Employee practices in New Zealand SMEs

Governments around the world are increasingly focusing on initiatives that encourage business improvement and build “firm capability”. A particular target of such initiatives has been the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. As the way in which this sector contributes to a country's economic and social goals has become more widely understood, there has been a growing emphasis on encouraging the owners and managers of these enterprises to engage in “best practice” initiatives. The assumption is that best practice will lead to increased levels of firm performance and economic growth. In New Zealand the Ministry of Economic Development has undertaken a study of business practice and performance based on a framework initially developed by the Australian Manufacturing Council in 1994 for a survey on the manufacturing sector. The study is now in its third iteration and for the first time incorporates all sectors of the economy. This paper presents the results relating to employee practices in small firms from the most recent study.