RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

CHALLENGES IN NIGERIAN CIVIL

SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS, CAN
TRAINING HR STAFF CONTRIBUTE
TO ADDRESSING THESE
CHALLENGES?

MASTER’S THESIS
Name: Hana Annette Hashim
Student Number: 6724175
Programme: MSc Strategic HRM
Supervisor: Dr. Rik van Berkel
Second Assessor: Dr. Marian Thunnissen
Submission Date: August, 2020.
Word Count: 26,604 (excl. appendices)
 “…I cannot even find the right words to stress the need for having the right staff but
unfortunately, this aspect is often overlooked or neglected in our sector and this has to stop.
We need to over emphasize the fact that CSOs cannot achieve their set objectives and targets
without the presence of a key component – human capital and this is why we must eliminate
all obstacles in the way at all costs….”
- Research Participant

Hashim H.A. 1 MSc Thesis - SHRM

FOREWORD

The journey of writing a thesis is by no means an easy one, especially during the outbreak of
the COVID-19 pandemic which caught us all by surprise. Although, a bumpy ride, it was an
experience well worth it as I learnt a lot about myself and a lot more about my topic. In
approaching this thesis, I drew on my experience working in the civil society sector in Nigeria
which has unfortunately not gotten the attention it deserves in HR literature and research. Being
an under-researched area, it was important to me that I produce a meaningful, informative and
relevant piece of work. For many, this will be the first time reading about the challenges that
have plagued the hiring process in civil society organisations in Nigeria. An issue often times
related to the weak leadership, history and economy of the country, which we find in this thesis
is not entirely the case.

The following individuals have been instrumental to the successful completion of this thesis:
first and foremost, the participants and the CSO capacity building organisation (dRPC), your
willingness to lend your voice and expertise to this research from your first-hand experiences
made all the difference. Secondly, I would like to thank my supervisor: Dr. Rik van Berkel for
his unwavering support and patience (a lot of patience) throughout this process. Thank you for
always guiding my wild thoughts and bringing me back to reality whenever I emailed with
‘new’ and ‘unconventional’ ideas on how I wanted to change the world with my thesis topic.
Most importantly, thank you for always keeping an open mind and trying to understand my
rationale behind this topic.

In addition, I would like to thank my parents for showing me that with hard work, consistency,
discipline and determination, everything is possible. To my sisters: Aisha, Zoe and Rabia, your
unconditional love and support kept me going throughout this journey, thank you for always
having my back. Finally, I would like to thank my course coordinator, Prof. Eva Knies for her
guidance during my MSc programme at Utrecht University. To my four course mates who
supported me through this daunting but fulfilling journey, thank you!

Hana Annette Hashim

August, 2020

Hashim H.A. 2 MSc Thesis - SHRM

ABSTRACT

In the last two decades, the role of civil society organisations has increased significantly in the
global development community as these social groups have come to be relied on to deliver on
goods and services required for national development. Unlike the private for-profit and
government sectors, the third sector (Civil Society Sector) relies heavily on its people to deliver
on goods and services through innovation and commitment. The reliance on people therefore
makes it imperative for the CSO sector to adopt practices that develop and improve the HR
function of recruitment and selection. However, this is not the case for CSOs in Nigeria as
they are plagued with external challenges such as the high unemployment rates as well as
internal organisational challenges that are inimical to the adopting practices to improve HR
functions such as recruitment and selection. While this scenario exists within the Nigerian CSO
space, in practice, the dearth of research on this specific area has made it almost impossible to
gain deep insights on the issue in order to work towards finding a solution.
This thesis addressed the training needs of HR staff in Nigerian CSOs required to
improve organisation performance adopting a qualitative method through interviews and using
the AMO model. The (A) examined skills needed such as leadership, technological or proposal
writing skills; the (M) looked at the question of why staff are motivated to address the
challenge; and the (O) looked at the opportunities needed. For some participants opportunities
were autonomy and the lack of interference from management and for others it was the simple
opportunity to be trained.
Training emerged from interviews with participants even before it was proposed as a
solution. This suggests that it could contribute to addressing the challenges as the skills
identified could be met through training. With regard to motivation, the thesis found that ideal
motivation centred around the success of the sector and the opportunity to attend trainings to
develop new and already existing skills. The combination of these three components provides
more insights on the possibility of training. However, as we found out this is only an indicative
point as external challenges may not be easily addressed even with training as proven from the
case study evaluation from those who were trained on recruitment and selection 2 years ago.

Keywords
Nigeria, civil society organisations, recruitment and selection challenges, training, skill
development, AMO-Model, performance

Hashim H.A. 3 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................................... 2

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. 3

LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................................................................... 6

LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... 6

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 7

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 8
1.1 Problem Statement....................................................................................................................................... 9
1.2 Research Objective .................................................................................................................................... 10
1.3 Research Question ..................................................................................................................................... 10
1.4 Research Relevance ................................................................................................................................... 11
1.4.1 Scientific Relevance .......................................................................................................................... 11
1.4.2 Societal Relevance ............................................................................................................................. 12
1.4.3 Practical Relevance ............................................................................................................................ 13

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ......................................................................................................... 14

2.1 Defining key concepts ................................................................................................................................ 14
2.1.1 Recruitment and Selection ................................................................................................................. 14
2.1.2 Training ............................................................................................................................................. 15
2.1.3 Civil Society Organisations ............................................................................................................... 16
2.2 Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria ...................................................................................................... 17
2.3 Training HR Staff in Nigerian Civil society organisations ........................................................................ 18
2.4 Recruitment and Selection Challenges ...................................................................................................... 19
2.5 The AMO Theoretical Framework............................................................................................................. 23
2.5.1 Ability (A) ......................................................................................................................................... 24
2.5.2 Motivation (M) .................................................................................................................................. 27
2.5.3 Opportunity (O) ................................................................................................................................. 28
2.6 Expectations and Conceptual Model ......................................................................................................... 29

3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................. 31
3.1 Research Design ........................................................................................................................................ 31
3.2 Context of Case Study ................................................................................................................................ 31
3.3 Research Participant Selection.................................................................................................................. 33
3.4 Data Collection ......................................................................................................................................... 35
3.4.1 Instrument .......................................................................................................................................... 36
3.5 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 37
3.6 Quality of research .................................................................................................................................... 38
3.6.1 Reliability .......................................................................................................................................... 38

Hashim H.A. 4 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 3.6.2 Validity .............................................................................................................................................. 39
3.6.3 Ethical Consideration ......................................................................................................................... 40
3.6.4 Role of Researcher ............................................................................................................................. 41

4. RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................... 42
4.1 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION CHALLENGES .......................................................................... 42
Donor Pressure ........................................................................................................................................... 44
Gender Imbalance ....................................................................................................................................... 44
Digitalisation .............................................................................................................................................. 45
Limited Funding ......................................................................................................................................... 45
Low Retention ............................................................................................................................................ 45
Fake Resumes ............................................................................................................................................. 47
Nature of the Labour Market ...................................................................................................................... 47
Nepotism..................................................................................................................................................... 47
Skill Gap ..................................................................................................................................................... 49
Government policies ................................................................................................................................... 49
Unemployment Rates.................................................................................................................................. 49
4.1.1 Uniqueness of challenges to the cso sector ........................................................................................... 50
4.2 ADDRESSING RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION CHALLENGES ................................................ 52
4.2.1 SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE NEEDED ......................................................................................... 52
4.2.2 THE MOTIVATION TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED ......................................... 54
4.2.4 Opportunities needed ......................................................................................................................... 56
4.3 THE ROLE OF TRAINING IN ADDRESSING RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED ................................................................................................................. 57
4.3.1 2018 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION TRAINING EVALUATION ....................................... 60

5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 63

5.1 Sub-Question 1 .......................................................................................................................................... 63
5.2 Sub-Question 2 .......................................................................................................................................... 65
5.3 Sub-Question 3 .......................................................................................................................................... 66
5.4 Central Research Question ........................................................................................................................ 67
5.4.1 Confrontation with Literature ............................................................................................................ 68
5.5 Limitations of Research ............................................................................................................................. 69
5.6 Implications for Practice ........................................................................................................................... 71
5.7 Implications for science ............................................................................................................................. 71
5.8 Recommendations for Future research...................................................................................................... 71

References .................................................................................................................................................. 74

Appendices ................................................................................................................................................. 80
Appendix 1: Invitation Letter for Participation ............................................................................................... 80
Appendix 2: Statement of Consent ................................................................................................................... 81
Appendix 3: Interview Guide ........................................................................................................................... 82
Appendix 4: Codetree Using NVivo 12 ............................................................................................................ 84
Appendix 5: 2018 HR Training Agenda .......................................................................................................... 86
Appendix 6: 2018 HR Trainers and Organisers .............................................................................................. 88

Hashim H.A. 5 MSc Thesis - SHRM

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Boxall and Purcell’s (2016) AMO Model……………………….………………...24

Figure 2: Conceptual Model………………………………….…………………………...….30

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: List of Participants………………………………………………………………….34

Table 2: Interview Response Rates…………………………………………………………..36
Table 3: Summarised Challenges Identified…………………………………………………43
Table 4: Challenges and Sectors Affected…………………………………………………...50
Table 5: Challenges and Skills Needed………………………………………………………52
Table 6: 2018 Training Evaluation…………………………………………………………...60

Hashim H.A. 6 MSc Thesis - SHRM

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AMO Ability, Motivation, Opportunity

CSOs Civil Society Organisations
CSOSI Civil Society Organisation Sustainability Index
dRPC development Research and Project Centre
HR Human Resource
HRM Human Resource Management
MDG Millennium Development Goal
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NPO Non-Profit Organisation
NPS Non-Profit Sector
R&S Recruitment and Selection
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
UN United Nations
USAID United States Agency for International Development

Hashim H.A. 7 MSc Thesis - SHRM

1. INTRODUCTION

Over the past two decades, the presence and role of civil society organisations (CSOs) has seen
a significant increase in the development of several countries in Africa (Williamson & Rodd,
2016). This is mainly attributed to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and
later Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the latter of which was launched in September
2015 (Dattler, 2016). The SDGs mapped out a key role for CSOs as a ‘watchdog’ of
government's development programs and a complementary people orientated service delivery
role in developing countries like Nigeria. (Dattler, 2016).

Nigeria! Often described as ‘the giant of Africa’ has the population of over 200 million people,
making it the largest population and economy (GDP) in Africa (World Bank, 2020). Despite
its large population, the demand for personnel in Nigerian organisation cannot be met as the
supply is largely thought to be ‘unqualified’, which has implications for the CSO sector in
Nigeria (Adisa et al., 2017; Ayoade, 2000; Yaro, 2014). The survival of this sector in Nigeria
has become vital to both global donors and the community as they impact positively on the
development the society and the overall country (Chaplowe & Tjega, 2007) . Therefore, the
core resources for efficiency and organisational success in this sector lies within their human
capital: their skill, experiences, knowledge and attitude which are all also crucial to achieving
their mission (Akingbola, 2015; Brunt, 2016).

Against the background of a weak human capital base in Africa, all sectors - for-profit,
governmental sector and the civil society sector are affected adversely by limited and ill-
equipped human resources thereby impacting on CSO effectiveness (CSOSI, 2018). The
process of recruitment and selection (R&S) to identify and engage talent as a fundamental HR
practice encompasses all organisational practices and decisions which starts from the beginning
of the employment process of any employee (Ahmad & Schroeder, 2002). It is therefore critical
to achieving the organisation's strategic goal (Dessler 2005). Many experts have argued that
the key to reaching and sustaining competitive advantage, is having the right people (Boxall,
1996 cited in Ahmed, 2013) as recruiting the right people is viewed as one of the crucial factors
leading to organisational growth and success (Tanova, 2003). In addition, Tyson (2006)
suggests that if the quality of recruitment and selection is poor, this leads to the inevitable
failure of an organisation.

Hashim H.A. 8 MSc Thesis - SHRM

Given the context weak human resource capacity in Africa, capacity development for
employees responsible for recruitment and selection is an important and significant function
across all sectors - the CSO sector, public sector as well as the private sector (Brunt, 2016).
Very few authors today would argue against the importance and impact of training in an
organisation in any sector. The recent focus and attention on training is believed to be
motivated by its potential for contributing to organisational sustainability and competitive
advantage through human capital investment (McDowall & Saunders, 2010). In addition,
several reports and studies demonstrate the effectiveness of training for HR staff in recruitment
and selection practices in order to contribute to the success of the enterprise (Nnabuife et al.,
2015). When conducted effectively, recruitment and selection are complementary processes
which reduce employee turnover and enhance morale (Tiemo & Arubayi, 2012).

In view of the fact that CSOs paly an essential role in the development of countries in the
global south like Nigeria (Brunt, 2016), it is therefore crucial that they invest in human capital
capacity building programmes (von Eckardstein & Brandl, 2004). Although the CSO sector
engages in various capacity building activities to strengthen the skills of technical staff such as
project officers and managers, finance officers, HR staff receive little to no attention in
developing their skills (Brunt, 2016; Chaplowe & Tjega, 2007). Not only does training HR
staff lead to improved recruitment and selection practices, it also improve employee
performance, engagement and commitment towards strategic organisational goals (Abrokwah
et al., 2018).

1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT

As the CSO sector is heavily dependent on human capital for organisational success, arguably,
more than any other sector (Brunt, 2016), it is paramount that the best suitable candidates are
recruited. However, this sector continues to face challenges in the area of recruitment and
selection (Chaplowe & Tjega, 2007). This factor is largely attributed to national/external
factors in Nigeria as well as to the uniqueness of the sector per se. The absence of literature
and data tailored to the CSO sector in Nigeria has therefore left a gap in establishing what these
challenges are exactly. However, the evident lack of training for HR staff amongst CSOs in
Nigeria has no doubt had an effect on the magnitude of recruitment and selection challenges

Hashim H.A. 9 MSc Thesis - SHRM

and the inability to address them. This renders the organisation, its success and its employees
vulnerable to external and internal threats (Akingbola, 2015). With the CSOs use of capacity
building for enhancing many skills of their employees, training is therefore proposed as a
strategy for addressing these challenges.

1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

Against the background of the problem statement above, this thesis therefore aims to explore
the challenges of recruitment and selection in the Nigerian CSO sector, how and if training of
HR staff responsible for recruitment and selection can perhaps contribute to addressing the
challenges. In addition, an added element to this point will be the evaluation of one of the few
training programmes focusing on recruitment and selection for CSOs in Nigeria which took
place two (2) years ago in Nigeria’s capital- Abuja. This was organised by the development,
Research and Project Centre (dRPC), one of the only civil society capacity building
organisations in Nigeria. The aim of this is to draw more insights on what the possibilities are
if HR staff were trained on the issues of R&S. Insights from both HR staff who have been
trained in the area of R&S and those who have not been trained will be explored in order to
further understand the impact training can have in addressing.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION

The main question this thesis aims to answer is:

“can training contribute to addressing challenges of recruitment and selection faced by the
civil society organisations in Nigeria?”
In order to answer this central research question, both theoretical and empirical sub-questions
are formulated.
1.3.1 Theoretical Questions

- What does literature say about concept recruitment and selection, training and CSOs?
- What recruitment and selection challenges affecting Nigeria or CSOs are seen in
literature?
- How can the AMO model be used to capture individual needs for performance
outcomes?
- Based on literature, what skills do HR staff need with regard to recruitment?

Hashim H.A. 10 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 1.3.2 Empirical Questions

- What are the recruitment and selection challenges faced by CSOs in Nigeria?
- What do HR staff responsible for recruitment and selection need or require in order to
deal with these challenges?
- How does training contribute to meeting their needs in handling recruitment and
selection challenges.

1.4 RESEARCH RELEVANCE

the scientific, social and practical relevance of this research are discussed below:

1.4.1 SCIENTIFIC RELEVANCE

Despite the substantial quantum of research and existing literature on recruitment and selection
in general, the topic of this thesis on recruitment and selection in Nigerian still remains
underdeveloped and under-researched (Adisa et al., 2017; Fajana et al., 2011). This is
particularly underdeveloped in the civil society community in the development sector as there
is either limited existing published research/ literature or outdated information (Brunt, 2016).
Although majority of the existing literature and studies in this area can be adapted to every
sector and country as best practices, it usually applies to western countries and systems (Adisa
et al., 2017). This is because countries like Nigeria and sectors like the third sector have
peculiar systems and challenges unique to them which has often gone unnoticed in literature
(Chaplowe & Tjega, 2007).

