Managers’ Perception of the Influence of Employee Career Development Programmes on Employee Commitment at Oxfam International, Kenya

Abstract

There is growing recognition that career development initiatives can help individuals to meet the constantly changing needs of the labor market and maintain the employability of employees. Organizations often seek to find a competitive edge that will give them even the slightest advantage. It can be as simple as early adoption of new technology, equipment, or thinking. However, soon competitors catch up and increasingly organizations are realizing that employees are the greatest competitive edge and hence investing in them provides a win win situation for both the organization and the employee. The main objective for this study was to investigate the manager’s perception of the influence of employee career development programmes on employee commitment at Oxfam International, Kenya. The research problem was best studied using a survey research design and a likert scale questionnaire guide tool was used to collect primary data. The questionnaire was presented to managers at Oxfam International, Kenya by email as well as pick and drop approaches. The entire population of 25 managers within Oxfam International in Kenya comprised the respondents. Qualitative data was entered into a spreadsheet and analyzed using descriptive statistics namely frequency tallies and the corresponding percentages. The statistics was generated using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20. Data was analyzed using regression analysis model. From the study the researcher concluded that Oxfam International in Kenya does have and actually implements career development initiatives aimed at building the careers of its employees and that employees are committed to Oxfam and are willing to work and stay with Oxfam as an employer. The researcher also concluded that managers perceive that there is a relationship between employee career development programs and employee commitment and that the existence of employee career development programs influences employee commitment positively. The researcher recommends that Oxfam International in Kenya undertakes cost benefit analysis of the staff career development investments it makes in its staff. Furthermore, the management of Oxfam needs to find ways of enhancing the use of job shadowing as a means of developing their staff competencies in preparing them for possible future roles. Job shadowing is a very practical approach and yet from the research it is evident that it is least used.