Career Development and Employee Retention
Career development can be regarded as an incentive for promoting employee retention
and productivity (Musa, Ahmed, & Bala, 2014). It entails the company’s effort to assess
an employee’s abilities and recommend to them possible career advancement through
training. According to Mapelu and Jumah (2013), when organizations endorse their
employees for specified career development programs, they raise their deployment
chances and better their operations.
Career development is very significant to an employee. Numerous past studies have
underscored its significance to long term survival of an organization. It lays basis for
career progression opportunities with existing openings within the organization. It is
therefore demonstrated in appointment of employees to positions that befit their expertise
(Magnusson, & Silfverberg, 2013). Other indicators of career development include on-
the- job or off-the-job training, overseas assignment, career growth opportunities,
subscription to professional associations, support to attend professional forums, job
enlargement, and role assignments, and equitable opportunities for career progressions
among others (Leelavati, & Chalam, 2017; Magnusson, & Silfverberg, 2013).
.As a result, career development promotes organizational efficiency, high productivity
and cultivates loyalty, engagement and retention of employees (Cohen & Katz, 2016).
Amdany
(2017) noted how a country like Pakistan showed a strong relationship between career
development programs and employee retention in telecommunication industry. Similar
results were reported in Ghana by Kwenin (2013). However, working conditions in
private firms slightly differs with that public sector. Some specific constructs that drive
employee retention include; training and development programs, employees wellness
programs, medical cover, staff welfare initiatives, and other internal mechanisms (Akala
2012; Sitati et al, 2016).
Employee perception of an organization is usually influenced by institution-initiated
training. Chabbra and Mishra (2013) observe employee retention is high where workers
are encouraged to acquire specialized skills and hence experience professional growth.
Indeed, employees will continue working for a company where they find meaning and
direction in assigned tasks. Therefore, career development provides opportunities for
employees to find their dream careers and pursue higher career goals (Tan, 2008).
In organizations where employees are offered resources to grow their careers, there is
heightened sense of employee loyalty to the organization. According to Musa, Ahmed
and Bala (2014), loyalty is vital in the retention of employees, the organization’s
challenges notwithstanding. Indeed, some workers equate career development to the
money they earn. Mapelu and Jumah (2013) observe that assessment of employee career
needs is central to career development of employees and the general success of the
organization.
Sutherland (2004) notes that employee retention rates in organizations would be boosted
by organization’s decision to invest considerable resources in training and development
of their employees. Indeed, employees who have been lucky to advance their careers are
more committed, thus giving their organizations a competitive edge over other
organizations.
Work Life Balance and Employee Retention
According to Kumari (2012) work life balance is the act of an employee maintaining
stability between professional duties and other responsibilities that one may be having
that are personal, or related to family and the society. When there is a clash between
works obligations and life responsibilities one may lose taste and may eventually leave
an organization (Redman, 2009). Redman noted how some organizations help their staff
to cope and balance whenever necessary. Key policy include normal leave policy,
maternity policy, shift schedule policy benefits for dependents, for example, education
tuition waive, hospital insurance covers among others. The study by Deery and Jago
(2015) argued that such work-family policies are significant in enhancing job
commitment and overall productivity as well as retention.
Recent literature from scholars such as Adebayo (2016), and Durodolu and Mamudu
(2020) have indicated that an employee need to have a balance owing to many
responsibilities that one may be having from the workplace and from the community. As
much as the act of balancing as more of an individual obligation than a corporate duty,
their studies emphasized on the need for organization to establish measure for supporting
their staff in community development endeavors, personal development as much as they
focus on improving organization’s productivity. Work life balance is characterized by
responsibilities that one does in the work place including the extra duties and
assignments; personal engagements, family commitments, and other tasks and
responsibilities that one has obligations in the societies (Abdulkadir, 2018; Mwangi et
al., 2017).
The malleability of work schedules to allow a balance between career and social life is
gradually becoming a key consideration in the employees’ decision on whether to stay in
an organization. Today, work schedules that are flexible enough to give employees room
to attend to both their personal and professional life is highly preferred (Ellenbecker,
2014). A job that offers the holder a room to accomplish parental, family and other
personal obligations has minimized chances for employee turnover rates (Loan-Clarke,
Arnold, Coombs, Hartley, and Bosley, 2010).
Deery and Jago (2015) explores the subject of talent management, Work-Life Balance
(WLB) and strategies used by the employers to minimize job turnover in the hotel
business in Australia. Their studies draw data from recent literature on the said themes. It
considered the characteristics of an organization, individual worker’s attributes, the
imbalance between work and personal commitments and organizational policies in its
approach, as it sought to establish whether the aforementioned concepts enhance job
fulfilment, loyalty and employee retention. The study used emphasized that successful
talent management impedes employee turnover.
Work life balance is a central factor when studying factors that affect worker turnover in
any organization (Deery & Jago, 2015). Recent literature shows that there is a definite
connection between WLB and employee mindsets such as happiness with one’s job,
loyalty and individual aspects like anxiety and drunkenness. This link is critical in
devising strategies to retain talented staff.
The centrality of work life balance arises from the ever increasing levels of anxiety,
rivalry and fears in life. Employees are therefore seeking best methods that would assist
them make a balance between job obligations and individual’s social commitments.
Agha et al. (2017) investigated the connection between social life-employment balance
and the job fulfilment among post primary teachers in Oman. The study established that
work and social commitments are always antagonistic towards each. This work-personal
life interference negatively impacts a worker’s feelings of job fulfilment, while its
enhancement positively affects job satisfaction. It is therefore important that organizations
seek to integrate work and personal life through work-life balance initiatives.
Some organizations have well-established counseling programs for its staff with an intention
to help them cope with challenging issues that may arise in the work place or outside the
work station. This is critical in promoting behavior change in employees and further helps
them develop appropriate coping strategies (Armstrong, 2012). As employees undergo
various changes in the workplace, thy may find some tasks as key contributor to imbalance in
their life. Such staff can be rotated by being assigned other duties in a different section or
department (Mwangi, 2017), for example, an Administrative Officer in the Department of
Land being to the Department of Education. The new assignment may come with new
challenges, opportunities for learning new things and may also help a staff to break
monotony and overcome repetitive tasks. This goes a long way helping staff to balance the
work place responsibilities.
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