The Effects of Recruitment, Selection, and Training Practices on Employee Performance in the Construction and Related Industries

The human resource management of a company is important in today's competitive business environment because employees are the support of the company. The performance of employees is crucial to the success of any corporation. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors that contribute to better employee performance (EP). In this study, recruitment, selection, and training strategies are examined for their influence on EP in the UAE public sector, including the construction and related industries. Researchers used a structured questionnaire, a deductive approach, and a survey strategy to conduct the research. In this quantitative study, cross-sectional data was collected using the mono method. A sample size of 151 employees from the UAE public sector was used for this study. SPSS (statistical software) has been used to analyze the collected data. The analysis of the study confirmed a direct positive link between recruitment procedure (RP), effective selection (ES), training, and EP. The outcomes also showed a robust effect of ES on EP. In UAE public-sector corporations, training appears to be the least significant factor influencing EP. Public sector employers, such as construction and related industries in the UAE, should consider the significance and selection of enhanced EP.


Introduction
Employees are considered part of the company's assets because their contribution and performance play a vital role in organizational success. Selecting the best candidate for a position is one of the most critical steps in the recruitment process. However, the selection process in large organizations can be a comprehensive process that combines the ties and contrasts from one industry to another, depending on the aim and significance of the business [1]. Suriyanti [2] argues that successful corporations recognize employees' assets and strive to continually improve their human capital and performance. As noted by Paais & Pattiruhu [3], employee performance is determined by their ability, experience, knowledge, and skills to accomplish the management's mission; therefore, they are considered the foundation of enterprises. As a result of the intense competition in the market, organizations must implement effective strategies to attract and select the most qualified candidates for the job. By choosing the right person for the right job, a corporation can optimize its performance and efficiency. For effective human resource management, corporations must use practical tools and strategies to recruit and select employees and then train them to become an effective source of competitive advantage [4]. Several factors indicate EP, including: enhancing the efficiency of employees' performance; assisting in making the right decisions; assisting in evaluating the achievement of set performance goals; assisting in excelling and surviving within the corporation; a measure of quality and quantity of work done; and a cost-benefit analysis of the resources used [5].
This research aims to understand the crucial factors for better employee performance. Most studies have been conducted on recruitment, selection, and training by collecting data from senior managers. The relationship between the recruitment process, training needed after the selection process, and its effects on employee performance that consider the employees' point of view were few in the literature, if any. There is a significant gap in collecting employee data to understand the role of recruitment, selection, and training in EP. The research illustrates the relationships between the independent variables: employee recruitment, selection, and training, with employee performance. Therefore, this research tries to overpass this gap by gathering data from the employees to understand the impact of Recruitment Procedure (RP), Effective Selection (ES), and training on employee performance (EP) in the public sector of the UAE.

