EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES AND RETENTION OF SENIOR STAFF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

Abstract

Retention of staff in organisations has been regarded as important to the survival and growth of organisations. The study assessed the degree to which employee development programmes influence retention of senior staff at the University of Cape Coast. The study used the mixed methods research design. Through stratified sampling technique, 311 respondents’ data were collected for the quantitative analysis, whereas 16 participants were purposively selected for qualitative responses. Quantitative data analysis was done using simultaneous multiple linear regression whereas qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The study revealed that, the main predictors of retention of senior staff of the University were workshops/seminars/conferences, coaching/mentoring and role play. The quantitative statistics also showed that employee development programmes accounted for 36.8% of employee retention of senior staff. The remainder was not accounted for in the quantitative data however, the responses from the qualitative further revealed certain factors of retention such as; job security/stability, good relationships at the workplace and career advancement opportunities supported senior staff retention intentions.