Determinants of Employee Recruitment in Sidama National Regional State, Ethiopia

The objective of this study was to examine the practices and factors that affect employee recruitment and selection in the Hawassa City Administration of the Sidama region. The study utilized both descriptive and explanatory research methods. In order to ensure a valid analysis and inference, stratified random sampling was employed to distribute 385 questionnaires to employees of the Hawassa City Administration. However, only 294 questionnaires were filled out and returned. Additionally, interviews were conducted with the Head of the Human Resources Directorate of the city administration office and the managers of the sub-cities. The completed questionnaires were processed and analyzed using tables, graphs, and pie charts. The findings of the study revealed that the recruitment and selection practices of the Hawassa City Administration have a clear policy implemented by the Human Resources department, although the staff members are not aware of it. Furthermore, the recruitment and selection processes were found to be ineffective at the recruitment stage, and all selection processes were not carried out effectively. The results of the regression analysis also revealed that the main determinants of recruitment and selection are vacancy advertisement, selection test, selection interview, pre-employment check-ups, orientation and induction, and selection decisions, which account for 77.2% of the variance. It was found that all six factors positively and significantly affect the recruitment and selection practices at the Hawassa City Administration. Finally, it is recommended that the city administration office should improve the overall recruitment and selection practices by periodically reviewing its policies and procedures and developing a strategy to attract new employees and retain and utilize the existing ones.