Recruitment and performance appraisal in the public sector

Introduction

For the past decade or so, academics, civil servants and politicians have been working together towards building human resource capacity for better human resource performance in Africa (McCourt 2001; URT 2004; Debrah & Ofori 2005; Michael 2005; Kiragu & Mutahaba 2006). Discussions often point out the challenges facing human resource management in Africa. Recruitment and performance appraisal functions in the public sector are some of the key areas of concern and that are still valid today and will continue to be so with limited improvement in the coming decade (McCourt 2001; Michael 2005; Awortwi & Vondee 2007; Mulikita 2007).

The chapter is a contribution to the above noted on-going efforts and discussions on improving human resource management in Africa. It examines the emerging discrepancy between the expectations of employee recruitment and open performance appraisal. The argument that runs through the chapter is that upon first glance, the recruitment and performance appraisal processes in the public sector in Tanzania, as it might be in Sub Saharan Africa, seem to be fairly generic in terms of objectives and methodology. However, the process has remained with little or no relevance to the job performance or even at times has become detrimental to job performance itself. As a way forward, an alternative model is proposed which provides lessons for African countries. The data on which the chapter is based was drawn from recruitment and performance management practices of 9 ministries, 5 local authorities and 3 executive agencies in Tanzania from 2005 to 2008. The study was made from a sample size of 250 top, middle and lower level civil servants. The intention of this investigation was to explore the preparation, processes and techniques of getting people into organisations and performance appraisal practices. More importantly, the critical issues were on the way employee-employer expectations were captured in writing job descriptions and specifications, job performance indicators, and the diversity in terms of expectations of both job seekers and employers. The analytical tools used here are mainly content and discourse.

Therefore, at the end of the chapter, the learner should:

· Be aware of the implications of poorly developed staff recruitment strategy on open performance appraisal,

· Be able to develop an effective recruitment and selection strategy, and

· Be able to develop an effective performance management tool.

Theoretical framework and the position in Africa

Managing employee-employer expectations for improved organisational performance by focusing on recruitment and performance appraisal has its origin in many theories, here three will be examined further. The first one is planned behaviour theory (Sheera & Orbell 1998) where the emphasis is on the quality of the messages employers send to employees including job descriptions, specifications and performance appraisal. The guiding philosophy is that wrong messages (through communication) give rise to the wrong expectations. Therefore, messages that create wrong expectations in recruitment and performance appraisal practices should be avoided.

The second theory in understanding expectations in recruitment and performance appraisal is institutionalism (Lado & Wilson 1994). This theory asserts that managing employee-employer expectations (as portrayed in attitudes, values) in a formalised and objective manner, as part of the organisational culture, is essential for encouraging strong employee commitment to the organisational mission, goals, and objectives. The third one is human capital theory (Schuler 2000). Schuler says that organisations cannot get the best from employees without investing in areas where their needs and expectations lie.

These theories are not only useful in understanding how best to recruit and appraise employees but also the challenges we face in improving human resource management in Africa. Indeed, directly, or indirectly, the on-going reforms in the civil service are a reflection of the recognition of the powers of these theories (and many others) in the search for the best alternatives in developing a strong and sustainable workforce.

As we go on reforming the civil service in Africa, we have already documented evidence on the status of human resource management. As for recruitment and performance appraisal, there is plenty of evidence suggesting that African countries have managed to institutionalise recruitment and appraisal systems in human resource management policies and legislation (Kamoche et al. 2004, Hassan 2007). However, there are also criticisms that although recruitment and performance appraisal practices are more systematic and fairer than was the case a decade ago, the differences between the formal view and wishes about recruitment and appraisal and the actual practices are worrisome because of substantial deviations from good practices.

Incidences of following recruitment procedure as a justification for recruitment rather than the means of ensuring that organisations acquire the best human resources have remained a problem (Aryee 2004; Beugre 2004; Wong-Ramgutty 2004). Poor development and use of job descriptions and ineffective performance appraisals systems are also noted in sub Saharan Africa (Mpabanga 2004; Ahmhidie 2004). The main problems concern vague and misrepresentative job descriptions and specifications, poor links between job descriptions, specification, selection tools and the job requirement in the present and in the future. One of the research findings shows that fifty seven percent of staff in one of the local authorities had not read their job descriptions although they had jobs to perform (Hassan 2007). However, reading job descriptions may not add value to what they do because of the mismatch between what they do and what they are officially employed to do.

There are also negative attitudes among employees and employers on the content, processes, objectivity, and usefulness of performance appraisals. Tanzania shares the same experiences, which this chapter further elaborates. It focuses more on these limitations not necessarily in terms of the differences between what is done as opposed to what ought to be done, but rather the often forgotten mismatch between the reality and expectations of both employers and employees as an inbuilt process in recruitment and open performance appraisals. The following section is devoted to exploring the mismatch.