Influence of Career Development on Retention of Employees in Private Universities: A Case of Ankole Western University, Uganda

Tumuhairwe, J¹ and Andrew, O. Nyakundi ²

¹.²Faculty of Business and Management, Kampala International University, Uganda

ABSTRACT

Retention of employees in universities is paramount for producing quantity and quality of human capital for economic development of a country. Turnover has persistently remained high in private universities despite employee attrition by institutions, which can disrupt organizational stability, quality of education and reputation. Objectives of the study included performance appraisal, staff training and promotion practices on retention of employees. Correlational research design and quantitative research were adopted. Total population was 85 with a sample of 70 which was selected through simple random sampling. Data collection was through questionnaire and analysed using multiple linear regression with help of SPSS. Results showed that both performance appraisal (t=1.813, P=.076, P>.05) and staff training practices (t=-1.887, P=.065, P>.05) were statistical insignificant while promotion practices (t=3.804, P=.000, P<.05) was statistically significantly influenced retention of employees. The study concluded that performance appraisal and staff training has little relationship with employee retention whereas promotion practices affect employee retention in private universities. Therefore, it was recommended that organizations renovate performance appraisal and staff training practices while promoting employees annually, review salary structure, ensure there is no biasness and promotion practices should be based on meritocracy. The findings could benefit management of private universities, Government and researchers.

Keywords: Performance appraisal, staff training practices, promotion practices, employee retention.

CITE AS: Tumuhairwe, J. and Andrew, O. Nyakundi (2025). Influence of Career Development on Retention of Employees in Private Universities: A Case of Ankole Western University, Uganda. IDOSR JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 10(1): 1-11, 2025. https://doi.org/10.59298/IDOSRJHSS/2025/10111130000