Exposure to the process of internal management which includes recruitment within these CSOs
is also limited and to the extent literature exists, it almost always focuses on international NGOs
which fund Nigerian CSOs and not the local (Nigerian) CSOs themselves and their
organisational needs (Lewis, 2007 in Brunt, 2016) .The challenges of this practice is that there
is limited research and empirical data available that explores R&S challenges in Nigeria as a
whole or R&S challenges in CSOs across the global south (Brunt, 2016; Akingbola, 2015).
The presence of this gap therefore serves as the starting point for this thesis as it aims to
generate scientific and empirical knowledge on this under-researched and lagging area while
also adding to the limited existing literature. In addition, many Nigerian researchers have
warned of the negative effects of inadequate research on the country's infamous recruitment

Hashim H.A. 11 MSc Thesis - SHRM

procedures on the overall productivity of the country, having both short term and long term
implications (Adisa et al., 2017; Chidi, 2013; Fajana et al., 2011; Robbins et al., 2009). This
thesis also answers Fajana et al.’s (2011 pp.61) call made regarding the dearth of scientific
research on HRM in Nigeria as they stated: “… this will help shape and develop new directional
focus that will ensure an efficient and effective human resource practice in Nigeria.

An abundance of HRM literature exists on the impact of training on employee and

organisational performance (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014; McDowall & Saunders, 2010) which
has been adopted by the CSO sector for building capacity. These capacity building or training
programs have mainly been to address technical needs of employees to improve competences
in hard skill such as project management, financial management, community engagement
strategies, development communications, monitoring and evaluation (Abrokwah et al., 2017).
However, the adaptation of the training concept has not been applied to address R&S
challenges (Brunt, 2016) by meeting the needs of HR staff. For purposes of exploring training
as a way of addressing R&S challenges faced by CSOs in Nigeria, this thesis uses Appelbaum
et al.’s (2000) AMO framework as adapted by Boxall and Purcell (2016) to fully capture the
needs of HR staff in order to access how effective training can be in meeting them. With this
thesis, hopefully the civil society sector in Nigeria and in the global south will yield more
curiosity and interest that will result in more scientific coverage.

1.4.2 SOCIETAL RELEVANCE

By definition, the primary role and existence of the CSO sector is to serve the community and
protect the interest of citizens (Brunt, 2016). In Nigeria, this sector has played a strategic role
in the development of the country since its involvement in the restoration of civil rule from the
military regime in 1960 (CIVICUS, 2007). In addition, these CSOs have delivered more
services and aid than the entire United Nations Organisations combined (Akingbola, 2015). As
at 2000, US$5 billion per annum in international aid was only successful through NGOs alone
in Africa (World Bank, 2001). Studies also show that many international development
organisations like the European Commission have shifted their funding away from national
governments in the global south and transferred it to CSOs:
"One remarkable fact is that while the EU represents 7% of the world population and
15% of world GDP, it represents half of the world’s official development assistance

Hashim H.A. 12 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 (55%) and two thirds of assistance to CSOs based in developing countries (72%)"
(EU Engagement with CSOs, January 2020, pp.24).
This emerging phenomena of CSO presence in countries like Nigeria has been attributed to a
change in narrative from ‘charity’ to ‘empowerment’ as countries in the global south are now
seen as participatory members of the society rather than beneficiaries (Sen, 1999). This
progression is the reason for the ongoing collaboration between international development
organisations, donors, agencies and CSOs as they replace government drawbacks with their
cooperative and decentralised approach to development (Mbaku, 1994). However, these
international donors have expressed deep frustration with CSOs as they increasingly lack the
ideal human capital to deliver projects (Brunt, 2016). Although donors complain of this
inefficiency and lack of talent, Nigerian CSOs have still not been able to find solutions to this
recruitment and selection challenge. One may assign this to the lack of research on the area or
the inability of these CSOs to provide basic training to HR staff to further strengthen their
capacity (Chaplowe & Tjega, 2007).
Given the contribution of this sector as seen in several studies, its survival is imperative to
global donors and the community as they impact positively on the development the society.
one of the main ways to ensure this is through the investment in capital like the HR staff who
are the pioneers for organisational change and the recruitment and selection of the best
candidates to further add value to this eminent sector. With this thesis, perhaps more light could
be shed on this area for further improvement and overall success of the sector.

1.4.3 PRACTICAL RELEVANCE

A review of the four (4) leading CSO training centres supported by donor agencies for non-
profits across the African continent reported that less than 2% of trainings target the HR
functionaries with soft skills programs such as recruitment and selection courses (CSOSI,
2017). Following this review, the dRPC which is the only CSO capacity building organisation
in Nigeria decided to run a pilot training focusing on these soft skills for CSO HR staff in 2018.
A planned retraining in 2020 was meant to take place but was not possible as a result of the
pandemic. Given that this thesis encompasses the relevant scopes from the 2018 training and
evaluates it, the outcome of this thesis will provide the organisation more insight on the impact
of their training and of training in general which has the potential of being useful for practice
as they intend on expanding and continuing these trainings in the future as stated by the
organisation’s executive director.

Hashim H.A. 13 MSc Thesis - SHRM

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter aims at exploring literature relevant to this thesis in order to distil key terms and
draw out theories and concepts which offer handles to explain how training can contribute to
addressing challenges of recruitment and selection in CSOs in Nigeria. First off, the key
concepts of recruitment and selection, training and CSOs are explored in general terms. This
is then followed by a detailed exploration of literature on these typologies as they apply to
Nigeria. Thus, the second component will examine challenges of recruitment and selection in
Nigeria and the challenges of CSOs. Thirdly, the AMO model will be introduced and examined
for how it captures individual needs for performance outcomes; the (A) will explore the skills
needed by HR staff in general and in relation to recruitment and selection, with the motivation
and opportunities that can be created for HR staff through training to address skills and
knowledge gap challenges. Finally, as this chapter provides context on what already exists in
literature, expectations and a conceptual model are formulated based on these findings and
scientific theory to which the empirical sub-questions follow. The results of which is
confronted with the theoretical framework in the discussion section.

2.1 DEFINING KEY CONCEPTS

The key three (3) concepts of this thesis are defined below in detail.

2.1.1 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

The process of recruitment and selection is recommended in HRM literature as a critical and
foundational component of both traditional and modern HR (Argue, 2015). It is a widely
accepted concept of HR practices which has a huge impact on the performance and outcome
of an organisation (Armstrong, 2012). In addition, the success of any organisation is dependent
on the quality of its employees engaged through an effective recruitment and selection process
(Tyson, 2006) as it is designed to identify the best suitable personnel for an organisation
(Ahmad & Schroeder, 2002). According to Taylor (2005), recruitment is the process that
attracts applicants seeking a job within a hiring organisation, while selection is designed to
reach and access candidates who will be well suited for the position (Gamage, 2014). However,
despite the evidence pointing to the success attainable through recruitment and selection, it is
still a HR practice many organisations and sectors struggle with, for differing reasons of
context (Zinyemba, 2014).

Hashim H.A. 14 MSc Thesis - SHRM

The process of recruitment first starts with identifying the gap or position that needs filling and
defining the requirements within a job description/specification so as to clearly state the type
of applicants an organisation intends to attract. This is then advertised on platforms to reach
prospective applicants, receiving applications and sifting through for suitable candidates who
are then interviewed and tested before offered employment (Armstrong, 2012). These steps are
put in place in order to attract and recruit the best suitable candidates for the position (Ibid.).
Recruitment through newspaper adverts, recruitment agencies, career events etc. are often
described as more ‘traditional’ (Stone et al., 2006) while online or e-recruitments are
considered ‘modern’ (Tucker, 2012). This modern way of recruiting has become more popular
given the digital age and the effectiveness and efficiency of it as it cuts down on cost for the
organisation but brings in a stream of applicants (Cappelli, 2001). After the successful
execution of the recruitment process, the selection process begins which is considered equally
important if not more (Armstrong, 2012) as it is crucial for every organisation to carefully
select applicants that fit the job or the organisation (Kristof, 1996). This process is described
as ‘Person-Environment Fit’ (Caplan & Harrison, 1982), the failure to take this into
consideration may well result in the employment of the wrong individual which then has a long
term negative effect on the organisation (Adisa et al., 2017). Some of these negative effects
include the cost of training, employee turnover and loss of organisational reputation. (Chidi,
2013).

2.1.2 TRAINING

The concept of ‘training’ is often used in connection with the term ‘development’. However,
their definitions vary as Jones et al., (2000) states that ‘training’ pays closer attention to the
teachings and learnings of how high performance, sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness
can be achieved. As opposed to ‘development’ which pays closer attention to the enhancement
of skills and knowledge of an individual in preparation for future duties and challenges.
However, training is administered with the sole intention of developing or enchaining skills
required for increased individual performance and therefore overall organisational
performance (Felstead et al., 2010). Although both the concept of training and development
lead to long term organisational sustainability and higher organisational performance (Brunt,
2016).

Hashim H.A. 15 MSc Thesis - SHRM

As a practice applied to every sector and organisation, training can be executed in various ways
which if done well should be tailored to the needs of the trainees and the organisation’s strategic
goal (Omar, 2014). Training is also needed for a various number of reasons, some of which
Armstrong and Taylor (2014) explored as ‘the justifications for training’:
- When skill or knowledge cannot be obtained in an employee’s working environment
- To meet new and evolving demands that cannot be obtained through experience
- To be acquainted with specialised or complex tasks that cannot be obtained through
personal initiative
- To provide to individuals in the absence of a common need such as IT skills
- To develop skills of employees to avoid the inability to confront organisational
challenges (Brunt, 2016).

In addition, Armstrong (2012) emphasises the need for effective training practices such as
‘systemic training’ which is described as training designed, organised and executed specifically
to meet the needs identified and should be carried out in the following steps:
- Identify the need for training
- Determine the type of training that is required to meet the training need
- The training should be provided by experienced and specialised trainers
- A post training follow up should be carried out to evaluate the effectiveness.

2.1.3 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS

Civil society organisations or more recently known as ‘third sector’ organisations refers to
organisations that are fundamentally designed as grassroots initiatives (United Nations, 2019).
Contrary to the government or the public sector, known as the first sector or the for-profit
private sector, known as the second sector, the third sector is not funded by government or
created to maximise profit for its founders or members (Popowska & Lunski, 2014 in Brunt,
2016). However, it still has links to both the state and business sectors in which social
development programs are carried out (Edwards & Sen 2000).

Edwards and Sen (2000) conceptualises CSOs as representing the ‘public sphere’ and focusing
on the common good of a people. This often involves a shared enthusiasm to work side-by-
side with individuals with different values, traditions, cultures, tolerance for diversity
(Chaplowe and Tjega, 2007) and gender to achieve and pursue homogenous goals for the

Hashim H.A. 16 MSc Thesis - SHRM

promotion of a community’s well-being .The fact that human effort and human talent in CSOs
are instrumental to achieving development solutions can be linked to Barney’s (1991) resource-
based view of organisations which states that in order to achieve and sustain competitive
advantage, the resources of an organisation must be “rare, valuable, inimitable and imperfectly
mobile”. This may be applied to the CSO sector as their source for competitive advantage is
their human capital (Brunt, 2016).

Despite the important role to be carried out by CSOs in the development of the global south
and in achieving global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is limited literature on
basic HR practices in the CSO sector. To the extent where such literature exist, it only
emphasises the importance and the need for implementation of human resources practices
within the third sector and not how to (von Eckardstein and Brandl, 2004). In addition, the
modus operandi and esprit de corp in the civil society sector is one that ensures the
advancement of some CSOs does not come at the cost of other CSOs as groups are expected
to work together to transcend society's problems of the environment, equity and the social
justice (Edwards & Sen, 2000). This ‘inner value’ of CSOs distinguishes them from the politics
and limitless public funds in the public sector and the quest for profit and self-interest in the
private sector (Ehrehburg, 1999).

2.2 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS IN NIGERIA

In Nigeria, it is estimated that approximately 500,000 CSOs exist with various expertise and
focus on health, education, legislature, election, agriculture, gender, capacity building,
governance etc (USAID, 2020). Organisational expressions of CSOs in Nigeria differ and are
multidimensional in their development goals as they represent diverse and often times
conflicting interests. In terms of the level of formalisation and registration status of Nigerian
CSOs , range goes from loosely structured community based organisations; faith based groups;
voluntary organisations; women’s groups; labour unions; farmers’ associations; to formally
registered non-governmental organisations (NGOs); teachers associations; health professional
associations; to micro-financing cooperative societies (Chaplowe and Tjega, 2007). These
CSOs have contributed to the overall fight against corruption and their pressure on
transparency has led to the recovery of about $1.73 billion in stolen assets by high level officials
from bribery and favourable settlements in countries like Nigeria alone (USAID, 2020).

Hashim H.A. 17 MSc Thesis - SHRM

The literature on CSOs in Nigeria argues that employees working in the sector are the key
factor of production for reaching and sustaining competitive advantage as this could either
‘make or break’ the organisation (Abrokwah et al., 2018). Lauwo and Otusanya, 2014 in
Abrokwah et al., 2018 argue that this makes it paramount for investing in HR practices such as
recruitment and selection. Akingbola (2015) notes that employees in this sector have a more
strategic role to play as they are considered irreplaceable by either technology or additional
financial resources. Studies which link CSO sustainability to HR issues in countries such as
Nigeria, note that CSOs lack personnel, managerial and financial capacity building initiatives
required to advance the work civil societies (USAID, 2020). In addition, trainings to develop
soft skills related to human resource practice often fail to focus on people management in areas
such as career path planning; supportive supervision techniques and talent management (Brunt,
2016).

2.3 TRAINING HR STAFF IN NIGERIAN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS

Training of HR functionaries for recruitment and selection stands out as a catalytic practice for
ensuring there is in-house capacity to develop and expand the talent pool of organisations such
as CSOs that are people oriented. However, research findings point to the fact that training is
yet another undeveloped HR component that has been neglected by all sectors in Nigeria
(Okafor, 2016). Although neglected, this mechanism continues to be recommended for HR
personnel, managers and officers in charge of recruitment and selection processes as it is
believed to have hidden potential and prospects for improving HRM practice in Nigeria
(Fajana, 2011). Several studies, both scientific and empirical as well as HRM literature have
all argued that through investing in HR personnel through training, they are more likely to
perform (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Mallick (2019) highlighted the importance of training
for not only qualified staff in order to decrease employee turnover and increase retention, but
also of HR personnel as it is beneficial for organisations within the third sector to invest in
developing the career development of all staff. Akingbola (2006) argues that this in turn will
lead to recruitment and selection challenges being confronted before they even manifest.
Ahmed’s (2013) research points to the fact that management in CSOs also need to introduce
trainings and development of skills for HR personnel and calls for the increase of HR dedicated
budget. Batti, (2014) points to the risk of not training HR staff as studies show an inverse

Hashim H.A. 18 MSc Thesis - SHRM

association between employee turnover rates and training. Chaplowe and Tjega (2007) note
that projects in Nigeria that help strengthen the capacity of CSOs often times ignore the need
to also strengthen HR personnel focussing instead on other training programs to address gaps
in hard technical skills such as; project management, financial management, community
engagement strategies, development communications and monitoring and evaluation.

In summary, for any organisation to function effectively, it must have services, products,
supply, funding or money. However, an essential factor often ignored is the human capital
hired by skilled human resource personnel (Sultana et al., 2012 in Batti, 2014), this therefore
becomes an approach and tactic for organisations to gain and sustain competitive advantage
through enhancing the skills and ability of their employees. Simply leveraging on hiring the
right employee is not sufficient enough for organisational sustainability, ensuring they are also
well trained provides an added advantage for the reaching long term sustainability (Chaplowe
& Tjega 2007).

