Determinants of Employee Turnover in Kerio Valley Development Authority in Kenya

Organizations worldwide are experiencing frequent employee turnover as per the number of studies that exist. The employee turnover rates in organizations in Kenya have drawn a lot of concern from the scholars in Human Resource Management and in the behavioral science due to its effects on organizational performance. While various factors have been observed as to why most employee are leaving organizations on voluntary or involuntary there seem to be a gap as to why this trend still continue to persist  in developing countries and more so in organizations in Kenya. This study sought to establish the determinants of employee turnover in Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) and to explore the possible remedies to the prevailing problem of high turnover rates in KVDA. Equity theory by John Stacy Adams which advocates that individuals will be better motivated if they are treated equitably and demoted if they are treated inequitably was used. The study adopted descriptive research design to generate data from the respondents of the study.  A sample size of 120 employees was selected from the targeted population of 600 employees using the stratified random sampling method. Questionnaires, interview schedules and observation checklists were used to collect data for this study. The collected data was subjected to methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis. From the study findings, poor compensation structures, lack of Human Resource Career Development Policies and low job satisfaction were the key factors that contributed to employee turnover at KVDA. The study therefore, recommends that the organization needs to review its compensation structure, formulate and implement Human Resource Career Development Policies and put strategies in place to enhance employee job satisfaction. The study suggests further studies should be carried out in other institutions in the public service in Kenya to ascertain whether similar findings are obtainable of turnover. Key words: Employee Turnover, Kerio Valley Development Authorit

An Assessment of the Utilization of Human Resource Information Systems in Selected Universities in Kenya

Service Delivery is one of the important key functions of any organization that is involved in Human Resource Management activities. This is clearly demonstrated by the numerous strategies that organizations are putting in place in order to satisfy demands of their customers.  Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) is one such strategy that has gained popularity in application by many organizations.  Though most of these strategies have propelled organizations in fulfilling their objectives, lack information on HRIS exists in Kenya. The study objectives were to: examine the HRIS usage in universities in Kenya and establish the application of HRIS in universities. The study used survey research design. The targeted population of 88 was drawn from Departments of Human Resource, ICT and Finance from the two Universities. The three departments were purposively selected since they were directly involved with HR matters. The entire population participated in the study since it was small and manageable. The researcher used questionnaires and an interview schedule to collect data from the respondents. Collected data was analyzed descriptively and presented through tables. From the findings, it was established that the institutions used both the automated and the manual HRIS. HRIS was found to be commonly used for payroll and record management. Besides, HRIS was also found to be used for recruitment, promotions and skills inventory. The study therefore recommends that the management of Kenyan Universities should allocate adequate resources for the implementation and maintenance of the system. HR managers should play a proactive role to support HRIS implementation in their organizations. It is also recommended that since the Universities in Kenya have adopted different types of Human Resource information systems, these systems need to be integrated and exchange data in order to increase availability and readiness of information to support top management on decision making. Keywords: Human Resource Information Systems, Universities in Kenya, Service Delivery, IC

Challenges and Strategies in the Implementation of Human Resource Information Systems in Kenyan Universities

The need for quality service delivery and enhanced outputs in organizations has led to the need for a streamlined and efficient workforce. This is clearly illustrated by the numerous strategies that organisations are putting in place in order to satisfy their clients’ needs.  One such strategy that has gained popularity in many organisations is the entry of Human Resource Information Systems. Even though most of these strategies have propelled organizations in fulfilling their objectives, limited information exists on HRIS in Kenya, more so in the higher education sector. This study therefore examined the challenges and strategies in the implementation of human resource information systems in Kenyan universities. The specific objectives of the study were: to establish the challenges associated with the usage of HRIS on service delivery and; to explore appropriate strategies for sustained usage of HRIS on service delivery in Public and Private Universities in Kenya. The study used the survey research design. The targeted population for the study was 88 and was drawn from departments of Human Resource, Information and Communications Technology and Finance from the two Universities. The three departments were purposively selected since they were involved with HR matters. The entire population participated in the study since it was small and manageable. The researcher used questionnaires and an interview schedule to collect data from the respondents. Collected data was analyzed descriptively and presented through tables. It was established that there were challenges in the usage of HRIS as most employees resisted the changeover from the manual system to the automated system. Lack of skilled Staff, High cost of setting up and maintaining a HRIS and resistance to change of the organizational culture were other challenges stated. In order to effectively implement HRIS, the respondents opined that there should mobilization of resources required to set up HRIS, acquisition of a suitable HRIS software, the organization should focus on their goals and objectives in order to enhance usage and HRIS performance, recruitment of trained and qualified HRIS staff and continuous in-house training for existing staff on HRIS implementation. The findings revealed that there were a number of benefits associated with adoption of HRIS which included easy access of staff information, improved data management, and improved data input process among others. Therefore, there is need to expand the use of HRIS in the universities. This will enable the Universities to efficiently and effectively handle HR functions. Key words: HRIS, HRIS Implementation Challenges, HRIS Implementation Strategies, Kenyan Universities, ICT, Service Deliver