Effect of Appraisal System on Employee Performance of Public universities in Kenya

Abstract

Employee appraisal systems are an inseparable part of efficient Human Resource management system within a given organization. Based on this concern, the purpose of the proposed study is to establish the effects of appraisal systems on employee performance in public Universities in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to: determine the main purpose of performance appraisal in public universities, evaluate the level of awareness of the performance appraisal system used at Narok University College, assess the awareness of Performance appraisal among the employees of Narok University College and examine strategies that can be used to improve the effectiveness of the performance appraisal system at the university. The study adopted a case study design to solicit information from the respondents sampled for the population of the study. The study targeted employees in grade 11 and 12 at Narok University College main campus where a sample of 100 respondents was selected from various schools at the university. Simple random sampling procedures were used to raise the sample size. Data from respondents was collected using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was supplemented with the interview schedule which was administered on managers at each level of an organization. The collected data was analyzed through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, making use of the mode, mean standard deviation, variance and correlations. It was noted that study came up with a number of important findings that should be taken up by the public university in the design or overhaul of their performance appraisal systems. First, the research established that the employees were aware of the performance appraisal system used at Public universities. Secondly, the study also established that the two major factors that contribute to an effective performance appraisal system in public universities were, the provision of training to the employees involved in the appraising and effective performance appraisal system should multi-rating, and that is, there should be input from all the supervisors on the employee’s performance. Most of the employees were aware of the performance the performance appraisal system which is currently used to appraise them. The study concluded that Performance appraisal system is the only tangible measure by which an organization can know the level of performance of its diverse employees. It is recommended that performance appraisal systems should be based on the following important purpose: They should be the tool used to evaluate employees’ performance and a decision support system used for renewing the employees’ contract. This will ensure that the right employees are retained for the right jobs.