Assessment of Relationship Between Human Resource Planning Strategies and Job Satisfaction in the Lake Region Economic Bloc County Governments in Kenya

Abstract

Human resource planning encompasses predicting quantity, quality and category of human resources requirements in organizations to ensure that they are suitably redeployed and utilized optimally by organizations. Accurate predictions ease the rationalization of staff to improve its performance and create a conducive working environment. In that regard, organizations in the public and private sectors are formulating and deploying several strategies to enhance employee job satisfaction and gain a competitive edge. Despite the emphasis on job satisfaction, a review of available literature indicated limited focus on the relationship between human resource planning strategies and job satisfaction. This paper assessed the relationship between human resource planning strategies and job satisfaction in Kenya's Lake Region Economic Bloc County Governments. The study used the equity theory and the target population was all employees engaged by the 14 counties in Kenya's Lake Region Economic Bloc County Governments. Three counties: Kisumu, Bomet and Kakamega, which had employed 14,361 workers were sampled. The study sample consisted of 374 respondents, who arrived at the study using the Morgan and Krejcie sampling formula. A questionnaire was used to collect data analysed using SPSS for descriptive and inferential statistics and presented using tables. Regression analysis indicated that human resource planning strategies are positively and significantly related to job satisfaction (B = 0.939, p = .000). Thus, the study concluded that a significant relationship exists between human resource planning strategies and job satisfaction in Kenya's Lake Region Economic Bloc County Governments. The study recommends that county governments in the Lake Region Economic Bloc in Kenya emphasize implementing forecasting and restructuring strategies objectively and rationally to enhance employees' job satisfaction