Extent of Adoption of Best Human Resource Management Practices in Private Secondary Schools in Kisumu East Sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

Human resource management practices are instrumental in helping organisations achieve their objectives and enhance productivity. Human resource management practices are functional activities and strategic plans that enable improve services to employees and to increase productivity for the employer. It is important for private secondary schools in Kisumu East Sub-County to adopt the best practices in human resource management Employees and their collective knowledge, skills, abilities and experience, coupled with the ability to deploy these in the interests of the employing organisations, are now recognised as making significant contribution to organisational success and constituting a major source of competitive advantage. The aim of the study was to establish the extent of adoption of best human resource management practices in private secondary schools in Kisumu East Sub- County. The population of the study consisted of all private secondary schools in Kisumu East Sub-County. Principals, Deputy Principals and teachers were the targeted respondents. The study adopted descriptive census survey design; mean and percentages were used. The information was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. A total of 121 out 160 questionnaires sent out to the respondents and were filled. The findings suggested that significant best human resource management practices were adopted in private secondary schools in Kisumu East Sub-County. The study established that schools supported employees to undertake training and development opportunities, on-job training was the most popular method of training, training needs assessment is frequently done, provided orientation and induction programs for new employees prioritise internal appointments and promotions, organise seminars and workshops for staff. The study revealed that staff work in teams, team targets set and well coordinated, staff given notice before terminating contract, obtain employees through interviews, advertise positions externally, recruit qualified staff, encourage initiatives from staff, staff have harmonised holidays and leave, and share car parks and canteens. The study concluded that schools need to motivate their employees by adopting good compensation system of which salary tops the list. It recommended that schools adopt best human resource management practices to successfully recruit, select, develop, retain and motivate their employees since they operated in an environment occasioned by competition and rapid changes. A similar study may be carried out to determine the effects of adoption of best human resource management practices in public secondary schools in Kisumu East Sub- County.