Career Planning and Succession Management Practices of the Clinicians at Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

The world now is a global village and very competitive in every front. For any individual, business firm, organization, country or even continent to survive in the competitive environment it has to utilize her resources effectively and efficiently for her future benefit and survival. One of the fundamental resources is the human capital. What determines growth and future survival in a business firm, a country or continent is how she treats and develops her human capital. Effective HRM encompasses career planning and succession management. With the increased scope for job mobility and corporate race for global headhunting of good performers, it is now a well-established fact that normal employment span for key performers remains awfully short. Hence, career planning and succession management practices are crucial in these organizations and the extent to which these practices are implemented can greatly support the achievement of organizational objectives. The objective of this study was to find out the career planning and succession management practices at KNH. The study adopted a case study design where data was collected using an interview guide. Three senior employees were interviewed and data was analyzed using qualitative analysis. The study established that there are several career planning and succession management practices that have been adopted at KNH. The career planning practices include top management support, alignment to organizational objectives, career centers, communication and feedback while the succession management practices include structured succession management program, policies on succession management, alignment to organizational strategies, top management support and finally training and development. In conclusion, career planning and succession management have a great impact on the performance of KNH and therefore the pursuit of this will create an environment of cohesiveness and commitment to work and therefore needs to incorporate the practices that have not yet been adopted. It is recommended that similar study be undertaken in other public and private hospital in Kenya in order to shed more light on the area.