Abstract:
Kenyan universities are operating in a highly competitive environment where supply of qualified academic staff is in
deficit. One of the challenges these universities face is academic staff retention. This study sought to establish the
influence of selection practices on academic staff retention in Universities in Kenya. The study was conducted in four
public and four private universities and data was collected between the period June to September, 2016. The literature
was reviewed as per the study objective. The study used mixed method research design. The target population was
2,768 academic staff from 8 (4 public and 4 private) universities. The sample size of 284 (276 departmental academic
staff plus 8 (HR) registrars) was drawn. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedule.A validity
index of 0.80 was obtained. Reliability of the questionnaires was measured and calculated using Cronbach’s alpha and
a correlation coefficient of 0.84 was achieved .Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to present data. Pearson
correlation on commitment as a moderating variable was done and results showed that commitment affected selection
practices significantly with the Pearson’s correlation of 0.4000 and p-value of 0.000. Additionally, commitment did
not affect retention significantly with a correlation of 0.021 and p-value of 0.764. The findings of the study revealed
that selection practices had an influence on academic staff retention in universities with a frequency of 131 and a
percentage of 64.8 %.The overall conclusion of this study is that selection practices had significance influence on
academic staff retention in universities in Kenya. The study recommended that universities should review their
practices on selection so as to help them to achieve and enhance academic staff retention.
