43

43
Published by Urban Dialectics an Inquiry & Design Colloquy

JEPA Management Board:
Paul Mwangi Maringa (PhD), Architect/Planner Associate Professor of Architecture & Planning, M.A.A.K, M.K.I.P; Francis Mwangi Mburu (PhD), Architect/Planner,
M.A.A.K, M.K.I.P; Abraham Ndungu (PhD), Sociologist/Planner.
Considerations for containing Employee Turnover in Kenyan Hotels

Samuel Irungu Kimungu (Bsc HIM, CPA II, Msc HM)
1
Lecturer and Head Quality Assurance, Rwanda
Tourism University College, P.O Box 5150, Kigali (Kicukiro Sonatube) Rwanda, Tel: +250 0, E-mail:
irungusamwel@yahoo.com, rti007@yahoo.fr, www.rtuc.rw.
&
Paul Mwangi Maringa (B.Arch Hons, M.A Planning, PhD, m.a.a.k, m.k.i.p, reg., Arch)
2

Architect/Planner Associate Professor of Architecture & Planning, Technical Expert & Master
Trainer (Construction & Building Servicing), Workforce Development Authority (WDA) P.O. Box
2707, Kigali, Rwanda, Tel: +250 788829576; E-mail: pmmaringa@yahoo.co.uk, mwangi@wda.gov.rw,

Received on 15
th
of March 2010, revised on 20
th
December 2010, accepted on 22
nd
December 2010

Abstract

Hotel industry employees represent the biggest cost in an establishment. They are also, the first point of
contact between an establishment and its customers. They need to be effectively managed. To be competitive,
establishments must have a highly skilled, knowledgeable, and relatively stable labour force. Employee
turnover works against coordination and organisational learning that is necessary for fast response and high
quality service. Many hotel employers however accord little priority to the stabilisation of the labour force.
This study then sought to empirically reveal coincidence of labour stabilisation and effective service delivery
in hotels, in the local scene. It set out to first identify the salient factors of employee turnover. Thereafter,
it ventured to outline the relationship of employee turnover as illustrated by its constituent factors with
human resource management functionality. The study adopted a case study research design applied to 5
selected hotels in order to gain advantage from its intrinsic ability to incisively capture real life settings and
detailed information. Five (5) sample hotels were selected purposively. Within each of these hotels, cluster
random sampling was used to select 160 respondents. Descriptive and inferential statistics geared to the
Pearsons Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) and also the Chi-square measures were used to identify
patterns in the data. The inquiry revealed that low job satisfaction, unfavourable working conditions and slow
career advancement were major factors influencing employee turnover. High employee turnover rates
negatively influenced human resource functionality, by lowering the quality of service, leading to reduced
customer satisfaction, and a less competitive establishment. The majority of hotels lacked effective measures
to curb employee turnover. Novel initiatives to discourage mid-career movements and ensure long-term
employee-employer were tagged as an absolute necessity. Possible options here would include paying new
workers compensations that are less than the value of their marginal product, and old hands greater ones than
their marginal product.

Keywords: Employee turnover, Human Resource Management, Service, Satisfaction,
Dissatisfaction, Motivation, Hygiene, Hotels
44


1.0 Introduction

Hotels fall into the service industry
category, which is labour intensive in
nature (Daft 1992). The human resource
in hotels then is the largest and very
important investment on recurrent
expenditure. Hotel buildings, the spaces
they embrace and their dcor together
represent a pleasant though largely mute
ambience. Hotel workers are the sole
interactive contact points for customers.
For this reason they are the critical
counterpoint upon which customer
perceptions of hotels are hinged upon.
Customer satisfaction and the overall
competitiveness of hotels will depend a
lot on the performance of this labour.

Effective management of human
resources or labour in hotels is therefore
vital to the success of these
establishments. Hotels tend to require
low level skills of labour which is also very
easily transferable between employers,
with minimal retraining. These and
possibly unsympathetic managerial
attitudes and beliefs have resulted in an
endemic high worker turnover in most
hotel establishments (Winstanley and
Woodall 1995; Torrington and Hall 1995).
Some managers are persuaded that no
turnover at all is undesirable as it would
build a large stock of employees at the
top of their income bracket, no matter
the experience they contribute. These
managers opine that new blood when
injected into an organisation introduces
novel ideas, methods, abilities, and
attitudes, useful for the sustained
dynamism of a hotel that operates in a
first changing and competitive business
environment (Torrington and Hall, 1995).

Most management therefore prefers the
poacher approach to staffing, as opposed
to the game-keeper alternative that
builds both short-term and long-term
nurturing, socialising, training and a
golden cage of benefits and incentives.
The poacher approach managers then
expend their energies luring trained staff
from flagging or unwary competitors
(Winstanley and Woodall 1995).

Other organizations such as the
McDonalds put a fixed percentage beyond
which labour costs should not exceed, at
which point staff are re-trenched and re-
hired back when needed, no matter that
these proportions in income may be
caused by flagging sales of foods or
rooms that would need to be adjusted,
rather than increased non-performance

45

It is generally held that employee
turnover is well captured by the ratio of
the number of employee separation to the
number of employees on the payroll
(Wendell 1994). This may further be
distinguished into voluntary turnover or
separation and involuntary turnover now
termed termination or dismissal
(Bavendam Research Incorporation 2000).
Caution though is advised against
swallowing this perception wholesale as
the rate may hide aneamia in particular
departments, while others remain intact.
It would be useful then to go further and
compare rates across the departments of
a hotel (McKenna and Beech 1995).

