Career Development Practices and Job Performance in Nakuru County Government, Kenya

Abstract

Organizations today operate in a highly dynamic and competitive environment. To remain effective and efficient, they must respond quickly to changing employee needs by implementing appropriate HRM practices. The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of career development practices on job performance in the county government of Nakuru. This study was anchored on Equity Theory. The study employed an explanatory research design since the design focuses on studying a situation or problem to explain the relationships between variables. The target population for this study was all 2411 employees from the county government of Nakuru County's various departments. Using Nassiuma's formula for sample determination, a sample of 96 was obtained, which was allocated proportionately across the county departments. In this study, questionnaires were used to collect data since they are simple and time-saving for both the researcher and the respondents, and they allow for rapid contact with a large number of respondents. The questionnaire was piloted to ensure its reliability and validity. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 23). Correlation findings showed that career development [r = .703^**, p=.000] had a positive and significant correlation with job performance. Furthermore, the overall model was statistically significant (F = 76.133, p=.000), indicating that career development practices were a significant predictor of job performance. The study concluded that career development significantly influenced job performance. The study recommends the need to address aspects of career plateau amongst employees as most county structures are static, which may lead to low morale.