Influence of teacher reward system on employees output: a case of public primary schools, Turbo Division, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

Academic performance is very important in the schools as it is the core matter and backbone of the school activities. Good Academic performance enables a school to achieve its goals and objectives. School performance entails the achievement of the set goals and objectives with reference to the guiding principles. This study covers the influence of reward systems on employees output. The objectives are to establish the; extent to which pay reward influence employee output, extent to which promotion influences employee output, extent to which recognition influences employee output and to establish the extent to which appreciation influences employee output.. The research used a descriptive survey study research design of turbo division; simple random sampling to select the respondents. The total targeted population of 434 permanent teachers in the division was identified from which a sample size of 130 was selected. The data collection tool that was used was the structured questionnaire which was issued to the teachers. The method of data analysis that was used was the descriptive and the inferential method of data analysis on SPSS. The study will benefit turbo division primary schools by providing in-depth information on the influence of reward systems on employees output. It will also benefit other schools as they follow the example of turbo division primary schools, thus improving their school performance. The study findings were interpreted to mean that in the current setting, pay was the most important factor that influenced employee output (p = 0.004, β = 0.674). This therefore meant that for teachers, what they receive whether from the parents or from the school or TSC is the most important motivating factor that will enhance their performance. Appreciation was also found to be second most important motivator for employee output (p= 0.040, β = 0.392). This meant that gifts and tokens from parents and the school and certificates issued to teacher also greatly influence the teachers output in the school. The findings however noted that both promotion and recognition had a negative influence on employee output (p = 0.615, β = -.105) and (p = 0.549, β = - 0.608). This was interpreted to mean that this two practices besides being favoured by the teachers in the school are hardly employed as techniques to enhance the employee output. Employee output can be influenced by a number of factors in an organization or in an institution. The most significant factors that influence employee output include the pay and the appreciation of the employees. Pay is important and is mainly important for employees especially when it comes from external sources such as parents in a school setting. The teachers fill more recognized. This therefore implies that pay rewards for employees could emanate either from the organization or from the customer or beneficiary. The study adopted the following recommendations for the study, other forms of rewards including promotion and recognition however despite having being established not to have a direct impact on employee output could be re-evaluated to ensure they are more inclusive so that they can have an impact on the employee output, External rewards should be introduced and encouraged in the organizations setting to act as extrinsic sources of motivation which can influence employee output due to the reinforcing nature of the extrinsic motivation, Organizations should strive to have a documented procedure of rewarding employees so that employees can work expectantly knowing that if they work hard enough they will be rewarded for their efforts and the government and employment bodies such as the TSC should strive to come up with a legal framework that will govern the reward systems in the various structures. This is in enhancing employee output.