Fixing Overstaffing: A Practical Guide to Rightsizing Your Workforce
In many organisations, the conversation around staff numbers almost always leans one way: “We need more people.” Yet quietly, and often unnoticed, overstaffing has become one of the most expensive and productivity draining problems in the modern workplace especially for SMEs and fast-growing companies.
Overstaffing doesn’t always look like too many people in one office. Sometimes, it shows up as:
- Tasks that take 10 minutes but are stretched into an hour
- Employees “creating work” to seem busy
- Teams working in silos with duplicated roles
- Managers struggling to justify headcount
- Payroll costs rising while output remains the same
This hidden drag on efficiency has real consequences including financial, operational, and cultural.
How Overstaffing erodes productivity, (quietly but consistently)
- Idletimebecomes normal
When people have less work than capacity, idle time masks itself as:
- Long breaks
- Overly extended meetings
- Slow turnaround times
Over time, pace and urgency disappear, lowering the organisation’s operating rhythm.
- “Fakework”starts to replace real work
In an effort to look relevant:
- Employees stretch simple tasks
- Unnecessary reports and meetings emerge
- New layers of approvals appear
This creates a culture of activity instead of productivity.
- Payrollcostsballoon without growth
A growing staff list can create the illusion of expansion. But if revenue per employee is declining, the organisation is not growing, it’s leaking.
- Accountabilitygetsdiluted
Too many people involved in the same task leads to:
- Confusion
- Shifting responsibility
- Slow decision-making
No one owns deliverables fully, and results suffer.
- Highperformersget frustrated
Strong performers feel slowed down by:
- Bureaucracy
- Bottlenecks
- Colleagues with unclear roles
This leads to disengagement or turnover usually of the best talent.
How can you tell if your Organisation is already overstaffed?
You may be overstaffed if:
- Employees regularly ask managers, “What should I do next?”
- Workflows take longer even with more staff
- Two or three people are doing work meant for one role
- Overtime is low but payroll is high
- Teams complain of boredom or “waiting for instructions”
- A promotion requires creating a new unnecessary role
If any three of these are true, you have a planning problem not a capacity problem.
What Rightsizing actually looks like
Rightsizing is not just about cutting jobs. Most people hear the word rightsizing and think retrenchment or redundancy. However, true rightsizing is not a crisis response but a strategic realignment of skills, roles, and headcount to match actual business needs.
Here is what rightsizing should look like in a modern organisation:
1. Start with a Role Audit instead of a Headcount Cut
Ask:
- What roles are critical for revenue?
- Which roles produce measurable output?
- Which roles overlap?
- Which tasks can be automated?
This identifies inefficiency before affecting people.
2. Redefine roles around business priorities
Before hiring more people, pause and ask:
- What skills will drive growth in the next 12 months?
- Which roles directly support the customer?
- Which roles support the business strategy, and which ones don’t?
It shifts the conversation from “How many people do we have?” to “Do we have the right people doing the right work?”
3. Build multiskilled and agile teams
Rather than reducing staff, rightsizing focuses on making the team stronger through:
- Upskilling
- Cross-training
- Eliminating duplication
- Increasing versatility
Employees become more valuable and flexible rather than being sidelined.
4. Automate repetitive tasks
Automation in payroll, HR, finance, marketing, or customer service reduces:
- Manual errors
- Time spent
- Duplicate work
Instead of hiring more people to do routine work, automate and redeploy staff to higher-value roles.
5. Use data for workforce planning
Good workforce planning answers:
- How many people do we need?
- In which roles?
- For what workload?
- With what skillset?
This ensures staffing decisions are evidence-based rather than emotional.
6. Manage performance with real metrics
When roles are clear and KPIs are defined, overstaffing becomes visible.
Underperforming or non-essential roles can be addressed early before the business reaches a breaking point.
What are the solutions for better workforce planning?
- Build a workforce plan
Forecast upcoming needs instead of reactionary hiring.
2. Adopt flexible staffing models
Use contract, consultancy, or part-time roles where permanent roles aren’t necessary.
3. Integrate HR with business strategy
HR should know revenue targets, operational challenges, and customer expectations.
4. Encourage internal mobility
Move employees to understaffed departments instead of hiring externally.
5. Have HR, Finance, and Operations collaborate on staffing decisions
Headcount should be a shared responsibility not HRs alone.
Overstaffing is a silent cost but Rightsizing is a smart strategy
Organisations rarely collapse from understaffing but many weaken from overstaffing, inefficiency, and bloated structures.
Rightsizing, when done right, is not punitive; it brings clarity and alignment. It ensures the right talent is rewarded and it builds a culture where every role has purpose and impact.
Companies that get workforce planning right will not only save costs but will build lean, agile, high-performing teams ready for 2026 and beyond. At HRFLEEK, we support organizations with strategic advisory, workforce audits, and practical solutions to prevent overstaffing and build a culture of strong, consistent performance.
Contact Person & Contributor: Mary Muthoni Mwangi – People and Culture Associate
Email: mmwangi@hrfleek.com
For more information, please reach out to:
HRFLEEK Services Limited
I&M Bank House, 3rd Floor, 2nd Ngong Avenue
Tel: 0117 646 059
Email: info@hrfleek.com
Website: https://hrfleek.com/consultation