An examination of the influence of human resource training on job performance of employees at Fides (K) LTD in Embu county

Abstract

This study examined the influence of human resource training on job performance of company employees and was undertaken at Fides (K) Limited in Embu County. This study sought to: determine job training and human resource development needs of employees of Fides (K) Ltd.; find out the effect of employee training in relation to productivity; determine the methods used by Fides (K) Ltd. to evaluate training of its employees: determine the benefits of training to the organization and the individual employees and investigate whether the principles of adult learning are adhered to in the process of learning. The study reviewed literature related to global indication of training and development for Employee Motivation and Retention; the importance of training and development to an organization and employees; systematic approaches to training and development; and Floricultural Industry in Kenya. The study was based on a theoretical framework called Backwards Planning Model by Phillips et al. (2002). The study was a descriptive survey targeting a population of 671 employees of Fides (K) Ltd. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 65 ordinary staff members selected through a simple random sampling and 2 trainers and management officers selected purposively from Fides (K) Limited. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics; percentages and frequencies and results were presented in summary tables, charts and graphs. The study established that, a majority of the sampled respondents had education which is adequate for a good on-the-job training program. A majority of the employees have undergone internal trainings and Fides (K) Ltd. was found to have high employee retention rates. Employees were trained in several fields from Supervisory Management, Health and Safety, ISO training, Discipline, Work Ethics, New Legislation, Information and Technology, Production Skills, Sales and Marketing among other fields. The study established that a majority of the trainings were conducted on the request of supervisors and were catered for by the Company. The study further established that training positively influence employee performance by improving their working skills, boosting morale, increasing motivation, which leads to client's satisfaction and improved output and increased profitability of the company. It was also established that supervisory training, work ethics, public relation, production skills on new varieties and ISO 9001 should be boosted to further increase the output of staff. Training and development at Fides (K) Ltd. was found to be adequate in relation to competing firms in the Industry. Based on the results of this study, employee training and development has a positive correlation with organization productivity and profitability and hence the study assumption has been confirmed to be true.