Influence of career development on employees’ commitment in Public Universities in Kenya

Abstract

Career development initiatives benefit both employees and the organization they work for. Employees benefit from improved, more marketable skills that allow for increased mobility within the organization while the organization benefits from increased employee talent, performance and commitment and reduce employee intention to leave for alternative employers. The study considered staff career development variables such as career planning, career management, career programs (tools) and career development goals and expectations for the diverse workforce in Public universities in Kenya. Perceived organization support was considered a moderating variable in the study. Employees’ commitment to the organization was the dependent variable. This was a field study that adopted a cross-sectional survey research. The data analysis was both descriptive and inferential. To obtain a comprehensive view of the staff career development situation in Public universities, stratified random sampling was used in the first stage to ensure all subgroups were represented; simple random sampling was applied in the second stage. The study population was 3,484 academic staff and 6,773 nonacademic staff from the University of Nairobi (UoN), Kenyatta University (KU) and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). The three institutions were a good representation since they have more established systems unlike other upcoming universities. The sample size was 131 academic staff and 254 nonacademic staff. Questionnaires were used as instruments for obtaining the data required. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were enhanced by carrying out a pilot study prior to data collection. Cronbach’s Alpha was used to test for reliability of each variable. Inferential statistics were used to test the influence of career development on employee commitment. Correlations were computed to determine how items correlate among themselves. Analysis of variance was also carried out to establish the interrelationship between variables. Linear regression was used to show if there was correlation between the independent and dependent variables and the effect of the moderating variable on each relationship. From the findings of this study all the independent variables of career development had an influence on employee commitment in public universities in Kenya. It was notable that employees in public universities are highly committed to their career advancement. In order to foster employees’ engagement and commitment Public universities will be required to continuously identify its needs and opportunities, evaluate, plan, individual development efforts, and advise and inform its staff on available career development programs so that the organisations needs are met.