Influence of Human Resource Management Practices on Employee Retention in Kenya Health Institutions: A Case Study of Nyeri County Referral Hospital

Globalization, technological advancement and social-economic progress has made todays world different. As such organizations need to create a competitive edge in order to survive the global economy. In considering the above the employees should be considered as the most valuable asset in an organization for the knowledge, experience and skills that they possess and hence need for their retention. The general purpose of this study was to establish the influence of HRM practices on employees retention in Kenya Health Institutions. The specific objectives of the study were to establish whether career development and work-life balance influence retention of medical staff in Nyeri County Referral Hospital. The study adopted case study design. The total population of the study was 121 medical staff in the hospital and a sample of 35 respondents which translates to 30 % of the target population was used, using stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected using questionnaires which had both closed ended question and open ended questions. Data analysis was conducted using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 18 to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequencies and percentages were generated from the data and presented using tables, pie charts and bar charts while ordinal logistic regression analysis was done to establish relationship of each parameter of the independent variables in the study. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was also done to establish the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables. The study achieved a response rate of 100 %. The results indicated that medical staffs are not currently satisfied with career development and work-life balance in Nyeri County Referral Hospital. Career development and work-life balance were found to have positive but insignificant effect on staff retention in the hospital. In addition, majority of the respondents indicated that both career development and Work-Life Balance influences medical staff retention in Nyeri County Referral Hospital. Therefore on addressing career development the study recommends that county government of Nyeri and in particular Nyeri County Referral Hospital should revise their training and development policies to ensure fairness and accountability in their implementation. It is also recommended that management in health institutions and in particular Nyeri County Referral Hospital should recognize professional growth and career development and grant employees study leave and also provide them with financial support for further studies. Furthermore the study recommends that, when dealing with Work-life balance health institutions should consider work-life balance while engaging medical staff in unusual working hours as the research has proven that Work-life balance had a positive influence on medical staff retention.