HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION AT KENYA AIRWAYS –KENYA

Abstract

Employee retention is the dependent variable in the study that is influenced either positively or
negatively by the independent variable represented by the term human resource management
initiatives whose variables are: training and development, career development strategies, job
satisfaction and compensation policies. Employee retention has a relationship with human
resource management initiatives; if the HRM initiatives are good the retention rates will be high
while if HRM initiatives are poor there will be high employee turnover. Kenya Airways
workers are vitally important for the effective functioning of airline systems and networks. The
general objective of this study was to find out the influence of human resource management
initiatives on employee retention at Kenya airways. The specific objectives of the study were; to
assess the influence of training programs on employee retention at Kenya airways, to examine
the effect of career development strategies on employee retention at Kenya Airways, to
establish the effect of job satisfaction on employee retention at Kenya Airways and to determine
the effect of compensation policies on employee retention at Kenya airways. The theoretical
framework of the study consisted of Herzberg Two Factor Theory, Role Behavior Theory,
Reinforcement Theory and Job Embeddedness Theory. This research adopted a descriptive
research design which was used to explain characteristics of the subject being studied .Stratified
sampling technique ad simple random sampling was used to select sample size of 109
respondents from the target population of 1089 respondents in Kenya Airways. Primary data
was collected by use of self-administered structured questionnaires which was distributed
through the drop and pick method. The secondary data collected was used to identify gaps,
formulate objectives, validate the findings and interpret the primary data collected in-order to
get reliable results. The collected data was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Descriptive
and inferential statistics was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version
24 and specifically multiple regression models were used for answering the research questions.
Set of data was described using percentage, mean standard deviation and coefficient of variation
and presented using tables, charts and graphs. The hypothesis testing was done at 95%
confidence level testing and hence all the null hypotheses were rejected since their significance
level was less than 0.05 meaning that the alternative hypotheses were accepted. The study
revealed that human resource management initiatives had a statistically significant effect on
employee retention at Kenya Airways. Employee training had a statistically significant effect on
employee retention at Kenya Airways. Career development had a statistically significant effect
on employee retention at Kenya Airways. Job satisfaction had a statistically significant effect on
employee retention at Kenya Airways. Compensation policies had a statistically significant
IJARR, 6(3), 2021; 11-29
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effect on employee retention at Kenya Airways. The study recommended that Kenya Airways
management should adopt human resource management initiatives so as to boost employee
retention.