Understanding the employment practices of SMEs : an exploratory study in Singapore.

• Main Authors: Chen, John Xing Tian., Siti Yashira Johan., Tang, Chia Yee.
• Other Authors: Hesan Ahmed Quazi
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::Management::Personnel management
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/15125
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute substantially to Singapore’s economic growth by supporting multi-national corporations and generating employment. However, despite a growing concern over manpower issues highlighted by the SMEs, little research have been done on employment practices and human resource (HR) challenges Singapore SMEs face. This exploratory study adopts a mixed method approach (quantitative and qualitative data) to gather information on current employment practices in Singapore SMEs and external support provided by HR service providers from 60 Singapore SMEs and 6 HR service providers. Results show a possible misalignment between government focus and HR needs of SMEs, and that small SMEs with less than 50 employees tend to be neglected by HR service providers. Alternative methods of supporting employment practices such as education and HR outsourcing were explored with supporting data from the study. A model to guide the form of HR support provided to SMEs was also developed based on the importance and level of challenge SMEs place on the HR issue and their willingness to accept external support. Understanding its limitations as an exploratory study, directions for future research are also discussed to further explore employment practices in SMEs.