Job-Rotation, Utilization of Workshops, and Performance of SMEs: An Empirical Study from the Gasabo District in Rwanda

Abstract

This study addresses an important aspect of building small-and medium-sized enterprises' (SME) performance capacity through human resource development. It specifically studies the experiences of manufacturing SMEs in Rwanda to demonstrate the performance implications of using workshops and job-rotation in small entrepreneurial firms. Given its unique commitment in the region for building necessary support for developing enterprises, Rwanda was a particularly interesting context to study this aspect. Our study included 101 firms drawn from Gasabo, a district in capital Kigali. With the help of a regression analysis, we found support for a positive direct link between job-rotation and SME performance. We, however, did not find a similar result regarding workshops and SME performance. In order to examine the effects of job-rotation and workshops in more depth, we tested for the combined effect of these two practices. Our findings demonstrate the value of workshops when combined with job-rotation among SMEs in our study setting. With these findings, our study demonstrates how local firms and advocates of workshops can effectively use this method to enhance SME performance.