EMPLOYEE RELATIONS PRACTICES AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS IN KENYA

Abstract

Employees are regarded as the most valuable element in an organization. They contribute immensely to the growth and development of any organization. The objective of this research was assessing the effect of employee relations practices and organizational performance in public organizations in Kenya a case of Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC). The specific objectives included; to examine the influence of employee participation in decision making on organizational performance at Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited; to determine how compensation practices influence performance at KPLC; to examine how training and development affect organizational performance at KPLC and to examine the influence of conflict resolution mechanisms on organisational performance at Kenya Power and Lighting Company. The research was guided by the Social Exchange Relationship theory in conjunction with Resource Based View theory. This research made use of a descriptive research design. The research population was 164 personnel of KPLC's Machakos Office, including middle-level managers, operations staff and top managers. A questionnaire was used for collecting primary data from the respondents. To undertake data analysis, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics Ethical considerations were observed throughout the study. The possible value of Y when all independent variables are equal to zero was 6.072. The data findings analyzed also showed that taking all other independent variables at zero, a unit increase in employee Participation will lead to a 0.362 increase in organizational performance in public organizations in Kenya; this means that there is a significant relationship between employee participation and organizational performance in public organizations in Kenya. The P-value was 0.001 and thus the relationship was significant. A unit increase in Compensation Practices will lead to a 0.423 increase in organizational performance in public organizations in Kenya; this means there is a significant relationship between Compensation Practices and organizational performance in public organizations in Kenya. The study concluded that public employees' performance is positively and significantly impacted by employee participation. The study recommends involving employees in decision-making when it comes to establishing goals, objectives, and performance targets as well as decisions on rewarding for performance improvement, innovation, and creativity for the department.