Employee Perception on the Effectiveness of Balanced Scorecard in Measuring Performance in Kenya Revenue Authority

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to establish the employee perception on effectiveness of the balanced scorecard in measuring performance in Kenya Revenue Authority. The study reviewed employee perception, balanced scorecard perspectives and performance measurement. This study was conducted through use of descriptive survey with a population of in five departments in KRA namely; Domestic Taxes Department, Customs Services Department, Corporate Support Services Department, Strategy, Innovation & Risk Management Department and; Internal Audit Department. The population target was 4,339 employees of KRA and the sample size was 351. The researcher used a questionnaire to gather data from the respondents and received a total of 264 questionnaires. The researcher collected primary data which was obtained through a semi-structured questionnaire with open and closed questions which was administered through electronic mail and pick and drop method and follow up was done through personal visits, telephone calls and emails. Descriptive statistics techniques such as mean, standard deviation, frequency distribution was used to analyse data. Data presentation was done by use of charts, percentages and frequency tables. The study draws a conclusion that thorough training need to be carried out well for the employees whose grades were harmonized to impact them with knowledge and skills on how to improve performance through effective use of the BSC. There is also need for supervisors not to apply subjectivity when conducting appraisals for the employees. The organization also needs to align all the strategies with the BSC in order to cascade the strategies to employees who will need to understand their role in performance of the organization. BSC should be taken as a tool to measure performance but not a threat to employees based on their performance capabilities. Employees should therefore be motivated to improve their performance. Activities that are stated in the BSC should be well stated and cover what employees does intensively. The top management should be committed and lead by example on the usefulness of BSC in measuring performance. Employees should also be involved in formulation of goals and objectives of the organization for exposure. The study also recommends that the organization need to embrace BSC and emphasize its importance to all employees to enable them understand performance measurement in the organisation. Supervisors should ensure that the performance appraisal activities are linked to the BSC for ease of appraisals. The study recommends that the organization also need to embrace innovation in order to improve performance