A survey conducted by the Education
Institute of the American Hotel and
Motel Association in 1998 identified the
principal reasons for involuntary labour
turnover or termination as excess
absenteeism, poor job performance,
frequent tardiness, frequent guest
complaints, and other issues such as
theft or job abandonment. In such cases
the industry gains by culling bad workers
who are a liability.

Separation or voluntary turnover on its
part was primarily occasioned by better
pay elsewhere, better career
advancement elsewhere, personal or
family reasons, inter-company transfers
or promotions, and preferred job
placement outside the industry. This
form of turnover tends to loose
competitive workers who have clear life
goals, and ones who otherwise if retained
could transfer this drive to the benefit
of the establishments they leave
(Kimungu 2006).

This study focuses on voluntary turnover
or separation. The local hotel industry
has tended to perceive labour turnover as
naturally resulting from seasonal
fluctuations in business, and failed
therefore to lay premium on interventions
that focus on the working environment
and management policies that are internal
to hotel establishments. The study hopes
to shed light on the causes of employee
turnover in Kenyan hotels, and its effects
on human resource management
functionality as it influences hotel
performance and eventual
competitiveness.

2.0 Problem Statement
Competitive hotels do need a well trained,
skilled, and knowledgeable labour force
that is reasonably stable (David, 1997).
Such employees are therefore able to
support task coordination and
organisational learning that retains and
46

transmits the institutional memory as
needed (Ibid; Kimungu 2006). Quality
service and faster response to customer
needs can only result.

Many hotels unfortunately give little
priority to stabilizing their labour force,
maintaining it preferably as a non-
essential variable cost. Such an attitude
naturally lays a low emphasis on labour
incentives (Winstanley and Woodall 1995;
Torrington and Hall 1995).

In this context, Kenyan hotels then are
confronted with the possibility of waning
competitiveness and therefore a possible
incremental loss of revenue. This appears
to be a trend that is driven by a profile
of deteriorating quality of service within
the hotels, as these hotels reflect a work
force that progressively is untrained and
unskilled. The prevailing high worker
turnover seems to have a hand in this
waning level of skills, goaded on by a
management that is insensitive or
completely ignorant of the connection
between worker attitudes and royalty.

These relationships still need to be
cemented well into a fully tested and
accepted theory that satisfactorily
explains the observed trends. The
theories that advance a critical link
between motivation and hygiene, and
therefore satisfaction and
dissatisfaction in the work place as the
fundamental factors of worker retention
therefore need more probing and
especially so in the local markets where
there is no evidence so far of their
testing. It is important to also develop a
clear understanding of the manner in
which these factors of worker retention
are sequenced.

3.0 Aims and Objectives
This inquiry has elected to restrict its
concerns to understanding the role of job
stability as influenced by staff turnover
in the hotel labour functionality and the
desired sustained good performance of
such establishments. As such it is guided
by the following mutually reinforcing
objectives:
1. To determine the factors of voluntary
staff turnover or separation in hotels.
2. To establish the elements of staff
satisfaction and dissatisfaction in hotels.
3. To confirm the relationship of job
stability to satisfaction & dissatisfaction
in hotels.

Correspondingly, the following relational
scientific null and alternate research
hypotheses are set forth in order to
guide this inquiry:
47

H
0
: There is no relationship between
voluntary employee separation and staff
satisfaction, or dissatisfaction in
hotels.

H
1
: There is a relationship between voluntary
employee separation and staff
satisfaction, or dissatisfaction in
hotels.

4.0 Theoretical and Conceptual
Framework
Herzbergs Motivation-Hygiene Theory,
and Lashelys Vicious Cycle of Employee
Turnover are blended together to provide
a basis upon which the inquiry is founded,
and conducted (Kimungu 2006). Their
combined postulations serve to inform
thought during analysis, and when drawing
out inferences on the research findings.

Motivation-Hygiene Theory essentially
underscores the seminal dependence of
job satisfaction on worker motivation. It
is founded upon factors that produce
either satisfaction or dissatisfaction at
work (Buchanan and Huczynski 1997). In
this theory, Frederick Herzberg
differentiates dissatisfaction with
satisfaction in the work place as not
being simple opposites and therefore not
depending on the same sets of elements.
The one dissatisfaction is a response to
badly disposed hygiene factors, while the
other, satisfaction arises out of well
applied motivators (Ibid; Kimungu 2006).

Hygiene factors then when well disposed
remove dissatisfaction, leaving the
worker potentially responsive to
motivation. In this manner dissatisfaction
when obviated acts as a precursor for
satisfaction. It is thereafter necessary
to prod labour further towards a state of
satisfaction using identified motivators
such as achievement, recognition,
responsibility, advancement, growth and
the nature of work itself. These it can
be seen are by and large intrinsic to the
job (Ibid; Kimungu 2006). These
motivators as even Herzberg postures
are factors that are intrinsic to the
content of the job itself. They are the
ones which very often attract workers to
other establishment where present
competitively, or retain them when
present favourably in the present
establishment (Ibid; Kimungu 2006).

