| dc.description.abstract | Low morale of the staff, which had negatively affected the organizational performance, caused by a lack of increment in budgetary allocations towards general staff capacity building and engagement programs. The general objective of the study was to examine the effect of employee engagement programs on organizational performance of the Meru County Government, Kenya. The specific objectives were to determine the effect of training programs, wellness programs, employee feedback mechanisms, and employee involvement in decision-making on the organizational performance of the Meru County Government, Kenya. Human capital, social exchange, and participative decision-making, were the three theories of the study. Through a descriptive research design, 11 CECs, 11 directors, 11 administrators and 251 middle-level employees were included. The middle-level employees answered the questionnaires, whereas the senior-level management were interviewed. A pilot study was conducted in the Tharaka Nithi County Government. Additionally, the Cronbach alpha method was used to measure reliability. The study assessed content and criterion validity. SPSS software version 24 was used to analyze descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and means. Additionally, inferential statistics such as model summary and ANOVA were developed. Thematic method was used in the analysis of interview responses. The correlation coefficient for training programs was r = 0.501 at α <0.002; wellness programs was r = 0.387 at α < 0.001; employee feedback mechanisms was r = 0.653 at α < 0.003; and employee involvement in decision-making was r = 0.476 at α < 0.001. It was found out that all the four, were vital towards enhancing the performance of the county government. On training, there is the need for the county government leadership to develop an adequacy policy framework that would increase the budget allocated to training and development programs. On wellness programs, the departmental managers need to be more supportive of current employee wellness programs. On employee feedback mechanisms, HR management should come up with clear patterns of offering feedback on the issues raised by the employees or at least acknowledge them. Future studies should expand the study to even private corporations to gain more insights on the employee engagement programs present within their contexts.
Key Terms: Employee Engagement Programs, Organizational Performance, Meru County Government, Kenya
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