Literature Review
In a severely competitive market, human resources become one of the critical factors that make organizations survive and increase their market share. However, recruiting and selecting the best in knowledge and skills is a complex process. This process is not ended at the recruiting phase because of the need for training to guide and improve the resource skills and knowledge. This cycle of recruitment, selection, and training is a critical and needs a lot of information to optimize the outputs. Recruitment is a procedure to find adequately qualified people to apply for an available job in a corporation [1]. In this context, it refers to a series of events used by an organization to ask applicants to demonstrate the necessary attitudes and skills before they can be hired. Ofori & Aryeetey [6] defined recruitment as making a pool of proficient entities for vacancies in a corporation. The condition of the human resource in an organization depends heavily on the quality of applicants attracted, since this is from whom the organization will select its employees. It serves as an entrance to human capital in a firm. Hamza et al. [7] explained recruitment as a hunt for and acquiring sufficient numbers of potential job applicants with better quality. However, formal recruitment methods include employment agencies, job centers, and newspaper advertisements. On the other side, informal recruitment methods include referrals by the current employees working in the corporation.
Kaleem [8], discussed how skill management techniques can improve employee satisfaction and performance rather than hiring, reinforcing, and evaluating talent in selected public sector organizations of the UAE. Another study by Sutanto & Kurniawan [9] presented the influence of recruitment, labor relations, and employee retention on employee performance. It was concluded that RP could significantly affect EP in a corporation. Soelton [10] conducted a study to analyze and investigate the impact of employee competence, selection process, and recruitment process on the performance of employees by collecting data from 70 employees. The study's findings indicated that the selection, competence, and recruitment processes strongly influence EP in any corporation. Oaya et al. [11] examined the corporation's recruitment and selection strategies in impacting EP by collecting data from Nigerian employees. The study's findings revealed that using internal employee recommendations and recruitment agencies in recruitment and selection helps the corporation employ productive and dedicated employees, increasing their efficiency and productivity. According to this study, companies should utilize employment agencies for recruitment and selection, and give job descriptions and duties to employees. Referrals were also a suitable recruitment method because they increased the employees' coaching, obedience, and monitoring.
Herschberg et al. [12] defined selection as a procedure of choosing the most appropriate applicant from the pool of recruited applicants to fill a job vacancy. Rozario et al. [13] explained selection as a process used to choose the best individual from the pool of applicants appropriate for the jobs. The selection contains utilizing one or more methods to assess an applicant's ability in terms of appropriateness. Selection is to have a suitable individual for the right job, maintain and establish a good image of the employers, and make the selection procedure cost-effective [14]. ES plays a significant role in the overall success of any corporation because if a corporation is successful in making a good selection, it will ultimately improve the productivity and performance of the employees.
Anwar & Shukur [15] conducted a study investigating the Influence of R&S procedures on the overall EP by collecting data from 149 participants. The study's findings confirmed the direct positive link between ES and EP, indicating that for better EP, it is necessary to use effective selection procedures in selecting the best-suited applicants to fill the job vacancy. In their study, Gravina et al. [16] found that ES plays a significant role in influencing EP in a corporation. When the selection mechanism is effective, it increases employee performance and productivity. They claimed that ES enables corporations to choose the applicants best suited to the job, which helps the corporation increase overall performance and gives them a competitive advantage. Sulaimon et al. [17] explored the Influence of R&S procedures used by a corporation to influence the employees' overall performance by collecting data from banks in Nigeria. The analysis of 126 questionnaires indicated that ES plays a vital role in impacting the overall performance of the employees in a corporation.
The last factor that is part of the scope of this research is training. Training is a systematic procedure to alter employees' attitudes, skills, knowledge, or behavior [18]. Many factors affect the decision to train employees, including changes in business strategy, complicated HRM structures, the implementation of innovative work practices, the improvement of employee performance, the flexibility of workers, adaptability, and investment in new technology. According to human resource management theory, the corporation can employ training to increase the commitment of employees [19]. According to a strategic HRM theory perspective, training is a source of increasing corporation and EP [20]. Resource-based theory suggests that human resource is the core competency of any corporation that enhances its competitiveness [21]. Danvila-del-Valle et al. [22] claimed that training significantly affects employee development, increases performance, and retains human resources.
Hidayat & Budiatma [23] conducted a study to define the impact of training on EP by gathering data from 105 samples using a survey technique and a structured questionnaire. The multiple regression analysis indicates that training has a strong relationship with EP. Halawi & Haydar [24] tried to comprehend the impacts of training on the performance of employees from two Lebanese companies. The study gathered data from a sample of 303 respondents. The study's findings indicated that the corporation depends heavily on talented employees, knowledge, skills, and improved capability to attain better performance. Furthermore, they pointed out that despite hiring employees who are experienced, training and development programs are needed to improve their knowledge, abilities, and skills. It indicates that employees are the mainstay of any corporation. The study's findings confirmed a positive association between training and development programs and EP. Sendawula et al. [25] investigated the contribution of training and employee engagement to employee performance using evidence from Uganda's health sector. They collected data from 150 respondents that were analyzed using SPSS software. The Regression analysis showed that training and engagement seriously predict employee performance by 44.7%. The correlation analysis signifies a significant positive relationship between training and employee performance. Another study by Lee et al. [26] tried to investigate the differences in the impact of training and incentives on employee performance. The researchers collected data using an online survey of 119 senior managers operating in the Hong Kong clothing industry. The data was analyzed using PLS software. The study indicates that incentives are more credible than training in building a trustful environment.
Construction and related industries are challenging in terms of effective people management. A key characteristic of this sector is the long working hours, production-oriented management, and geographically dispersed nature of projects [27]. Hong Kong construction employees' motivation is investigated by Taiwo et al. [28]. The research revealed motivation in the construction industry is determined by motivators, hygiene factors, extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, as well as some demographic factors like age and experience. A study conducted in the Indian construction industry showed a positive relationship between training and development of employees and their performance [29]. In South-East Nigeria, the relationship between psychological contracts and employee performance has been studied [30]. According to a study conducted in Kuwait, job security is the most important motivation factor in construction companies followed by salary and promotion arrangements, while taking responsibility is the least motivating [31]. Gidado, & Ailabouni [32] evaluated the most significant factors that affect productivity in key construction activities, including excavation, formwork, reinforcement, concreting, blockwork, plastering, and tiling in the construction industry in the UAE.
Most of the above studies utilize the information from the organization's management sources, not the fresh and new employees. However, the research information sources critically affect the research outputs due to the conflict between different points of view. Therefore, there is a significant gap in the knowledge area. However, based on the above review, the following hypothesis can be proposed:

