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Skills shortage and recruitment is an area of undeniable importance to the SME sector and a challenge for human resource management. This article reports on the findings from a study of people management in over 300 organisations employing typically between 20 and 200 people. It aims to provide a clear understanding of how both larger and smaller SMEs recruit and select staff. It finds that the SMEs may have some advantages in the extent to which they can use flexible working patterns: a large number of companies use part‐time workers, job‐sharing and contracting out. However, full‐time working is still the most common form of employment. The article reports that the most popular method for establishing pay levels within SMEs is the value of the job to the organisation, and the abilities or skills of the new employee. Most respondents to this survey felt that they had no skills shortage problem.

Presents and discusses findings from a major study of changing employment practices in UK banking. Uses case studies to explore different patterns of reaction to a fast and radically changing business environment. Addresses important questions including the nature of the changes to human resource management practices, the extent and depth of these changes and, most importantly, the degree to which the different banks are following similar or divergent paths. Offers explanations for the findings under each of these headings.

The purpose of this paper is to report on an empirical research study which investigated the factors influencing productivity in hotels in Northern Cyprus.

The empirical data was collected via a structured questionnaire from middle and senior managers of four and five‐star hotels in Northern Cyprus.

According to the research findings staff recruitment, staff training, meeting guest expectations, and service quality are the main productivity factors in hotels; while crises, technology, marketing, and forecasting are ranked relatively low. It emerged from the findings that hotel managers in Northern Cyprus have a narrow view of productivity and follow a more input‐oriented approach to managing productivity.

Based on the research findings and their discussions, this study provides several recommendations for future research in this area.

The research results highlight the importance of training middle and senior managers about the importance of productivity and how they can follow output‐oriented productivity management strategies.

The literature on productivity management in small island hotels is limited. As being one of the first studies on this area, the research findings of this study are particularly valuable for practice and future studies.

ABSTRACT Providing nursing care for patients with personality disorders is seen by many nursing staff as a highly undesirable job. This paper reviews the available literature and attempts to explore why the task of providing nursing care to these clients is so unpopular. Five core areas of difficulty are identified in the literature and each of these will be elaborated upon within the paper: i) these patients are perceived as less reinforcing and more demanding than mentally ill patients, ii) nurse training is inadequate preparation for this type of work, iii) the role of nursing personality‐disordered patients is high in conflict, iv) this type of nursing is traumatising and v) this type of nursing requires specific skills and qualities.The paper will then outline the implications that these challenges have for a nursing service that provides care for personality‐disordered patients. These include the impact upon i) the retention of staff, ii) the recruitment of staff, iii) the patients and iii) an organisation. The paper will also suggest some potential solutions to these challenges.

Reports a study of selection techniques used for front‐office staff recruitment in hotels and motels in the state of Victoria, Australia. A survey of 172 establishments with more than 30 rooms indicated that the most frequently used techniques are interview, application forms and references. However, the smaller establishments did not use even these basic procedures to their full advantage. Recommends further studies to ascertain what attributes employers value most as selection criteria of front‐office staff.

Considers many factors which influence staff recruitment in the current economic climate and debates what are seen as the four main dilemmas: flexibility versus security; control versus empowerment; “competence” versus learning and comfort versus challenge. Concludes with several pieces of advice for those involved in the recruitment process.

This chapter examines one of the most contested issues in Public Administration, namely political–administrative relationships. The first part of the chapter begins with a brief overview of the features of an ideal-type bureaucracy. Next is a literature review of political–administrative relationships. This is followed by an analysis of typologies of political–administrative relationships, with particular reference to developing countries. The second part of the chapter analyses the evolution of political–administrative relationships since the dawn of South African democracy in 1994. It examines the growing politicisation of the public service, the weakening of the powers of public officials vis-a-vis Ministers and the emasculation of the PSC. Data indicate that the government is unable to fill posts at the Senior Management Service (SMS) level and that there are a high number of acting HoDs, an indicator of instability. Finally, it uses Dasandi and Esteve’s typology of political–administrative relationships in developing countries to interpret the South African case.

The role of family business staffing practices in their ultimate success remains largely unknown. The purpose of this paper is to test the notion that firms with greater family essence manifest their commitment by leveraging referrals as a recruitment source, which in turn is associated with higher performance. The hypothesized model posits that reduced agency costs from hiring through owner referral utilization (ORU) provide high-family essence firms with stronger performance.

The study draws upon a sample of 194 small and medium-sized family business owners.

Findings from OLS regression and the PROCESS model in SPSS support the hypothesis that recruiting nonfamily employees from referrals helps lessen agency conflicts and serves as an intervening mechanism in the relationship between family firm essence and firm performance.

This study draws on agency theory to shed light on how family firms successfully bring nonfamily employees into the fold despite their human resource limitations. The results extend theory on family businesses by demonstrating that those with higher degrees of family essence are more likely to attract applicants via ORU. Leveraging this recruiting practice allows family businesses to hire nonfamily employees who share the values and goals of the family firm, thus lowering agency costs and fostering higher performance. More broadly, the findings offer insight into the role of staffing practices in family firm success.

Research into the skills and competencies required by staff working with people with learning disabilities has concentrated on staff views. The purpose of this paper is to explore what people with learning disabilities want from the workforce supporting them. The evaluation was commissioned by Health Education England working across Kent, Surrey and Sussex (HEE KSS).

An easy read questionnaire, co-produced with people with learning disabilities, was completed with 70 participants, 65 of whom attended one of 10 workshops. Two questionnaires were also completed by parents on behalf of their child. The workshops also allowed for open discussion.

People with learning disabilities value a workforce with a positive attitude, with staff who are skilled in supporting people to gain independence and have a voice.

Findings are relevant to staff recruitment, matching of staff to services and staff training.

Although there is some previous research around service user views, this evaluation had a larger sample size. The findings were similar to previous studies, particularly around the kind of qualities required from staff, which were the ability to listen, have trust and be able to learn specific skills. Although the highest representation was from young people and young adults, participants ranged from 12 to over 65 years. Differences in views according to participant age ranges are also noted.

As market trends evolve and core business activities shift into new territories, there is a need for companies to facilitate a corresponding change in the skills base of the workforce. This paper reports the findings of a European Social Fund (ESF) Objective 4 project, which was carried out throughout 1998/1999. Fourteen innovative, technology‐based small and medium‐sized enterprises were interviewed with the aim of investigating the processes currently in place to aid in the establishment of a skilled workforce, and the extent to which future skill requirements were identified. The research methodology involved a series of semi‐structured interviews with owner‐managers, managing directors and other staff within the sample companies. The first interview, involving 20 companies, allowed general company information to be collected and interviewees were questioned about business planning and those factors considered to be of strategic importance. The second interview, involving 14 of the original 20 companies, investigated human resource issues in depth. Respondents provided information about staff recruitment, retention and training and the extent to which these issues were integrated into strategic plans. The study used Investors in People (IiP) guidelines to identify potential models of best practice and therefore to aid in the production of the research questionnaire. It was found that the majority of respondent companies did not use a sophisticated approach to identify current and future staffing needs. Recruitment and staff development were addressed as and when required, thereby catering for immediate operational needs. Only three of the 14 companies had formal training plans in place, which integrated human resource plans with long‐term strategic business plans. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 23rd Institute for Small Business Affairs Policy and Research Conference, November 1999, Leeds, UK.