Analysis of The Effect of Employee Age, Human Resource Management Practices and Employee Competence on Employee Performance in Kenyan State Corporations

Age plays an important role in a wide range of employee behaviors that determine their performance. Measurement of employee performance indicates organization performance. This study was anchored on the premise that, age alone is not sufficient to determine employee performance, other factors come in as moderators. The study objective was to investigate the joint effect of employee age, human resource management practices and employee competence on employee performance as compared to the effect of the individual predictor variables on employee performance in Kenyan state corporations. A descriptive cross sectional survey research design was used to find out the relationship between the study variables. A population sample of 384 employees was drawn using Webster (1995) formula. A stratified and simple random sampling technique was used to pick the number and type of respondents. The study relied on primary data collected on employee age, HRM practices, employee competence and employee performance using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Pearson product moment correlation (r) assessed the relationship between the study variables and stepwise regression analysis technique was used to test the study hypotheses. Results indicated a statistically non significant relationship between employee age and employee performance. The study confirmed that HRM practices and employee competence significantly influenced the relationship between employee age and employee performance. It was also confirmed that the joint effect of the study variables was greater than the effect of the average individual predictor variables on employee performance. The study concludes that age alone is not enough to make decisions on issues pertaining human resource management such as recruitment, placement and retirement. It is recommended that State Corporations should formulate human resource policies and practices that will help reap maximum benefits from their employees. The study extends the body of knowledge in age management practices. Policy makers in state corporations should consider applying these study variables jointly rather than individually to effectively improve employee performance. Key words: State corporations, employee age, employee performance, moderators, competence, HRM practices, variables, correlation, regression, significance, theory, effect, analysis and measurement. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-30-14 Publication date:October 31st 201