Employee performance is critical to effective public service delivery, yet many county governments in Kenya continue to experience challenges associated with low productivity, delayed service delivery, and inefficiencies in achieving organizational objectives. This study sought to evaluate the effect of recruitment outsourcing on employee performance in the County Government of Uasin Gishu, Kenya. The study was guided by Organizational Learning Theory and adopted an explanatory research design. The target population comprised 688 employees of the County Government of Uasin Gishu. Using Yamane's (1967) formula, a sample size of 253 respondents was obtained. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were employed to select the respondents. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaires and analysed using SPSS version 25. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed, including frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, Pearson correlation analysis, and simple linear regression analysis. The findings revealed that respondents generally agreed that recruitment outsourcing enhanced the quality of employee selection, promoted fairness and transparency in recruitment, and improved candidate–job fit. Pearson correlation analysis indicated a significant positive relationship between recruitment outsourcing and employee performance (r = 0.530, p < 0.01). Simple linear regression analysis further established that recruitment outsourcing had a positive and statistically significant effect on employee performance (? = 0.465, t = 9.322, p < 0.001). The study concluded that recruitment outsourcing significantly enhances employee performance by improving the quality of employee selection, promoting fairness and transparency in recruitment, and ensuring better alignment between employee competencies and job requirements. The study recommends that the County Government of Uasin Gishu should strengthen collaboration between the internal Human Resource Department and outsourced recruitment agencies through clear communication protocols, standardized recruitment procedures, and integrated recruitment information systems to enhance the effectiveness and transparency of the recruitment process.
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