EFFECT OF WORKFORCE PLANNING ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF SMES IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract
The study evaluated the effect of workforce planning on the organizational performance of SMEs in Enugu State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to evaluate the effect of succession planning on the quality of service of SMEs in Enugu State and determine the effect of leadership development on the profitability of SMEs in Enugu State. The population of the study is three thousand five hundred and eleven (3511) staff of the organizations understudy. The study used the survey approach and stratified random sampling. The primary source was the administration of questionnaire. The adequate sample size of 346 was determined using Freund and William's statistic formula. 331 staff returned the questionnaire and accurately filled. That gave 96 percent response rate. The validity of the instrument was tested using content analysis and the result was good. The reliability was tested using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r). It gave a reliability co-efficient of 0.74 which was also good. Data was presented and analyzed by mean score (3.0 and above agreed while below 3.0 disagreed) and standard deviation using Sprint Likert Scale. The hypotheses were analyzed using Z – test statistics tool. The findings indicated that Succession planning had positive effect on the quality of service of SMEs in Enugu State Z (95, n = 262) =
7.709 < 10.608, p > 0.05. and Leadership development had positive effect on the profitability of SMEs in Enugu State Z (95, n = 262) = 5.895 < 8.149, p > 0.05. The study concluded that Succession planning and Leadership development had positive effect on the quality of service and profitability of SMEs in Enugu State. The study recommended among others that Succession planning components such as competence, skill, commitment, and the show of interest should be integrated into the mission statement of SMEs. This will create an enabling culture which can be transferred from one generation to another.