SUCCESSION PLANNING ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: LESSONS DRAWN FROM TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA
SUCCESSION PLANNING ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: LESSONS DRAWN FROM TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA
Daluh Umazi Joyce - Department of Department of Business Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Prof. Hannah Bula (PhD) - Department of Business Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The Kenyan telecommunication sector, has endured numerous challenges arising from stiff competition in its operation and service delivery, immense pressures from the state agencies, stringent policies and close monitoring, as well as interference with the kind of information passed coupled with infringement of data privacy. These challenges have negatively affected their performance with some such as Airtel experiencing reduced profit while Safaricom has experienced reduced market share and market capitalization in the last twenty-four months. These companies have also experienced high labour turnover and numerous restructurings. Therefore, there is need to attract, develop, and retain key employees for better succession planning and improved employee performance. The objective of the study was to determine the influence of succession planning on employee performance in telecommunication companies in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study adopted talent-based theory as the preferred theory. Explanatory research design was utilised in the study. The population comprised of 280 employees from the human resource, accounting and finance, sales and marketing, operations, information technology and research and development departments at Safaricom and Airtel. A sample of 165 respondents was selected from this population using stratified random sampling technique. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. Data was analysed using the descriptive and inferential statistics. Coefficient of determination (R2) was used to determine the model’s goodness of fit. Beta coefficients were used to determine variations in employee performance as a result of variations in talent attraction. F-Test was to ascertain the overall robustness of the analytical model. Significance of the variables was assessed through the p-values of the independent variable at 0.05 level of significance level. The study revealed that there were observable succession planning practices in telecommunication companies in Nairobi City County, Kenya. Results also showed that there was a strong positive and significant correlation between succession planning and employee performance (0.794; p=0.000<0.05). Further, regression analysis results showed that succession planning had a significant influence on employee performance (β=0.411; p= 0.000<0.05). It was thus concluded that succession planning has a significant positive influence on employee performance. The study recommends that succession planning should be institutionalized as a core component of human resources management strategies.
