An Analysis of Staff Utilization

Abstract

ABSTRACT Staffing is a critical function of management and the most crucial aspect of manpower planning. The staffing function consists of three related activities: recruitment, selection and outplacement. Staffing is also very important in strategy implementation of any firm. The main purpose of this study was to analyze staff utilization on strategy implementation of Samaritan's Purse MET Program in Meru North District. Other specific objectives included. To determine the staffing levels with strategy requirements, to determine the factors considered when allocating each member staff the workload, to identify the challenges faced by the Samaritan's purse employees when performing their duties and give recommendations based on the findings. A descriptive survey method was used to conduct this study. The survey method was applied for; it is used to gather data from a large population at a particular point in time in a highly economical way with an intention of describing the nature of the existing situations. The target population was all the 30 employees of Samaritans purse who are the implementers and the 150 chairpersons of the MET groups. A simple random sampling technique was used to identify the respondents. A sample of 90 persons was selected. The main data collection tool that was used in this study was questionnaires. Data analysis was done by mainly descriptive statistics. The analysis outputs are presented in terms of pie charts, graphs frequency tables, and percentages. The study is expected to help Samaritan's purse MET Program recruit, develop and deploy talent required to meet changing MET programme issues. The study will also raise the fight of HIV/ AIDS in Meru North District because the staffing issues will be addressed in a better way. Results from the study indicate that SP MET had competent staff members and majority of the staff (53.3%) were community mobilizers reaching out to as many people as possible. 66.7% of the staff members rated their staffing Ievels to he adeouate and maioritv (66.7%) of the staff members agreed that their staffing levels were in line with their strategy. The main challenge experienced when training was absconding (73.3%) trainings by the trainees. Other challenges included inadequate time (20%) and lack of follow up programs (6.7%) which was regarded as the least. Majority (80.0%) of the SP staff are utilized to the required level. Comparing the level of education and the number or CVBTs and number of youth educators, one way ANOVA results reveal that there was no significant relationship between level of education and number of CVBTs. However there was a significant relationship between level of education among chairpersons and number of youth reached. In conclusion, the study indicates that there is a strong relationship between competence and strategy implementation (number of youth educators trained). Therefore a balanced focus in manpower planning in terms of quality and quantity of employees is vital for the success of the project. The researcher recommends that there is a need to increase both trainers and community mobilisers because the ones already there, have been over utilized.