Human Resource Management Practices in Kericho Water and Sanitation Company Limited Kenya

Abstract

Human resource is the most important asset for any organization and it is the source of achieving competitive advantage. Managing human resources is very challenging as compared to managing technology or capital and for its effective management; organizations require effective human resource system. Human resource system should be backed up by sound human resource practices. The aim of the study was to identify the human resource management practices in Kericho Water and Sanitation Company Limited. This is a service company that deals with the water supply and provision of sewerage services to the residents of Kericho town and the surrounding environs. Case study research design was adopted for the study and primary data was collected from the company‟s corporate management team (CMT) headed by the Managing Director using interview guide. Secondary data was also collected and analyzed. The source of the secondary data was the company‟s policy documents namely the Strategic Plan 2013-2017, the Human Resource Procedures Manual, the Collective Bargaining Agreement 2013-2015 and the Budget Estimates for 2012/13 and 2013/14.It was established that Kericho Water and Sanitation Company Limited has put in place satisfactory human resource management practices in all human resource functional areas. It was therefore concluded that the company values its employees as demonstrated by the practices in place and recommendations were made for improvement in training and development, performance appraisal and occupational safety and health enforcement practices. Further research should be done on human resource management practices in other sectors of the economy and the challenges encountered in the implementation of human resource management practices in Kericho Water and Sanitation Company Limited.