Employee perception of the relationship between realistic job preview and employee turnover in Kenyan commercial banks

Abstract

In today‟s competitive and global environment human resource management has become an integral part of organizations because the practice and policies are directly linked to the overall job performance and goals achievement. To maintain the candidate‟s attraction throughout the recruitment process is perhaps the most important role by the recruiter. It is assumed that jobs that are realistically portrayed will not be perceived by all applicants as meeting their needs. Those who realize that their needs will not be met will presumably withdraw from the application process. The objective of the study was to determine the perception of the human resource managers on the relationship between Realistic Job Preview and employee turnover in Kenyan commercial banks. The study adopted cross sectional descriptive research design. The population consisted of all the commercial banks operating in Kenya, and used primary data which was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software and presented using tables and figures. The findings of the study was that Realistic Job Preview enables the employees to be aware of what the job entails and the management expectations thereby resulting in greater commitment by the incumbent attributed by exposure to both negative and positive characteristics of the job thus reduction in turnover, hiring and training costs. Realistic Job Preview was found to have enabled the commercial banks recruit employees who can cope with unpleasant job circumstances and demands of the new job as it creates openness and honesty within the bank thus creating greater job satisfaction and lowering turnover. The study concludes that Realistic Job Preview is significant so as to provide information for the awareness of what is expected of the new recruits as they start the job and this can go a long way in setting clear expectations, providing role definition and clarity, and helping reduce the likelihood for early turnover and consequently employee retention. The study therefore strongly recommends that the commercial banks embrace Realistic Job Preview as part of the recruiting process to prepare their employees for the task ahead and this will be another strategy for the bank to be competitive.