Effects of Talent Management on the Operational Efficiency of Water Service Providers in Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

Operation efficiency is critical for the smooth running and sustainability of water utilities. Talent management is integral to the operational efficiency of non-profit making organizations in Kenya, including water service providers' utilities. This research thesis scrutinized the effect of talent management on the operational efficiency of water service providers in Meru County. The research objectives were to determine how compensation, strategic recruitment, capacity building, and employee engagement affect the operational efficiency of Water Service Providers in Meru County. The study was anchored on four theories: Classical scientific, AMO, social exchange and employee engagement theories. The Research was conducted on two water service providers: Imetha Water and Sanitation Company Limited and; Meru Water and Sewerage Services. The target population was 200 employees of Mewass and Imetha Wasco encompassing the corporate management team, middle management, and operative employees. The researcher selected 132 sample respondents from the population for the study. The researcher adopted an expository research design approach. Data was gathered using questionnaires. Cronbach's Alpha and KMO and Bartlett Tests were employed to measure the reliability and validity of the research instruments. Data collected was analysed and evaluated using SPSS (Version. 21). Information gathered was analysed descriptively and presented in charts, tables, and graphs. Regression analysis results indicated that, strategic recruitment, compensation, capacity building and employee engagement were found to be satisfactory variables in relation to operation efficiency. The variables of the effect of talent management were correlated against the operational efficiency of water service providers using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The correlation results indicated that Strategic recruitment, compensation, and capacity building had a positive linear relationship with operational efficiency while employee engagement had a strong, linear positive relationship with operational efficiency. Since all the results of the p value were less than 0.05, all the null hypothesis were rejected. The study concluded that compensation, strategic recruitment, capacity building, and employee engagement are positively and significantly related to operational efficiency