Strategic Talent Management and Performance in Busia County Assembly, Kenya

Abstract

Organizational performance within the public sector has experienced a recurring trend of underperformance as measured through the metrics of service delivery, productivity, and citizen satisfaction. This is despite their integration of strategic human resource management  practices to include talent acquisition, development, succession planning, and employee engagement. The key objective is to examine strategic human resource practices influence on organizational performance in Busia County Assembly, Kenya. The study applies four theories; Human Capital Theory, Resource-Based View (RBV)Theory, Leader-Member Exchange Theory, along with Social Exchange Theory. The study applies descriptive research design. The study targets 191 employees of Busia County Assembly. Stratified sampling approach was applied in getting 129 employees  as sample size from several staff groups. To ensure the quality of the data collection, a pilot test comprising 10% of the sample size was done in Bungoma County on staff members who are not part of the sample but have the same attributes. The pilot study evaluated clarity and appropriateness of the questionnaire and make modifications before the final study. Moreover, content and face validity was enhanced through supervisor & HR experts’ review. Reliability of the instrument was evaluated using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient, with the least threshold being 0.7 points indicating acceptable level of evidence assessing strategic talent management’s impact on organizational efficiency in devolved governance units in Kenya. Using questionnaires, quantitative data was collected, followed by statistical analysis using descriptive along with inferential statistics to include correlation along with regression analysis to find out associations between strategic human resources practices and service delivery, internal productivity, and citizen satisfaction. Analyzed data was subsequently presented in form of figures, tables, as well as charts. The findings of this research will have both theoretical along with practical implications. Theoretically, the research will add to academic literature by giving evidence-based empirical proof. Practically, this research will provide recommendations on how best to create and execute good talent management strategies for service delivery, employee engagement, and institutional performance enhancement in a county assembly, for decision makers in the fields of policy and management, human resource managers, and county administrators. The study found that employee engagement had a moderate effect on organizational performance, driven largely by strong well-being initiatives and employee motivation, but constrained by weak inclusivity and poorly integrated engagement strategies. The study concluded that although engagement enhances productivity and service delivery, its overall impact is limited by gaps in inclusive culture and alignment of engagement practices.