Factors Influencing Employee Turnover in Organizations: a Case of Kenya Medical Research Institute Programme - Kisumu District

Abstract

Employee turnover is becoming a serious problem in today's corporate environment. The employment culture is changing as well. It is now relatively common to change jobs every few years, rather than grow with one company throughout the employment life as was once commonplace. In addition, employees are increasingly demanding a balance between work and family life. Employee turnover has substantial cost, as it is a loss of social capital. To effectively solve employee turnover problems, every company needs to address its causes. The causes of turnover might not be the same for every company. However, there are some causes that commonly happen such as the gap between employee's skills and the job, lack of opportunity for advancement, and inadequate training and ineffective management. This paper examines factors affecting employee turnover at the KEMRIlCDC Program in Kisian. It looks at the major factors affecting human resource in two dimensions i.e. controllable and uncontrollable factors. (Controllable factors are the organizational factors and uncontrollable factors are the environmental factors.) Five variables are used for the measurement of controllable factors which include ~~I~yee compensation, job. security and satisfaction, working conditions, employee training and development and organizational leadership styles. Research was conducted with the purpose of examining the relationship between these and anticipated employee turnover. The study used a case study design in which 560 staff members from different projects of the KEMRI/CDC program at Kisian completed ~ questionnaires. The statistical tools employed to analyze the data are correlation and regression analyses. Based on data received from the study, causes of high employee turnover in KEMRI/CDC Program include such things as non-competitive compensation, unfavourable working conditions, monotony of duties, poor supervision, inadequate training, poor communications, and organization practices. The study shows that the higher the job satisfaction levels, the higher group cohesion and the lower the anticipated turnover. At the same time, favourable working condition and schedules reduces stress and strain from the employees, and reduces employee turnover. The paper also draws conclusions and some recommendations on how employee turnover can be re'duced at the KEMRI/CDC Programs.