Relationship between Employee Voice Strategies and Performance of Public Health Facilities in Imenti North Sub-County, Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

Many public health facilities have experienced employee discontent in the recent past contributing to a decline in the delivery of healthcare services. This was due to delayed salaries, poor working climate, insufficient facilities, and lack of engagement on the part of management to communicate with workers. This study, therefore, sought to establish the relationship between employee voice strategies and performance of public health facilities in Imenti North Sub County, Meru County. The specific objectives were: to determine the relationship between employee involvement, partnership agreements, grievance procedures, and collective bargaining on the performance of public health facilities in Imenti North Sub County. The study was anchored on the following theories: theory of dispute resolution, group theory, two-factor theory, the theory of equity, and goal-setting theory. A correlational research design was employed. The research targeted 470 medical staff in 15 public health facilities in Imenti North Sub-County. The study adopted a stratified random sampling technique. A sample size of 114 staff was used. Questionnaires were applied in the collection of data. Descriptive analysis (frequencies, percentages, and means) was used to describe the attributes of the study constructs. Further, inferential analysis (correlation and regression) was used to establish the connection between the study variable. The findings revealed that employee involvement, partnership agreements, grievance procedures, and collective bargaining positively and significantly influence the performance of public health facilities. The study concluded that employee voice strategies contribute significantly to the enhancement of public health facilities’ performance. The research recommended that the hospital management should strengthen employee voice strategies through decision making, delegation of responsibilities, inclusion of compensation issues, staff rights protection, adequate communication, fair hearing, timely response to employees concerns and avoid discrimination. Further, the management should promote clear employee policy on hiring, retention, and firing.