Perceptions of nurses about human resource management practices affecting the performance of nurses at King Edward Hospital, eThekwini

Abstract

The aim of the study was to explore the perceptions of nurses about human resource management practices affecting the performance of nurses at King Edward Hospital of eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa. Since employees are among the organisation’s most important resources, there is a need to maintain a work environment that satisfies the needs of individual employees and management, to improve employee morale and convey expectations in order to cultivate a motivated and productive workforce. The role of nurses is to assist sick people in hospital by nursing them and helping to restore them to sound health. Additionally, nurses are required to be devoted to their work and display courtesy and empathy as they deal with people who may be affected both physically and emotionally. However, very few of the patients are concerned about the conditions under which the nurses operate, including human resource practices. Human resource practices such as recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation, performance management, and public relations affect the performance of nurses. Data for this study were collected using a quantitative methodology in order to understand the factors that affect nurses and their performances in King Edward Hospital, Durban. Self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection and were formulated based on findings from the literature review. The study recommended that management should work hard to uproot corruption and nepotism in the recruitment and selection process so that ideal applicants are recruited and employed; develop a compensation system that is market related; and other strategies that can lead to the retention of talented employees. Performance appraisal systems need to be transparent, and political or personality differences should not influence the process.