Human Resource Management Practices and Performance of Telecommunication Industry in Kenya

Abstract

The general objective of this study was to determine the role of human resource management practices in Kenya's telecommunications industry performance. The specific objectives were to determine the effect of recruitment & selection, training & development, performance management, and reward system on performance of telecommunication industry in Kenya. The study also evaluated the moderating effect of the human resource management policy on the connection between human resource management procedures and the performance of the telecommunications industry in Kenya. The research was anchored on six theories: the theory of attraction-selection-attrition, the theory of human capital, the theory of principal agents, the theory of expectations, the theory of institutional theory, and the theory of goal-setting. The conceptual framework shows the variables that are dependent, independent and moderating. In this research, the independent variables were created by the human resource management methods while organisational output was the dependent variable. Human resource management policy has been regarded as the variable of moderation. Also evaluated was literature appropriate to the research factors. The study used both descriptive and correlation research techniques. In all four telecommunications companies in Kenya, including Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom and Equitel, the survey population was 300 senior management workers. In choosing managers from the four telecommunications companies, the research used proportional sampling. Using Fisher formula, a sample size of 150 was reached. Using structured questionnaires, primary data was gathered. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential analyses. Simple and multiple regression models were estimated. The findings indicated that recruitment & selection, training & development, performance management and reward system have a positive and significant effect on performance of telecommunication industry in Kenya. Further, human resource management policy was found to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between human resource management practices and performance of telecommunication industry in Kenya. The study concluded that human resource management practices contribute significantly to the performance of telecommunication industry in Kenya. From the results, the study recommended that the telecommunication management should ensure that they recruit competent candidates, have sufficient number of employees, use internal selection and recruitment, and ensure employee retention. The management should also foster employee learning, better customer service, efficiency and productivity within the firm. Further, the management should enhance employee rating, setting standards for employees, foster teamwork among personnel, encourage communication between employees and management and effective planning in the organization. In addition, the management should develop better reward systems since they offer an incentive for personnel training and development which enhances efficiency within the firm. The study makes significant contribution to the understanding of the role of human resource management practices in determining performance of telecommunication industry in Kenya.