2.4 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION CHALLENGES

As a result of the absence in literature on the recruitment and selection challenges faced
specifically by the CSO sector in Nigeria, the challenges faced by all sectors in Nigeria are
explored and then the challenges unique to CSOs in the global south. This combination is
looked at because both external or institutional and internal pressures exists within an
organisation which shapes the HRM agenda and how organisations respond (Boon et al., 2009).
The works of Adisa et al. (2017) is mainly used in the section within the Nigerian context while
the works of Batti (2014) and Mallick (2019) are used in the under-researched context of the
CSO sector.
Key challenges of recruitment and selections identified in the literature across the public and
for-profit sectors in Nigeria include largely environmental such as:

Ethnic Categorisation
Nyambegera (2002) argues that the bureaucratic structure of work in Africa is heavily
influenced by ethnoreligious and political issues. Such societies give attention to ‘ethnic
categorisation’ which has an impact on the criteria governing job allocation as it becomes
ethnically biased. While it is difficult to draw the conclusion that this challenge affects

Hashim H.A. 19 MSc Thesis - SHRM

recruitment processes in Nigeria assumptions can be made that ethnic preferences makes
objective recruitment a difficult task in the country (Bohnet, 2016 cited in Adisa et al., 2017).
For example, in a study by Yaro (2014) managers across all sectors in Nigeria admitted to
having a preference for hiring individuals based on ethnic and religious affiliation. Within the
Nigerian public sector, the ‘Federal Character Principle’ enshrined in the Nigerian
Constitution to ensure equal representation in national public service institutions reflecting the
language, ethnicity, religion, and geographic diversity of the country has inadvertently
promoted recruitment based on ethno-religious and regional considerations in the public sector
(Adamolekun et al., 1991). Although the issue of equality and representation is important in a
developing country like Nigeria which has over 370 languages and 270 ethnic groups and
history of civil war, Adisa et al. (2017) argue that this representation system places equality
over excellence and competences and is harmful to organisational performance.

The Role of Age and Gender

These ascriptive factors heavily influence the recruitment and selection process in Nigeria as
many organisations employ based on values ascribed in the social structure. For example,
respondents in a study by Adisa et al. (2017) admitted that organisations would rather hire a
man for most roles and only (young and ‘unmarried’) females for certain jobs like marketing.
The study found that in some situations, women were made to sign contracts promising not to
get pregnant for the duration of their employment contract. In addition, the power structure
which derives from age in traditional African social structure affects organisational culture and
permeates into the recruitment process in Nigeria. As seniority and authority comes with age
and male gender in many organisations in Nigeria, this automatically leads to the
discrimination against young (and competent ) and female candidates for a senior or skilled
positions (Adisa et al., 2017).

Favouritism and Nepotism

Adisa’s et al.’s (2017) study found a Nigerian recruitment and selection process characterised
by internal and external favouritism and nepotism. Internal nepotism is defined as employing
an individual because of who they know within the organisation and not because of their skills,
knowledge, experience and overall competence for the job in question. External nepotism is
defined as employing an individual based on the influences of the people they know in high
positions within the society and usually outside the organisation such as faith or traditional

Hashim H.A. 20 MSc Thesis - SHRM

leaders or influential politicians. This therefore allows them access to job opportunities they
are not qualified for or would have gotten without the intervention of the influential people
they know (Okafor, 2016).

Corruption
Corruption in Nigeria is a significant factor as it is in many African countries. Its manifestation
in HR practices such as the recruitment and selection process takes the form of bribery as
individuals pay large sums to agencies in order to be pushed to the top of the list for a job
interview or job opening that they may not be ideal for. Many organisations still place job
vacancies and adverts for the sole purpose of conforming to employment laws and not to hire
the right candidate as these jobs are awarded to the highest bidder or exchanged for sexual
favours (Adisa et al., 2017).

Constraints of Resources
In Nigeria as in many African countries, the availability of resources differs across
departments in organisations. Very often finances allocated to HR departments are inadequate
resulting in a less efficient recruitment and selection processes. Technology also plays a role
as contemporary Nigeria remains one of the few lower middle income countries in the world
that suffers from inadequate electricity supply and internet facilities. This leads to in-person
recruitment and selection processes where candidates appear in person with resumes in hand
and accessible to make deals. This practice does not only slow down the process but allows for
increased subjectivity in the process of recruitment (Adisa et al., 2017).

Unemployment and the Labour Market

Given Nigeria’s double-digit unemployment rates, the labour market is characterised by large
numbers of applications chasing few vacant positions. This situation puts much pressure on
officers in charge of recruitment as applicants are prepared to subvert objective recruitment
and selection systems in an effort to secure the job (Adisa et al., 2017). Additionally, the falling
standard of education in Nigeria results in a situation where candidates are ill equipped for
vacant positions. With legal restrictions to foreign hires and low in-country capacity many
companies find themselves making compromises to hire unqualified staff. (Adisa et al., 2017).

Hashim H.A. 21 MSc Thesis - SHRM

Regarding challenges of the recruitment and selection process in the CSO sector in the global
south, it is important to note that the key challenges distilled from the literature in the section
below are derived from international organisations as the limited publications and research in
this regard is hardly seen for local (Nigerian) CSOs.

Employee Retention
Mallick (2019) identifies employee retention as a challenge in the third sector, coming after
the successful recruitment and selection process. Mallick (2019) argues that employee retention
is as much a challenge as recruitment and selection as it needs to be taken into account during
the selection stage which is often ignored by HR personnel leading to employee turnover.
However, Batti (2014) argues that the nature of CSOs which is based on temporary projects
and grants does not allow for prioritisation of capacity building and the investing of HR
practices which contributes to low levels of retention. Mallick (2019) further discusses the
volatility of the third sector as a result of the evolving nature of economic and political affairs
of many third world countries leading to an inability of the sector to attract talent. This inability
to attract talent poses a bigger challenge for CSOs as they are unable to sustain change within
the community they function in.

Job Descriptions
A study conducted by Ahmed (2013) mentions the poorly written job descriptions as another
recruitment and selection challenge in the third sector. Many CSOs were unable to update job
descriptions in order to reflect the specific skills required for the job thus leading to an influx
of unqualified candidates. Positions that require tests were also not clear and not program
oriented. In some instances, job descriptions were not even included in job adverts (Adisa et
al., 2017). Batti (2014) states that some CSOs find themselves hiring the wrong employee for
as a result of poorly written job descriptions. Candidates with a background in accounting or
engineering find themselves managing projects as program officers.

Inadequate HR Policies
As many CSOs especially at community level do not not have dedicated HR departments or
experienced HR personnel, HR polices were found to not be in place or not be utilised where
they existed. They were also found not to be in line with state mandated policies (Batti, 2014).
As a result of these inadequate and unutilised HR policies, HR staff or a staff with delegated

Hashim H.A. 22 MSc Thesis - SHRM

HR responsibilities were found to be ill- equipped with the appropriate tools to carry out
effective recruitment and selection process. In addition, many local CSOs in Nigeria delegate
HR functions, by adding HR responsibilities to other employees. This in turn makes it difficult
for all HR functions to be carried out effectively as most dedicated personnel either have no
experience in HR or are not regularly trained, thus leading to poor performance in practices
such as recruitment and selection

2.5 THE AMO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The AMO model is put forward as it provides handles for examining the question of interest
on skills for improved recruitment and selection practices for HR functionaries in Nigerian
CSOs. The AMO model is a three level meta-analysis framework that provides an explanation
on the linkage between HRM practices and performance. This model argues that the
performance of an employee is a function of their ability, their motivation to perform and the
opportunity they are accorded to perform (Appelbaum et al., 2000; Blumberg and Pringle,
1982; Boxall and Purcell, 2016; Guest, 1997). As performance is the goal for every
organisation, this model implies that HR policies and practices are therefore put in place to
enhance these three (3) components of an employee as the combination of them all leads to
improved performance (Boselie et al., 2005). Although there is no explanation in literature that
establishes a relationship between the combination of these three (3) components (Boxall &
Purcell, 2016), there are however factors that are said to influence these components. This
could be accumulated job experience (Frese & Zapf, 1993 in Boxall & Purcell, 2016),
individual personality or attitude (Block and Pickl, 2014), organisational culture and style of
leadership (Demortier et al.,2014).
According to Boxall and Purcell (2016) , individuals perform when they have a combination
of all the three (3) components which is formulated as P= ƒ(A,M,O)

- Ability (A): individuals can do the job because they have the necessary skills and
knowledge needed to perform
- Motivation (M): individuals can do the job because they either want to, feel like it or
have to perform
- Opportunity (O): individuals can do the job if they are provided with the support,
structure or environment to perform

Hashim H.A. 23 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 Individual’s
- Ability Individual’s
- Motivation Performance Outcome
- Opportunity to Perform

Figure 1: Boxall and Purcell’s (2016) AMO model of Individual Performance

The three (3) components from this theoretical framework is applied to capture needs of HR
staff based on literature for performance outcome which translated here is in addressing the
recruitment and selection challenges they are faced with. The focus is thereby imbedded in the
(A) which in this case explores the skills and knowledge HR staff need in general with regard
to recruitment and selection. The (M) and (O) explore what motivates employees and what
opportunities they need to perform Details are discussed below:

2.5.1 ABILITY (A)

In line with the concept of the CSO sector, this component also argues that human capital is
deemed indispensable (Boxall & Purcell, 2016) while it also argues that performance cannot
exist without attracting the ideal individuals with the required skill set for the job (ibid). HR
practices in this component of the AMO model focuses on enhancing abilities or skills of an
individual for performance outcome (Demortier et al.,2014). HR practices here are almost
always related to training, development of skills and knowledge (Domortier et al., 2014;
Kellner et al., 2019). The term ‘skill’ was referred initially to the characteristics of an
individual (Norris, 1991). However, over time the term developed an additional dimension
which was conceptualised by Prochno (2001) as the characteristics of both an individual and
an organisation. The concept of skills began to have great importance as a result of
organisational, economic and technological factors and was considered a resource of an
individual and an organisation which leads to productivity and competitive advantage (Sousa,
2017). The development of skills is noted to be a ‘strategic management tool’ to manage the
constantly evolving work environment such as technology and global reforms (Nyhan, 1998).

Hashim H.A. 24 MSc Thesis - SHRM

This, therefore demands flexible and adaptable HR professionals to develop and obtain new
skills and abilities at the workplace (Sousa, 2017).

In practice, skills are part of a ‘complex social system’ which is the result of the way different
segments relate to one another that influences the way they are developed (Vallas, 1990 in
Grugulis, 2007).The role of HR staff in practice and in the work environment has been just as
crucial as the concept of HRM in academia as seen in this citation: “Over time, the HR
practitioner has taken on new roles and responsibilities in order to meet increasing expectations
around the value-add of the Human Resource (HR) function and its legitimacy within the
workplace. In order to take on new and adaptable roles, individuals working in HR need
specific skills and competencies” (Girardi, 2014 cited in Mcdonnell & Sikander, 2017 pp. 83).

Human resource development skills are highlighted in organisational discourses as it considers

employees an organisation’s ‘greatest asset’ (Grugulis, 2007). This necessitates a continuance
in the investing of these employees through skills development for meeting strategic
organisational goals and targets (Ibid.). Unlike the public and for-profit (private) sectors, civil
society organisations cannot replace investing in human resources (human capital) with
investing in physical capital (Akingbola, 2006), as the core capabilities of CSOs lie within their
human capital; their skills, behaviour and knowledge. Thus, the development of their skills is
pivotal to achieving organisational success, sustainability and their goals within the community
(Akingbola, 2015), making it a difficult factor to omit in the strategic plan of an organisation
(Gruguli, 2007). According to Armstrong and Taylor (2014), HR staff play a strategic role in
every organisation therefore requiring that they possess certain skills for the successful
execution of their role. These skills include:

Problem Solving Skills

As problems whether internal or external are considered a regular occurrence within an
organisation, this is a skill HR staff need in order to navigate the terrine of the workplace. Often
times, problems within the organisation may become conflict orienting which requires a logical
approach from HR (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). This skill involves analysing, understanding
an issue within the organisation, determining the cause and deciding on the best approach to
tackle the problem to avoid its reoccurrence.

Hashim H.A. 25 MSc Thesis - SHRM

Interviewing Skills
In order to establish a candidate’s fit to a position within an organisation, HR staff must be able
to identify the skills, knowledge and ability of said candidate in an interview. This can be done
in the following ways:- establishing good rapport with the candidate to put them at ease,
questioning the candidate which is the key component of an interview, listening to the
candidate so to evaluate the candidate, therefore implying that listening skills are imperative to
the interviewing process as well, maintaining continuity by linking follow up questions to the
candidate’s last response and keeping control of the interview so the candidate does not go off
topic or talk for too long (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).

Technological Skills
The emergence of technology has become a key factor in HR service delivery today. This
means HR staff have had to adjust according for positive organisational outcomes (Bradford et
al., 2006). The use of HR software and technology has become an imperative skill for HR staff
in order to collect and transform data into valuable information for the organisation of which
may include applications for positions applied to (Lawler & Mohrman, 2003 in Bradford et al.,
2006). Traditionally, one of the main roles of a HR staff is to identify the needs of the
organisation and its employees, this can be amplified and hastened through the use of
technology allowing for more needs to be met (Ibid.).

Job, Role and Competency Analysis Skill

One of the key functions of a HR staff is to analyse the job, roles, skill and competency which
allows for them to formulate tailored role profiles, job descriptions and specifications as well
as learning specifications (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). These are of great importance to the
successful recruitment and selection process of any organisation, as it reflects the
organisation’s needs to determine an applicant’s suitability which further ensures that the
organisation attracts the best fit for its needs and maintains their capabilities for the role.

Leadership Skills
Armstrong (2012) describes organisational leadership as the guiding, inspiring and influencing
of employees or management. Many authors have argued the need for leadership skills amongst
HR staff to be able to persuade or influence others into doing the right thing and to manage and
navigate change within the organisation. Similar to Stogdill’s (1950) explanation on leadership

Hashim H.A. 26 MSc Thesis - SHRM

which focused on influence for achieving strategic organisational goals, HR staff often find
themselves driving, implementing and facilitating change within an organisation.

Conflict Management
Similar to the problem-solving skills, conflicts within an organisation are inevitable as
organisations operate by adjusting and compromising one competitive element or the other.
When the need for change or restructuring occurs, conflicts are more likely to arise as
employees view change as either a challenge or a threat to resist. HR staff therefore need
conflict management skills in order to maintain a conflict free working environment. Some of
these skills include handling interpersonal or inter-group conflict through peaceful coexistence,
compromising and problem solving (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014)

Political Skills
Political skills are defined by Treadway et al (2013, p.1530) as the ability to study and analyse
individuals and situations within the organisation and convert that knowledge in to a “goal-
directed influence over others”. As defined by Kakabadse (1993 in Armstrong & Taylor, 2014),
politics in an organisation is the process whereby an employee influences other people where
they are not able to rely on authority. As employees join an organisation to achieve a common
purpose, it is also likely that some employees will be motivated by self-interests and needs. For
effective management and performance outcomes, HR staff who fit into this category must
endeavour to merge their individual ambition for the good of the organisation as well as
themselves (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). This skill recognises the possibility of ‘getting the
job done’ by lobbying decision markers which may usually not be the ‘best’ or ‘legitimate’
way and often rationalised as the ‘ends justifying the means’ (Ibid.).

2.5.2 MOTIVATION (M)

This component explores the attitude of an employee as said employee’s level of engagement
is often used to gage their motivation (Boxall & Purcell, 2016). Kim et al. (2015 in Boxall &
Purcell, 2016) expanded on this concept by defining (M) as the extent to which a person decides
and desires to engage in a specific way and how their job and environment is designed which
has a great impact on their motivation to perform. HR practices here promote the direct efforts
of an employee to accomplish organisational goals as it provides them with an incentive to
engage in high levels of performance (Dermortier et al., 2014). These practices are therefore

Hashim H.A. 27 MSc Thesis - SHRM

designed to leverage on an employee’s knowledge, skills and abilities which often times
organisations fail to provide (Ibid.). In this (M) component, the needs of an employee are taken
into consideration by organisations as employees now are interested and invested in their own
experiences, career growth and development. This suggests that for the strategic alignment
between employees and their organisations for performance outcomes, it is imperative that the
needs of these employees identified and met (Boxall & Purcell, 2016). These ‘needs’ are
translated into HR practices that serve as incentives for employees which could either be
extrinsic or intrinsic (Juan & Juan, 2016). The extrinsic motivators are reward driven which
include individual or group performance based pay, recognition, job security, promotions,
career development, work-life balance (Knies & Leisink, 2014). Although now often referred
to as ‘traditional and old fashioned’, these motivators are well sorted out for by employees as
people require an earning to survive which was described by Rose (2003 in Boxall & Purcell,
2016) as ‘provisioning motive’. In contrast to the extrinsic motivators, empirical research finds
few employees to be motivated by these practices. No doubt a factor which stems from the fact
that employees find different aspects attractive in a job or organisation (Sterling & Boxall,
2013). Some individuals may only devote their time and effort to a job they feel passionate
about regardless of the pay. The vocational interest of individuals also vary which describes
differences influencing behaviour by the preference of a specific job or environment (van
Iddekinge et al., 2011 in Boxall & Purcell, 2016). These preferences often lead to high retention
rates as the jobs are well suited to the individuals values it attracts. It can be said that regardless
of what an individual’s vocational preference may be, jobs that leverage their developed and
developing skills are favoured and evident in the concept of skill utilisation for job satisfaction
and eventually performance outcome ( O’Brien, 1982 in Boxall & Purcell, 2016). However,
the complete absence of intrinsic motivators here may lead to high turnover rates even amongst
employees with vocational interest (Boxall & Purcell, 2016).

