Recruitment and Selection Practices for Female Administrative Officers in Saudi Public Sector Universities

Abstract

This study was undertaken to explore the recruitment and selection (R&S) activities experienced by Saudi female administrative officers in Saudi higher education institutions (HEIs). The major aim of the study was to investigate how administrative staff in the public sector of HEIs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are recruited, and what the selection practices and principles of recruitment processes are, as well as the associated social, economic and global influences on these R&S functions. The literature indicated that the employment of competent and effective administrative staff (the invisible workers) leads to superior performance, achievement and harmony in an education institution. Administrative staff work in universities has increased in complexity and importance; therefore, those appointed to carry out this work should be highly qualified. They interact with academics and students on an intimate, day-to-day and a long-term basis. To unravel the status of R&S Saudi female administrative officers in Saudi public universities, this research critically examined the relevant literature, and used the findings from the literature to construct an initial conceptual framework. The research then undertook a two-stage mixed method sequential research strategy. The first stage was the interpretive stage and involved interviewing 10 male and female participants in one Saudi university. Results from the interviews were used to create a revised conceptual framework based in the Saudi higher education context. The first stage assisted in mapping out the intended and actual R&S processes. The findings from this first stage highlighted the need to consider issues of female subservience and religion, and it was further found that important influencing principles were the role of government, and a lack of clarity and bureaucratic norms within the Ministry of Civil Service (MCS) and the Ministry of Education. A revised conceptual framework was used to construct a survey instrument, which was used in the second stage of data collection and sought to explore the implications of the revised framework. The survey comprised 10 demographic questions, 17 pairs of scenarios and two open-ended questions. The questionnaire was circulated to approximately 1,000 individuals in five regional universities in Saudi Arabia, which provided 467 usable responses for analysis. About 49.5% of the respondents were administrative officers, while the remaining responses were a mix of deans, managers and academic staff. A non-parametric approach using chi-square analyses of the data collected was used to generate and display findings of the research. Five key conclusions arose from the study. First, the role of Saudi women is continuously undermined and perceived as insignificant because of two Saudi prominent cultural antecedents that adversely influence the R&S of female administrative officers. These cultural issues include the prominent sociocultural influence of male domination and female subservience. Second, the dominant principle in the R&S of female administrative officers is non-meritocratic favouritism towards relatives and friends, known as wasta, which tends to ignore the educational backgrounds and skills of applicants. Third, three structural factors adversely influence the R&S of female administrative officers in Saudi public universities and allow the sociocultural influences of male domination, female subservience and wasta to continue: centralisation of the R&S policy and job creation in the MCS, lack of adequate MCS R&S policies and processes (which include the absence of relative hiring policies among the MCS policies) and absence of recruitment departments in public Saudi universities. Fourth, globally accepted principles of R&S and Islamic work principles have insignificant influences on the R&S of female administrative officers. Fifth (an unexpected finding), the Western Region of Saudi Arabia, known as Hijaz, stands out as having adopted more GAPs of R&S owing to its unique circumstances. This study has important implications for theory in terms of cross-cultural studies. From an outward-looking perspective, cultural traditions cannot be ignored when theorising in the Saudi public sector R&S context. From an inward-looking perspective, it is important to look at regional differences and how strongly cultural traditions are held within a nation and in sub-areas where cultural traditions might be different. Methodical implications include cross-cultural issues, such as how difficult this research was to conduct in a unique culture such as Saudi Arabia because of caveats on approvals, touching upon sensitive culturally bounded issues such as wasta and gender-segregated workplaces. The practical implications drawn from this study include that R&S practices in Saudi Arabia are predominantly driven by top-level male managers in the organisation rather than by a plan or a process.