EFFECT OF REWARD ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND COMMITMENT AT RIFT VALLEY BOTTLERS COMPANY
Koskey Abraham Kimutai - Master of Science in Human Resource Management, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
Dr. William Sakataka (Ph.D) - Lecturer, School of Human Resource Development, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
ABSTRACT
One way that has been lauded for enhancing employee engagement is the use of rewards. In any organization, it is important to put in place an effective reward system that would cater for the needs of its human resource. The reward system offered in different companies may come in various and concrete forms. These may either be monetary or non-monetary, tangible or intangible, physical or psychological, and are offered to the employees as compensation for the productive work they execute. It is with argument in mind that the study sought to find out empirically the possible effects of reward on employee engagement and commitment, at Rift Valley Bottlers Company in Eldoret Town. The objectives of the study were: to find out the effects of pay programmes on engagement and commitment of employees at Rift Valley Bottlers; to investigate the effects of employee benefits on engagement and commitment of employees at Rift Valley Bottlers; to determine whether non-financial rewards affects employee engagement and commitment at Rift Valley Bottlers. The study adopted a descriptive survey design to investigate the effect of reward on employ engagement in Rift Valley Bottlers Company. The target population of the study consisted of the staff from key departments such as: the Human Resources Department, Finance Department, Production Department, Sales and Marketing Department and Distribution Department. The research instruments that were used in this study for data collection were questionnaires and the data collected was both quantitative and qualitative. After the data collection, questionnaires were checked for completeness and data were coded for easy input. Percentages, means and standard deviation and frequencies were used to facilitate easy analysis and understanding of the data. Several factors contributed to employees’ engagement and commitment at the place of work. However, the contribution of these factors varied in strength and appeal to workers. Promotion opportunities, health benefits, job relevant training and interaction with colleague workers freely have the strongest contribution to engagement and commitment at Rift Valley Bottlers Company. Since career development is crucial for retaining staff, the company should invest in staff training. However, opportunities for upward mobility should be identified or created to enable employees take up higher roles to utilize gained skills. In addition, job-rotation should be encouraged and where no openings for promotion exist, then job-enrichment should be pursued by the employer. Rift Valley Bottlers should undertake remuneration survey. Based on the findings of the survey, the company should review the remuneration of employees with the view of raising workers’ engagement and commitment levels; and Studies of employee engagement should be replicated in other industries.