EXTENT OF STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ADOPTED BY OWNERS OF SMEs FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) worldwide have been described as catalysts for achieving sustainable economic development. The adoption of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) Practices among these enterprises was considered imperative to achieve their objectives and to ensure success. This study ascertained the extent SHRM practices were been adopted by owners of SMEs in Anambra State. A descriptive survey design was used and the opinion of 750 owners sampled from 2502 owners of SMEs registered with Anambra State Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Technology. A validated structured questionnaire with a reliability index value of 0.90 was used to collect data. Mean ratings and standard deviation were used to analyze data collected while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used in testing the null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed among others that such SHRM practices as recruiting suitable employees based on need and using suitable criteria for staff appraisal were adopted by the owners of SMEs in Anambra State at high and low extents respectively. It was concluded that the extent of adoption of SHRM practices among SMEs in Anambra State was moderate. Based the findings, it was recommended among others, that Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) should collaborate with research and tertiary institutions for provision of trainings to practising entrepreneurs on SHRM skills for effective resource management and overall success of their businesses. Article visualizations