Despite the increasing numbers of graduates in Uganda today, it is very difficult to identify and hire the best qualified job candidate. Move around Kampala’s corporate organizations, you will find most of the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) coming from outside the country. What is perturbing is that Uganda has the best education system in East Africa. There are more east Africans studying and working in Uganda than Ugandans in their countries. Yet, one would expect the reverse due to the attractive training Ugandan Universities offer. What then has gone wrong? Why should foreigners be head hunted to manage Ugandan corporate organizations? What are the possible remedies to this problem?
Much as many graduates in Uganda complain of scarcity of jobs, and accuse employers for divulging in recruitment malpractices, it can be said that some jobseekers have made it difficult for the employers to select the right job candidate. Dishonesty is one of the many challenges employers face in selecting the right employees who can handle the task. It can be costly on the part of the employer for example to offer a job opportunity to an applicant on the basis of the presented good grade, only to reap losses due to incompetence arising from forgery of working experience and the degree certificate.
Sometimes the police have arrested people who forge organization’s seals, stamps and documents. It is not surprising to find some job seekers who forge appointment letters, work identity cards and recommendations. These events signify dishonesty among the labour market in Uganda, yet it is not much reported in other east African countries. This is not to say that every job seeker in Uganda is dishonest. However, it is unwise for a Christian to marry from the family of a witch doctor on the basis that a daughter of that family is not necessarily a witch, when there are other marriable girls from families that do not practice witch craft. Likewise, a job seeker from a dishonesty environment may not be infected with dishonesty but affected by it. The saying goes that a devil you know is better than an Angel you do not know. It is this thinking that correctly guides Ugandan employers in recruitment.
The level of dishonesty seems to be on increase and spreading like cancer in recruitment.
Job seekers tell lies on their CVs which include magnifying designations in their previous employment. Others claim they left the previous jobs because the contract ended, when actually they were fired due to theft, dishonesty and incompetence. Hiring dishonest employees brings devastating consequences on to the organization. Such employees will inflate accountability, they will personalize the company’s property, are likely to continuously tell lies to their bosses, can infect other honest and trustworthy employees, and every evening you will find a company’s property in their vehicle as they leave work. All these issues negatively affect the organization’s image and cause unnecessary expenditure. What then are the possible remedies to this problem?
• Employers should ensure that short-listed job applicants undergo vigorous recruitment processes including conducting background checks about candidates in their previous employment and academic institutions where they studied.
• Institutions should be encouraged to teach ethics in every profession. This should be a continuous training right from child up bringing through primary education.
• Organizations should have comprehensive performance appraisal systems and implement the appraisal findings expeditiously.
• There is need for constant managerial and financial auditing in Ugandan public organizations.
Everest Turyahikayo
Kampala
Human resource Specialist
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