Human resource management practices in mainstreaming workforce diversity in county government of Trans-Nzoia, Kenya

Abstract

Mainstreaming diversity is an important process in the workplace as it defines the future employees. Evidence shows that there are diversity concerns in the public sector organizations in Kenya. Due to these concerns, the study examined the influence of human resource management practices in mainstreaming workforce diversity in Trans- Nzoia County Government. The study had four specific objectives: to assess the effect of recruitment practices, development practices, compensation practices and retention practices on workforce diversity. The study was underpinned by three theories; the human capital theory, the social identity theory and similarity – Attraction theory. The study adopted mixed - method design and the target population comprised 40 senior staff; 10 members of County Public Service Board, 25 Public Service Management/HR Sectional Heads and 5 labour Committee member who were censused. Focus group discussion, interview and questionnaire were the main research instruments. The study utilized hierarchical regression model to test the hypothesis. All the indicators four the study had Cronbach's coefficient alpha of over 0.70 and thus the instrument was considered to be adequate for the study. The study captured more information from male respondents who were about four times their female counterparts. The descriptive statistics indicated that the recruitment procedures were not consistently applied (Mean = 3.342, SD = 0.745) and that there was favourable assessment for demographically similar candidates (Mean = 3.263, SD = 0.601). Thus, the recruitment processes were transparent and fair (Mean = 3.263, SD = 0.601). Regarding development practises, the county provides equal training to all staff (Mean = 3.421, SD = 1.000) and that the county is aware of the ethnic and cultural differences among its staff (Mean = 3.842, SD = 0.855). The county supports staff development from minorities, marginalized groups and PWD (Mean = 3.210, SD = 0.905). The county offers competitive compensation to all staff (Mean = 3.958, SD = 1.000) based on public service policy (Mean = 3.926, SD = 0.972). There is equity in compensation (Mean = 3.605, SD = 0.866). The county invests in the staff retention plans (Mean = 3.916, SD = 0.897), through mentorship opportunities to all staff (Mean = 3.705, SD = 0.911) and leadership training (Mean = 3.921, SD = 0.781) and attractive career opportunities (Mean = 3.926, SD = 0.653). The findings indicated that the human resource management practices have differential effect size on workforce diversity: recruitment practises (β 1 = 0.3803, p < 0.05); development practises (β 2 = 0.4301, p < 0.05); compensation practises (β 3 = 0.4336, p< 0.05) and retention practises (β 4 = 0.3006, p < 0.05). Based on results all the null hypotheses were rejected and the study concluded that the human resource practices; recruitment, development, compensation and retention practices have a positive effect on the workforce diversity in the County Government of Trans-Nzoia. The conclusion is that human resource practices influence diversity by determining the nature and type of person to be hired, the application of promotion criteria and career development plans, the use of fair wage and compensation structures to retain employees. The recommendations include; the County Government adopts and implements strategic HRM such as workforce planning comply fully with Constitutional and legal framework during the recruitment, training and development and promotions to address the diversity challenges at the County Government.