Employee perception of the benefits of ISO 9001:2000 certification: The case of Kengen

Abstract

Arguments have been raised as to whether implementing ISO 9001:2000 Certification actually benefits organizations or not. This study examined employees’ perception of benefits or otherwise of ISO 9001:2000 certification in KenGen and the challenges associated with undertaking the Certification process. Using a sample size of 156 employees from the KenGen employee database, employee perception was tested against seniority, level of education, length of service to the company, and geographical area of workplace. Data was collected using questionnaires and was analysed using statistical inferences with frequencies, means, standard deviations and tabulations. The findings from the study indicated that perceptual gaps between the expectations and the perceived benefits by employees was significant on most of all the indicators that were used in the study, indicating that employees had very high expectations with regard to the benefits of Certification that were not met. Challenges included time taken, costs; lack of a performance reward system for certification achievement; and lack of top management commitment. Employees observed the following as important to the certification process; proper preparation; organizational transformation; efficient internal communications and top management commitment. They appreciated that the certification process had resulted in internal benefits, which could not be otherwise achieved without the surmounting challenges faced.