An Assessment of Employee Retention Strategies Used to Reduce Employee Turn Over: A Case of Non-Governmental Organizations Involved in Humanitarian and Development Projects

Abstract

The retention of employees has been shown to be significant to the development and the accomplishment of the organization’s goals and objectives especially in building competitive advantage over other organizations in the phase of increased globalization. The overall objective of the study was to assess employee retention strategies used to reduce employee turnover by NGOs involved in humanitarian and development projects. The study was guided by the following specific objectives; To explore the employee retention strategies used by NGOs involved in humanitarian and development projects, to explore the level of employees’ job satisfaction in NGOs involved in humanitarian and development projects and to explore the effects of these strategies on employee turnover in NGOs involved in humanitarian and development projects. The study reviewed both theoretical and empirical literature where employee satisfaction, retention and turn over were explored. The research employed exploratory research design and the target population comprised a total of 800 employees, 500 working at CARE Kenya and 300 at ALIN. The study employed convenience and purposive sampling design to select a sample size of 80 respondents using a sample ratio of 5.3. Questionnaires were used as the main data collection instruments and included both closed and open-ended questionnaires. Pre-testing of the questionnaire was undertaken for validity and reliability. Descriptive statistical data analysis method was applied to analyze the gathered data using a Statistical Package of Social Sciencies (SPSS). The analyzed results were presented on tables and charts to give graphical presentation of the study findings. Finally, recommendations and conclusions were made.