THE INFLUENCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND DIGITAL CULTURE ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE WITH EMPLOYEE COMPETENCE AS AN INTERVENING VARIABLE

Abstract

This study aims to examine the influence of human resource development and digital culture on employee performance, with employee competence serving as a mediating variable. The research was conducted at the Office of the Commitment Making Officer for Land Acquisition of the Riau Provincial Toll Road in Pekanbaru City, involving a total population of 60 employees, all of whom were included as respondents using a saturated sampling technique. This study applies a quantitative approach, utilizing both primary and secondary data. Data analysis was carried out using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method with the assistance of SmartPLS software. The results indicate that employee competence plays a significant mediating role in linking human resource development and digital culture to employee performance. These findings confirm that improving employee competence is a crucial factor that bridges efforts to enhance human resources and foster digital culture, thereby contributing to optimal employee performance. The structural model explained 75.6% of the variance in employee performance (R² = 0.756), with competence emerging as the strongest predictor (β = 0.918). These findings highlight competence as the central mediating factor that ensures HRD and digital culture initiatives translate into actual performance improvements in the Indonesian public sector.