2.5.3 OPPORTUNITY (O)

This component explores the circumstances created by an organisation that allow employees
to perform (Juan & Juan, 2016). In this component, HR practices are aimed at empowering
the employee for performance outcomes by delegating authority and responsibility down the
organisation’s line through self-managing teams; collective work practices (Demortier et al.
2014); decision making (Appelbaum et al., 2000); knowledge sharing; effective
communication; and job advancement. An organisation’s ability to provide employees with

Hashim H.A. 28 MSc Thesis - SHRM

these opportunities to participate suggests that it is investing in employees which in turn
improves their feeling of belongingness and increases retention rates (Boxall & Purcell, 2016).

In summary, the vast corpus of literature on the AMO model, the HR practices for enhancing
opportunity to promote performance outcomes have been divided into four (4) groups by Juan
and Juan (2016). The first group being employee involvement. This aims at providing
employees with opportunities that promote their participation in the decision making processes
of the organisation (Boselie et al., 2005), problem solving and self-directed work teams
(Armstrong et al., in Juan & Juan, 2016). The second being knowledge sharing which aims at
providing employees with opportunities that promote the sharing of strategic organisational
information. The third group is the design of the employee’s jobs. This aims at providing
employees with favourable working environment and conditions (Block & Pickl, 2014 in Juan
& Juan, 2016). The fourth group relates to practices that promote employee autonomy as
discussed by Lepak et al. (2006). Consequently, these groups in (O) also have an impact on the
(A) and the (M) components. For example, in cases where organisations provide more
opportunities to their employees to control their work environment and job by promoting
autonomy, the skills (A) of the employee is put to good use thereby rendering them more
intrinsically motivated (M) (Boxall & Purcell, 2016).

2.6 EXPECTATIONS AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Based on the literature and theory discussed above, it is expected that the recruitment and
selection challenges faced by Nigerian CSOs will be a combination of the challenges
experienced by all sectors in Nigeria as well as the challenges unique to the CSO sectors in the
global south. As HR literature emphasises an employee’s need for all three (3) components of
the AMO model for performance outcomes, it is therefore adapted to fully capture the needs
of HR staff to perform well in the area of recruitment and selection or in this case, to effectively
address the challenges with focus on the (A) i.e. skills needed and complementary aspects of
the (M) and (O). For (A), the expectation is that there will be an alignment between the skills
needed by HR staff for address recruitment and challenge with the general skills HR staff need
to execute their functionaries explored above. For (M), it is expected that HR staff will be more
intrinsically motivated given the dynamics of the CSO sector as it is not profit driven or
government affiliated (Akingbola, 2015). For (O), it is expected that not many HR staff will be

Hashim H.A. 29 MSc Thesis - SHRM

provided with the opportunity to utilise and develop their skills as literature explored found
the absence of training for HR staff in Nigeria and in the CSO sector.

Therefore, it is expected that the combination of the AMO will positively influence training
thereby needs of HR staff can be met through training as contributing to addressing recruitment
and selection challenges. the link between the AMO model and the needs of HR staff for
addressing recruitment and selection challenge is represented in the conceptual model below;

Model (Needs) Process Performance Outcome

Ability
(Skills and
Knowledge
needed)

Addressing
Training Recruitment
Motivation HR Staff and Selection
needed Challenges

Opportunity
needed

Figure 2: Conceptual Model

Hashim H.A. 30 MSc Thesis - SHRM

3. METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodological justifications of how data was collected and analysed
in order to answer the research question of this thesis.

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

Given the objective of this thesis, which is to delve into the R&S challenges faced by Nigerian
CSOs and how training through skill development of HR staff can contribute to addressing
these challenges. The near absence in scientific works capturing the exact components of this
thesis shapes the research design applied which is explorative in nature as it aims at
investigating a gap in existing literature to provide tentative results (Boeije, 2010). As an
exploratory design will be adopted, this thesis finds it necessary to explore the multiplicity of
views on this challenge from HR staff in the CSOs sector in Nigeria. Therefore, a qualitative
method of collecting data is used to explore the views reviewed. This method is designed to
focus on the ‘how’ question (Newman and Benz, 1998) and allows for research gaps to be
filled. In a real sense, this serves the fundamental aim of this thesis – to explore the dynamics
of recruitment and selection within Nigerian CSOs and to examine how training of HR staff
can contribute to addressing these challenges. In addition, a case study research approach is
used in this thesis as half the in order to better understand the alignment of the findings. This
approach is adopted because it involves a deep understanding of real life entities and a more
comprehensive application to context which in this case is the Nigerian CSO sector (Saunders
et al., 2007).

3.2 CONTEXT OF CASE STUDY

It is important to note that the approach of this thesis is not solely of a case study as it was
adopted as an explorative method for generating ideas that is tested with other methods (Stokes,
2011). The case study used here serves as an extension of the thesis adding increased
understanding to the extent to which training can contribute to addressing R&S challenges in
the CSO sector in Nigeria. As one of the few training programmes focused on strengthen the
competences of HR staff in the CSO space, the development Research and Project Centre
(dRPC) conducted a 2-day pilot training workshop 29-30 October 2018. As the only civil
society capacity building organisation in Nigeria that has existed for 25 years, the dRPC

Hashim H.A. 31 MSc Thesis - SHRM

organised this training to address challenges in the performance of other CSO. The training
targeted ways of improving HRM strategies to contribute to CSO sustainability. Prior to the
training, a needs assessment was conducted which pointed to the struggle of CSOs in the HR
function or R&S.

A total of 26 participants attended the training and held positions of HR managers, HR

administrative officers, directors, founding members and board of directors of several CSOs in
Nigeria. The training took a participatory approach which meant that the methodology was
interactive and participants were involved in sharing their concerns and experiences of working
in HR and dealing with HR issues such as R&S. The training first started by exploring trainee
knowledge of the ideal steps related to R&S and their practical. It was clear that majority of
the trainees had not participated in such training in the past as many were not aware of the main
aspects of R&S. The participatory method of learning was used as it encouraged conversations
around sensitive topics especially in the area of organisational strategy and gender diversity.
There were also bold and heated discussions around the recruitment of older workers, workers
with different sexual orientation and workers with forms of disability. The positive outcome
from this very sensitive discussion was that it got the participants thinking about their actions
and their policies and practices, as this could lead to the exclusion of certain groups of people.

The challenge of employee retention was also raised as affecting the recruitment process from
the beginning as most ‘competent and skilled’ employees ‘job hopped’ from one CSO to
another. The participants were trained and made aware of how to manage performance and
incentives as a developmental tool and also a reward tool to enhance employee retention and
engagement leading to their overall sustainability of their organisation. The training on reward
and incentivising staff focused on ensuring the competitiveness of pay especially for employees
in hard to recruit roles or working in dangerous environments. The use of non-financial rewards
especially affinity benefits was something trainees felt they would explore as this could aid the
retention of the core employees and avoid them being poached by other organisations. This
was a fear expressed by many trainees as they expressed how enraged they were that they
invested in their employees by training them to become local experts and international NGOs
swoop in and poach them. As a result of the positive feedback from the post-training
assessment, it was decided that a follow-up training workshop would take place in late 2019 or
early 2020 in order to revisit the main issues discussed and evaluate what/how the trainees have

Hashim H.A. 32 MSc Thesis - SHRM

contributed to addressing these challenges. However, this was not possible as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic.

3.3 RESEARCH PARTICIPANT SELECTION

Before participants were selected, an inclusion criteria was created by the researcher. This
criteria required all participants to either have sole responsibility or major responsibility in the
R&S process within their respective organisations, some participants must have attended the
2018 HR training workshop or any training focused on R&S within the last two (2) years, other
participants should not have attended any HR or R&S training. The researcher selected both
trained and untrained participants in order to weigh the significance of the research question
and to determine if their responses, opinion and experiences varied on the topic in question.

The trained participants for this research were from the 2018 training workshop while the
untrained were from other Nigerian CSOs. All participants (both trained and untrained) were
contacted through the training organisation (dRPC) as they allowed the researcher to identify
the desired CSOs for their participation. Given that this thesis sought to explore detailed
knowledge and experiences from a variety of participants, a purposive sampling method was
applied as the researcher carefully selected the participants for this study. The reason for this
was because of the dynamics of the CSO sector in Nigeria, with several different types of CSOs
such as community based, faith based, health advocacy, medical associations and others. A
predetermined number of available participants were selected from eleven (11) CSO types. By
using the purposive sampling method, it was expected that the groups selected were
representative of the population of CSOs (Lavrakas, 2008). Nevertheless, this sampling method
was not intended as a form of generalisation between the trained and untrained participants but
rather, to find qualitative patterns. It was also an opportunity to ensure accurate information
was collected on the topic as it focuses on a whole sector which has several categories.
Letters of invitations were sent via email to all participants which was accepted if the
participant was already in a managerial role. However, another letter was sent and addressed
the organisations and not the participant to seek permission for their participation to which
some responded while a few did not. Table 2 shows the participant’s demography.

Hashim H.A. 33 MSc Thesis - SHRM

INTERVIEW POSITION TYPE OF CSO 2018 HR OTHER HR
TRAINING? TRAINING?
1 Executive Director Youth Accountability YES NO
Organisation

2 Human Resource Health Advocacy YES YES

Administrative Officer Organisation

3 Director Health Advocacy YES YES

Organisation

4 Executive Director Civil Society Capacity NO NO

Building Organisation

5 Executive Director Women’s Advocacy NO NO

Organisation
6 Resourcing (Talent Health Advocacy YES YES
Acquisition) Organisation

7 Management Team Lead Environmental Change NO ONGOING

Organisation

8 Coordinator Community Based NO NO

Organisation

9 Organisational Head Faith Based NO NO

Organisation

10 Human Resource Officer Community Based NO YES

Organisation

11 Program Manager Reproductive Health YES YES

Organisation

12 Chairman Technical Non-Governmental YES YES

Management Committee Organisation

13 Executive Director Health Advocacy YES YES

Organisation

14 National President Medical Professional NO NO

Association

15 Project Director Non-Governmental NO NO

Organisation

16 Project Director Medical Professional NO NO

Association

Table 1: List of Participants (Anonymised)

Hashim H.A. 34 MSc Thesis - SHRM

3.4 DATA COLLECTION

In order to collect empirical data to draw tentative conclusions on the topic of this thesis,
interviews were conducted as it is one of the core methods for qualitative research. As opposed
to the quantitative method, qualitative methods such as interviews allows for participants to
verbally converse and interact with the researcher thereby generating more knowledge (Kvale,
2008). This method of collecting data allows for participants to feel part of the research and
are therefore more motivated which is an added advantage with regard to ‘ground-breaking’
or sensitive topics (Cliffe, 2017). However, limitations do exist as often times noted, in cases
where a researcher has personal contact or verbal conversations with a participant, data
collected tends to be biased (Bryman, 2015).

Furthermore, the researcher used semi-structured interviews as this tool allowed for richer and
deeper insights (Stokes, 2011) on the challenges faced and the how needs can be met through
training. The same questions were asked to all participants with the exception of the last section
(see appendix 3) which only applied to participants who attended the 2018 training workshop.
The use of semi-structured interviews gave the participants the opportunity to elaborate on
issues they felt either strongly about or passionate about which was seen quite often during the
interviews. Given the exploratory nature of this thesis, the use of unstructured interviews
would have been more ideal in theory as it allows for powerful, lengthy and descriptive
conversations (Stokes, 2011). However, it is usually harder to analyse and in many cases, the
main points are missed in the process as a result of bad analysis by the researcher (Fisher, 2010;
Kvale, 2008). Therefore, the researcher made the strategic decision to use semi-structured
interviews which had a combination of open and closed questions. Although closed questions
are used in research to evoke specific and direct responses like ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers (Stokes,
2011), the researcher only used a limited number of them. The researcher alos always followed
these questions with open questions which allows for more elaborate and in-depth responses
from participants (Bulmer, 2012). The blend of these questions asked by the researcher played
a significant role in guiding the interviews, ensuing relevant and accurate data is collected to
answer the research question.

All interviews took place between July 8th – 25th, 2020 and an average of 47mins was spent
during the interviews which took place over virtual video calls via skype, zoom and MS teams

Hashim H.A. 35 MSc Thesis - SHRM

with the exception of one (1) which took place on a WhatsApp video call. Although the
researcher contacted twelve (12) people from each group (trained and untrained), response
rates were higher with the untrained group than the trained group. The training organisation
(dRPC) made the researcher understand that majority of CSOs in Nigeria were not trained in
the area of HR or R&S making it easier to find willing participants. Therefore, a total of
nineteen (19) interviews were conducted, however only sixteen (16) interviews (9 untrained
and 7 trained) were used in this study. Two (2) participants withdrew their consent to
participate after the interview and the reason given was that management disapproved after
initially given verbal approval to the participants. The third interview discarded was a pilot
interview but was not used as the participant seemed to lose interest half way through the
interview and exited the video call, the exact reason for this is still unknown to the researcher.

DESCRIPTION NUMBER
Trained Participants Contacted 12
Untrained Participants Contacted 12
Trained Participants Interviewed 9
Untrained Participants Interviewed 10
Interviews Discarded 3
Interviews Transcribed and Analysed 16

Table 2: Interview Response Rates

3.4.1 INSTRUMENT

The interview guide consisted of 24-26 questions and participants (trained or untrained)
answered the same questions with the exception of three (3) questions which only applied to
trained participants. These questions were direct, brief and concise and were derived from the
scientific literature in the previous chapter (theoretical framework). The questions asked were
categorised as a direct reflection of the sub questions and the conceptual model, therefore
making it easier to analyse and follow. Questions reflecting the (M) component of the AMO
model was operationalised as if asked directly, participants may take offense which may affect

Hashim H.A. 36 MSc Thesis - SHRM

the quality of data collected (Elmir et al., 2009). This question was then presented to
participants as;
“ Do you feel the need to address these challenges and if so, why?” rather than “ what motivates
you to want to address these challenges?”

3.5 DATA ANALYSIS

Following the successful completion of each interview, video recordings were transcribed
within 48 hours and a one page summary was forwarded to the participant for verification.
Some of which responded by confirming the content while others thought it was unnecessary,
although it was still sent regardless for quality assurances. Every word mentioned by both the
participant and the researcher was transcribed, facial expressions and even expressive Nigerian
slangs were all added where necessary. This detailed and accurate transcription was necessary
for this thesis as poor transcribing techniques could lead to loss of pivotal information and
expressions that have hidden meaning (McLellan et al., 2003 in Cliffe, 2017).

In order to make sense of these transcripts, a thematic analysis approach was adopted by the
researcher. As a widely used and common technique of analysing qualitative data, this
approach is strongly advocated for by Braun and Clark (2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018). It is
described as a flexible and diverse approach that aligns more closely to methodology than
theory as it is not tied to any particular theoretical framework making it uncomplicated and
easy to adapt (Braun & Clarke, 2014). It identifies, analyses and reports patterns as themes
after data has been clustered under labels by the researcher (Stokes, 2011). The focus of this
approach is not an analytical and generalised method but rather on a step-by-step process that
begins from the interviewing stage and follows through to the transcribing stage (Braun &
Clarke, 2006). Often times described as being ‘too simplistic’, this approach forces the
researcher to make more ‘active choices’ by being involved and aware of the data being
collected (Braun & Clarke, 2006). However, the thematic analysis provides limited
organisation and description of data set which implies that the researcher has to manually create
the connections and themes. This process may be complicated and may be subject to
misinterpretation if the researcher is not able to fit in the right information into the supported
theme which meant that active engagement was necessary for establishing useful abstractions
(Cliffe, 2017). Although a challenge, this was not a factor that affected this study as research

Hashim H.A. 37 MSc Thesis - SHRM

questions, theoretical framework, expectations and interview questions were all set up to
capture the exact information required therefore making the merging of information clear and
concise for the researcher.

In using thematic analysis for the research, Glaser & Strauss’s (1967 in Cliffe, 2017) open code
was first used to break down information by reading over the transcripts many times which
allowed the researcher to identify reoccurring concepts and themes. Each time an interview
was transcribed, it was uploaded, read by the researcher and coded in line with the research
questions using NVivo 12, a qualitative data analysis software application. Once every
interview was coded and reread over and over again by the researcher, codes were merged into
themes and sub themes and duplicated information was deleted. Although there was a constant
re-coding and merging of themes throughout the entire process, it helped put things into
perspective for the researcher on the interconnected nature of the study as many codes and
subthemes seemed to be connected to one another. Finally, three main themes emerged and
were extracted as a codebook (see appendix 4) which was in direct alignment with the sub
questions of this thesis, data was interpreted, and reported in the results chapter and finally
discussed in alignment with literature.

