Influence Of Performance Management Systems On Employee Productivity In County Referral Hospitals In Kiambu County, Kenya

ABSTRACT Human resource for health is one of the core pillars of health systems and performance management is one of its subcomponents. A performance management system in public health facilities is one of the tools for reforms which have been introduced in Kenya so as to improve employee productivity. Since its introduction in Kenya most health care workers assume performance management system is setting only performance targets; the whole cycle is not addressed. In addition, the performance management systems are not used as a basis of promotions and rewards. The research was an investigation on the influence of performance management system on employee productivity in the county referral hospitals in Kiambu County. Aspects that were investigated included; performance planning, continuous feedback, appraisal and reward. In order to accomplish these research objectives, a descriptive cross-sectional study was used. Quantitative and qualitative data was gathered through literature review, key informant interview guide, and closed and open-ended questionnaires. The study targeted all the employees of the three county referral hospitals of Kiambu County and proportionate stratified sampling was used to get three hundred and ten employees to participate in the study. Purposive sampling was used to select county management heads. A pretest was done to improve reliability and validity of the research instruments. Cronbach’s alpha co-efficient was applied to ensure reliability and internal consistency of the instrument for data collection. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 is a descriptive statistical package that was used by the researcher to provide detailed information concerning the data and draw out forms of relationships. Descriptive methods and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. Bivariate correlations and regression results were also used to test hypotheses. The results were presented in tables, charts and histogram and using frequencies, percentages, standard deviations and means. The results of correlation provided strong statistical evidence that a positive and significant influence exists between performance management systems components and employee productivity. All the four variables (planning, appraisal, feedback and reward) were found to have a significant and positive influence on employee productivity in the county referral hospitals in Kiambu County. From the key informant interviews, planning, appraisal, feedback and reward had an influence in employee productivity. In conclusion, regression analysis was done with the aim of determining which of the four components of performance management systems were most predictive of employee productivity when combined. The results were that performance planning and performance appraisal were found to be statistically insignificant in predicting employee productivity in county referral facilities of Kiambu County. However, feedback and reward of performance were the strongest predictors of employee productivity in county referral facilities of Kiambu County when all the four variables are combined. Recommendations of the study were that managers should set clear, realistic goals as a team, they should have regular performance reviews with their employees with discussions so as to review past performance, provide regular feedback as it is desired by employees and reward system should be linked to the results of the appraisal which is just and fair. Future studies may replicate this study to lower tiers of the health care system.