Relationship of Employee Counselling Services and Performance of NGOs in Kenya

Abstract

Employee performance is key to the success of many organizations. This service is normally provided by the human resources in that organization. Corporate leaders of business organizations provide employee welfare services among them employee counselling services as a way of either motivating their employees to improve their productivity. However, little information is known about such as employee counselling services by all the stakeholders in NGOs. The primary purpose of this study was to focus on the relationship between employee welfare services and performance in non-governmental organizations in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were: to assess the influence of employee counselling services on performance in NGOs in Kenya. The study is likely to aid the NGOs management boards, policy makers in government, human resource professionals and scholars and researchers in policy formulation for employee counseling services in order to improve performance in NGOs in Kenya. The study  employed both correlational and descriptive survey designs. The fundamental model shaping this study was the linear regression model. The target population of the study was 14,283 employees in NGOs in Kenya. The sample size of the study was 372 respondents comprising junior management at 242, middle management at 97 and top management staffs at 33 chosen by simple random stratified sampling technique. Primary data was collected using both questionnaires and interviews. The data was analysed using the Statistical packages for social sciences (version 23). The main findings of the study indicated that employee welfare practices such as employee counselling services influenced performance of NGOs in Kenya. The study also found that 81% of performance in NGOs in Kenya was explained by the independent variables of the study such as employee economic support, recreational facilities at work place, employee counselling services and social support. Finally, the study also contributed to theory and knowledge for humanity. However, the study found that the most significant factor influencing performance of the NGOs in Kenya was employee social support with P- Value at 0.439, followed by employee economic support with P- Value at 0.372, recreation facilities with P- Value at 0.358 and lastly employee counselling with P- Value at 0.208. The study had limitations, that is, the respondents were not consistent and the sample size of the study was limited in scope. The study concluded that employee welfare practices such as employee counselling services had a significant positive relationship with performance in NGOs in Kenya and recommended that a policy on other employee welfare practices such as grievance cells and suggestion schemes be considered and adopted by NGO management boards. This is likely to motivate employees to work better and with determination to enhance performance in NGOs in Kenya.