Hygiene factors on their part tend to be
external to the work. They are non-job
related, and embrace such concerns as
company policy, administration,
supervision, inter-personal relations,
remuneration, and working conditions. In
a practical setting, Hygiene and
48

motivation factors act very much in
concert (Figure 4.0a). Motivation arising
from recognition and advancement for
instance would be inseparable with the
hygiene consideration of feelings and
attitudes on pay (Ibid; Kimungu 2006).

Figure 4.0a: An adapted Hygiene-Motivation Framework; Source: David 1997

These factors then play on the sequence
of an individual workers needs, goals,
drive, effort, and performance to
produce stability or undermine it.
Dissatisfied labour that is also lacking
satisfaction is inclined to vote with their
feet and leave the organization. This is
when Lashleys Vicious Cycle of Employee
Turnover Theory kicks in (figure 4.0b).
When employee turnover rates are
perceptibly high, workers will come in and
leave immediately. Such a setting holds
when the human resource plan that is
common to stable, well organised
establishments is thwarted by high
labour turnovers. Such a plan commonly
prescribes the positions and likely
replacements should the current office
Modest Labour
Turnover
Motivation
No Job Dissatisfaction
Job Satisfaction
Positive Hygiene
Factors
Labour Retention
Organisational Stability
Reticent performance
49

holders leave. The plan can only hold
when the labour establishment is not
very mobile; when replacements are
stable to the extent of avoiding hurried
out-sourcing of yet other possibly
untrained replacements.

Figure 4.0b: An Adapted Lashleys Vicious Cycle of Employee Turnover Framework; Source: Lashley,
2000

The converse scenario results in hurried
recruitment and selection, poor
induction, limited training, supervisory
and management pressure to perform,
and low staff morale. The setting has
inherent instability and will in all
likelihood precipitate further labour
movement. When this movement is
sustained over a conspicuous period, the
organization ends up with poor quality
labour force, while additionally incurring
high human resource costs. Poor services
follow, leading to customer
dissatisfaction and an eventual loss of
competitiveness (Figure 4.0c).

High Employee
Turnover
Supervision
Pressure
Low morale,
Instability
Crises selection
Procedure
Hasty Training Management
Pressure
50

Paul Mwangi Maringa (PhD), Architect/Planner Associate Professor of Architecture & Planning, M.A.A.K, M.K.I.P; Francis Mwangi Mburu (PhD),
Architect/Planner, M.A.A.K, M.K.I.P; Abraham Ndungu (PhD), Sociologist/Planner.

Figure 4.0c: Conceptual Framework of Job Stability and Labour Functionality (that adapts and extends the
Hygiene-Motivation Theory); Source: Authors, 2009

SERVICE
DELIVERY
QUALITY OF
SERVICES
RESPONSE RATE
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
COMPETITIVENESS
GAME KEEPER APPROACH: Short and long term
improvement of available
Labour
KNOWLEDGE: From
prevailing technological
support services training

SKILLS AND ABILITY: From
prevailing technological
support services training

TASKS COORDINATION: Anchored on
performance that is founded upon inherent
Individual need & goals, Drive, Effort
ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING: Anchored on
performance that is founded upon inherent
Individual need & goals, Drive, Effort
MOTIVATORS: Achievement,
Recognition, Work itself,
Responsibility, Advancement &
Growth
HYGIENE: Company policy &
administration, Supervision,
Interpersonal relations, Salary,
Working Condition
JOB STABILITY/HIGH STAFF
RETENTION/LOW STAFF
TURNOVER

LABOUR
FUNCTIONALITY
COMPETITIVENESS
51

David, 1997 introduces two other critical
considerations of skills and knowledge,
which complement motivation and hygiene
in explaining worker satisfaction or
dissatisfaction. These two then complete
the loop of theory that informs this
study. From this understanding of
theory and the problem at hand, set out
for investigation, the following
conceptual framework was abstracted to
guide thought.

The hotel human resource is peculiar. It
is unarguably a dominant feature in this
industry as the industry is a service
industry and therefore one that is
clearly labour intensive (Daft 1992).
Human resource in hotels is
characterized by much of unskilled, non-
transferable skills, which by and large
are on low wages levels (Riley 1996) with
an expected high turnover levels (Lashley
2000). Recognition and remedy of a
looming crisis is undermined by a profile
that prevails in the industry where
labour issues are relegated to the office
of Human Resource Managers, rather
than senior management (Branham 2000).

In the past, scholars have inadvertently
tended to probe staff turnover without
differentiation, erroneously taking either
dissatisfaction or satisfaction as one
combined factor, and in this way offering
at the best only an incomplete
explanation (Wendell 1994). In context
though, people psychology as defined in
Maslows hierarchy of needs perspective
which classifies these needs into a
fundamental lower need category (food,
shelter, and security), and a secondary
higher need alternative (social and
egoistic needs). People therefore work in
pursuit of, or in order to satisfy physical,
security, social, and egoistic needs
(Strauss and Sayles, 1980). For such
workers, job security is a fundamental
need, superseding even the necessity for
pay or advancement.

Job satisfaction has as a result been
ascribed to working conditions, direct
remuneration and benefits, promotion
opportunities, individual attitudes
towards organizations, supervision the
work itself, individual health, age,
relationships with co-workers,
relationship with managers, and self
drive (Bagozzi 1980; Rue and Byars 1993;
Branham 2000). Here again factors or
dissatisfaction and satisfaction are both
bundled together without discrimination.