H1:
The RP and EP in the public sector of UAE are directly and positively associated. To conclude, this study evaluates the relationship between ES, training, and EP in the public sector of the UAE and the impact of RP, ES, and training on EP. Figure 1 shows the theoretical framework of research indicating the relationship between dependent and independent research variables.

Research Methodology
This research intends to ascertain the effect of recruitment, selection, and training practices on EP in the public sector of the UAE. The hypotheses in the previous section were formulated based on existing theories in the literature, and then data was analyzed to confirm or reject the theory. The study, however, does not include any external factors affecting the motivation or performance of employees. Moreover, in the UAE, there are lots of efforts to transition into virtual work in many sectors, at least partially, to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic [33]. Therefore, more efforts in training, especially in IT skills, are needed. To accomplish the purpose of the study, a structured questionnaire has been used. Statistical analysis was used to analyze the questionnaire and draw conclusions about the hypotheses. In the questionnaire, there were two main sections: one consists of demographic information about the respondents, and the other consists of questions regarding the variables of the study. The second section of the questionnaire depends on a Likert scale from 1 to 5, where 5 means strongly agree and 1 means strongly disagree. Each main variable (recruitment, selection, training practices, and employee performance) has 5 questions, so 20 questions were used. Each main variable can be called a construct or an indicator, while each one of the five questions for each construct is called a dimension. The dimensions will be mentioned later in the section on results and analysis during the investigation of the descriptive statistics and reliability test. Analyses are then conducted for each dimension and each construct. To collect data, an online survey has been used. The data were obtained at the end of 2021, just after the peak of the pandemic. The researchers used personal contacts and social media platforms to reach the targeted population. The study's population consisted of UAE public-sector employees. The steps of the study are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Study steps
The sample size (the respondents who answered the questionnaire) was 151 employees. Many of these employees are well-educated and have higher college degrees. Therefore, it is expected that their answers have high reliability, regarding the objective of the study. Descriptive statistics such as average and standard deviation are used. Cronbach alpha was used to check the internal consistency of the data of different dimensions of one construct. Then, statistical methods such as one-sample t-test, two-sample t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, and correlation are applied. One sample t-test is used to check if these practices are sufficiently used in the UAE. It is also used to investigate the level of performance of the employees. The effect of gender and experience were also checked using a two-sample ttest and ANOVA test respectively. The two-sample t-test is used to compare the averages for two samples (for example the samples for males and females). ANOVA is needed when there are several levels of the variable such as the experience, which was divided into four levels. The idea here is to check the level of experience on the average of the five performance dimensions. It is expected that training, for example, is more critical for employees with lower experience or lower degrees of education. The Spearman correlation coefficients are used to investigate the main hypotheses in the study. This Spearman coefficient is usually used for analysing the data of questionnaires since they Detailed statistics for hypotheses testing Results and conclusion are discrete (from 1 to 5). The statistical software SPSS was used to analyze data. All the related research ethics were followed while conducting this study. Respondents were informed about the research purpose. The privacy of the participants was also guaranteed as no personal information of the participants was collected.

