A survey of the responsibility for internal marketing activities in the Kenyan banking sector

Abstract

The Importance of internal marketing in the achievement of strategic business objectives in the service industries cannot be over emphasized, as it has been identified as the key to addressing the numerous challenges in the operating business environment well as the higher stakeholder expectations. The research done on internal marketing practices in Kenyan organizations does not however narrow down to whose responsibility it is, within the organizations, to spearhead internal marketing practices for better results. This study sought to establish the responsibility for internal marketing within the banking sector in Kenya. This was a descriptive study and the population of interest included all the 44 Commercial banks operating in Kenya. A census study was carried out due to the small number of the Banks. Data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire which was administered using the drop and pick later method. The response rate was 72%. Data was analyzed using a standard deviation; mean scores and results presented in tables. The study found out that internal marketing was to a large extent the responsibility of the human resources department, with a mean score of 3.6. The HR department practiced to a very large extent all the aspects of the HR policy that included hiring of the right people; following correct hiring procedure and offering equal opportunity while hiring. Marketing department played a key role in supporting internal marketing initiatives and was specifically involved to a large extent in provision of internal support systems with a mean score 3.11 and promotion of organizational culture that supports high performance by employees. The corporate affairs department was to a large extent responsible for the internal communication with a mean score of 3.0 and was to a small extent responsible for the overall activities of internal marketing in the local banks. It was revealed through the study that in some banks the corporate affairs (Public Relations) department worked closely with the HR and Marketing departments and had joint responsibilities. Promotion of organizational culture was one aspect of internal marketing that was a joint responsibility by all the three departments. Within the large multinational banks, the roles of each department were clearly defined so that the HR department carried out the bigger percentage of the internal marketing activities while the corporate affairs handled all the internal communication which involved activities like production of staff newsletters, bulletins, all staff announcements, staff surveys and organizing staff functions. In the locally owned banks, departments are almost amorphous with HR, Corporate affairs and marketing activities being handled by one department. The findings of this study led to the conclusion that the Human resource function is responsible to a large extent for internal marketing practices in the Kenyan banking sector. The promotion of good organizational culture and internal support systems and management methods were to a large extent a joint responsibility between the HR, Marketing and PR functions. It is recommended that the HR functions within the banking sector in Kenya be sensitized of their role in spearheading internal marketing initiatives, for a more proactive approach and for effective implementation of internal marketing. If the HR function adopts a strategic approach to internal marketing it would lead to better achievement of organizational goals. The study was limited by the lack of 100% participation by all banks as initially intended. This study also relied heavily on self-reported feelings by the respondents, which may have been biased, or their attitudes may change from time to time. Further research should be conducted to include other industries; both service based and manufacturing; to establish there is a shift in the responsibilities for internal marketing to other departments from human resource function .