3.6 QUALITY OF RESEARCH

In this section, the quality of the data collected and the measures taken by the researcher to
ensure its reliability and validity are discussed in detail.

3.6.1 RELIABILITY

Although it is not exactly possible to measure the reliability of a research instrument for
qualitative methods, there are however ways to ensure reliability is elevated (Stokes, 2011).
Standard techniques are adopted to check the level of consistency and accuracy in the
instrument used in collecting data which, according to Boeije (2010) could be either external
or internal. These internal reliabilities aim for objectivity and as stated by Bryman (2015),
interviews where the researcher is in contact with the participant always has a tendency for
bias. In order to eliminate the possibility of this occurring, the researcher sent all participants
a summary of the interview session for their verification. In addition, the training organisation-
dRPC was the intermediary between the researcher and all the participants (both trained and

Hashim H.A. 38 MSc Thesis - SHRM

untrained), this left minimal room for biases from the researcher. All video interviews were
recorded and transcribed within 48 hours in order to preserve the accuracy of data as the
researcher was still able to recall the session. Another technique of elevating the reliability in
data collection is repeatability which is often difficult to achieve in semi structured to
unstructured interviews (Stokes, 2011). The purposive sampling the researcher adopted in
selecting participants also enabled repeatability as a representative of the main types of CSOs
in Nigeria were interviewed which may suggest that these challenges and needs apply to others
in the same sector and type.

3.6.2 VALIDITY

This concerns the accuracy of a method in capturing the research objectives and aims (Stokes,
2011) and could be either internal or external (Boejie, 2010). The internal validity involves the
degree to which the methods adopted by the researcher allows for accurate results and
conclusions of the intended topic (Cliffe, 2017). This internal validity was ensured by the
researcher prior, during and after the interviews. Prior to collecting data, participants who
attended the 2018 training workshop were sent the questions a day in advance to recall their
memory as it occurred 2 years ago. This allowed for valid and accurate data collection as they
were given the time to reflect on the questions. During the interviews, participants were
informed that their involvement would be confidential therefore allowing them to feel more at
ease and speak truthfully and freely without fear of retribution. This mostly applied to
participants that were not in managerial positions. In addition, some questions asked by the
researcher were operationalised to avoid offending participant, therefore allowing for impartial
and honest responses. After the interviews, the researcher used the member check approach by
sending interview summaries to participants ensuring credibility and validation. This approach
elevated the internal validity of this research as it ensured that there were no unintentional
biases from the researcher’s interpretation (Boejie, 2010).

The external validity describes the degree of generalisability or transferability within the
findings of a research (Boejie, 2010). According to Leung (2015), qualitative research is not
usually attributed with generalisability as this type of research focuses on a specific
phenomenon within a particular context. Although this research adopted approaches of
generalisability which included the use of varying participants (trained and untrained),
purposive sampling and other forms of data (case study), the under-researched nature of the

Hashim H.A. 39 MSc Thesis - SHRM

topic makes it difficult to successfully generalise (Leung, 2015). Therefore, it is only intended
for search of qualitative patterns for tentative conclusions within the CSO sector in Nigeria.
External validity also measures the degree to which participants represent the focus area being
researched (Stokes, 2011). This was achieved as the researcher established an inclusion criteria
before selecting participants which allowed for better representation as the participants chosen
were at the forefront of the challenge therefore providing information based on their first hand
experiences.

3.6.3 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION

As with any research, ethical obligations, considerations and procedures are pivotal to the
quality of data collected (Bryman, 2015). The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
which aims at protecting the privacy of participants was adhered to by the researcher. Indicative
of ethical soundness and reduced risk associated with research, consent was required from all
participants prior to the interview (Taylor et al., 2015 in Cliffe, 2017). All participants were
informed by both the researcher and the training organisation (dRPC) of the purpose of the
study in writing. Statements of consents (see appendix 2) were sent to all participants for
approval and e-signatures as all interviews took place virtually. The trainers who facilitated the
2018 training workshop were also informed of this study and their permission and consent for
their picture and names to be used (see appendix 6) was confirmed. The training organisation
(dRPC) was also asked for consent as detailed information of their tailored training and
organisation’s name was used.

The anonymity of all participants was ensured and all information from the interviews were
kept confidential. For fear of retribution, some participants explicitly asked that this research
or their participation is not linked back to them personally, their organisations, their managers
or their funders. Although the positions and types of CSOs were included in this research, the
researcher made sure that general terminologies were used and that participants were
comfortable with their position and the their type of CSO made public. All data collected
(recordings, transcripts and signed statements of consent) were uploaded on YoDa or
OneDrive, a secure storage offered by Utrecht University which will be deleted by the
researcher.

Hashim H.A. 40 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 3.6.4 ROLE OF RESEARCHER

The researcher was involved in the process of this research from the beginning as she was one
of the organisers of the 2018 training workshop, the researcher also conducted all interviews,
transcribed and coded data. The researcher ensured methods were put in place to avoid
intentional and unintentional biases. All participants were also made to feel comfortable and
privacy policies upheld during this research as some expressed worry of retribution if their
participation was discovered.

Hashim H.A. 41 MSc Thesis - SHRM

4. RESULTS

This chapter aims at reporting the data collected and analysed using the justified methods
described in the previous chapter. An in-depth examination of the findings from the sixteen
(16) interviews conducted aimed at answering the central question ‘can training contribute to
addressing challenges of recruitment and selection faced by the civil society organisations in
Nigeria?’.
The first theme this chapter reports on is the recruitment and selection challenges identified
by the participants and the uniqueness of these challenges to the CSO sector in Nigeria. This
is followed by the discussion on the needs to addressing these identified challenges and the
final theme will report on the role of training in addressing these challenges. An evaluation of
the knowledge and skills developed during the 2018 HR training workshop and how these
contributed to addressing the recruitment and selection challenges is also reported in this
theme. In addition, other factors that may hinder and contribute to addressing these challenges
are also reported.

4.1 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION CHALLENGES

The main theme in answering the central research question of this thesis was meant to first
establish whether or not the CSO sector in Nigeria faced any challenges in the process of
recruitment and selection and if so, what these challenges were. As one the inclusion criteria
for selecting participants for this thesis, all participants either had sole responsibility or major
responsibility in the process of hiring new employees within their respective organisations.
These responsibilities ranged from identifying positions that needed to be filled, creating job
descriptions, advertising the job on various outlets such as social media, newspapers and
organisational website, shortlisting candidates, interviewing candidates, setting up panel
interviews with line managers, head hunting, offering the candidate the job and integrating the
new employee into the organisation. With this level of involvement in the process of hiring,
the participants had a strong sense of the topic and its technicalities and all participants admitted
to facing one form of challenge in recruiting or another. The challenges identified by
participants are listed in the table below and discussed beneath.

Table 3: Summarised Challenges Identified

Hashim H.A. 42 MSc Thesis - SHRM

CHALLENGES SELECTED QUOTES EXTRACTED TYPE OF POSITION OF
PARTICPANTS PARTICIPANT
Donor Pressure “..when donors give funding they expect you to work on their terms.” Untrained Management

Gender “…it is hard to employ women because they are not applying and the ones that do apply do not stay Untrained Management
Imbalance
long…”

Digitalisation “…this new normal is the reality HR professionals have to face and we are in no position to realise Trained HR
this…”
Limited “Our major challenge is obtaining funds for payment of recruited staff.” Trained & Untrained Management
Funding

“We recruit them, train then and when they are well trained, they leave to another organisation that Trained & Untrained Management and HR
Low Retention
pays better…”
Fake Resumes “…applicants ‘package’ their curriculum vitae in a way that makes them irresistible,, only to Trained & Untrained Management and HR
discover later that the applicant do not really have the skills contained in the CV”

Nature of the “ …applicant might have submitted various applications in several organisations and when they are Untrained Management and HR
Labour Market
called to be offered the job, you find that they have taken up a job elsewhere.”
Nepotism “…even before the interview they had already decided who they will give the position to…” Trained & Untrained Management and HR

Skill Gap “Applicants are unemployable and few have knowledge of development work.” Trained & Untrained Management and HR

Government “The state government of one of the key states we support made a policy that only the indigenes of Trained HR
Policies
the state should be recruited…”
Unemployment “The unemployment rate in this our country means the volume of applications are enormous and Trained & Untrained Management and HR
carefully reviewing the CVs for the most suitable candidates is quite daunting…”

Hashim H.A. 43 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 DONOR PRESSURE

As CSOs, all participants interviewed received donor funding from either other local (Nigerian)
CSOs, from bilateral or multilateral funding agencies, family foundations or from organisations
that served as an intermediary between international development organisations and the local
CSOs. As a result of this, participants mentioned that pressures were often put on them either
directly or indirectly by donors to employ specific types of individuals who were female or in
their words, ‘socially-able’. This was because many donor representative tend to be females or
wanted to see females on projects as a participant interpreted . Although some participants
found this ‘challenge’ to be somewhat positive as they were called upon to manage a diverse
workforce, it was still a perceived as a pressure. This was because they could not find
competent females for the position and ended up having to choose between satisfying the donor
or having a competent staff. Other participants stated that the pressure on them to employ
specific candidates came from the intermediary organisations as they were the implementing
partner of the international development organisations which employed locals to oversee grants
within a country. The reluctance from the CSOs to meet the requests of the intermediaries or
funders usually meant the loss of grants as one participant mentioned:

“we had a series of interference from the funders asking us to select a particular candidate
or risk losing the funding and because we were really interested and it being our first
funding, at the end of the day, we had to accept.”

Many CSOs end up accepting these informal terms and settled for an incompetent staff which
ended up affecting the overall performance of the organisation and the project.

GENDER IMBALANCE

For CSOs operating in the Northern part of Nigeria, a reoccurring challenge was the lack of
females within the recruiting process. Similar to other parts of Nigeria, the conservative,
traditional and religious nature of the North poses an issue for CSOs seeking to hire females
because not many applied. When they did apply, not many stayed as they were pressured by
family to leave or miss work and focus on starting or raising a family. This led to high rates of
absenteeism and eventually dismissal amongst females in the CSO space. Other participants
emphasised this challenge affecting their ability to execute projects as they relied on females

Hashim H.A. 44 MSc Thesis - SHRM

in many rural areas to educate women on family planning and sexual health matters which is
still a sensitive topic in Nigeria today.

DIGITALISATION

The lack of complete digitalisation of HR processes was a challenge mentioned by participants

in official HR positions. The expectation from their organisation to perform on a high level and
the lack of resources to enable this process was described by participants as “frustrating and
debilitating”. The emergence of technology also demanded that they adjust for better outcomes
which was not actualised. Participants expressed this view with regard to the screening of
candidates as they were unable to do background checks and in many cases, are not able go
through the volume of applications which poses an issue in the selection process. Another
participant mentioned a current challenge that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as,
they had to resort to online interviews which they were not prepared for as they lacked the
resources to switch to complete digitalisation of the recruiting process.

LIMITED FUNDING

Both trained and untrained participants expressed the difficulty in securing grant funds as a
challenge. Due to this constraint, CSOs could not afford to employ experienced and qualified
employees and therefore depended on volunteers and part-time staff who were unable to do the
job as a participant mentioned:

“…those that have met the criteria most times wouldn’t accept the salary we are willing to
offer and afford, so we end up with candidates who do not meet the requirements”

The candidates with the experience and knowledge for the job may not accept the salary being
offered and the unqualified recruits could not be trained as a result of limited funding. Other
participants mentioned that even the candidates that were not qualified found themselves
asking for a higher pay which left them in a difficult position.

LOW RETENTION

Both trained and untrained participants stated their struggle with low retention rates in the CSO
sector which and when asked why, they mentioned the following reasons for its regularity:

Hashim H.A. 45 MSc Thesis - SHRM

Job Hopping
Some participants mentioned that for a few candidates, their sole intention of being recruited
was to be trained by the CSO and leave to another organisation which were often times
international organisations for the better pay. Other participants added that many candidates
use the opportunity as a stepping stone for other jobs or they apply with the notion that a lot of
money can be made in this sector as international funding meant higher pay, as stated by
another participant:

“… some even apply just for the good pay as many donor funded organisation like ours pay
in foreign currency like dollars which is high when converted to our Nigerian Naira.”

This misconception attracted unqualified candidates who have the wrong priorities for working
in the CSO sector as another participant mentioned with immense frustration:

“…they do not possess the right values to operate within our organisation which leaves
positions open for months and no suitable candidate to fill because they do not stay ”

Participants also mentioned the inflow of candidates who came into the sector temporarily as
an alternative source pending any civil service job which tends to be more permanent and stable
as opposed to uncertain nature of the CSO sector. The CSO sector functions on temporary
contracts and employments that are dependent on projects and funding which could always
end. This idea of desiring work in the public sector as opposed to the CSO sector is often times
associated with development work being “low-status” as framed by a participant compared to
being a government official who had “power and influence” as a participant stressed.

Conflict Areas

Participants from CSOs that function in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria face the challenge of
employing and retaining employees as they are situated in a conflict zone. These areas are
prone to terrorist attacks and kidnapping as a result of the emergence of the Boko Haram
terrorist group that operates in most of the North-East. Organisations that focus on carrying
interventions in these hard to reach areas often struggle to find candidates willing to apply for

Hashim H.A. 46 MSc Thesis - SHRM

such positions and the ones that do, often times leave in fear for their lives and safety. This led
to the job position being vacant for a prolonged period of time.

FAKE RESUMES

The issue of ‘fake’ resumes being submitted by applicants was a challenge experienced by both
trained and untrained participants. Applicants often hire consultants to “garnish and polish their
resumes that makes them attractive and hard to resist” as participants framed it. When such
applicants were shortlisted and invited for interviews, they are not able to defend the content
of their resumes. During the screening process, falsified certificates were also presented by
these applicants and for the ones that were not detected during the screening process, it became
obvious when they were employed and could not perform basic tasks they ‘claimed’ they had
the competencies for.

NATURE OF THE LABOUR MARKET

Some untrained participants commented that one of the major challenge they faced was during
the short listing stage. As applicants tend to apply for several jobs at a time due to the nature
of the labour market in Nigeria, jobs are limited and hard to get. This meant that when
applicants were shortlisted, interviewed, tested and finally offered the job, they turn down the
offer as they had accepted another offer with either a higher pay or some accept the offer letter
to bargain a higher salary at their current or new workplace. This causes delays in filing
positions and a “waste of time and resource we do not have” as a participant added with great
annoyance and said:

“We just recently conducted an interview for the selection of technical officers and during
that interview these are the major challenges we faced. The first technical officer we selected
and recruited based on our format ended up disappointing us. He did not take up the job at
the last minute."

NEPOTISM

The issue of nepotism was mentioned by majority of the participants, both trained and
untrained as one of the major challenge facing the recruitment and selection process in the CSO
sector and other sectors in Nigeria. They also added that this was the main reason CSOs could

Hashim H.A. 47 MSc Thesis - SHRM

not prosper as the sector is filled with unqualified personnel filling roles they are not worthy
of. While this challenge was expressed by both participants in management and HR positions,
their stance on the issue varied.
From participants in management positions, arguments on this challenge where never
addressed directly towards their organisation but rather as a complaint regarding the way other
CSOs recruited as they stated:

“Some directors of CSOs prefer to recruit their relation instead of the experienced personnel.
They always state that; “Why should I employ someone while my own relation is not
working?”. This is a very big threat in the CSO space.”

Another participant at management level admitted to recruiting family members while also
recognising this as a challenge faced by the CSO sector as they stated:

“…there were some people that approached me, as a friend, and requested that I give jobs to
their sons and daughters even if it is part time job. I responded to them that I also have 6
children who are graduates and still living in my house. So this is very common within CSO
space as I ended up recruiting my own children.”

On the contrary, a participant when asked of the challenge of nepotism stated that it did not
exist and had no room in their organisation. This was supported by the fact that positions in the
CSO sector required unique and specialised skills that not everyone had and therefore makes
it impossible for external pressures to hire family and friends because many did not have the
skill.
From participants in HR positions who all had training in the area of recruitment and selection,
arguments on this challenge came from a place of frustration as a result of how management
handled the issue of nepotism. They complained that candidates recruited were clearly not
qualified but happened to be a friend or family member of someone at management level or on
the board of directors in the organisation. Even as HR staff, they had no say in who was finally
recruited as a participant mentioned:

“…the problem of hiring someone my boss asks me to hire is also an issue because
sometimes they are not qualified but I do not have a say in it so we just wait until the boss

Hashim H.A. 48 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 realises the person’s incompetence.”

