A RESEARCH THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT OF TURKANA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

Abstract

Many public sector establishments participate in training of staff and have divisions, units and sectors responsible for training and development. County governments are expected to provide services to its citizens at the local level. As such, training is critical to achieving organizational goals and increase employee output. Training of employees at the county is aimed to increase service delivery, attainment of the county’s goals and increase employee output. The county government concept is relatively new and the devolved units grapple engaging the newly recruited employees through numerous training programs in order to improve performance. Despite intensive training programs performed in the county, there still exist training gaps as indicated by employee performance appraisal reports. This study aimed at examining the effect of training on employee performance in Turkana county government, Kenya. The research objective sought to examine the effect of mentoring, job rotation, apprenticeship, and coaching on employee performance. The study used descriptive and correlational designs. The study's sample size was 321 employees, with 15 participants being interviewed and 306 receiving structured questionnaires. The 15 interviewees were purposively selected while the 306 respondents were chosen using simple random selection procedure. The study used both primary and secondary data sources. The main instrument of data collection was a questionnaire. Interview schedules for the managers were also administered as part of the study. The questionnaire was piloted with 30 objects. Determination of reliability of the questionnaire was by use of Cronbach's alpha test. A coefficient of 0.745 was obtained indicating that the instrument was dependable. Content analysis method was used to examine qualitative data and the findings presented in narrative form. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics that involved measures of central tendency such as means and standard deviations and results presented using tables. The study used inferential analysis techniques such as correlation analysis and multiple regression to determine how variables related to one another. The study confirmed that; mentoring, job rotation, apprenticeship, and coaching positively and significantly affected Turkana county government’s employee performance. The study found that mentoring assists mentee in succeeding by improving performance, increasing confidence, and addressing strengths and weaknesses and that job rotation is intended to expose employees to a wider range of operations and assists managers in realizing hidden talent. By retaining majority of apprentices, the county saves money on recruitment and training. Through coaching, employees gain confidence, expand their professional network and improve their communication skills. The study concludes that mentoring programs help mentees prevail by refining performance, expand certainty, and tend to qualities and shortcomings and that job rotation is desired to expose workers to broad extent of tasks in order to aid superiors in discovering their secret ability. By holding most apprentices, the county benefits considerably from low staffing and training costs. The study concludes that coaching gives workers direction on the most proficient method to augment their capacity to accomplish their career goals. The study recommends that the county ought to mentor its employees to increase knowledge sharing to advance and encourage leadership. County administration should establish precise training times and then schedule accordingly the program's duration to ensure every team member on the teams where employees rotate understands the program. Also, the county should assume a central part in developing apprenticeship programs, and give continuous obligation to help the preparation and training interaction of employees. Finally, the county administration should work on developing a coaching culture in which employees trust one another, have the ability to question the status quo, and are willing to collaborate regardless of their position within the organization.