Influence of human capital factors on performance of devolved governments in South Eastern Kenya region

Abstract

The study focused on the influence of human capital factors on performance of devolved Governments in South Eastern Kenya region. The specific objectives of the study were; to establish the influence of employee resourcing on organizational performance of the devolved governments in South Eastern Kenya region, to examine the influence of employee compensation on organizational performance of devolved governments in South Eastern Kenya region, and to assess the influence of staff training and development on organizational performance of devolved governments in South Eastern Kenya region. The target population comprised county government of Kitui, Machakos and Makueni senior staff numbering 179 members comprising County Executive Committee Members, Chief Officers, County Directors and Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors and Sub-county administrators within the County ministries. A sample size of 59 county officials was randomly selected using stratified simple random sampling techniques. Data was collected by the aid of a structured questionnaire administered to the sample. The questionnaires were coded to enable grouping of the different responses into categories. The study utilized Microsoft Excel (2016) and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 for data analysis and presentation. The data was analysed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics. The analysed data was presented using figures and tables generated from the multiple regression analysis conducted on the variables in order to establish the effect of human capital factors on the performance of devolved governments of South Eastern Kenya region. The findings of the study established that there is no statistically significant influence of employee resourcing on performance of Machakos and Makueni county governments. However, employee resourcing has a statistically significant influence on the performance of Kitui county government. The evaluation of the influence of employee compensation in the county governments of Kitui and Makueni established a statistically significant influence of employee compensation on county government performance. The study established a statistically significant relationship between staff training and development and devolved governments’ performance in both Kitui and Machakos. However for Makueni county government, staff training development has an insignificant influence on the county government performance. However, the study noted that there was no scholarship program in place for career development. The study recommends an improvement in the conduct of employee resourcing to include current trends that include use of softwares to track job applications, development of a mobile recruitment strategy, increase the focus on passive and potential candidates, and a growth in the emphasis for social networks. The study also recommends the establishment of career advancement programmes to facilitate retention of top talents and skills, boost productivity and engagement, generate knowledge and strengthen the succession plan of the non-political roles. Finally, the study suggests further broad-based research to be done on other human capital factors not considered in this study. Future research can be done on the 47 counties in Kenya in order to deliver a reliable generalization on the effect of human capital factors on the performance of devolved governments in Kenya.