They added that the issue was not employing family or friends as they knew this was inevitable
and an issue every organisation faces in every country but that the issue was the hiring of
unqualified people which seemed to be a constant reoccurrence. Another participant stated that
often times, other more qualified candidates are invited for interviews and come with vast
knowledge and experience which will save the organisation the cost of training, but
management still rather hire an unqualified ward, relation or friend and spend resources they
do not have training them.

SKILL GAP

Just like nepotism, another major challenge faced by majority of the participants was the gap
in the skills of applicants. These applicants were labelled ‘unemployable’ by some participants
as they did not possess basic skills required for any job like proper spelling which was often
discovered during the testing stage of the recruitment process. As a result of these gaps in skill
and knowledge of development work, many positions were left vacant for a prolonged period
of time because there were no candidates with the necessary and relevant skills to fill it. This
challenge was also linked to the skill set available in the labour market and the training
individuals received which was often times not practical but very “bookish” as participants
mentioned which stems from the system of education in the country.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES

As all CSOs function within the society and have to abide by the policies set by the government,
participants found some of these policies rather unfavourable. CSOs operating within states
and not the capital often times face policies that affected their ability to recruit and execute the
project accordingly. One of the policies imposed that affected the recruitment process stated
that only indigenes of a particular state could be recruited by CSOs working in that area. This
posed an issue as many applicants did not have the skills or experience to fill in the positions.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATES

All participants raised the challenge of unemployment in Nigeria which was said to be on an
alarming rise. With the limited jobs available, unemployed family and friends were chosen
over qualified non related candidates and CSOs began to run like family businesses that hire

Hashim H.A. 49 MSc Thesis - SHRM

children as a way of succession planning. Although there were several people applying due to
the level of unemployment, many still lacked the skills to become suitable candidates. The
influx of applications as a result of unemployment when positions were advertised also put a
strain on the recruitment and selection process which made it harder to carefully review
resumes and applications for the best suitable candidate. While some deliberately applied
knowing they did not meet the requirements for the position, others applied with no intention
of actually taking the job but to use the job offer to leverage a higher salary at their current
place of employment. This challenge of “sorting and filtering the stockpiles” as participants
framed it, led to the waste of time and resources and oftentimes desirable and suitable
candidates are missed in the process.

4.1.1 UNIQUENESS OF CHALLENGES TO THE CSO SECTOR

All the challenges explained in detail above were identified by participants from the CSO
sector. However, this did not mean all the challenges were unique to the CSO sector as many
participants identified these challenges as issues faced by all sectors in Nigeria or were more
prominent in the CSO sector as captured in the table below:
Challenge All Sectors CSO Sector
Donor Pressure X
Gender Imbalance X
Digitalisation X
Limited Funding X
Low Retention X
Fake Resumes X
Nature of the Labour Market X
Nepotism X
Skill Gap X
Government Policies X
Unemployment X
Table 4: Challenges and Sectors Affected

Hashim H.A. 50 MSc Thesis - SHRM

The challenges faced by all sectors as identified by the participants include the gap in skill
which is a peculiar and common issue across sectors in Nigeria. However, the gap in skill and
knowledge of development work is unique to the CSO as the sole purpose of this sector was
development work. Challenges like fake resumes, the volume of applications as a result of high
unemployment rates and the nature of the labour market are experienced by all sectors as they
all function in the same society as mentioned by a participant:

“ The challenges are ubiquitous among the CSOs and other sectors in Nigeria because we all
hire the same way and function within the same labour market and economy.”

Other challenge like digitalisation were also mentioned by participants to be seen across sectors
but the extent to which it is considered a challenge affecting recruitment and selection depends
on the sector. This may not necessarily be a challenge for the public sector in Nigeria as
majority of civil servants do not go through an extensive or formal recruitment and selection
process but rather, employment is secured based on nepotism and favouritism as a participant
mentioned. Whereas in the CSO sector, participants mentioned that donors were beginning to
request more transparent and digitalised ways of functioning which included transparent
recruitment process and therefore staffing plans for current and prospective employees became
a prerequisite for obtaining grants.

Challenges like donor pressure and limited funding were the challenges identified as unique to
the CSO sector in Nigeria. However, not many participants agreed that this affected them the
same way as the larger CSOs who got funding from international donors tend to have more
autonomy and funds to execute projects and tackle these challenges than the smaller local
NGOs as stated by a participants;

“I believe that bigger CSOs with a bigger brand as well as operational budget have a better
approach to navigating the challenge than we do.”

Participants from smaller CSOs stated that they found themselves in a more vulnerable position
as they relied on volunteers who donated their time to the cause and often times had full time
jobs elsewhere which meant a reduced level of commitment.

Hashim H.A. 51 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 4.2 ADDRESSING RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION CHALLENGES

This theme captured the needs of the participants for addressing the challenges they identified.
In order to fully capture these needs, this theme was further divided into three (3) categories:
- the skills and knowledge needed to aid the process
- the need itself to address the challenge experienced
- the opportunities needed to implement or influence change

4.2.1 SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE NEEDED

As a way of addressing challenges experienced, participants identified the skills and knowledge
they required. All participants either indicated the need for one skill or the other or the need
to develop and improve on already existing skills and knowledge to aid the process of
addressing the challenges. From their responses, six (6) skills emerged which deferred between
the type of participants, their positions and the challenge they personally faced.
Table 5:Challenges and Skills Needed
SKILLS NEEDED BY PARTICIPANTS
CHALLENGES HR and Interviewing Leadership Technological Proposal Political
Recruitment Skills skills Skills Writing Skills
Skill Skills
Donor Pressure X X
Gender Imbalance

Digitalisation X
Limited Funding X
Low Retention X
Fake Resumes X X
Nature of the Labour
Market

Nepotism X
Skill Gap X
Government Policies X
Unemployment

Hashim H.A. 52 MSc Thesis - SHRM

HR and Recruitment Skills

This skill was proposed by untrained participants at management level who admitted to not
having any knowledge in HR or in the process of recruitment and hence, did not know if their
way of recruiting was the ideal way or the most efficient. Other aspects for HR training
proposed were in employee satisfaction and engagement so as to reduce the low retention rates
experienced in this sector. Other participants added that being trained in the basics of HR and
recruitment will allow them to spot fake resumes and certificates presentenced by applicants
during the interview stage and not until they employed the individual.

Interviewing Skills

This skill was proposed by untrained participants at management level as an already existing
skill they felt needed developing. Participants stated that improving on this skill will allow
them to gain more insight on the applicant being interviewed because “not everyone can be
trusted” as a participant framed it. Other participants stated that this will also allow them to
identify candidates with fake resumes before they make it through to the selection process.

Leadership Skills

This skill was proposed by both trained and untrained participants all at management level as
an already existing skill they felt needed developing. Participants stated that improving this
skill will help them make more informed and better decisions on organisational matters such
as recruiting employees. This skill will help them “stand their ground” as a participant framed
it when implementing donor partners put pressure on them to engage in biased recruitment.
Another participant added that improving leadership skills may help CSO management
understand what is at stake when they end up recruiting their unqualified family and friends in
their organisation and how it also affects other CSOs.

Technological Skills

This skill was proposed by trained participants in HR positions who expressed that a well-
crafted training program to capacitate them on using emerging technology and digital
applications/software will allow them to work more efficiently. As stated by a participant, this

Hashim H.A. 53 MSc Thesis - SHRM

will help them manage data and go through the volume of applications and not miss qualified
candidates in the process.

Proposal Writing Skills

This skill was proposed by untrained participants in management positions as an already

existing skill they felt needed developing. Participants stated that they thought they had
sufficient experience in proposal writing but that it had come to their attention that they needed
a lot of improvement which showed in their inability to secure grants and funding. Other
participants admitted to not knowing anything about proposal writing as they had never written
one before because they always had project staff who were responsible for this function.
However, now that they do not have funding for staff and have no projects, management staff
are left with no choice but to learn this skill.

Political Skills

This was the only skill proposed by both trained and untrained participants in both management
and HR positions as a skill they felt they all lacked and needed. Participants stressed the
importance of such a skill in the CSO space in Nigeria as they are often faced with challenges
that require lobbying government officials to amend policies. Another participant added that
this skill is needed in navigating the pressures from donors.

4.2.2 THE MOTIVATION TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED

Questions asked here focused on why participants felt the need to address the challenges they
faced. As all participants saw and felt the need to address these challenges, responses were
centred around three (3) main points; human capital for organisational sustainability,
organisational performance & productivity and personal experiences.

Human Capital for Organisational Sustainability

Majority of participants emphasised on the importance and the dependence on human capital
for organisational sustainability in the CSO sector. They stressed that having the right people
in their sector is paramount as it allows them to continue doing great work in their community
as one participant stated with so much intensity:

Hashim H.A. 54 MSc Thesis - SHRM

“CSOs are an important component of what happens in our societies, our sector is very much
a people orientated sector unlike other sectors and so, proper transparent and professional
recruiting is the most vital aspect as it can make or break the organisation…”

The right employees were considered to be the “backbone” of the organisation as a participant
framed it. Other participants at management level stressed that they could not head and manage
the organisation and also implement projects all by themselves to the donor’s satisfaction for
continued funding and therefore required competent people to take over. Without these ‘right’
people or access to them, the CSO sector will seize to exist as participants stated:

“….the people are pertinently an absolute necessity for organisational success and
sustainability in this field.”

Organisational Performance and Productivity

Participants also reiterated the need to address these challenges for both better organisational
and employee performance and productivity as this was already being affected. A participant
complained that many CSOs are “fooling themselves” as they framed it by knowingly
employing unqualified staff just because they were family and friends. This did not only affect
the employer but also other CSOs as they often had to work together in achieving certain
outcomes which failed. This was expressed by an angry participant who stated:

“…these challenges need to be addressed because these are real challenges we face and it is
affecting our success rate.”

Another participant warned that if these challenges were not addressed, inefficiency and
ineffectiveness will be a regular feature in their organisation and sector which they simply
could not afford as it will ultimately lead to diminished productivity levels. While a participant
added that if these challenges were addressed they would lead to objectives being achieved
which means satisfied donors, more good work and continued funding. However, other
challenges affecting productivity and performance required “macro level interventions” as a
participant framed it as they are caused by external factors that were out of their control.

Hashim H.A. 55 MSc Thesis - SHRM

Personal Experiences

The needs derived here came from frustrated and annoyed participants that had experienced
the impact of these challenges and were determined to make a change as stated by a participant:

“…we are intentionally recruiting people that cannot do the job and that is why we are
facing so many challenges across the country because we are not recruiting the right people
at the right time. We recruit based on sentiment, relationships and may be incentives given to
the recruiters and thus therefore, there is need to address the challenges across the country.”

Others spoke of their personal experience when in the labour market and how they had been
invited for several interviews and were never called back because either a family member or
friend of the interviewer got the job. Another participant stated how organisations “run helter-
skelter” as they framed it to find qualified employees when applying for a grant as detailed
staffing plans were required as a prerequisite from donors.

4.2.4 OPPORTUNITIES NEEDED

In order to further access the needs for addressing the recruitment and selection challenges
experienced, participants were asked about the opportunities they felt needed to be created or
had been created for them to enable this process. Most participants were already well
positioned within their role but lacked the skill to move forward or utilise their position to
address the challenges as they mentioned:

“…there were opportunities that put me in a suitable position in addressing the challenges
as I was at a senior level to pass down skills and implement changes but unfortunately, I
did not and still do not have the skills.”

“…this is an organisation with about 50 international and local NGOs and CSOs. As the
chair on this platform, I can reach a lot of organisations to make a difference in the
country.”

“…as the director of my organisation, if I benefit from training then I have every opportunity
to come back and develop my CSO..”

Hashim H.A. 56 MSc Thesis - SHRM

Others had the opportunity to address the challenge and saw no further opportunity that could
be created for them as a participant stated:

“..I have already been given the opportunity to head my organisation which has allowed me
to make an informed decision in selecting credible candidates for the job so far so I don't see
what other opportunities could be provided for me.”

Participants in HR positions stressed the need for reduced interference from management in
order to properly execute their role in recruiting. A participant mentioned the need for the final
selection to be done at the desk of the HR manager and not the board of directors or project
advisory committee. The need for more responsibility and complete autonomy was also stated
by a participant as they complained that they felt redundant in their position because they were
not trusted to carry out “basic and objective” recruitment processes as they framed it. These
two opportunities reoccurred amongst all HR participants as they passionately expressed that
all they wanted was the chance to fully participate in implementing HR policies and project
planning and as such, they will be able to better identify the best fit for the organisation.

Finally, another opportunity identified by all participants was the reskilling and upskilling of
their already existing skills through training which further ensured the right candidates were
recruited and the challenges “eradicated” as a participant framed it.

4.3 THE ROLE OF TRAINING IN ADDRESSING RECRUITMENT AND

SELECTION CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED

This theme captured the role of training in addressing the challenges of recruitment and
selection experienced by participants as it delved into:
- whether or not their needs could be met through training
- the role of training in developing the skills and knowledge identified to address the
challenges identified

Majority of the participants responded positively towards training being used as an approach
to meeting the needs they identified for addressing the challenges they faced. Participants
seemed shocked at this question as they assumed training was in fact the only way to meet the

Hashim H.A. 57 MSc Thesis - SHRM

different needs they identified. This was especially surprising for participants as the CSO sector
relied on capacity building through training for almost every need, from challenges to
execution of projects. Participants sternly expressed with certainty and confidence the use of
training for addressing the challenges as they stated:

“…training is the basis of everything improvement in the CSO sector.”

“It will in no small measure help but will completely eliminate it.”

“Training is paramount and can be explained by the acronym KSA – knowledge, skills and
attitude. It will give rise to knowledge, through knowledge skill (know how) are built and
skills determine attitude you exhibit in doing your work and in response to issues...”

However, other participants mentioned that not all needs could be met through training as these
needs would have to be complemented with experiences and practice;

“…to answer your question, yes the development of these skills by training can help address
the issues but not all the skills can be taught.”

This was stated with regard to HR and recruitment training as the participant argued that even
if knowledge in HR was taught, the aspect of dealing with human beings differed as the ‘one-
size fits all’ concept does not apply in the CSO sector. Furthermore, another participant added
that even with all the training and experience, challenges could not be addressed if the
candidate/applicant did not have the right attitude and enthusiasm for the job.

Participants stated that training could meet the needs they identified for addressing challenges
experience as they anticipated the complete elimination of the internal challenges which may
be a stepping stone for external interventions. Roles participants thought training would have
on addressing their needs were as follows:

- The development of the right skill set required to carry out the function of recruitment to
meet the objectives of the organisation while building capacity for effective performance

- The opportunity to learn and also network with peers in the sector for continuous share of

Hashim H.A. 58 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 knowledge and experience as well as mutual support in resolving organisational HR issues
which will in turn enhance organisational growth and motivation

- Capacity building trainings to develop skills in proposal writing giving the organisation
the ability to bid competitively for available grants from donors that will provide funds to
hire experienced staff

- The opportunity to step down skills developed through training to other smaller CSOs or
partner organisations

- The skills to recruit motivated and creative staff that can enable the organisation create
many things out of nothing

- Save the organisation a lot of money as the right and suitable employees will be hired and
not unqualified persons

Trained participants in HR positions highlighted the need for hiring a HR and recruitment
expert or consultant to train managers first in order to emphasise and stress the importance of
HR and recruitment. They added that managers had to be made aware of these challenge, the
importance of addressing these challenges and how they could be addressed as only managers
had a say in major decisions within the organisation.

Hashim H.A. 59 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 4.3.1 2018 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION TRAINING EVALUATION

In order to access how effective training could be in addressing recruitment and selection
challenges, the seven (7) participants that attended the 2018 HR training were asked what skill
or knowledge they might have picked up, how they applied it and if it addressed the recruitment
and selection challenges they experienced.

