Strategic Human Resource Management Practices Among Insurance Companies In Kenya

Abstract

Our understanding on the adoption of Strategic Human Resource Management in organizations is very limited as many organizations are still adopting the Traditional Human Resource Management practices. The study was aimed at investigating how the insurance companies In Kenya have adopted the strategic human resource management practices. These practices are more business and strategic oriented and less oriented towards traditional human resource management functions such as staffing, training, appraisal and compensation. Strategic practices include team-based job designs, flexible workforces, quality improvement practices, employee empowerment and incentive compensation. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the strategic human resource practices adopted by insurance firms in Kenya and to establish the challenges faced by insurance companies in adopting strategic human resource management practices. A descriptive survey design was used and data was gathered from the respondents using a semi-structured questionnaire. The respondents were the Heads of the human resource function in the organizations. The presentation and analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistics, which included tables and pie charts. Findings have demonstrated that the insurance companies in Kenya have not fully adopted the Strategic Human Resource Management practices. They are still oriented towards traditional human resource functions such as staffing, training, appraisal and compensation. The widely adopted strategic human resource management practices by insurance companies in Kenya included incentive compensation and quality improvement practices. A few challenges emerged but too much human resource control without appropriate focus on business strategy emerged as the most formidable challenge in adopting the strategic Human Resource Management practice while the existence of legal constraints was the least challenge among insurance companies attempting to adopt. The main recommendation of the study is that the insurance companies should redefine their Strategic Human Resource Management practices and further align them to the overall corporate and business strategy.