Influence of Staff Recruitment and Staff Retention Strategies on Job Performance in Selected Tertiary Education Institutions in Sierra Leone

This study investigated the influence of staff recruitment and staff retention strategies on job performance of six tertiary educational institutions in Sierra Leone using the survey research design. A total of 266 questionnaires were administered to administrative staff of six tertiary educational universities in Sierra Leone. Findings revealed that coefficients of criteria-based selection, and search committee significantly (p<0.05) increase staff job performance by 0.28 and 0.24 units, respectively. Moreover, training significantly (p<0.05) increases staff job performance by 0.40 units, whereas stress from overworking and other sources significantly (p<0.05) decrease staff job performance by -0.43 and -0.57 units. The coefficients of selection without interview, selection through interview, personal contacts, selection by ratification, administrative influence, and referred by other agent show that a unit increase in these parameters causes a nonsignificant (p>0.05) increase in staff job performance by 0.27, 0.24, 0.05, 0.35, 0.41 and 0.04 units, respectively. The coefficients of applications leading to selection, multiple combined approaches, personal influence and others (advertisement leading to selection and interviews) reveal that a unit increase in these factors causes a nonsignificant (p>0.05) decrease in staff job performance by -0.09, -0.06, -0.18, and -0.19 units, respectively. Findings suggest that, in designing and instituting recruitment and selection criteria quality should not be compromised. This study recommends that universities should constantly evaluate their selection methods on the basis of their validity, impartiality, scope of usage, and cost and utilize robust retention strategies for enhanced job performance.