Some studies have distinguished
dissatisfaction, recognizing social
interaction both with fellow workers and
52

management as a factor that produces
dissatisfaction, which in turn takes
expression through low production,
absenteeism and resulting in a high
turnover (Torrington and hall 1995).
Social interaction with management is
posited as depending on managerial
attitudes and beliefs which mainly fail to
recognise the need to motivate workers,
and rather tends to prioritise profits and
not worker performance as the principal
basis for decision making on recruitment
or worker retention (Torrington and hall
1995; Winstanley & Woodall; Blyton and
Turnbull 1998; Quek 2000; Hersi 2002).

The need for a critical examination of
labour turnover that recognises well the
salient factors of dissatisfaction and
satisfaction, and their attendant
attributes is rife. It is only then that
the industry is able to address its
challenges of an unwelcome trend of
worker attrition that consistently works
to undermine performance in an industry
that must be competitive to stay afloat.

5.0 Methodology
The case study method with its penchant
for capturing much detail in real-life
settings was used (Kothari 1996;
Mugenda & Mugenda 1999). Hotels in
Kenya fall into three groupings, the
coastal, Nairobi, and Nature Reserves
clusters. These three though are
dominated by the high concentration of
hotels in Nairobi and Mombasa cities.
The two were therefore handpicked
purposively as representing two opposing
hotel settings (Emory & Cooper 1995;
Kothari 1996; Mugenda & Mugenda 1999).

Mombasa would help detect the seasonal
nature of the tourism trade that is
beach based, while Nairobi would balance
this out with its preoccupation for
corporate year-round clientele. This
duality of choice helped to test the
doubtable supposition that employee
turnover is a product of seasonal
variations in hotel product demand,
acting as controls for one another in a
typical research experiment (Miller 1991;
Nachmias & Nachmias 1996).

From these cities, two hotels in Nairobi,
and three in Mombasa were once more
judgmentally selected (Emory & Cooper
1995; Kothari 1996; Mugenda & Mugenda
1999). The choice favoured reputable
hotels with time tested establishments
or brand names that are likely to elicit
more consistent patterns. From these
five hotels, 160 (figures 5.0a & b)
respondents were selected using complex
random sampling that brought together
53

first, a clustering of the population into
groupings of homogeneous sets of sample
units, followed by respondent selection
from these units through simple random
sampling (Emory & Cooper 1995; Kothari
1996; Shaughnessy& Zechmeister 1997;
Mugenda & Mugenda 1999).

The overall sample size of 160 allowed
each of the 5 hotels chosen as case
studies and the work processes under
inquiry to approximate 30 respondents in
as far as this was possible. The
allocation of actual sample size per hotel
and work process normatively followed
the proportional allocation methodology
that gave premium to representativeness.
This is consistent with the limits set in
the probability theory to assure
normality in the distribution of the data
obtained (Gregory, 1978; Hayslett, 1983;
Lapin, 1981; Kothari 1996; Mugenda &
Mugenda 1999).

The six functional centers of direct
service delivery in hotels were chosen to
be the homogenous sample units.
Respondents were then selected
proportionately from the following
population (Emory & Cooper 1995; Kothari
1996; Shaughnessy& Zechmeister 1997;
Mugenda & Mugenda 1999).
Table 5.0a: Summary of the study population

HOTELS
Nairobi Hotels Mombasa Hotels

TOTAL
Ambassador
Hotel (A)
Holiday
Inn Hotel
(B)
Travelers
Beach
Resort (C)
Bamburi
Beach
Hotel (D)
Leopard
Beach
Hotel (E)
Food and Beverage Service 26 60 24 29 33 172
Food and Beverage
Production
12 29 10 10 14 75
Front Office 8 18 8 8 12 54
Housekeeping 10 24 10 12 20 76
Control and Stores 7 16 7 8 10 48
Support 6 22 14 13 20 75
TOTAL 69 169 73 80 109 500

Source: Kimungu 2006
54

The population for study from the five
hotels selected then comprised 464 line
staff and 36 heads of departments or
functional centers. The line staff were
critically important here because they
were in direct contact with customers,
and also represented the group most
vulnerable to labour turnover. Heads of
departments who normally have a number
of line staff under them were also
involved in the study sample in order to
assess the influence that certain aspect
of their job such as responsibility, may
have on employee turnover.

Table 5.0b: Summary of the study sample

HOTELS
Nairobi Hotels Mombasa Hotels

TOTAL
Ambassador
Hotel (A)
Holiday
Inn Hotel
(B)
Travelers
Beach
Resort (C)
Bamburi
Beach
Hotel (D)
Leopard
Beach
Hotel (E)
Food and Beverage Service 8 18 8 9 11 54
Food and Beverage production 4 9 3 3 5 24
Front Office 3 6 3 3 4 19
Housekeeping 3 8 3 4 6 24
Control and Stores 2 5 2 3 3 15
Support 2 7 5 4 6 24
TOTAL 22 53 24 26 35 160


Interview schedules of the form of
structured opinionnaires, all administered
by well trained enumerators were used as
opposed to questionnaires whose success
rate is known to be very low. The
challenge of erroneous questionnaire
entries that arises when respondents are
unclear with some questions was in this

way avoided (Miller 1991; Nachmias &
Nachmias 1996). The interview schedules
brought in credible information or data
on socio-economic hotel employment
profiles and general demography,
promotions, training, employee mobility,
job satisfaction and employee opinions on
labour turnover.
55

Two other hotels in Nairobi were
selected for a pre-testing or pilot survey
exercise. This assisted to upgrade the
interview schedules into structured
survey instruments. These two hotels
and their employees were naturally
excluded from the final sample of the
study (Miller 1991; Emory and Cooper
1995; Nachmias & Nachmias 1996;
Mugenda & Mugenda 1999). Data was
assembled interpretively into tables and
pie charts. The Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for
analysis to favourable advantage, given its
dexterity at statistical analysis.

