Effect of Employee Retention Strategies on Employee Job Satisfaction in Kenya Forest

Abstract

The source of employee satisfaction is their perception that their performance is recognized as satisfactory. Therefore, an employee whose job is considered satisfactory after a performance evaluation will be very satisfied if it is accompanied by positive outcomes such as salary and advancement, job security, and praise. These favorable outcomes are part of the employee retention strategies organizations use to reduce turnover. However, many employees are not yet satisfied with their jobs. Most switch from one company or organization to another for a better job, which has led to a reduced performance of employing organizations. For this reason, the researcher sought to determine the effect of employee retention strategies on employee job satisfaction at the Kenya Forest Service. The specific focus was to determine the effects of training, the physical environment, supervisory support, and recognition on employee job satisfaction. This study employed a descriptive research design.  The target population was 144 staff members. A sample of 94 respondents was calculated using Taro Yamane's method (1967) and selected using stratified random sampling. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. The model summary results indicate that training, physical environment, supervisory support, and recognition explain seventy-nine percent of employee job satisfaction at the Kenya Forest. The findings also indicated that training, physical environment, supervisory support, and recognition had a positive and significant effect on employee job satisfaction. Based on the findings, the study concluded that the physical environment, recognition, supervisory support, and training are the most important strategies that affect employee job satisfaction, in that order. The study therefore recommends that, to promote learning, tutoring should be conducted intensively. Off-job learning should also be adopted fully for all the departments by Kenya Forest. This study also recommends that the Kenya Forest Service should provide comfortable office furniture to all departments, improve the lighting in the working environments from the current state, and provide adequate working equipment to the employees. In addition, this study recommends that the Kenyan forest should provide adequate resources necessary at the workstations. The Kenya Forest should also listen to the various concerns of the employees and act appropriately and in a timely manner. Moreover, the study recommends that Kenya Forest should make it a practice to provide bonuses and any other recognition tokens as an effort to appreciate employee performance. Kenya Forest should also incorporate in its calendar an Employee Appreciation Day where the best performers are rewarded annually. This study recommends that the human resources department responsible for the employment of persons ensure that employees are provided with adequate working conditions, including social and physical conditions.