Intervening Effect of Employee Retention on the Relationship between Strategic Leadership and Performance of Health Care Workers in North Eastern Kenya

Abstract

The efficiency of the healthcare workers determines the overall performance in a healthcare setting. The performance of the employees can be affected by internal and external factors. Thus, the study sought to examine the intervening effect of employee retention on the relationship between strategic leadership and performance of health care workers in north eastern Kenya. The study was anchored on job embeddedness theory. The research study adopted a correlation research design. The study target population was 3,000 Health care workers and 10 County leadership who included health managers working with County Health Department of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera. The sample size for the health care workers was 353 obtained using Yamane Formular. A census was undertaken for the health managers in the counties. Questionnaires were used to collect the data. Both descriptive and inferential analysis was done on the collected data. The study findings indicated there is a partial intervening effect of employee retention on the relationship between strategic leadership and performance of health care workers in North Eastern Counties of Kenya. The study concluded employee retention is influenced by employee empowerment, recognition, and remuneration. The regression model of strategic leadership on health worker performance was positively and significantly related. The study recommended the need of encouraging the health workers to remain in North Eastern regions despite the circumstances. There is a need of the county governments and other health care stakeholders to emphasize empowerment, recognition, remuneration and training and development of the health care workers. Keywords: Employee Retention, Strategic Leadership, Performance, Health Care Workers, Kenya