Employee turnover levels were signaled
through computed turnover rates,
whereby the labour turnover rate was
rendered as the total number of
separated staff, expressed as a
percentage of the total number of
employees in a department, unit and /or
hotel. Inferential statistics were
resorted to, specifically the Karl
Pearsons Product Moment Correlation
Coefficient, to coalesce trends and
patterns, in a relationship between
employee turnover (criterion/dependent
variable) and job satisfaction
(causal/independent variable)
(Gregory1978; Lapin 1981; Hayslett 1983;
Kothari 1996). Chi-Square analysis
helped put to rest the speculation on how
if at all the seasonal nature of tourism
trade affected employee turnover
(Gregory1978; Lapin 1981; Hayslett 1983;
Kothari 1996).

6.0 Analysis and Discussion
The data collected was analysed in order
to reveal patterns and trend within the
following pertinent and interactive
concepts of the study: Demographic
description of the sample; labour
distribution in departments; year of
joining current employment; worker
mobility; employee turnover rates;
turnover factors; employee turnover and
human resource functions; employee
turnover and service quality; employee
turnover and competitiveness.

6.1 Demographic Profile of the Sample
The data indicated that in all the five
hotels sampled, all the respondents
(99.4%) apart from one (0.6%) in the
Leopard Beach Hotel had at least
secondary school education. The one
exception had only primary school
education. The data further indicated
that 62 (56.9%) of the respondents had
college level education. This is a clear
indication that hotels prefer employing
workers with reasonable formal
education, who were more trainable, in
56

order to possibly facilitate better
subsequent on-job training. Interestingly,
the data revealed that only 13 (11.9%) of
the respondents had university education.
This could very well denote that hotels in
Kenya dont see the need to hire highly
educated manpower; a trend that may
reverse with growing competition. A
prerequisite to such a turnaround would
be an increased induction of
competitively appropriate practical skills
and competencies relevant to hotel
service delivery in graduate education.

In regard to the age bracket of the
respondents, in the hotels that were
located in Nairobi City (Ambassador and
Holiday Inn Hotels), majority of the
respondents were below 35 years of age.
This was attributed to the dynamic
nature and rapid changes in the hotel
industry which calls for people who are
adaptable to change. According to the
manager of one of the Nairobi hotels,
young people are better able to adjust to
transformed realities. But for the
Mombasa City based hotels (Travelers
Beach Resort, Bamburi Beach Hotel, and
Leopard Beach Hotel), a considerable 15
(13.8%) of the respondents were aged
beyond 40years.

It was observed that in these hotels,
staff rarely got a chance to go back to
school once employed; for lack of
proximally located training opportunities.
This was very much unlike in the Nairobi
City based hotels, whose workforce was
able to attend evening classes in the city.
Workers in the Mombasa City based
hotels therefore tended to rely on years
of service and on job training for
promotion. In fact, the majority of the
older respondents in Mombasa hotels
were a conspicuous crop of less educated
heads of departments.

On marital status, the data indicated
that the Holiday Inn Hotel had 14 (12.8%)
married respondents. This was double the
number of the singles who were only 7
(6.4%). In hotel C, the majority of the
respondents were married. Only one
respondent in hotel the Travelers Beach
Resort was single, but this was as a result
of having contracted a divorce after a
failed marriage. In general, the research
indicated that majority of employees in
Kenyan hotel industry are married. This is
a curious shift from the general believe
that many employees in the hotel industry
shunned marriage.

57

The study further revealed that the
average monthly salary for the majority
of the employees in the five hotels was
Kshs 9,512 (136 US $). This amount is
equivalent to the minimum wage per
month according to government of Kenya
2003 wage guideline. Clearly, hotel
industry employees in Kenya are lowly
paid, confirming one of the hotel industry
labour characteristics earlier reported
by Riley (1996).

6.2 Labour Distribution in Hotel
Departments
The data pointed out that the food and
beverage services had the highest
percentage (35.8%) of labour force,
followed by the food and beverage
production (16.5%), controls and stores
(12.8%), support departments (12.8%),
housekeeping (11.9%) and finally front
office department with a low 10.9%. This
was consistent with the fact that the
food and beverage department is more
labour intensive compared to others such
as the front offices which are more
easily automated using ICT. This
observed labour distribution is
summarized in Figure 6.2a here below.

