An investigation of employee motivation and its impact on organizational performance in public sector organizations: a case study of teachers service commission of Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to is to investigate employee motivation and its impact on organizational performance in public sector organizations looking at the case of TSC of Kenya. More specifically, the study sought to: determine the motivational needs of employees of TSC of Kenya; determine the ways used by TSC of Kenya to motivate its employees; find out the effect of employee motivation in relation to productivity; determine the benefits of motivation to the organization and the individual employees; and suggest effective strategies of addressing motivational challenges facing civil servants in the country. The present study is based on an observation by Mwiti (2007) who reported that many public organizations in Kenya still undervalue employee motivation as a means of improving organizational performance. The study reviews literature related to the Concept of Motivation; Significance of Motivation; Need for Evidence-based Management in Public Sector Organizations; Public Sector Reforms and Performance Contracting in Kenya; Motivation Process; Theories of Motivation and the Conceptual Framework. The study was a descriptive survey where questionnaires were used to collect data from 230 ordinary staff members and 10 management officers from Teacher Service Commission. The target population was 240 employees of TSC. Purposive sampling was used to select the 10 management staff while stratified random sampling was used to select 230 ordinary employees who participated in the study. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics; percentages and frequencies and results were presented in summary tables, charts and graphs. Of the 240 questionnaires sent out to respondents, 154 were returned as fully filled. The study established the motivational needs of employees of TSC of Kenya as communication and cooperation in the working environment, better terms of service, job security, building work esteem, and job reputation. TSC of Kenya was found to motivate its employees through on and of the job employee trainings, and annual salary increments. The study established a relatively low motivation of TSC employees by their employer. Employee motivation was also found to affect employee productivity. Low motivation of employees was found to lead to low productivity and high motivation led to increased productivity. The benefits of motivation to the organization and the individual employees were found to include: uplifting of morale of the employees; leads to less complain by the teachers; quick service delivery; improved skills; improved employees' welfare; and increase competitive advantage of an organization. Overall, the employee motivational needs at the TSC were determined and its influence on organizational performance established. Recommendations were made to the TSC to increase its resource allocation to its HR division to improve employee appraisal and motivation; Ministry of Education to address motivational needs of TSC employees in an equitable manner without favor or discrimination; TSC to expand employee motivation framework to include other areas that may be currently overlooked or left out but which may be negatively affecting the performance of employees at the Commission; and the Ministry of Education to improve on the Commission's policy on Human Resource Management to fully address motivational needs of TSC employees.