Chapter 3: A Global Review of the Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on SMEs and Start-ups

This chapter explores the best practices used by SMEs and start-ups from a global perspective. Human Resources is an asset and the backbone of any organisation. For an organisation to survive and excel the Human Resources personnel should put in place the best practices so that the goals can be achieved. The objective of this chapter is to assess the Human Resources functions and its best practices used in small and medium-sized enterprises. The components of human resources management reviewed in this chapter are talent management, learning and development, talent acquisition, and performance management system. A combination of comprehensive literature review through journals, articles, observations, and SME surveys were used to achieve the objectives of this study. The result will show the impact of best practices on the overall effectiveness and productivity of employees. However, we are focusing on the factors that will lead to success and other blending factors which will enhance the organisation’s performance. These, in turn, can be easily adapted into elements of organisational structure, organisational culture, and workforce training. These results can also be applied to other small businesses. This is one of the first studies to investigate HR factors and best practices through organisational structure, talent development and promotions, and the organisational culture of small businesses.