Figure 6.2a: Percentage distribution of Labour in various Departments of Hotels

percentage distribution of labour in various
departments
F&B services
F&B production
Front office
House keeping
Controls and stores
Support


58

6.3 Year of Joining Current
Employment
The study portrayed an interesting trend
where the two Nairobi City based hotels
had a majority of their workers employed
in on or after 1994. Only one secretarial
staff in hotel A was employed as early as
1980. The three Mombasa City based
hotels had their respondents employed
as early as 1975. This confirmed the
pattern outlined in the preceding
discussion on demography on level of
education where it was indicated that
the majority of employees in Mombasa
City based hotels found little opportunity
for further education or formal training,
and primarily depended on years of
service and on-job training for
promotion.

6.4 Worker Mobility
The Study depicted that 79 (72.5%) of
the respondents had worked elsewhere
before (Table 6.4a). Further
examination of the work history of these
employees revealed that a majority of
these had worked in other
establishments within the hotel industry.
There clearly was a reasonable flow of
hotel employees that was primarily
constrained within the hotel industry.

Table 6.4a: Worker Mobility

Category Frequency % Cumulative %
Yes 79 72.5 72.5
No 30 27.5 100.0
Total 109 100


6.5 Employee Turnover Rates
The employee turnover rates calculated
from the data were as follows: Hotel A
had a turnover rate of 36.2%, hotel B
10.6%, hotel C 13.7% while hotel E had a
rate of 22.0%. It was not possible to
calculate the rate for hotel D due to lack
of sufficient information. The rates were
calculated on the basis of figures given
by the human resource managers. The
data given by the human resource
managers did not indicate monthly details
and as such, a survival curve to give a
picture of the new entrants and the
59

ability of specific hotel establishments
to retain staff could not be established.

6.6 Factors Influencing Employee
Turnover
To identify factors influencing employee
turnover, the study sought to determine
what made the respondents to leave
their previous employment (push factors)
and what attracted them to their
current employment (pull factors). Table
6.6a here below illustrates the observed
trends where 25 (22.9%) of the
respondents had left their previous
employment due to lack of career
advancement, while 15 (13.8%) had left
due to unfavourable working conditions.
Other factors that emerged included
seasonal layoffs affecting 14 (12.8%)
respondents, low pay a concern of 10
(9.2%) respondents, unacceptable
employment benefits an issue to 8 (7.3%)
respondents, and other factors singled
out by 7 (6.4%) respondents.

Table 6.6a: Factors prompting staff to leave previous employer


Table 6.6b on its part demonstrates well
that the 22 (20.2%) of the respondents
were attracted to their current places of
employment by suitable working
conditions, 12 (11.0%) by good prospects
of career advancement, 11 (10.1%) by
attractive pay, 2 (1.8%) by acceptable
employment benefits, and 52 (47.7%) by

other factors. Other factors with the
highest percentage included staying near
the family, challenge provided by the job,
global presence, and desire to work in the
industry.

From this data, it is evident that working
conditions, which is a hygiene factor, and
Reason for leaving Frequency % Cumulative %
Pay 10 9.2 9.2
Employment benefit 8 7.3 16.5
Career advancement 25 22.9 39.4
Working conditions 15 13.8 53.2
Seasonal layoff 14 12.8 66.0
Other factors 7 6.4 72.4
60

opportunity for career advancement
which is a motivator feature as the major
factors in leaving or joining an
establishment. This confirms the
argument that hygiene factors and
motivators do not operate in isolation
(Wendell, 1994). The data also agrees
with Lashley (2000) that no one single
factor can cause people to voluntarily
leave an establishment. For people to
leave the push and pull factors must
mutually exist or operate in tandem.

The behaviour and attitude of both
management and employees were found to
play a role in employee turnover. When
asked their view on movement from one
establishment to another, 66 (60.6%) of
the respondents indicated that it did
indeed contribute to career advancement.
Majority of the respondents simply said
movement is everything in the hotel
industry if you are to develop your
career. Actually many of the
respondents had moved to higher ranks in
their current employment by moving from
other establishments where they were at
lower ranks.

This agrees with Brush (2000) who had
observed a similar scenario in Philippines
where women attributed their low career
attainment to lack of worker mobility
between different employers. With such
an attitude among employees,
establishments will find it difficult to
curb labour movement, unless clear
career paths and pre-conditions that are
objectively applied and facilitated are put
in place.

Table 6.6b: Factors attracting staff to present employer

Reason for leaving Frequency % Cumulative %
Pay 11 10.1 10.1
Employment benefit 2 1.8 11.9
Career advancement 12 11.0 22.9
Working conditions 22 20.2 43.1
Other factors 52 47.7 90.8


61

The study also found out that many
managers in the Kenyan hotel industry
viewed an employees experience as
having worth when reflecting a diversity
of other past employers. Thus many
workers in Kenyan hotel industry tried as
much as possible to work in several
hotels to gain this experience. This
concurs with Torrington and Hall (1995)
who indicated that the management
behavior and belief may encourage or
discourage employee turnover.

Poor job review and lack of orientation
also contributed to employee turnover.
Table 6.6c renders well the scenario
where 58 (53.2%) of the respondents
who were the majority did not receive
any training after employment.
Orientation is part of training, and if
after-employment training was withheld,
then orientation may be taken to have
also by and large not been offered.
Majority of the respondents did not
receive orientation upon recruitment.
Additionally, the study revealed that the
majority of the establishments did their
recruitments haphazardly using the walk-
in application method. As such there
were no job reviews done at the time of
recruitment. From these observations, it
can safely be inferred that, the majority
of establishments in the Kenyan hotel
industry are inadvertently or unwittingly
planting the seed of turnover at
recruitment (Hodgetts, 1990).

