INFLUENCE OF SELECTED HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON JOB SATISFACTION OF SECURITY PERSONNEL IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN BARINGO COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Employee job satisfaction is a critical aspect in organizations because it affects work-related behaviours such as productivity, efficiency, absenteeism and turnover. However, in Baringo County, there has been a notable concern over the low job satisfaction among security personnel in secondary schools. Researches in other regions have shown that human resource management practices have strong influence on the job satisfaction of security personnel. Therefore, the main study purpose was to ascertain the influence of HRM practices on the job satisfaction among security personnel in government-owned high schools in Baringo County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives: To explore the influence of job design on job satisfaction of security personnel; establish the influence of recruitment and selection practices on job satisfaction of security personnel; determine the influence of training practices on job satisfaction of security personnel, and to establish the influence of reward management practices on the job satisfaction of security personnel in public secondary schools in Baringo County. The study was informed by the Two Factor Theory of Frederick Herzberg, Analysis, Design, Develop, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE) Model and Resource-Based View Theory. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey research design and the target population comprised 508 security personnel and 169 principals in public secondary schools in Baringo County. Slovin‟s formula was deployed to obtain a sample of 224 security personnel. Random sampling technique was utilised to identify 10% of the school head teachers to take part in the research. A questionnaire and an interview schedule were utilised to gather quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Content validity of the research tools was determined through opinions and judgment of five experts in the field of human resource management and then tested for reliability. Cronbach Alpha was calculated to test reliability. The test revealed a score of 0.788 for reliability, which was above the 0.70 acceptable threshold. Qualitative data was managed thematically in line with the research objectives while quantitative data was evaluated using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The inferential statistics consisted of Pearson product moment correlation and multiple linear regressions. The multiple regression outcomes indicated that four HR management practices accounted for 31.2% variation in security personnel‟s job satisfaction (R2 = 0.312). Moreover, job design (β1= 0.353, p<0.05), recruitment and selection practices (β2=0.322, p<0.05), training practices (β3= 0.323, p<0.05) and reward management practices (β4 = 0.556, p<0.05) all had significant influence on security personnel‟s job satisfaction. The researcher concluded that the HR management practices were significant determinants of security personnel‟s‟ job satisfaction. It was recommended that schools should formulate job design policies and put them in operation in schools; security personnel should be rewarded in line with the governments‟ recommendation and the rewards should be commensurate with their work experience, skills and qualifications. Concerning recruitment and selection, school boards of management should define clearly the requisite knowledge and competences for security personnel. They should announce vacant positions for security guards and avoid hiring from only the schools‟ catchment areas. They should ensure they select the suitable persons for the right functions. Additionally, the boards should provide regular training for security personnel to enhance their skills and enable them to be more productive. Overall, the results of this study extend the existing literature by providing empirical evidence that HR managerial practices influence job satisfaction among security personnel in public secondary schools in Kenya.