Relationship between Reward Management Practices and Employee Retention in County Government of Meru, Kenya

Abstract

Employee retention is a major concern for many private and public organizations today. This is particularly so because it reduces costs associated with recruitments arising from high employee turnover. However, public sector such as the County government of Meru has recently suffered from losing good talents to other organizations; a situation which motivated the carrying out of this study with a view to recommend solutions to this challenge. This study sought to investigate the relationship between reward management practices and employee retention in the County Government of Meru in Kenya. The objective of the study was to examine whether career development, work-life balance, compensation and employee recognition have any relationship with employee retention in the County Government of Meru. Human capital theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, Equity theory and Two-Factor theory guided this study. The study was based in Meru County government and adopted a descriptive survey research design. Data was collected from 66 heads of department in the County Government of Meru. All the 66 heads of department were included in the study. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed with the help of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS vs 25) software. Data was validated by ensuing content and construct validity of the instruments. Cronbach alpha value was used to assess reliability of the data. Mean and standard deviation were computed while hypothesis were tested using univariate regression analysis. Multiple linear regressions was also used to evaluate the overall proposition of the study. Findings were presented in form of tables and pie charts. The correlation results revealed a positive and significant relationship between career development and employee retention; work-life balance and employee retention; compensation and employee retention); and employee recognition and employee retention. This implied that reward management practices account for sixty two percent of variations in employee retention. Based on the results, the study recommended enhanced training of employees, flexible working conditions, and regular review of staff performance, industry-informed salary increments, paid holidays, and regular team building initiatives in order to mitigate employee turnover in county governments. Results have implication on employees reward management and retention policies in the public sector