Abstract
One of the basic responsibilities of top managers of an organisation is the ability to
manage, supervise and control other members of staff in the best possible way to
ensure optimum performance and high productivity. Failure to understand,
acknowledge and meet the expectation and requirement of staff members by an
organisation may lead to deterioration in commitment, loyalty to the values of the
organisation, lack of motivation and eventually, low productivity. In this study,
personnel management (PM) practices in Nigerian quantity surveying firms were
examined by evaluating various human resource management (HRM) approach and
techniques. The aspects considered are staff strength, welfare, training and
development, mentoring and succession rate. Questionnaires were adopted for the
study and it was administered on quantity surveying firms using convenient sampling
method. Quantity surveying firms are not providing their members of staff with the
necessary and expected welfare and mentoring and level of staff training is below
average. In view of this, managers, directors and other top management staff of
quantity surveying firms should ensure proper recruitment and selection process at the
initial stage of personnel management; improve on staff training and development
strategies; be concerned about staff welfare and mentoring; maintain a strong, stable,
and increasing staff strength; and prioritise staff mentoring and succession in order to
enhance productivity of staff and general performance of the firms. This will not only
improve their innovativeness in delivering better to clients but will also enhance better
competition in both local and international market.