Impact of human resource strategies on employee performance among insurance companies in Kenya

Abstract

The field of human resources management is rapidly undergoing transition as organizations change. As a result HR is increasingly being viewed more in its rightful strategic role rather than the traditional roles of employee advocacy, administration or operations. Inevitably, HR has been recast into a business strategic partner responsible for designing and implementing appropriate strategies necessary to help attain organizational goals. This research project examines the impact of commitment HR strategies on employee performance among insurance companies in Kenya in terms of the skills they possess, the attitude they portray and the behaviour they exhibit when performing their duties. Considerable reference is made to four critical perspectives in the realm of strategic human resource management – best practice, contingency, configurational – and resource-based view – to help define development and implementation of HR strategies. Additionally, at least three generic strategies, namely high performance work systems, commitment/control strategy and the Value Matrix Approach are discussed as preceding effective development of HR strategies. To design and implement effective HR strategies a four-phase process is required: industry analysis, value chain analysis, identification of interdependent processes and identification of key competencies followed by great effort and insight in order to align these around best practices that have been shown to impact employee performance. Data collected on 35 out of 45 insurance firms currently operating in Kenya is statistically analysed and presents a scenario already hypothesized by the researcher. The findings of the study confirm that progressive HR strategies have a positive influence on employee performance. The study concludes that commitment HR strategies have valuable applied implications for organizations, policy makers and researchers. Of course, further improvement by way of research covering other industries is needed in the area so as to effectively grapple with the continually evolving complex human perspective in organizations.