Table 6.6c: Staff training after recruitment

HOTEL

TRAINING RECEIVED (ORIENTATION)
YES NO TOTAL
FREQ % FREQ % FREQ %
A 10 9.2 23 21.1 33 30.3
B 14 12.8 3 2.8 17 15.6
C 6 5.5 10 9.2 16 14.8
D 1 0.9 6 5.5 7 6.4
E 13 11.9 16 14.8 29 26.6
TOTAL 44 40.4 58 53.2 102 93.6


62

6.7 Job Satisfaction and Employee
Turnover
The study revealed that the experience
and position one holds in an
establishment influences the level of job
satisfaction. Those who were
experienced were also found to be
satisfied with their job. When people are
experienced, they tend to find their
work enjoyable since they understand
every bit and piece about the job. This
results in job satisfaction.

The study further showed that the
majority of the experienced employees
were willing to leave their current
employment given an opportunity. This
could be an indication that, experience
made the employees to be satisfied only
with the work itself and not the total
satisfaction as indicated by Herzbergs
motivation-hygiene theory. According to
Herzberg, for an employee to be
satisfied, the motivators (achievement,
recognition, work itself, responsibility,
and advancement and growth) must be
present. In this case, the employees
could be lacking advancement and growth
opportunities, as opportunities for
promotion tended to be limited in the
hotel industry. Most hotels offered
rather slim career paths. This clearly
conflicted with the reality that as
workers gain experience, they expect to
move to more challenging positions.

Other factors listed by respondents as
contributing to job satisfaction included:
the challenge provided by the job,
conducive work environment, being
allowed to work in ones area of interest,
meeting basic needs, recognition and
appreciation, good relationship with the
seniors, job rotation, and availability of
working materials. On the other hand,
the respondents attributed job
dissatisfaction to harsh working
conditions, lack of/or biased promotions,
delay in payments, lack of support from
the seniors, lack of recognition, and
highly centralised hotel administration.

Karl Pearsons coefficient of correlation
calculated to establish the relationship
between job satisfaction and employee
turnover (at the 5% level of
significance), gave an r-value of = 0.349.
This indicated a weak though still notable
correlation between job satisfaction and
employee turnover. This is evidence that
job satisfaction plays a role in employee
turnover but is not the only factor
influencing turnover. Theory anchored
the understanding that other factors
(push and pull factors) also played a role
in staff turnover (Luthans, 1998).
63

6.8 Seasonal Nature of Tourism and
Employee turnover
In order to effectively assess the
relationship between employee turnover
and the seasonal nature of tourism in the
hotel industry, the sample population was
divided into two geographically
determined groups. These were the
Mombasa City and the Nairobi City based
hotels groups. The Mombasa location is
commonly perceived to come under the
influence of the seasonality of tourism
(July to April-high season; May and June
low season) since most hotels depend
purely on leisure tourist as opposed to
Nairobi where hotels rely considerably on
corporate clients. A Chi-square analysis
done at a 5% level of significance
revealed that there was no relationship
between the seasonal nature of tourism
in the Kenyan hotel industry and
employee turnover. This was consistent
with expectations as the study focused
on voluntary turnover, which does not
include layoffs.

6.9 Human Resource Functions and
Employee Turnover
The study focused on three key aspects
of human resource functions; these
being: recruitment, training, and
promotion. Hotels A and E recruited
through walk-in applications. With this
method of recruitment, the employees
may not feel obligated to retain their
jobs. As they easily walked into the
jobs, they would likely also walk out at
will. This would lead to high recruitment
cost and set in motion a vicious cycle,
where there is always an employee being
recruited and another leaving, as is aptly
proffered by Secretan, 2001 and
Lashley, 2000.

Such a state of affairs contributes
negatively to the sustained organisation
learning and coordination that is
necessary for effective response and
quality service. Hotel B mainly recruits
through employee referral system. This
involves the current employee
recommending an appropriate person to
take up the vacant position. They then go
ahead and inform the person to be
recruited. In doing so the hotel is able to
create a sense of belonging among the
employees, which in turn promotes job
satisfaction.

The study further revealed that 70
(64.2%) of the respondents were
formally trained and experienced at the
time of recruitment. This was done in an
effort to cut back on the training cost
and to reduce the chances of low
productivity during the early stages of
64

employment. With this approach majority
of the hotels tended to practice the
poacher kind of recruitment. Given that
most of the hotels involved in the study
were already experiencing Lashleys
vicious cycle, they did not feel obliged to
train an employee who will be there for a
short period. They preferred to poach a
trained employee from their competitors.
This posture of the industry is likely to
have far reaching effects on the quality
of service delivered to guests
considering the worker mobility that it
promotes.

In relation to promotion, the study
revealed that 79 (72.5%) respondents
who were employed and assigned to
tactical positions were still in these same
positions several months and years later.
Only 9 (8.3%) had risen up the ladder to
middle level positions. This could be
indicative of the restrictive career path
prevalent in the hotel industry. Further
scrutiny of the data showed that there
were a number of employees who came
directly into middle level positions. This
conformed to the general belief that
evidently also permeated the Kenyan
hotel industry that people who have
worked else were perceived to be more
experienced.