Findings and Discussion
The findings are based on analyzing the questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire was about the questions regarding the personal profile of the respondents, such as age, gender, qualification, and experience. The analysis of the demographic profile indicates that 45.7% of the respondents were females, and 54.3% of the participants were males. Therefore, there is more or less a balance regarding gender, and there is enough data to check the effect of gender on the perception of the respondents. The respondents were also asked about their qualifications. It was found that 45% of participants were graduates, 33.8% held master's or Ph.D. degrees, 13.9% were high school or below, and only 7.3% were intermediate. People with different education levels can have different perceptions of the conditions of work due to their different levels in the hierarchy of positions in the organization. Therefore, it is essential to have a diversity of views. Moreover, it was found that 53% of the participants were 26-35 years old, 29.1% were 36-45 years old, 12.6% were 25 years old or below, and only 4.6% were 46 years old or above. The analysis of experience indicates that 58.3% of the respondents had work experience of above seven years, 16.6% of participants had experience of 4 to 6 years, 13.2% participants had less than 1-year experience, and 11.9% of the participants had 1 to 3 years of experience. Table  1 summarizes the demographic analysis of the respondents. Cronbach alpha coefficient has been calculated to test the reliability of the data, and the analysis indicated that the values were in an acceptable range. This measure indicates the internal consistency of the data, meaning that the five dimensions of a construct measure the same indicator. All the variables except EP have Cronbach alpha coefficient values greater than 0.7, indicating the high reliability of the scales as 0.7 is the acceptable range. Cronbach alpha coefficients are given in Table 2 for the four constructs. The value of 0.633 for EP is still acceptable.  Table 2 also shows the average and standard deviation values for the 20 dimensions. All average values are at least 3.5, which generally indicates the sufficient level of application of the practices or level of performance. The number 3.5 is well known in the literature to measure the level of application of managerial practices for a Likert scale from 1 to 5 [34]. In this study, the Likert scale was also from 1 to 5, where 5 means totally agree, and 1 means totally disagree. Being greater than 3.5 means that most of the respondents chose scales of 4 and 5. To be sure about the application level of practices, one sample t-test was used to check if the average of the 151 readings for each dimension is greater than 3.5 or not. For most of them, p-values were found to be less than 0.05. The p-value reflects how likely it is that you would have discovered a specific set of observations if the null hypothesis were true. Such a result of less than 0.05 gives the needed indication about the sufficient level of application of the practices. For EP, it means good performance since all the p-values of its five dimensions are almost zeros. More attention is needed, however, for proper job analysis before the recruitment process starts (p-value = 0.14), satisfactory method of interview (p-value = 0.09), and satisfactory promotion policies (p-value = 0.35). These are the practices that have p-values greater than 0.05. More emphasis can be obtained about the performance from figure 3, which shows the percent of frequency of the Likert scale found for each EP dimension. For example, 58% of the respondents agree that they have better performance compared to other colleagues with similar qualifications. Only, about 20.1% of the respondents are not so satisfied with their performance. The rest of them, however, are satisfied. This reveals the importance of the suggested practices in this study, plus other practices in HRM that enhance the performance of employees. Figure 3 clearly shows that most of the respondents chose the Likert scale values of 4 and 5 (LS4 and LS5), which mean "agree" or "strongly agree".

