Influence of Employee Participation on Performance of Public Servants in Vihiga County, Kenya
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of employee participation on performance of public servants in Vihiga County, Kenya. The study adopted descriptive and explanatory survey design. This study targeted 359 heads of sections, 25 ward administrators and 8 members of the public service board. To ensure equal representation of individuals in the study stratified Random Sampling that involves dividing the population into two subgroups and then taking a simple random sample in each subgroup was used. To this regard, the study used a sample size of 183 heads of sections and 13 ward administrators. Further, purposive sampling was used to select the eight members of the public service board as key informants for the study, since they were expected to provide in-depth information relevant to the study. After data collection, the filled-in and returned questionnaires were edited for completeness, coded and entries made into SPSS. The descriptive analysis involving frequencies, percentage, mean and standard deviations were used as measures of central tendencies and dispersion respectively. A simple regression was also used to test the combined effect of all independent variables. The findings were presented in forms of Tables and charts. The study found out that there was positive and significant relationship between employee participation and performance of public servants (β=0.431, p=0.000). The study concluded that employee participation has a positive and significant effect on performance of public servants. The study concluded that the county government has used employee participation to a small extent. By allowing employee participation through the trade union, the management of the County may make popular decisions with regard to promotions and internal appointment of employees, among others. The study recommended that for purposes of ensuring that employee participation influence performance of public servants to a large extent, team based participation should be embraced in order to provide employee voice alongside the trade unions.
Keywords: Employee Participation, Performance of Public Servants and Vihiga County, Kenya
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