Effect of CBA Implementation on Employee Retention among Medical Officers in County Governments in Kenya

Abstract

Following devolution of healthcare functions to Counties, retention of medical professionals has dealt heavy financial burdens on the County Governments in Kenya. This research examined how implementation of CBAs in Kenya's County Governments affected the retention of medical professionals. A descriptive research design was used to examine the consequences of implementing Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) on retention of medical professionals within the County Governments of Kenya. With a targeted population of 930 medical professionals, a stratified random sampling technique, guided by the Krejcie and Morgan tables, was employed to select a representative sample of 272 participants. Primary data was acquired using mixed questionnaires distributed among selected respondents, complemented by supplementary information obtained from Kirinyaga County portal and repository, providing contextual insights into CBA implementation and medical employee retention. Data was analyzed using integrated descriptive and inferential statistics, including a regression model that explored the relationship between CBA predictors and employee retention. There was a moderately strong positive correlation (r = 0.641), indicative of the effect of CBA implementation on employee retention. Coefficient of determination (R2) further elucidated that 41.1% of the variance in employee retention could be attributed to CBA implementation. However, 58.9% of employee retention was influenced by unexplored factors. This led to the conclusion that adoption of CBAs affected retention of medical staff in Kenyan County Governments. There is need for County Governments to promptly execute collective bargaining agreements in order to predictably retain medical staff.