Figure 3. Percentages of frequency of Likert scale levels for EP dimensions
To check the effect of gender, table 3 shows the one-sample t-test for males and females. The alternative hypothesis for each one can be stated as H1: µ>3.5 (and the null hypothesis is: H0: µ=3.5), just as in table 2, but the investigation here is repeated two times, once for males, and once for females. Again, a p-value that is less than 0.05 supports this claim. Table 3 also shows the two-sample t-test for the gender effect. In this case, the alternative hypothesis is H1: µ1 ≠ µ2. In other words, the averages of perceptions of males and females measured by Likert scale are different. See the p-values of the two-sample t-test in the fourth column in table 3. Generally, females are more positive than males about their perception of the practices applied in their organizations. This is obvious because the p-values greater than 0.05 is more for males (second column) than females (third column). 6 p-values are greater than 0.05 in the second column, while there are only two p-values that are greater than 0.05 in the third column. For example, for RP3, the p-value for males is 0.26, which means that there is no enough evidence to claim that the average of their perception regarding RP3 is more than 3.5. On the other hand, the p-value for females is 0.01, and that means that there is strong evidence that the average perception of females is greater than 3.5 (closer to be "agree" and "strongly agree"). However, generally, the differences based on gender are not very big. Almost all the values in the fourth column are greater than 0.05 indicating no significant difference in the averages of Likert scales responses of males and females. That means that there are some differences in only few dimensions, but even in these dimensions, the differences are not so significant. This indicates that the effect of gender on the main results associated with the main hypotheses of the study, about the relationship between practices and performance, can be neglected. The effect of experience was also investigated using ANOVA test. This test is usually used when there are more than two levels of the same factors. The gender, however, is two levels, males and females. Therefore, two t-test was appropriate. The experience, on the other hand, can have 4 levels as in Table 2. These levels of experience are less than a year, 1 to 3 years, 4 to 6 years, and 7 years and above. Table 3 shows also the effect of experience on the perception of respondents. The null hypothesis can be stated as follows: µ1= µ2= µ3= µ4. The alternative hypothesis indicates that at least one of them is different. In other words, the null hypothesis indicates that the perception of respondents is not affected by their different experience levels. The last column of the table shows the p-values of ANOVA test. Almost all of the dimensions are greater than 0.05 (except for EP1), indicating no difference in averages based on experience. However, employees with more experience have a little bit better perception of their performance compared to other colleagues with similar qualifications. This is expected since they are experts and their performance should be better.
To test the main hypotheses in this study, the main objective was to evaluate the association between RP, ES, and training practices; and the EP dimensions. So, the Spearman correlation coefficient has been found to attain this objective of the research. A correlation value closer to one is an indication of a strong relationship. Table 4 shows the correlation analysis of the main variables in the study. It is evident from the correlation coefficient mentioned in the table that the different practices and performances in the public sector of the UAE are positively and directly associated. It signifies that when a corporation uses effective recruitment, selection, and training processes, these practices ultimately help the corporation improve its employees' overall performance. The correlations among the practices themselves are also considerably significant, meaning that organizations tend to apply the three major groups of practices together. For example, the correlation coefficient between training and RP is 0.68. Table 4 shows that training (with a correlation of 0.53) has a greater effect on EP than the other two practices. Variables with correlation coefficients between 0.5 and 0.7 can be considered moderately correlated. Variables with correlation values between 0.3 and 0.5 imply that they have a low correlation. If the relationship between the average values of the 15 practices is checked against the average values of the 5 EP dimensions, then a correlation coefficient of 0.54 is found. Therefore, it is possible to say that the proposed practices in this study are moderately correlated with EP. Figure 4 shows the relationship between overall practices and employee performance. The values of the five performance dimensions were averaged for each respondent to get one scale (the y-axis). Overall practices measure is the average value for the 15 dimensions. Therefore, the x-axis for every point in the figure is the average value of these dimensions for one respondent. The figure shows the positive relationship between these practices and performance. Some respondents tend, in general, to choose the same value on the Likert scale for all or most of the five dimensions of EP. Moreover, the average of only five numbers is not exactly continuous. Therefore, some adjacent points are on the same horizontal line in the figure. In spite of that, the conclusion is very clear about the positive relationship between the x-and y-axes, where whenever the x-axis values increase, the y-axis values increase. Both Table 4 and Figure 4 show the importance of the 15 practices of recruitment, selection, and training and their positive effects on the five performance dimensions of the employees. Organizations need to focus their attention on such practices, especially training. As the correlation is not strong, organizations should take into account all the factors that affect employees' performance. In the last few years, external factors such as COVID-19 affected heavily the business environment, and the feeling of insecurity was overwhelming especially in the GCC countries. Further research is needed to grasp such external factors.