6.10 Relationship between Employee
Turnover, Quality of Service and
Competitiveness
A total of 61 (56.0%) respondents agreed
that employee turnover negatively
influenced customer satisfaction. The
respondents indicated that most
customers normally preferred being
served by the same person every time
they visited an establishment. When an
establishment engaged new workers,
customer service was affected
negatively. The new employees would
need time to adopt to the new
environment and in most cases, this
slowed down service delivery. The trend
concurred with the contentions of Greer
1990, who postulated that for an
establishment to be competitive there
must be a stable labour force.

7.0 Conclusions and Recommendations
The study successfully determines the
factors of voluntary turnover or
separation in Kenyan hotels. It also
establishes the elements of staff
satisfaction and dissatisfaction in Kenyan
hotels. The relationship of job stability
to satisfaction and dissatisfaction in
Kenyan hotels is also put clearly on
display.

65

Accordingly therefore, the study accepts
the alternate hypothesis that:

H
1
: There is a relationship between voluntary
employee separation and staff satisfaction,
or dissatisfaction in hotels.

In place of the null hypothesis that:

H
0
: There is no relationship between
voluntary employee separation and
staff satisfaction, or dissatisfaction in
hotels.

Unfavourable working conditions and slow
career path featured as main factors
contributing to employee turnover of the
employee voluntary separation form
studied here. The slow career path was
further complicated by believes by
management and employees that for one
to gain experience they needed to work
sequentially in several different
establishments. This kind of attitude
tended to accelerate the rate of
voluntary employee turnover or
separation in Kenyan hotel industry.
Other factors found to contribute to
employee turnover included poor job
review and lack of orientation. The
relationship between job stability and
satisfaction complemented by no
dissatisfaction was confirmed to exist in
the Industry.

In order to stem endemic staff
turnovers that resulted from lack of
satisfaction resulting in low productivity,
hotels need to provide workers with
working conditions that demonstrate a
concern for their welfare. Further,
hotels to ensure clear career paths, with
accelerated upward mobility for
deserving staff.

Management in hotels needs to commit
themselves to in-house staff
development or staff training where
training is available while still on staff.
Workers when newly recruited or re-
deployed would need to be supported by
sufficient briefing and orientation.
Objective and manifestly transparent job
performance reviews are advisable. This
usually entails embracing performance
contracting that is inclusive i.e., one
where employees are consulted in
drawing up such contracts and also in the
process of review in a self-review input
that is complemented by essential peer
review.

The critical factor of satisfaction that
emerged in this study was that of career
advancement (holistically and in respect
66

to poor job reviews). An indirect
feedback displayed the motivator of
nature of work as underpinning
satisfaction in the sense of depth of
experience, challenge provided by the
job, working environment, and area of
interest. In complementation,
remuneration (pay & benefits), working
conditions, company policy (as reflected
indirectly in the beliefs of management
that perceived home grown experience as
inferior to that obtained with multiple
other employers), and administration (in
respect of poor job reviews and lack of
orientation) were singled out as being
critical hygiene factors of
dissatisfaction. The status of other
pertinent hygiene factors that include
company policy, administration,
supervision, and inter personal relations
was not delineated.

Hotels also would effectively combat
dissatisfaction if they provide
competitive remuneration and allocated
duties on an objective evaluation of a
workers ability and competence. The
latter would avoid confronting workers
with unnecessary challenges that would
otherwise result in frustration.

The identified motivators and hygiene
factors left an over 50% burden of
explanation to other undifferentiated
factors which can within reason be
presumed to be those of achievement,
recognition, responsibility, growth, and
nature of work on the one hand of
satisfaction; and administration,
supervision, and inter personal relations
on the other hand of dissatisfaction.
These would all need to be addressed by
management in a reform that entailed
matching tight supervision with positive
and spontaneous appreciation of
performance that produces the sense of
goal achievement for workers and
diminished the perception in workers of a
hostile management.

The Karl Pearsons coefficient of
correlation calculated indicated a modest
relationship between employee turnover
and level of job satisfaction. The level of
job satisfaction was found to be
affected by such considerations as depth
of experience, challenge provided by the
job, working environment, and area of
interest. No one factor on its own can
cause voluntary employee turnover or
separation. Both the push and pull
factors must be in place for it to occur.

Considering human resource function as
it related to voluntary employee turnover
or separation, it was found that majority
67

of hotels practiced the poacher
approach in recruitment. This approach
contributed negatively to organisational
learning and task coordination which is
otherwise required for effective
response and quality service. A majority
of hotels preferred to recruit trained
personnel in order to cut down on the
cost of training and reduce the chances
of low productivity during the early
stages of employment. This perception
draws in conflicts in the work place, in
view of as indicated by most of the
respondents, the preference by most
customers to be served by same person
every time they visited an establishment.
The alternate game-keeper approach
that builds both short-term and long-
term nurturing, socialising, training and a
golden cage of benefits and incentives
should be accorded rightful
consideration by the hotels and their
management.

The seasonal nature of tourism was this
study obviated as a vital factor of
voluntary employee separation or
turnover. It was appreciated rather that
this factor could only apply to involuntary
employee separation; in other words
dismissals.

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