INFLUENCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEES IN RESEARCH INSTITUTES IN KENYA

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of human resource management practices on the performance of employees of research institutes in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to determine how recruitment and selection, training and development, reward system, human resource planning and staff welfare influence employee performance in research institutes in Kenya. When good HRM practices are employed in an organization, it enhances employees’ productivity, thus the achievement of organizational goals. As the world is becoming more competitive and unstable than before, organizations are seeking to gain more competitive edge at all cost and are turning to more innovate sources through HRM practices. The study adopted descriptive and correlational research designs. Stratified random sampling technique was used in the study while the study population consisted of all the employees in the selected cadres of all Government owned research institutes. whose total number was 986. The target population consisted of 760 employees while the sample size consisted of 255 employees. Linear regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between independent variables and dependent variable. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used to analyze quantitative data while qualitative data was analyzed through the use of questionnaires. t-test was conducted to test the significance of independent variables with the dependent variable at 5% level of significance. The Pearson correlation computation between all the independent variables and the dependent variable were highly significant at; recruitment and selection - 0.071, reward system - 0.791; training and development and staff welfare-0.000; human resource planning-0.049. The study findings indicate that training and development, human resource planning, staff welfare and recruitment and selection have a positive influence on employee performance. These findings suggest that there is a need for research institutes to adopt and consistently implement appropriate human resource planning, recruitment and selection, training and development as well as staff welfare in order to deliver on their mandates. The study recommends further research on other factors that may have an influence on employee performance.