INFLUENCE OF OUTSOURCING HUMAN RESOURCE ACTIVITIES ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AT RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AUTHORITY, KENYA

Abstract

Many organizations in Kenya in both private and public sector face dynamics in their operating environments. The public entities in the country are the most prone to these changes given their reactionary strategies and slow response to change. Rural Electrification Authority is one of parastatals in Kenya whose services have led to lightening of rural areas in Kenya. It has been noted that there is a glaring human resource problem at the corporation in terms of competencies, size of staff, employee motivation, staff development, procedures, and practices among other challenges. One of the solutions to this is that outsourcing certain human resource functions is bound to enable a firm to leverage its expertise and focus more on its core activities. The general objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of outsourcing human resource activities on employee engagement at Rural Electrification Authority. The variables of the study included recruitment outsourcing, training outsourcing, and payroll outsourcing. The study was conducted across the five departments of Rural Electrification Authority at the head offices in Nairobi. The study was guided by two theories and a model namely; Kolb’s experiential learning theory, socio-technical systems theory and Andrew Brown engagement pyramid model. The study adopted a descriptive survey design using quantitative approaches. The study targeted 114 employees. The study used Nassiuma’s formula to calculate the sample which was found to be 54. This study used a structured questionnaire to collect data. The research instrument was first pilot tested to assess both its validity and reliability. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 23 software facilitated data processing and analysis. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis. The study revealed that outsourcing of payroll had the greatest influence on employee engagement. More so, it was found that the outsourcing recruitment services had a negative influence on employee engagement. When recruitment, training, and payroll were outsourced together, their influence on employee engagement was found to be significant. The study recommended that Rural Electrification Authority should minimize the level of outsourcing of recruitment services while simultaneously increasing outsourcing of both training and payroll services as means of enhancing employee engagement in the corporation.