Strategic Human Resource Management Practices Adopted by State Corporations in the Ministry of Transport in Kenya

Abstract

A comprehensive human resource strategy plays a vital role in the achievement of an organization‟s overall strategic objectives and illustrates that the human resources function fully understands and supports the direction in which the organization is moving. For organizations to be able to adapt to their turbulent environment they must embrace strategic human resource management. The purpose of this study was to establish the strategic human resource management practices adopted by State Corporations in the Ministry of Transport in Kenya. This study adopted a cross -sectional survey design. The population of the study was all the seven State Corporations in the Ministry of Transport in Kenya. A census approach was adopted since the population size was small. Data was collected through a semi- structured questionnaire developed by the researcher. The respondents were heads of human resources in each of the seven State Corporations in the Ministry of Transport in Kenya. Out of the seven respondents furnished with questionnaires only six responded. Data was analyzed using measures of central tendency ( Mean, mode, median, variance and standard deviation).The results have been presented using tables and charts for ease of understanding. The findings of the study indicate that State Corporations in the Ministry of Transport in Kenya have adopted strategic human resource management practices. There are some practices with a very high rate of adoption and those with a relatively low rate of adoption. The strategic human resource management practices with a high rate of adoption include human resource planning practices, training and career development practices and performance management practices. The ones with a low adoption rate include recruitment and selection practices, compensation practices and employee relations practices. The study concludes that strategic human resource management practices are mutually enhancing and synergistic when applied simultaneously. The study recommends that if carefully considered and implemented, the study variables would help achieve positive changes in state corporations with desirable success rates in service reform in all public service jurisdictions