Influence of human resource training on management of organizational records: A case of the University of Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

For any organization, records form part of the corporate assets and as a source of information that playa key role in the preservation of the organization's identity, contribute significantly in the realization of good governance, document evidence of activities on which decisions are made as well as contribute to efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. The University of Nairobi as an organization recognizes the importance of records in all the management and operational processes. Towards this end, a training program was drawn in 2009 with a view of addressing all areas of concerns which included inefficiency, lack of necessary skills in handling of records, incompetence in records management, loss of records, delays in retrieval of records and poor accessibility of records for decision making. The purpose of this research study was therefore to assess the influence of human resource training on management of organizational records at the University of Nairobi. The research was based on a descriptive survey design with a target population of 182 secretaries working within the six colleges of the University of Nairobi. A sample of 124 was selected using simple random sampling. Questionnaires were distributed to 124 secretaries and the data obtained was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS) Version 20. Findings through descriptive analysis reveal that majority of the respondents were aware of the records management training at the University of Nairobi and had attended at least 1 training during their employment at the Institution. The results of the analysis revealed that management of records was positively and significantly influenced by the number and frequency of trainings attended. The research concluded that human resource training was a major influence to employees' job performance and that the University should increase the number of trainings they offer to staff. The research recommended that for a training program to be successful, the following should be put into consideration: a training needs asses~mentto identify performance gaps and to provide information on whether the gaps could be addressed through training; a systematic approach to training should be adopted to ensure that content and delivery approach of a training program are appropriate; the University should increase the frequency of trainings and; an evaluation of the training should always be carried out after successful implementation of the program.