THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO DEFINING THE ESSENCE OF STAFFING FOR BUSINESS ENTITIES

The article explores theoretical approaches to defining the essence of staffing for business entities. The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the absence of a unified conceptual approach to defining this economic category, which complicates the development of effective personnel management mechanisms for enterprises in conditions of transformational changes and intensified competition in domestic and foreign markets. The article systematizes and generalizes existing approaches to defining the essence of staffing, which are classified into four main groups: process-based, systemic, functional, and elemental. The process-based approach considers staffing as a set of sequential actions aimed at forming, developing, and utilizing the enterprise’s personnel potential. Within the systemic approach, staffing is interpreted as an integrated system of interconnected elements whose functioning is directed at achieving the organization’s personnel goals. The functional approach defines staffing as an area of organizational activity implemented within the personnel management system. The elemental approach views staffing as a collection of various elements that ensure the functioning of the personnel management system. Based on a critical analysis of existing approaches, the author proposes an original definition of "staffing of business entities," which is interpreted as a complex, multi-level, hierarchically structured, and functionally integrated system that includes a set of interconnected processes, mechanisms, and tools aimed at forming, developing, and effectively utilizing personnel potential to achieve strategic goals and ensure competitive advantages of the enterprise in the market. The main structural elements of the staffing system are identified, including: personnel planning, recruitment and selection, adaptation, training and development, evaluation, motivation, career management, and personnel release. Key principles of the staffing system’s functioning are outlined, including: systematicity, scientific approach, efficiency, adaptability, innovation, and social responsibility. The practical significance of the obtained results lies in forming a theoretical foundation for developing methodological approaches to evaluating the effectiveness and improving the staffing system of business entities.