EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT AND VOICE PRACTICES AND STAFF PRODUCTIVITY IN THE PUBLIC HOSPITALS OF LAIKIPIA COUNTY, KENYA
Abstract
Employees globally are an important force in any organization, the amount of work and effort put in by employees in implementing and delivering given tasks constitutes greatly to the productivity of the organization. The ability of employers in incorporating good and effective employee relation practices with respect to establishing employee-employer relationship and employee-employee relationship further enhances efficiency and admirable employee productivity. However, in Laikipia County, Kenya, there has been series of strikes and non-productiveness of employees in terms of service delivery in the public hospitals of the county. The study sought to establish the effect of employee empowerment and voice on staff productivity in the public hospitals of Laikipia County, Kenya. The study used a descriptive research design and the target population was doctors, nurses and clinical staff in Laikipia Teaching & Referral Hospital, Laikipia Cottage Hospital and Laikipia District Hospital in Laikipia County Government, Kenya. The study utilized stratified random sampling approach to select the sample for the study. Sample size was 121 respondents. Questionnaires were the primary data collection instrument subjected to principal Component Analysis and face validity Content and also Cronbach-Alpha reliability test. The data was collected by use of questionnaires and was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Frequency tables were also used to present findings of the study upon which interpretations and conclusions were made. The study results indicated that employee empowerment was found to be key in ensuring employee productivity. The results indicated that in the public hospital targeted there was information sharing, availability of adequate resources and seminars and conferences were held. The results indicated that giving employees a voice influences their efficiency. The study results provided that employee voice significantly impacted on employee productivity. The study concluded that employee empowerment, employee voice, significantly affected employee productivity. There is need for public hospitals in Kenya to consider empowering employees by allocating tasks related to their qualifications, embracing employee recognition and allocation of challenging tasks. Their voices will give direction on achieving millennium development goals. The national government should encourage employee’s unions and work councils. There is need to accept employee suggestions and establish strong union in all counties. The conflict resolution agenda should be clear and all employees encouraged to participate.
Key Words: Employee, Empowerment, Voice, Productivity
CITATION: Linkoi, F. K., & Makhamara, F. H. (2023). Employee empowerment and voice practices and staff productivity in the public hospitals of Laikipia County, Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 10 (1), 786 – 800.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v10i1.2581
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