Skill or Knowledge Implementation Challenge Addressed

- Oral and theoretical interviewing skills and Testing applicants during the Skill Gap
Techniques. recruitment process to
establish their capabilities for
the position applied for.
- Understanding the labour market and Recruiting and offering Skill Gap
inclusiveness of millennials in the CSO younger employees
space. mentorship programs

- Importance of detailed job descriptions and Developing job descriptions, Skill Gap
adverts. clearer job expectations

- Introduction to HR and the key elements Greater insight on employee Low Retention
from recruiting talent to employee separation turnover in the CSO sector
(“a concept I was not aware of” as a and finding ways to keep
participant framed it). employees engaged and
offering other incentives
- Aligning workforce planning and the More intentional in planning Nepotism (somewhat)
organisational strategic goal. organisational workforce

- Value and Importance of HR in the CSO Recruiting a HR manager for Overall improved and
space for sustainability. the very first time professionalised recruitment process

- Importance of gender equality and being an Actively head hunting female Gender Imbalance
equal opportunity employer and an employer to join the CSO space “by all
of choice. means”
Having other females on
interviewing panels
Table 6: 2018 HR Training Evaluation

Hashim H.A. 60 MSc Thesis - SHRM

Participants that attended the 2018 HR training which focused on the recruitment and selection
for CSO sustainability mentioned an array of skills and knowledge learnt during the intense 2-
day workshop. Some of these skills and knowledge led to the implementation of practices,
policies and processes that either directly or indirectly addressed the challenges they
experienced. Those that directly addressed the challenges identified in this thesis have been
mentioned in table 7 above. However, a few of the trained participants stated that they still (to
an extent) experienced these challenges which is why some of these participants felt they
needed to develop on already existing skills and knowledge obtained during the 2018 training.
Participants also mentioned how the training helped address misconceptions they had on the
importance of HR as a participant in management position stated:

“One fallacy that I initially held was that pay was the only motivating factor to attract high
value staff. Following the HR training, I have adapted other practises such as training
activities to motivate and ensure that staff have a conducive working environment and are
well appreciated for their enormous contribution to the success of this organisation…”

In some way, this was able to increase staff retention as the participant stated. Another
participant added that their organisation adopted a formal interviewing process which included
the line managers and in some cases their colleagues from other organisations that had expertise
in the role they were recruiting for. This method allowed for the organisation to find ideal and
suitable candidates that “contributed immensely” as the participant stated with pride and job.
Trained participants in management position also expressed their enthusiasm in including and
coaching younger and junior staff as they prepared them to succeed as leaders and managers
in the CSO space which was initially not possible in this field.
When asked what factors could have better enabled the implementation of the skills and
knowledge learnt from the training program, responses led back to the same points mentioned
as opportunities needed to address challenges. These included:

- funding from donors

- autonomy from management
- no interference from management in the recruiting process
- reskilling and upskilling through training

Hashim H.A. 61 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 Other new factors that emerged were:
- networking and sustained communication with other participants from the training
program for shared knowledge and experiences
- adopting an objective panel during interviews
- lack of commitment from management, “it takes time to drum it into their ears” as a
participant in HR position mentioned
- changes only being operationalised at senior management level and not mid-management
level

However, when participants who did not attend the 2018 HR training program were asked
what factors they thought could hinder their ability to address the challenges identified,
participants from smaller CSOs mentioned:
- restrictive organisational policies
- lack of flexibility and resistance to change
- difference of opinion and techniques in recruitment
- budget and resource constraint from management which is not usually allocated to HR or
personnel development

Finally, participants who attended the 2018 training program mentioned the following as
recommendations for future training programs for improved outcomes at addressing the
challenges identified.
- Sample policies and strategic HR plans from small, medium and large CSOs
- Follow up trainings to develop already acquired skills
- New resounding themes of HR advancements which include being technologically savvy
- Complete digitalisation of the entire recruiting process, from software to virtual
assessments and interviews
A training needs assessment prior to any training program so as to identify the gaps that
exist and therefore structure the training to address those gaps.

Hashim H.A. 62 MSc Thesis - SHRM

5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This chapter aims at first answering the three (3) empirical sub-question of this thesis from the
findings reported in the previous chapter. Based on these answers, the central research question
which asks: “can training contribute to addressing challenges of recruitment and selection
faced by the civil society organisations in Nigeria?” is finally answered. The findings are then
confronted with the expectations explored in the theoretical framework chapter. In addition,
the implications for both practice and science are discusses followed by the limitations of this
research and finally, recommendations for future research as well as for the training
organisation are established.

5.1 SUB-QUESTION 1

What are the recruitment and selection challenges faced by CSOs in Nigeria?

Notably, many of the participating CSOs in this research did not have dedicated HR personnel
or staff as for many, all HR decisions were made by management. In the findings of this
research, only three (3) participants were in HR positions. Granting that this research did not
focus on statistical generalisation, there was a noticeable difference in perspective from the
participants based their position. This research still considered all participants ‘HR staff’ as
they had sole or major responsibility of HR practices like recruitment and selection.

Being one of the main gaps this thesis aimed to fill and as the first step in answering the central
research question, the R&S challenges faced by Nigerian CSOs were examined. From the
responses of participants, both trained and untrained, eleven (11) challenges emerged which
are discussed as either being internal or external challenges.

Internal Challenges
From the challenges identified in the findings, six (6) were considered unique to the CSO sector
and included: pressures from donors, digitalisation, limited funding from donors, low retention,
skill gap and government policies. These challenges were considered internal, meaning only
affecting the CSO sectors in Nigeria and participants that mentioned these challenges were
both trained and untrained which meant that there was no difference in opinion based on the
participant’s exposure to training. However, responses differed based on the participants

Hashim H.A. 63 MSc Thesis - SHRM

position. For instance, the challenge of digitalisation was raised by participants in official HR
positions as a challenge affecting their personal level of efficiency in doing their job as HR
practitioners. Other challenges such as donor pressures and limited funding were challenge that
stemmed from funders, again, a factor peculiar to the CSO sector as they are solely reliant on
funding for sustainability and survivability which comes from grants applied to. In addition,
the challenge of low retention and high employee turnover was also a common theme as
applicants come into the CSO sector for the wrong reasons (either with an expectation of
salaries in foreign currency or to await employment in the public sector). Another reason for
the low retention was linked to the missions of the CSO sectors as ‘aiding and development’
sectors which was not always an easy job like the posting of employees to conflict areas or
Furthermore, the unfavourable government policies that affected the CSO sector was a
challenge that could not be easily placed as there is no telling how and if it affects other CSOs.

External Challenges
The other five (5) challenges identified are distinguished as external challenges as thy affect
all organisations in Nigeria which could not simply be ignored as they also affected the CSO
sector. These included: gender imbalance, fake resumes, the nature of the labour market in
Nigeria, nepotism and the high unemployment rates in the country. Responses here did not
differ in terms of trained or untrained or on the position of the participants. As challenges that
exist as a result of the systems and economic situation in the country. Many of these challenges
were intertwined as they led to other challenges of R&S. For instance, the high unemployment
rates in Nigeria meant that the volume of applications when a position was advertised was
enormous thereby creating the problem for the recruiter to sift through all the applications for
the best candidate. The lack of digitalisation only worsened the situation as it was time
consuming sorting out the pile of applications. In addition, the nature of the Nigerian labour
market made it difficult to recruit the best suitable candidate as many applicants lacked basic
skills and knowledge of development work. This was explicitly attributed to the system of
education in Nigeria that was unfortunately too ‘bookish’ and not practical. This may also
explain why applicants resort to fake resumes in order to secure job opportunities they know
they are not qualified for.

The challenge of nepotism was one that received mixed responses, even though both trained
and untrained participants as well as participants in HR and managerial positions identified this

Hashim H.A. 64 MSc Thesis - SHRM

as a common challenge, opinions different based on their position. At first, this was seen as a
challenge that affected every sector and could exist in any country, making it inevitable.
However, it only became a challenge when unqualified friends and family members were
employed especially in a sector where human capital is paramount for its success and
sustainability which participants in HR positions emphasised on. For participants in managerial
position, three (3) perspectives emerged. Some insisted the challenge of nepotism did not exist
in their organisation, others did not think this was even a challenge at all while the rest admitted
to it being a challenge but also engaging in nepotism as a result of the unemployment rates in
Nigeria.. This difference in responses from the same group raised questions during the data
collection phase which was if the participants that stated this not existing in their organisation
where simply denying it or that this was genuinely not a challenge they faced themselves but a
challenge that affected them if other CSOs engaged in nepotism. This suggests that if CSOs
work together on collaborative projects and organisations did not have qualified personnel
because they hired a family or friend, the challenge of nepotism affected them indirectly.
Another question explored was if the these CSOs were just not able to speak openly about this
issue or responses where indicative of the pressures to engage in nepotism as this challenge
often had an element of pressure which came from either family or friends making it harder for
HR staff to overcome.

5.2 SUB-QUESTION 2

What do HR staff responsible for recruitment and selection need or require in order to deal
with these challenges?

As the second step towards answering the central research question, the needs of HR staff was
captured using Appelbaum et al.’s (2001) AMO framework as adapted by Boxall and Purcell
(2016). The abilities (A) HR staff needed in terms of skills and knowledge were noticeable in
alignment with the challenges identified by participants, although some were more directly
aligned than others. This was a surprising find as the participants themselves were prompted
to explain how the skills they identified could solve their challenge. However,. this level of
enthusiasm was mostly seen in the untrained managerial participants even though the trained
managerial and HR participants agreed that these skills were needed. This was attributed to the
fact that the trained participants felt they already possessed the skill but it needed development,

Hashim H.A. 65 MSc Thesis - SHRM

while others felt these were new skills they needed to learn. Basic skills in HR/recruitment,
proposal writing and interviewing skills were raised by untrained participants which was
somewhat unexpected as they held managerial roles in their organisations and these skills were
thought to be elementary. Political and leadership skills were raised for further development as
it was identified as already existing skills which they needed to make more informed decisions
and also to navigate the CSO space to their advantage.

In order to capture the (M) component of the AMO model, questions were operationalised and
asked in an indirect way which was presented as “do you feel the need to address these
challenges and why”. All points mentioned were linked to the overall performance of the
organisation. The focus on human capital for sustainability within the CSO, productivity and
employee/organisational performance and the good it will do in the community as a result was
emphasised by participants. Another point mentioned was driven by personal experiences,
some of which were as a result of failed recruitment practices while others were driven by their
unpleasant experience of being unemployed and qualified which was as a result of the nepotism
challenge.

The (O) component of the AMO model was automatically centred around training by all
participants. Participants in managerial positions both trained and untrained felt they were
already in a position to influence and implement change therefore having the opportunity to
address the challenge would be having the skills needed through training. However, this
opinion was not upheld by the participants in HR positions as the opportunities they needed
was towards autonomy and the lack of interference from management in influencing the
recruitment and selection process. As all participants here were trained, they felt they already
had the skills needed but the opportunity to practice the skill is not given to them.

5.3 SUB-QUESTION 3

How does training contribute to meeting their needs in handling recruitment and selection
challenges.

This question explored if the needs mentioned above could be met through training and its role
in developing the skills. Positive responses were gotten on the proposition of training as

Hashim H.A. 66 MSc Thesis - SHRM

participants stirred in the direction of the training even before it was raised. Participants re-
emphasised the use of training in the CSO sector as a form of capacity building to enhance
skills, others thought the skills they identified could only be learnt through training. However,
others mentioned that training alone could not meet their needs as other factors such as
experience in the area of recruitment was just as important. With regard to the role training
could have in addressing the challenges they faced, all participants stated how some skills even
through training could not address the external challenges in the country. However, the internal
challenges unique to the CSO sector being addressed through training had more positive
responses.

5.4 CENTRAL RESEARCH QUESTION

Can training contribute to addressing challenges of recruitment and selection faced by the
civil society organisations in Nigeria?

Based on the empirical findings of this research, it can therefore be concluded that: Yes,
training can contribute to addressing challenges of recruitment and selection faced by Nigerian
CSOs. However, only to a certain extent as internal challenges unique to the CSO sector are
more realistically addressed when HR staff are trained than the external challenges. Another
deduction from empirical findings is the fact that training alone cannot successfully contribute
to addressing the challenges as other factors like experience plays a role in the effectiveness of
training. Also, the position of the trainee is also key as it is seen that although HR ‘staff’ in
managerial positions have the opportunity to influence change for addressing the challenges,
they are also not experts in the area of HR and therefore their abilities are rather limited even
with training. Whereas trainees that are HR staff who have more experiences and have the
expertise are not given the opportunity to implement practices in the area of recruitment thereby
restricting their ability to address the challenges.

Although the above conclusions were deducted from the empirical findings of this research,
the 2018 HR training workshop was evaluated to see how those that have been trained have
managed to address the recruitment and selection challenge within the last 2 years. In doing
this, there was a near perfect alignment between the evaluation of the training workshop and
the empirical findings. As the training workshop focused on the advance enhancement of HR

Hashim H.A. 67 MSc Thesis - SHRM

and recruitment skills, several other recruitment and selection challenges were addressed as a
result, some of which included the gap in skill of development work, professionalising the
process of recruiting and the challenge of low retention. This suggests that although training in
specific skills are required, basic skills in HR and recruitment might be more beneficial to
addressing several other challenges. Also, participants who attended the training noted that the
skills learnt would have been put to more use if they had the opportunity which was stated as
the lack of autonomy from management, the reskilling and upskilling to stay in touch with new
techniques.

5.4.1 CONFRONTATION WITH LITERATURE

Based on the literature and the conceptual model, a number of expectations were derived. This
section aims to confront those expectations with the empirical findings of this thesis. The first
expectation was that the challenges faced by CSOs in Nigeria will be a combination of the
challenges faced by all sectors in Nigeria and CSO sectors in the global south. This expectation
is confirmed as the empirical findings found that the challenges faced by Nigerian CSOs was
a mixture of external and internal challenges unique to the CSO sector with more of the internal
challenges.

Secondly, the expectation that all three (3) components of the AMO model is needed to address
the challenges is also confirmed as many participants stated they had the skill but did not have
the opportunity to utilise the skill. This was also seen in the evaluation of the 2018 training as
participants stated that opportunities like autonomy from management and the ability to make
independent decisions would have increased their ability to utilise the skills they learnt during
the training in 2018. In addition, the expectation that (M) will be intrinsic as a result of the
sector is confirmed as participants were driven to address the challenges for organisational
success and sustainability and not for monetary rewards were an individual is said to be
extrinsically motivated. This was consistent with Boxall and Purcell’s (2016) explanation of
vocational interests . Furthermore, the expectation that (A) will be aligned with the skills seen
in literature is somewhat confirmed as some of the skills seen in literature and in the empirical
findings were political skills, interviewing skills, leadership skills and technological skills.
Other skills that were seen in the empirical findings were tailored to the CSO sector like the
proposal writing skill for better abilities in applying for grants which CSOs rely on for
survivability.

Hashim H.A. 68 MSc Thesis - SHRM

In conclusion, the AMO model was able to capture the needs of HR as the conceptual model
(see fig. 2) suggested that through needs identified using the AMO model, they can be met
through training thereby leading to performance outcome which in this case was addressing
recruitment and selection challenges.

5.5 LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH

Although this research put measures in place to ensure high levels of reliability and validity,
limitations still exist and is common with any research. Limitations for this research are both
from a methodological and theoretical perspective. From a theoretical point of view, the near
absence of literature or up to date findings on this topic made for a recognisable limitation. The
two contexts used in this research which were the Nigerian context and the CSO context made
it arduous to accurately explore existing literature and viewpoints on the issue at hand. This
created the necessity to explore out of date literature, western literature that did not fit in to the
context, write ups on international development organisations and their needs rather than that
of local CSOs in Nigeria. Even though this absence in literature allowed for greater scientific
relevance on this topic, conclusions are still rendered tentative as already existing literature on
the issue is not available for more definitive conclusions. In addition, the amount of literature
that had to be reviewed and explored as the lack of existing or relevant literature required the
need to explore the topic in other contexts like the CSO challenge that applied to all countries
in the global south. Although a significant amount of those challenges still applied to the
Nigerian CSO sector, there might have been other factors which have not been necessarily
captured. This made for a broader topic which is often times considered ‘risky’ in research
(Stokes, 2011).

Another theoretical limitation is seen in the AMO model as it only goes as far as to look at the
three (3) components and how the combination of all three (3) can lead to performance
outcomes. However, as this model does not identify how these components relate to one
another and even experts in this area have admitted that there are factors that can influence
each component (Boselie et al., 2005), it was also evident in the findings of this research.
Participants expressed how meeting the needs identified within the AMO model is not all that
is needed. Experience in the area of HR and technical ‘know-how’ were factors raised for
further consideration.

