Assessment of Employee Resourcing Practices in Abay Bank
Creators: name: Sahilue, Abenet
Publisher: name: National Academic Digital Repository of Ethiopia
Year: 2017

description: Human capital has become the key differentiator for leveraging competitive advantage and employee resourcing (ER) holds the key to success of any organization since it ensures that the right person fit to do the job is resourced and retained. The Ethiopian banking industry is no different. Given the high competition for talent in this sector, banks need to be equipped with competent employees to survive. However, analysis of current literature suggests that despite the numerous merits of ER, there are limited empirical studies which show the existing ER practices in the Ethiopian financial sector, particularly in the banking industry. As a result, this study was undertaken to examine the prevailing ER practices in the Ethiopian banking industry by conducting a case study on Abay Bank. To achieve this objective, the study adopted a mixed method approach which consisted of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Moreover, the study specifically adopted a case study research design, targeting Abay bank's head office and all of the bank's branches in Addis Ababa. Due to the small number and the need to select respondents who have the requisite experience and exposure to the research topic, purposive sampling approach was adopted in which all the bank's branch managers in Addis Ababa (39) and 2 HR staff were selected and included in the study. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires and interviews. Data analysis for the questionnaire responses involved editing and coding, tabulating the data and analyzing through SPSS. Furthermore, simple descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequencies, charts, tables, mean and standard deviation were used to analyze and interpret the data collected. Analysis for the interview involved reflection and note taking. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed qualitatively in sentence form. Very stiff competition for talent, shortage of talent, the growing need for talent, and poaching were identified as the most dominant industry related factors influencing ER practices in the Ethiopian banking industry. Abay bank has developed and implemented an ER strategy aligned to the strategic objectives of the organization. Furthermore, the bank has recognized gaps and areas of improvement and is making efforts to revamp its ER strategy and create an integration between its HRM functions. The study concluded that effective ER plays a vital role in ensuring organization's objectives are met. Based on the findings of the study, a conclusion was also drawn that Abay bank should strive to do more and gain competitive advantage through its human resources by ensuing it attracts and retains competent talent. To this effect, the bank should continuously evaluate and improve its ER practices/strategy based on prevailing industry demands and ensure a strong integration among its HRM functions. Finally, the researcher made recommendations in line with current global trends and best practices in strategic HRM, which might support Abay bank to enhance its ER and closely related HRM practices. These recommendations might also be adopted within the banking industry, as applicable. Key words: Employee Resourcing Practice/Strategy, Factors Influencing Employee Resourcing, Business Strategy, Human Resource Planning, Recruitment and Selection, Talent Management, Employee Engagement, Retention, Competency Framework, Performance Management, Learning and Development, Reward Management.