REWARD MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEES IN THE HEALTH SECTOR IN KIRINYAGA COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

The general objective of this study was to establish the influence of reward management practices on the performance of the health sector employees in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. A descriptive research design was used. The study target population consisted of six (6) hospitals in Kirinyanga County. The unit of observation consisted of 737 employees working in the six targeted public hospitals. A sample size of 259 employees was used. The data collection method was a semi-structured questionnaire. The data analysis was done through descriptive and inferential analysis. The result indicated that the employee's salaries did not match their inputs, the salary was moderately sufficient to cater for their upkeep, travel allowance and house allowance were insufficient and the bonuses paid were insufficient to the employees. The results indicated that life insurance cover, health insurance coverage, and education benefits were insufficient. There was moderate benefit from annual performance-based pay and moderate individual benefits received based on the work performed. The study results indicated that the nurses fairly receive a certificate of appreciation which motivated employees to work hard. The employees appreciated the job titles which came with responsibility. The respondents pointed out that they moderately normally received free sponsored trips and vacations from their employers. The study concluded that direct financial compensation has a positive significant effect on employee performance. The study concluded that indirect financial compensation has a positive significant effect on employee performance. The study concluded that incentive plans have a positive significant effect on employee performance. The study concluded that employee recognition has no significant effect on employee performance. The organization should develop an appropriate financial compensation policy, including direct and indirect financial compensation, based on the findings of this study to increase employee work satisfaction. Accordingly, the human resources manager should put procedures in place to make sure that the company has a good wage structure and job evaluation system because this would encourage people to work hard. The study recommended that the civil service commission should employ qualified human resource personnel that would oversee the affairs of employee compensation as this would remove the bottleneck surrounding the non-implementation of employee compensation.

Key Words: Direct Financial Compensation, Indirect Financial Compensation, Incentive Plans

CITATION: Ndung’u, M. W., & Kiiru, D. (2022). Reward management strategies and performance of employees in the health sector in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 9 (4), 1565 – 1582.