Abstract:
Rewards play an important role in increasing employee job satisfaction resulting in improving organizational performance. Motivated employees are the cornerstone of any successful organization. The main objective of this study was to establish the effects of reward management strategies on employee performance in selected universities in Nakuru County. The specific objectives were: to determine the effect of financial rewards on employee performance, to determine the effect of non-financial rewards on employee performance and to determine the combined effect of financial and non-financial rewards on employee performance. Descriptive survey design was adopted in conducting this study, as it was suitable for collecting information that described an existing phenomenon. The target population was 620 lecturers in two universities in Kenya namely Egerton and Kabarak Universities, which comprised a sample of 242 lecturers. The study primarily used a questionnaire to gather data from the respondents. Data from the questionnaire were systematically analyzed according to the research objectives and hypotheses. All hypotheses were tested using regression statistics and the results of the findings established that there is a strong positive association between combined effect of financial and non-financial rewards on employees‟ performance. According to the findings of this study, financial and non-financial rewards motivate employees to better performance. Thus, employee performance will be high in Kenyan universities that adopt an integrated effort on both financial and non-financial reward measurements. The study recommends the following: First, lecturers‟ promotion should be done regularly on merit. Secondly, Universities establish a competitive retirement benefit scheme to its employees. Third, Universities should engage their lecturers on regular training programs.
