Employee Performance Management Practices in the Kenya Local Government Sector

Abstract

The objective of the stud) was to assess the extent to which the City Council of Nairobi has employed performance management practices among its employees and to determine the impact of performance management practices on the organization's overall performance. To achieve the objective of the study, the researcher used a descriptive study in which the employees of the City Council of Nairobi working in salary scales 1-9 were sampled. The study used disproportionate stratified sampling method to sample 60 employees. The data was collected using closed and open-ended questionnaires, which were accompanied by cover letter. Once the pertinent data was collected the researcher carried out both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Descriptive statistics such as mean, mode, median and standard deviation. frequency distribution and percentages were used. Results were presented in form of tables, pie charts, and graphs. The study established that the Council used performance management practices to a large extent, as the respondents indicated that they actively involved in the planning of their own performance (mean score 1.3), there were written guidelines on performance management for managers and individuals (mean score 1.2) and that the lines of communication about performance management framework were open (mean score 1.2). The study established that performance management practices had enabled the organization achieve its organizational goals as was indicated by 23 percent of respondents. Respondents also indicated that the practice had helped the organization improve on quality of service provision (I 7%). Therefore, following the successful implementation of performance management system in the City Council of Nairobi, the study recommends that all the local authorities adopt the system as a management strategy.