Influence of education level on the relationship between human resource practices and employee performance among the administration police in Bungoma county, Kenya

Abstract

According to Kenya Police Service Annual Crime Reports (KPSACR) of 2016, the number of criminal offences is still on the increase with the 2013, 2014 and 2015 reports evidencing an offence number of 71832, 72,490 and 73,376 respectively. Based on this upward trend, it is still unclear if the trend is related to human resource practices such as performance appraisal, career development and promotions as applied in the administration police which in turn have an effect on the performance of the administration police. In the service industry, especially the Kenya National Police Service, little research has been conducted to show these relationships. The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating influence of education level on the relationship between human resource practices and performance. The research adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population was 1,318 administration police officers in Bungoma County. A sample size of 384 respondents was used. Results of the study were that the R square change after incorporating education level in the model was 0.002, F change (1,3) = 1.192, p<0.006} implying that education level statistically and significantly moderates the relationship between human resource practices and employee performance. The study recommends that employees should be given equal opportunity to advance their education level as this will enhance the relationship between human resource practices and employee performance. The findings of this study is expected to inform administration police management policy makers, the government and other stakeholders on better human resource practices that can be adopted to improve performance of staff.