Staff

[2SJ]

Can u please clarify usage of word staff and staffs. - as in sentence - There were 17 staff/staff members/staffs present during the meeting.

[BobK]

Can u please clarify usage of word staff and staffs. - as in sentence - There were 17 staff/staff members/staffs present during the meeting.

In that case, staff, staff-members, or members of staff.

There's a tendency in modern management to refer to people who report directly to someone (their "direct reports", I regret to have to report ) as 'their staff'. In this case, it would be possible to meet utterances such as 'The CEO will make an announcement to the Board, and the Board members will pass it on to their staffs'. (I don't rejoice in the existence of this plural, but it happens.)

b