Rewards and employee performance in government authorities

Abstract

The study aimed at investigating the effect of rewards on employee performance in government authorities, a case of Uganda revenue authority, customs department, Nakawa headquarters, Kampala. The study objectives were; to establish the effect of remuneration, promotion, and training on employee performance in Government Authorities. These objectives were sought to address the ever varying employee performance in URA staff year by year represented by average revenue collected per staff. The study was guided by instrumentality theory by Taylor and Equity theory by Adams. This research adopted a descriptive cross sectional survey where qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to analyze the data. The study population was 158 employees who work in customs department at Nakawa Headquarters from which a sample of 117 employee was selected. Findings of the study using a regression analysis indicated that, correlation coefficient using predictor Remuneration, revealed that 6.7% (0.067 *100) variations in employee performance is explained by remuneration while the remaining 93.3% is explained by other factors. Also correlation coefficient using predictor Promotion, revealed that 10.3% (0.103 *100) variations in employee performance is explained by remuneration while the remaining 93.3% is explained by other factors and correlation coefficient using predictor training, revealed that 6.7% (0.067 *100) variations in employee performance is explained by training while the remaining 93.3% is explained by other factors It was further established that rewards (remuneration, promotion and training) affects employee performance to low extent i.e.by 12.7% as indicated by the multiple regression done. The researcher recommends that Management in the government Authorities and other government agencies should take Promotion as a vital parameter that enhances employee performance in organizations other than remuneration and training, Management must ensure that the promotions are done in a proper and systematic manner so that the staff can feel it is fair as suggested by Adams in his equity theory. The researcher further recommends that management in government authorities need to establish other aspects/parameters such as conducive working environment (accessibility, relationships with management, cleanliness, office setup ), that affect employee performance as suggested since remuneration, promotion and training contribute only 12.7%