Figure 4. Relationship between the RP, ES, and training practices; and performance
Compared with the results in the literature, this study confirms the results found in previous studies about the positive correlation between these practices and employees' performance. For example, the study by Akhtar et al. [35] showed a positive relationship between training practices and other HRM practices and organizational performance. Moreover, recruitment, selection, and training practices were found to be positively correlated with the EP in the study by Tessema & Soeters [36]. Other studies also gave the same impression about the importance of the practices mentioned in the

Performance
Overall average of practices' implementation study. However, it is important to conduct such research in different periods especially in the GCC countries when the effect of external factors can be devastating, and affect the results. Many employees lost their jobs in the region in the last two years, and others suffered salary reductions. Such problems affect the performance of the employees badly. A recent study by [7] in another Arabic region investigated the relationship between recruitment and selection and organizational performance. They emphasized the importance of selection methods. Another recent study by Alajlani & Yesufu [37] examined the relationship between HR practices and employee retention, as one of the performance dimensions, in higher education institutions in the UAE. They found that HR practices can improve employee retention. Our study, however, is more general about the nature of the organizations and the dimensions of employee performance.

Conclusion
The recruitment and selection of employees have a significant impact on the performance of organizations and are of great importance if the organization hopes to succeed. Consequently, recruitment practices determine the quality of the new recruits, and the selection process is inherently determined by the quality of the candidates it attracts. In their analysis of the existing literature, researchers found a significant gap in employee data collection in order to better understand the role of recruitment, selection, and training in EP. Therefore, this study aims to analyze and understand the role of ES, RPs, and training in improving EP. The study concluded that the performance of an organization is determined by the quality of its employees, and a good recruitment strategy will enable organizations to hire suitable employees who can boost the performance of their organizations. The analysis of the study confirmed a direct positive relationship between RP, ES, training, and EP. Additionally, the results indicated that RP, ES, and training had a positive influence on EP. According to this study, RP is the most crucial factor in EP, followed by ES and training. The findings of this study also add to the existing literature regarding the importance of training, recruitment, and selection procedures in influencing EP, specifically in the public sector of the UAE.
Corporations operating in the UAE's public sector and throughout the world will benefit from the conclusions of this study. Since considering the appropriate factors before recruitment and selection is an important step towards hiring the right candidates for particular positions, this research allows corporations in the public sector to better understand the important factors affecting EP. It is imperative that the governmental sector establish a systematic recruitment and selection process that helps the organization in recruiting and attracting qualified candidates. Organizations need to conduct rigorous and thoughtful processes of recruitment and selection. Having the right employee for the right job will not only increase the productivity of the employees because they know the job well and have significant skills essential to the job, but will also motivate them to remain in the organization and perform at their maximum. It would be beneficial to engage human resources experts and agencies to identify credible candidates based on their skills, qualifications, competencies, and capabilities. By doing so, organizations can reduce workplace nepotism and favouritism.

Data Availability Statement
The data presented in this study are available in the article.