee shop believes in working the principle of equal opportunity for all qualifies persons with a healthy working environment and value-based climate. ABC Coffee Shop is looking for fun-loving, encouraged, and reliable people for following positions in these two categories:
Managerial Positions

Store Manager: Responsible for taking care of store and the need and supply of required material to make and serve coffee with minimum of 2 years experience.
Kitchen Supervisor: Responsible to supervise kitchen and all related activities with minimum of 2-3 years experience.
Accountant: Responsible for handling and managing accounts and related activities with minimum of 4 years experience.

Lower-level Positions

Attendants (2): Any graduate or undergraduate may apply and liable to attend customers in a friendly and needed way.
Waiters (2): Handle customer queries and serve them whatever is ordered in a courteous manner.

Communication Medium
One of the most significant communication medium in regard to recruitment is print media (newspaper advertising) and similar is also selected for ABC coffee shop recruitment plan. There are different media channels like broadcasting, print, social etc but irrespective of economic times and internet growth, it is assumed that doing advertisement through print media bring an assured competitive advantage (Cornelius, 2001). Print media comprises newspaper advertising and magazine advertising among which advertising or communicating through newspaper is most effective as everyone reads newspaper and considers it an easy mean to acquire local, national, and international knowledge (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2008).
Especially in case of jobs, people prefer to go through newspapers and jobs related columns given in newspapers (Jax, 2009). This is an effective communication medium for companies with their potential candidates so, this is the reason newspaper advertising is selected for ABC Coffee Shop to recruit candidates over other communication mediums. Paid circulation newspapers have been a well-liked and cheap advertising medium for several years (Gary, 2011).
Selection Process for Staffing the ABC Coffee Shop
There are different selection processes that could be used for staffing by an organization as per their needs. In case of ABC Coffee Shop to recruit managerial and lower level positions, the following selection process will be used for staffing:
Notification: The selection process will start with a notification of vacant positions in local newspaper along with the responsibilities of each position vacant and the experience required.
Reviewing: Subsequent to this resumes received are reviewed and each applicant’s background is matched with the job requirements. It is not possible to review all resumes at a time so it is vital to mention experience and qualification at the top of the cover page so that it becomes easy to review disqualified candidates.
Screening: After reviewing and short listing suitable candidates, the recruiters will undertake screening of shortlisted candidates through telephonic interview that in turn assists in identifying that is the candidate has the essential qualification to call him/her for an interview or not (The Hiring Process, 2005).
Interviewing: One of the most significant steps of the employment selection process is the face-to-face interview. Interview can be conducted in rounds with human resource manager, the hiring manager and other employees along with structured or unstructured questionnaire.
Selection: After interviewing candidates, the hiring manager will take feedback from others about employee and would decide which applicant fit best with the vacant position. Selection depends on employees’ level of confidence, behaviour, and approach to work along with qualifications and experience (The Hiring Process, 2005).
The five step employee selection process used to staff individuals at coffee shop is quite effective as it provides a systematic mean to select an employee along with all essential tools needed to review, screen, and interview. Having a systematic mean to selection is vital as otherwise it becomes difficult for recruiters to select employees in time and with required skills (Brody, 2010). One of the key advantages of this selection process is it provides a framework to select employees and could also be used in future with updation. Although the process described is effective but lacks monitoring and control that is essential to select appropriate candidates. Interview is a costly and time consuming selection technique (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2011).
Initial and Substantive Assessment Methods
The initial assessment methods that would be used select external candidates for each position are interview and reference checks. Interviewing is a good predictor of work performance if used effectively for assessing external candidates. Structured or unstructured it should focus on assessing the potential of employee in terms of the job applied and responsibilities included (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2011). In addition to interviewing another method effective to assess external employees is reference checks that help in collect employee related information and estimates of his/her job performance capabilities.
In addition to initial assessment methods, the different types of substantive assessment methods that could be used to select external candidates for above mentioned job positions are Psychometric assessment that includes different types of tests related to personality, cognitive ability, work styles and motivation. Cognitive ability tests along with personality tests will assist recruiters in having an effective prediction of work performance (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008). Cognitive ability has a direct effect on job knowledge acquisition so assessing it is quite significant in case of external candidates’ selection. All additional assessments are effective to evaluate a candidate in terms of vacant position and roles needed to be played.
Predictors to Assess KSAOs
For assessing KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and characteristics), one of the most effective predictor that could be used is job analysis. Job analysis helps in identifying the specific KSAOs needed to perform specific job in coffee shop. Job analysis is also not so easy but if planned can be done effectively and would direct towards required KSAOs. An analysis of the capabilities needed could be determined by hiring managers with the help of staff involved in the process of recruitment. As well, internet and other sources like workforce capability framework could also be used to analyse the job descriptions and arrive at an effective list of KSAOs (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008).