June 2017 Vol. 5 No.1

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Original Research Article

Factors affecting employee turnover in hospitality establishments in Kisii Town, Kenya

Wafula Milka^1*, Ondari Josephine Kerubo² and Lumumba Eunicares³

¹Kisii University
²Kisii University
³University of Nairobi

*Corresponding Author’s E-mail: wambwa06@yahoo.com

Accepted June 13, 2017

Abstract

High employee turnover continues to plague the hospitality industry in Kenya and in the process impeding the service quality of hotels and therefore customer competitiveness and brand consistency. The specific objectives of the study were to investigate the push and pull factors that affect employee turnover in hotels in Kisii town. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study. The target population of the study was 35 employees of 7 establishments in Kisii. Simple random sampling was used to sample both the hotels and the employees. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. The data collected was analyzed by descriptive statistics and presented in form of frequency tables. The study found out that salaries and wages, career promotions and job satisfaction were the leading factors which contributed to high employee turnover in hotels. The study also found out that hospitality establishments in Kisii rarely experience seasonality problems. It was therefore concluded that employees are not compensated favorably and that training and development opportunities are scarce. It was recommended that management of hospitality establishments should offer salaries and wages that are competitive and match the current market place. It was recommended that management of hospitality establishments provide fringe benefits, overtime allowances and training and development opportunities to its employees in a bid to ensure employee loyalty and therefore retention. The study recommended that employees come up with strong unions to champion for their rights to fair and equitable treatment as well as safe working environment.

Keywords: Fringe benefits, Job tenure, Niche, Seasonality, Turnover