Human resource management practices and performance of small scale enterprises, A case study of ntungamo municipality

The study examined how human resource management practices influence the performance of small scale enterprises in Ntungamo Municipality among service and manufacturing industries. Specifically, the study examined the influence of employee resourcing on the performance of small scale enterprises, explored the influence of employee rewards management practices on the performance of small scale enterprises, and established the influence of employee training practices on performance of small scale enterprises. The study utilized a cross-sectional survey design based on questionnaires and interviews, and a mixed methods research approach. A sample of 169 was selected from 300 employees using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques of mean and standard deviations.  Regression analysis was used to establish the influence of human resource practices on performance of SMEs. The results showed that human resource practices significantly influence about 50% of the variations in performance of SMEs in Ntungamo district. Specifically, employee resourcing significantly influences 38.0%, reward management significantly influences about 19.7% while employee training significantly influences about 25.5% of the variation in performance of SMEs in Ntungamo district. Conclusively, human resource management practices have a significantly influence performance of SMEs. The significant findings make the applications of RBV Paradigm RBV, Attraction Selection theories to solving performance challenges of small scale businesses from a human resource management perspective. In recommendation, small scale businesses with few employees should set up human resource departments to handle human resources. Small scale owners extend their marketing channels to online to match the business competition and development. In future, a study on the influence of human resource management practices on performance business organizations, comparing small and large scale enterprises in Ntungamo district is still necessary.