- staff
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[countable] the people who work for an organization or business:
• We now employ a staff of 25.
• Every member of staff has strengths and weaknesses.
• It's good to have you on the staff.
• The company's accounting staff are preparing a financial budget.
• Most office staff want to project a smart, professional image for their companies.
usageWORD FOCUSIn British English, staff can be either singular or plural:• The staff has done an outstanding job this year.
• The staff were very helpful.
In American English, staff is not used as frequently as in British English, and it is never followed by a plural verb:• Our New York staff has a crucial role to play in the next 12 months.
Never refer to a person as 'a staff '. Say a member of staff or employee:• A few members of staff have refused to sign the new contract.
• Many of our employees work from home.
ˈclerical staff [plural] HUMAN RESOURCESpeople who work in offices:• Computers have replaced thousands of clerical staff and middle managers.
ˈcounter staff [plural] HUMAN RESOURCESpeople who work in shops and serve customersˈfield staff[plural] HUMAN RESOURCES employees who do not work at a company's or organization's office, but travel to different places in order to do their work:• Providing support to field staff working alone is particularly important.
ˈjunior staff [plural] HUMAN RESOURCESemployees who are younger or less important than others working in the same company:• Junior staff were short of money and welcomed the opportunity to earn more through overtime.
ˈsenior staff [plural] HUMAN RESOURCESemployees who are older or more important than others working in the same company:• The Patent Office lacked experienced senior staff to train the new employees.
supˈport staff [plural] HUMAN RESOURCESemployees whose work is helping a company or organization to operate, for example technical orAdministrative workers:• Our technical support staff will talk you through any hardware or software difficulty.
to provide the workers for an organization:• We have an office and a warehouse staffed by 16 employees.
— staffing noun [uncountable] :• The company expects to reduce staffing by about 8% next year.
• Staffing costs rose 12%.
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Ⅰ.staff UK US /stɑːf/ noun [S or U] HR, WORKPLACE► all the people who work for a particular company or organization, or in a particular place: »The company prides itself on the training programmes it provides for its staff.
»Staff are expected to move to the new building later this year.
»employ/hire/recruit staff
a staff of 5/50, etc. »They employ a core staff of 25 full-time employees.
a member of staff/staff member »As a result of our investigations, two members of staff have now left the organization.
»experienced/professional/trained staff
»full-time/part-time staff
»permanent/temporary staff
»clerical/office staff
»sales/kitchen/check-in staff
staff shortage/turnover/morale »The hours are long, the work is dull, and staff turnover is high.
→ See also COUNTER STAFF(Cf. ↑counter staff), FIELD STAFF(Cf. ↑field staff), JUNIOR STAFF(Cf. ↑junior staff), SENIOR STAFF(Cf. ↑senior staff), SUPPORT STAFF(Cf. ↑support staff)Ⅱ.staff UK US /stɑːf/ verb [T] HR, WORKPLACE► to provide workers for a particular organization: »We are looking for up to 50 bilingual people to staff the call center.
be staffed by/with »The law centre is staffed by professional lawyers and advisers.
Financial and business terms. 2012.
