An Investigation into Recruitment and Selection Practices of Small and Medium Enterprises: Evidence from Ghana

Felicity Asiedu-Appiah, Oheneba Aduse-Poku And Bylon Abeeku-Bamfo

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Corresponding author Email: fasiedu-appiah.ksb@knust.edu.gh

Accepted 08 March 2013

Abstract

Effective recruitment and selection practices enhance the productivity and competitiveness of every organization. The present study sought to investigate the recruitment and selection practices of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana. A questionnaire survey was to collect data from two hundred and fifty-eight (258) respondents. The study sampled owner/ managers and all employees of the selected micro and small firms. However simple random sampling was used to select respondents from the selected medium-size enterprises. SPSS was used to analyze the data collected. The study revealed that majority of SMEs do not follow formal recruitment and selection practices. It was also evident that existing recruitment and selection practices were not systematic and lacked consistency as these practices were based on the understanding of owner-managers who had little or no expertise in the subject. The findings indicates that an understanding and adoption of formal and context specific aspects of recruitment and selection practices by owner/managers will help position the SME’s at the forefront of socio-economic development. A major limitation of the study was a lack of current data on the addresses and locations of SMEs’ as well as inadequate information to enhance easy classification and access. The present research contributes to knowledge by bringing to the fore specific and contextual issues that may influence recruitment and selection practices of SMEs.

Keywords:  Recruitment and Selection Practices, Human Resource Management, Employee Performance, SMEs.