Determinants Of Human Resource Retention In Private Security Firms In Kenya

Abstract

In every organization, the HR department plays significant roles, one of the main ones being the retention of the workforce. However, for a success in this role, the management must make serious and deliberate decisions. This also demands that any organization schemes appropriate strategies towards the retention direction. Organizations today are constantly faced with the challenge of retaining the most competent employees in the labor market. An organization needs to retain the most competent employees and hence gain a competitive edge within the business environment. This study has the objectives to find out the specific factors that influence human resource retention programs in the private security firms, determine the specific factors that influence retention of employees in private security firms and to establish the strategies that can be adopted by the PSFs to enhance employee retention. The study used descriptive survey research design by the employment quantitative as well as qualitative research methods. The sample size of the study was 130 respondents comprising of one human resource, one Supervisor and three employees from all the 26 private security firms. The data were collected using structured and unstructured questionnaires, which will be administered by the researcher so as to achieve a higher feedback rate. A simple random sampling of the groups is to be sampled out so as to select the employees to be interviewed. Analysis of the collected data was done and presented by the use of SPSS (statistical package for social sciences). Frequency tables, charts and mean scores were also used to present the data. The finding of this study was that recruitment and selection affected performance in the organization. Secondly, training and development affected employee retention performance of the organization to a very great extent. Thirdly, reward/ compensation were found to affect organizational performance. Finally, distress and fatigue from excessive time on job in the company sometimes lead to decline in performances. This study recommends that the organization prioritize recruitment from within the organization to retain talent and expertise. In addition, firms should have constant fixed salaries as opposed to irregular hourly rates to motivate its employees. Further, Firms should encourage innovation by the employees to be able to design new products and services as a way of boosting their morale. However, there should be the conduction of enhanced research that will inevestiagete into other factors determining retention and organizational performance.