Abstract:
The health sector in Kenya is one of the key segments
that provide the most essential services to the public. Unmatched
skills set to job requirement has been found to have a significant
impact on performance of employees and the sector in general.
Effectiveness of employee training and development programs
such as job rotation can bridge the gap between job requirements
and employees’ ability to perform. However, it is not yet clear to
what extent job rotation techniques can influence employee
performance. The study therefore sought to assess the relationship
between job rotation and employee performance in Level Four
Hospitals operating within the South-Rift Region in Kenya. It was
anchored on human capital theory, knowledge-based theory of the
firm and social learning theory. Correlational and survey research
designs were employed with a target population of 663 medical
personnel drawn from 13 Level Four Hospitals. A sample size of
249 was determined while stratified simple random sampling
method used to pick the respondents. Data was collected by use of
structured a questionnaire whose reliability was tested through a
pilot study where an average Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.8102
was obtained. Content, construct and face validity were ensured
by carrying out a detailed literature review and consultation with
subject experts. Descriptive statistics comprising mean and
standard deviation were used to categorize data while the study
hypothesis was tested using correlation coefficient. The findings
were presented in form of tables. The study established that job
rotation had a moderate relationship (R = 0.506, β1= 0.406,
R
2=0.256, p<0.05) with employee performance indicating that
Level Four Hospital in South-Rift region should invest in job
rotation strategies. The study recommended that Level Four
Hospitals in the South-Rift rotate personnel within the job function
as it contributes more to their development. The findings may be
useful to hospital management, human resource departments,
scholars and researchers in in the field of human resources
management.
