Factors influencing employee turnover in the hotel industry in Machakos town, Machakos County

Abstract

The purpose of this study was an attempt to understand the factors influencing turnover in the hospitality industry in Machakos Town in Machakos County. The main objective of the study was to establish the factors influencing employee turnover in the hotel industry in Machakos town in Machakos County. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the influence of organizational factors, individual factors and job related factors to employee turnover in the hotel industry in Machakos T own. The research targeted a population of 176 employees in the three surveyed hotels in Machakos town as at 30 th February 2015. Out of the total population, a sample of 54 employees was selected using stratified random sampling, representing 30% of the total population, covering respondents in different cadres and departments of the hotels. The instruments of data collection used in the study to collect primary data were questionnaires for the hotel staff and an interview guide for hotel management and ministry officials. The results were analyzed and presented in pie charts, bar graphs and tables. Among the three objectives, individual factors were found to be the main contributor to the high rate of employee turnover, followed by the job related factors and the n organization factors came last. N one of the aspects of the organizational factors was rated to have a very strong contribution to the employee turnover. However career growth, Manager’s style of leadership and the organizational culture were rated as having weak impact while toxic work environment, peer pressure and recruitment policies were rated as having very weak impact on staff turnover. Among the individual factors, career aspirations was rated as having a very strong impact on t he rate of employee turnover while work experience was rated as having strong impact. The level of education and the exposure of the employees were rated as having a weak impact on turnover while gender, age and incapacitation of the employee was rated as having very weak impact. Among the job related factors, pay package was rated as having a very strong impact on the rate of employee turnover while style of leadership and job clarity were rated as strong factors. The rest of the factors i.e. workload, job stress, lack of challenge and odd working hours were rated as having very weak impact on the rate of employee turnover. It was found out that the main factors that affected the rate of employee turnover were Recruitment policies, Motivation, Level of education and Pay package. The above factors showed a strong positive relationship with the depended variable, meaning that they greatly influenced the rate of employee turnover in the industry.