Workforce Diversity Management Strategies and Performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya

Abstract

Diversity is increasingly recognized and utilized as an important organizational resource in regards to whether the goal is to be an institution of choice, to provide excellent performance, or to maintain a competitive edge. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of workforce diversity management strategies on organizational performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The study also sought to determine the effect of the workforce diversity management strategies on the performance of commercial banks in Kenya. There are three theories which have been identified as being the foundation of this study. These are Social Identity Theory, Similarity Attraction Paradigm and The Agency Theory. A descriptive research design was used in this research. The population of the study were all the 42 Commercial Banks in Kenya as at 30th June 2016. The questionnaire was self-administered to all the respondents. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data on objective one. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between variables. The response rate was 73.8%. The study identified the following as the workforce diversity management strategies applied by the commercial banks; hiring process, employee training, gender equalities, education background, ethnic diversity. From the findings, workforce diversity has a positive significant effect on organizational performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The study also concludes that level of education, training and skills and competence influence employee performance positively. The study recommends that commercial banks in Kenya should consider increasing the skills and competences of their staff by providing them with a paid leave.