Service outsourcing and operational performance of Elgeyo-marakwet County government

Abstract

Since county governments are faced with numerous challenges, there is need to be increasingly flexible to respond to the market needs and direct skills and resources to high value-addition activities to ensure that they have competency. The study was aimed at establishing the role of service outsourcing on the operational performance of the county government of Elego Marakwet. The objectives of the study were to establish the extend of the service outsourcing in the county government of Elgeyo Marakwet and to establish the impact service outsourcing has on operational performance in the county government of Elgeyo Marakwet. This study outcome will be of value to persons interested in optimizing operational performance of county governments through outsourcing. This study employed a cross-sectional survey design in formulating the hypothesis and testing the relationship between the variables. The study was targeted to the staff of Elgeyo Marakwet county where a sample size was78. The study established that the county government of Elgeyo Marakwet had outsourced cleaning services, ICT services, legal services and security service. The findings revealed that outsourcing of services by the County government has led to reduced operational costs, increased revenue collection, access to the skills and expertise knowledge, improved quality of service delivery, access to advanced technology and customer satisfaction enhancement. The study recommends that the County governments in Kenya must be able to work towards improving the services to its core customers and clients through proper outsourcing. Moreover, the outsourcing of the key services will guarantee that each component is handled efficiently and there is more concentration on the services delivery mechanisms. Service outsourcing within the County governments in Kenya will depend on how well the County governments expect work to improve on their performance in the specific areas that are clearly showing reluctance in the service delivery to meet the expected standards. It is hoped that its findings will specifically benefit the county governments and managers in providing strategies that best address the benefits and challenges associated with outsourcing in order to make sound decisions. It is anticipated that this study’s results will be of assistance to the vendor companies and procurement officers in Kenya in selecting business models of outsourcing that will improve operational performance.