Analysis of employee selection methods on performance of the county government of KIsumu

Abstract

Success of any organization depends on the quality of staff employed. Services offered by The County Government of Kisumu have always been seen to fail the tests of perfection even though they enjoy wide sources of revenue. This is evident from poor housing, drainage, water and sewerage systems in the county and is attributed to the quality of personnel recruited by the County government of Kisumu. But in broad outline, personnel quality relies heavily on selection methods used. The inadequacy of selection methods are the more likely is that personnel of questionable performance may trickle into the system. It is because of this that the study sought to analyze the effect of employees‟ selection methods on performance in The County Government of Kisumu. The specific objectives of the study were to: explore the effect of employee selection methods on customer satisfaction; determine the effect of employee selection methods on operational cost; and examine the effect of employee selection methods on employee satisfaction. The study adopted Iceberg and Herzberg‟s motivation-hygiene theories. The target population was 4300 employees of The County Government of Kisumu. Sample size of 366 was arrived at through Yamane‟s model. The study distributed 366 questionnaires out of which 350 questionnaires were received from the field which translates to 95.6% response rate. Sampling technique was stratified random sampling. The research tool was semi structured questionnaire, which was piloted. A validity index of .78 and reliability index of .801 was obtained. Data was analyzed through correlation and regression models and presented through tables. Employee selection methods had a statistically significant moderate positive correlation (R = .531; p<.05) with customer satisfaction. Employee selection methods had a statistically significant effect on customer satisfaction (Fratio = 45.350; p< .05) attributing 28.2% variance. Standard curriculum vitae was the most predictor of customer satisfaction with beta value 1.372 (p<.05) followed by interview with beta value of 1.352 (p<.05) and psychological tests with beta value of .454 (p<.05) implying employee selection methods had statistically significant effect on customers‟ satisfaction. Employee selection methods had a statistically significant moderate positive correlation (R = .549; p<.05) with operational cost. Employee selection methods had a statistically significant effect on operational cost (Fratio = 49.781; p< .05) attributing 30.1% variance. Standard curriculum vitae was the most predictor of operational cost with beta value 1.621 (p<.05) followed by interview with beta value of 1.511 (p<.05) and psychological tests with beta value of .391 (p<.05) implying employee selection methods had statistically significant effect on operational cost. Employee selection methods had a statistically significant moderate positive correlation (R = .406; p<.05) with employees satisfaction. Employee selection methods had a statistically significant effect on employees satisfaction (Fratio = 22.799; p< .05) attributing 16.5% variance. Interview was the most predictor of employees satisfaction with beta value of .892 (p<.05) followed by curriculum with beta value of .562 (p<.05) and psychological tests with beta value of .493 (p<.05) implying employee selection methods had statistically significant effect on employees satisfaction. In general, employee selection methods had a statistically significant moderate positive correlation (R = .417; p<.05) with performance. Employee selection methods had a statistically significant effect on performance (Fratio = 24.311; p< .05) attributing 17.4% variance. Standard curriculum vitae was the most predictor of performance with beta value 1.200 (p<.05) followed by interview with beta value of 1.029 (p<.05) and psychological tests with beta value of .233 (p<.05) implying employee selection methods had statistically significant effect on performance. In conclusion, curriculum vitae made the strongest unique effect on performance; interview made the second strongest unique effect on performance; and psychological test made the least effect on performance. The study recommends the need for enhanced adoption of psychological tests when selecting staff and improved quality of standard curriculum vitae in The County Government of Kisumu with a view to improving performance.