Hashim H.A. 69 MSc Thesis - SHRM

From a methodological perspective, the researcher’s lack of experience in collecting data and
analysing data using software made for a difficult start. This meant a significant amount of
time was spent on self-learning through the process of analysing. Although the outcome was
achieved to the researcher’s satisfaction, there might have been information missed in the
process which was even more likely as a thematic analysis was adopted. This is because it
requires a certain level of experience or practice as even when thought of as a ‘simplistic’ form
of data analysis, the researcher is often responsible for creating patterns, clustering information
and categorising clusters in to themes (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Another limitation attributed to
the methodology is the sample size. Although this is usually a limitation associated with
quantitative method rather than qualitative, a topic with an intricate context like the CSO sector
would have benefitted more from deductions of a larger sample size. In addition, the selective
sourcing of participants through the training organisation might have allowed for limited
insights gained. This is particularly so with the participants that were trained as this research
only focused on the 2018 HR training workshop. Better initiatives to source participants that
attended other HR or R&S trainings would have allowed for a variety of perspectives and
insights, however, this would have made the research topic unduly broad and difficult to break
down. Also, the lack of training for HR staff made it even harder to find other participants that
attended other trainings.

Furthermore, the focus on the 2018 training workshop for understanding the extent to which
training can contribute to addressing R&S challenges was only able to provide somewhat
accurate information for HR and R&S training. As this training did not focus on all the other
skills identified by participants and was only a training on recruitment and selection, it made it
difficult to reach a conclusion (tentative or conclusive) on how training in other skills may turn
out. In addition, evaluating a training for detailed insight that occurred 2 years ago could
perhaps enabled inaccurate information being given. Relying on memory for scientific research
is often thought off as risky (Stokes, 2011) as participants are more likely to falsify information
to satisfy the researcher or to avoid admitting their inability to recall specific information.
Although questions were sent a day in advance to trained participants, this might have only
given them an opportunity to provide inaccurate information.

Hashim H.A. 70 MSc Thesis - SHRM

Another limitation was discovered during the interviews. As many of the participants were of
a higher status in age and hierarchy, the researcher was cautious not to offend any participant
by referring to them in a disrespectful manner. This meant that formal titles (Sir, Madam, Dr)
and showing respect when a participant spoke had to be adopted. This often made it difficult if
not impossible for the researcher to interrupt certain participants when they went off topic even
though this was taken into consideration when the interview questions were created.

5.6 IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

The findings of this research has pointed to the necessity for training of HR staff for the overall
improvement of the CSO sector as a major player in the development of Nigeria. It therefore
negates that CSOs and donor agencies should set aside funds for training of functionaries with
HR responsibilities in countries such as Nigeria. Moreover findings show the importance of
undertaking practical follow-up studies to find out how new knowledge from training has been
used and possible barriers to trained HR functionaries using new skills.

5.7 IMPLICATIONS FOR SCIENCE

The findings of this thesis challenges the science of HRM to expand beyond considering the
relevance of recruitment and selection in for-profit business type organisations to the new and
under-research domain of the non-profit sector where HRM supports service delivery vocation
and not the profit motives.

5.8 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Naturally, some of the recommendations here will be linked to the limitations discussed above.
Firstly, there is a need to investigate and explore the reason why Nigerian CSOs do not engage
in building the capacity of HR staff or in HR skills of persons carrying out HR functions. The
abundance of literature on the lack of training for HR staff in the CSO sector in general and in
Nigeria is worrying. Even though training and reskilling HR staff can contribute to addressing
R&S challenges which is unequivocally recommended in this research, it may very well be just
a ‘recommendation’, a redundant phenomenon for the books and not for practice as the
grassroot issue has not be addressed. This is more so evident as donor agencies have
complained of the lack of talent in the CSOs they fund but have not allocated resources for

Hashim H.A. 71 MSc Thesis - SHRM

their training whereas huge sums are allocated to training the more ‘technical’ staff (Brunt,
2016). This seems like a battle Nigerian CSOs are most likely not going to win. Brunt (2016)
followed up by noting how these international development organisations spend millions of
dollars in training and developing the capacity of their employees which does not exclude HR
staff but refuse to give local CSOs the tools to elevate themselves in that regard. Although an
argument arises here which is why should international development organisations give the
resources to train HR staff when the challenges have more to do with the country and the
external challenges which seem almost impossible to solve with training. As only just a
speculation, the ‘why’ question needs to be further explored, ‘why do Nigerian CSOs ignore
capacity building for HR staff?’. However, before this can be disseminated by Nigerian CSOs,
it has to transcend from the donors and international development organisations which asks
another question needing further research ‘ why do international donor agencies refuse the
allocation of resources to developing the HR function of CSOs in Nigeria (and the global
south)?’

Another point recommended for future research is exploring mediators or moderators that may
influence the outcome of training and its ability to contribute to addressing R&S challenges.
As seen in the limitations above, experts in the AMO model have admitted that there are factors
that can influence each component (Boselie et al., 2005). Based on the findings of this research,
the position of the HR staff could be used as a mediator for future research. It was evident that
the participants in this research who were in official HR positions were more experienced and
knowledgeable in the aspects of HR but were not given the opportunity to utilise already
existing skills or new skills. Therefore, the more autonomy given to HR staff, the more efficient
training can be in addressing R&S challenges. In addition, this research found that participants
at management level had the opportunity to influence and implement change and new practices.
Therefore, the more HR training provided to individuals in management positions, the more
likely it is to be addressed.

Another point recommended for future research is using Ulrich’s HR roles to operationalise
the motivators and opportunities needed by HR staff to address R&S challenges. As Ulrich et
al.‘s (2013) article aimed at creating a new narrative on the profession of HR, they argue that
competencies of HR rely on self-perception which implies that they (HR) are best suited to
access and express their needs for individual effectiveness and organisational performance. In

Hashim H.A. 72 MSc Thesis - SHRM

order to fully comprehend these self-perceived needs, one must understand the roles of HR in
the first instant and the skills and knowledge needed which the Ulrich article discusses in detail.
This will provide more insights on the needs identified by HR staff and aligning it with the
roles by Ulrich therefore understanding the self-perceived role of HR staff for more tailored
training recommendations.

Finally, since the findings in this research points at challenges only being able to address
internal recruitment and selection challenges, there may be a need to revaluate the impact
training has on the external challenges after internal challenges are resolved.

Hashim H.A. 73 MSc Thesis - SHRM

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: INVITATION LETTER FOR PARTICIPATION

Dear Madam/Sir,
INVITATION LETTER TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH

My name is Hana, a Masters’ student at Utrecht University, Netherlands. I am currently

conducting my thesis research which is titled: Recruitment And Selection Challenges In
Nigerian Civil Society Organisations: can training HR staff contribute to addressing these
challenges?

As the aim of my research is to explore the challenges faced by CSOs in Nigeria during the
process of recruitment and selection, I am interested in your experiences as recruiters in this
sector. My research also seeks to explore the contribution of training in addressing these
challenges. As some of you may have attended the 2018 HRM Strategy for CSO Sustainability
Training organised by dRPC and facilitated by myself, Dr Maycock and Mr Kawu, my research
also explores the impact it had on addressing the challenges.

If you agree to take part in this research, your participation will be in form of a virtual interview
via Zoom, Skype or MS Teams and would take no more than an hour. Questions asked will be
strictly for research purposes. Your anonymity is also ensured and that of your organisation as
no names or information linked to you will be stated in my research besides your position and
your CSO type. If you require another letter from me addressed directly to your organisation
for permission to volunteer in this research, I will be more than willing to send you one. Also,
feel free to contact me if you or your organisation require any further information. If not, more
details will follow shortly as well the consent form for your signature.

Respectfully,
Hana Annette Hashim
Researcher
Utrecht University, Netherlands
[email protected]

Hashim H.A. 80 MSc Thesis - SHRM

APPENDIX 2: STATEMENT OF CONSENT

STATEMENT OF CONSENT

For participation in Public Administration and Organisation Science graduation research tittle:

Recruitment And Selection Challenges In Nigerian Civil Society Organisations: can

training HR staff contribute to addressing this challenge?

I have been informed about the research. I have read the written information. I have been able
to ask questions about the research. I have had an opportunity to think about my participation
in the research and it is completely voluntary. I am entitled to withdraw the consent I am
granting at any time and to stop participating in the research without providing reasons.

I hereby consent to participating in the research:

Name:

Organisation:

Position:

Signature (your full name may be repeated in this section if there are difficulties in inserting
an e-signature):

Date:

______________________________________________________________________

The undersigned, responsible for the research, hereby declares that the person named above
has been informed orally and in writing about the aforementioned research.

Name: Hana Annette Hashim Position: Researcher Date: 29/06/2020

Hashim H.A. 81 MSc Thesis - SHRM

APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW GUIDE

Introductory Questions
1- Does your organisation receive donor funded grants?
2- Is this CSO required to produce a staffing plan of human resources to donor agencies
as a prerequisite for securing grants?
3- How did you obtain your job in this CSO? What was your experience of recruitment
like?
4- Since joining this CSO how many trainings (internal or external) have you attended that
was intended to strengthening your skills in HR?
5- In one sentence, can you kindly share your views on the importance of human resource
management amongst CSOs in Nigeria?
6- Please describe your roles and responsibilities in the area of recruitment of new staff in
this CSO?

Section A: Recruitment and Selection Challenges

7- In your view, do you face any challenges in the recruitment and selection process of
hiring new employees?
8- If yes, can you kindly talk me through these challenges ?
9- If no, would you consider the issue nepotism, the unemployment rate and skill gap etc
an issue that significantly poses a challenge to the process of effective and efficient
recruitment and selection amongst CSOs in Nigeria?
10- Do you think these challenges are specific to your organisation or are they challenges
faced by most CSOs or faced by organisations across all sectors in Nigeria ?

Section B: The Needs for Addressing Recruitment and Selection Challenges

11- Do you think there is a need to address these challenges (and why (not))?
12- If yes, what skills or knowledge would you need to be able to address these challenges?
13- Do you feel you already poses these skills or knowledge?
14- If yes, do you feel the development of these skills or knowledge can help in addressing
the recruitment and selection challenges you mentioned earlier ?
15- In your view, what opportunities have been created or can be created for you by the
CSO that puts you in a suitable position in addressing the challenges you face in the
process of recruitment and selection?

Hashim H.A. 82 MSc Thesis - SHRM

Section C: The Role of Training in Addressing Recruitment and Selection Challenges
16- In your view, of what importance is the training and development of skills and
knowledge for addressing recruitment and selection challenges?
17- In you view, can the skills or knowledge you mentioned earlier be developed through
training programmes?
18- If yes, kindly talk me through what you how you think this can be done

Section D I: Insights on the Future

19- If an opportunity arises for a training program on HR, specifically in recruitment and
selection, would you attend? Why?
20- Do you think there are any factors that may limit your ability to apply new techniques,
skills, or knowledge on recruitment and selection that you would gain from any training
workshop to your practical work situation?
21- Do you think there are factors that will enable your ability to apply new techniques,
skills, knowledge on recruitment and selection that you would gain from any training
workshop to your practical work situation?

Section D II: 2018 HR Training Evaluation (for participants who attended only)
22- What techniques, skills or knowledge related to the recruitment and selection do you recall
learning from the 2018 training workshop?
23- After the training, which of the techniques, skills or knowledge were you able to apply
or implement in your work in the CSO? And can you talk me through it?
24- How did the application or implementation of the techniques, skills or knowledge help
you to address the problems of recruitment and selection?
25- If another opportunity arises for a training program on HR for CSO staff what
recommendations do you have for the training team in addressing the topic of
recruitment and selection?

Hashim H.A. 83 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 APPENDIX 4: CODETREE USING NVIVO 12

Main Theme Sub-theme 1 Sub-theme 2 File Ref.

RECRUITMENT 6 10
AND SELECTION
CHALLENGES
Digitalisation 1 1
Donor Pressure 2 3
Fake Resumes 5 5
Favouritism 2 3
Gender Imbalance 1 1
Government Policies 1 1
Limited Funding 5 7
Low Retention 7 9
Nature of the Labour Market 1 2
Nepotism 5 9
Skill Gap 6 6
Unemployment 4 4
Volume of Applicants 4 4
Challenges Faced By All Sectors 6 7
Challenges Unique to the CSO 10 11
Sector
NEEDS FOR 0 0
ADDRESSING
CHALLENGE
Motivation to Address 3 4
Challenge
Human Capital for 10 11
Sustainability
Performance and 7 8
Productivity
Personal Experiences 4 5

Skills and Knowledge Needed 8 9

Hashim H.A. 84 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 HR and Recruitment 8 10
Training
Interviewing Skills 1 1
Leadership Skills 3 3
Political Skills 4 4
Proposal Writing Skills 2 2
Technological Skills 3 3
Opportunities Needed 1 2
Autonomy 3 6
Reduced Interference 3 3
Opportunities from 4 4
Management
Linked to Training 6 6
(Reskilling and
Upskilling)
THE ROLE OF 8 10
TRAINING
Meeting Needs 9 11
Cannot Meet Needs 1 2

Can help in Addressing 9 15

Challenge
2018 Training Evaluation 0 0
Skills and Knowledge 7 11
Learnt
Implementations 5 5
Challenges Addressed 5 9
Other Factors in Addressing 0 0
Challenges
Factors that may Enable 7 13
Factors that may Hinder 9 11
Future Training 5 5
Recommendations

Hashim H.A. 85 MSc Thesis - SHRM

 APPENDIX 5: 2018 HR TRAINING AGENDA

Human Resource Management Strategies for CSO Sustainability

DAY 1 & 2 AGENDA
Date: 29th- 30th October 2018
Location: dRPC-PAS CSO Training Centre. Abuja, Nigeria

DAY 1
Time Session

8:45 am - 9:00 am Registration

9:00 am - 9:15 am Welcome address

9:15 am - 10:00 am Introductions, Expectations and Objectives of Training Workshop

10:00 am - 10:10 am Introducing the Participatory Methodology of reflecting on local realities

followed by introduction of best practices
10:10am – 11:00 am Organizational culture and business environment of Civil society
organizations implementing donor funded programs
11:00 am -11:30 am Tea-break

11:30 am -12:30 noon Introduction to HRM - Key elements of HRM from Recruiting Talent to
Separation
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm Lunch
2:15 pm - 2:45 pm Participants' Reflections and Discussions on the advantages and
disadvantages of open advertisement to recruit new staff, of reassigning
current project staff, poaching other CSO staff; or co-opting
members/volunteers when developing a staffing plan for a new donor
project
2:45pm – 3:15pm Best HRM practices in objective recruitment and in co-opting
members/volunteers in non-profits
3:15pm – 3:35pm Participants' Reflections and Discussions on effective techniques and
strategies for providing supportive supervision to Program, M&E and
Accounting staff for results in donor funded projects

Hashim H.A. 86 MSc Thesis - SHRM

3:35 pm - 3:50 pm Bio-Break

3:50 pm - 4:15 pm Best practices, effective techniques, holding difficult conversations and
strategies for providing supportive supervision to Program, M&E and
Accounting staff for results in donor funded projects
4:15 pm – 5:00 pm Open discussions, Q&A session and CLOSING
DAY 2
Time Session

9:00 am - 9:15 am Recap

9:15 am - 9:35 am Presentation and Feedback
9:35am – 9:55am Best practices for Recruitment and Selection
9:55 am - 10:25 am Participants' Reflections and Discussions on HRM Guiding Documents,
Manuals and Record keeping in Nigerian CSOs

10:25 am - 10:55 am Best practices in developing and applying - HRM Guiding Documents,
Manuals and Record keeping for CSOs
10:55 am – 11:25 am Participants' Reflections and Discussions on the utility of performance
appraisals, the supervision process and difficult conversations in Nigerian
CSOs
11:25 am – 11:55am Tea-break
11:55 am -12:25 pm Best practices on performance appraisals, the supervision process and
difficult conversations in Nigerian CSOs
12:25 pm - 1:00 pm Participants' Reflections and Discussions on developing a sustainable salary
scale
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm Best practices on developing a sustainable salary scale for CSOs

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Group work:

Developing Performance Appraisal tools
4:00 pm - 4:30 pm Presentations, Feedback and Open discussions
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm Q&A session, Group Photograph, Closing and Networking

Hashim H.A. 87 MSc Thesis - SHRM

APPENDIX 6: 2018 HR TRAINERS AND ORGANISERS

left to right: Umar Kawu - Leadership and Management Development Consultant, Dr Eno
Maycock - Human Resource Management and Reward Management International Consultant,
Hana Hashim - Human Resource Administrative Officer, dRPC.

(dRPC - CSO Training Centre, 2018. Abuja, Nigeria)

Hashim H.A. 88 MSc Thesis - SHRM