Evaluating the Effects of Human Capital Development on Employee Retention in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

In higher institutions, the retention of employees is a serious concern due to high turnover rates. In this work, the relationship between human capital development (HCD) and employee retention (ER) in some selected tertiary institutions around Nigeria was examined. HCD was measured using training and development (TD) and career planning (CP) as proxy variables. On the other hand, ER was measured using employee motivation (M), workplace flexibility (WPF), and work-life balance (WLB). Two regression models were set up for both TD and CP to determine their impact on M, WPF and WLB. Results showed TD is a significant positive predictor of all three factors of employee retention (M, WPF, and WLB). The predictor estimates of M on TD indicate that for every 1-unit increase in TD, a predicted increase of 0.990 is significantly higher than the predicted increase for WPF and WLP for the same unit. Similarly, the results also show that CP is a significant positive predictor of WPF (0.811), WLB (0.845) and M (0.356). For CP, M exhibited the lowest predicted increase compared to the other two variables (WPF and WLB). In addition, the second model elucidates that WLB has a stronger predictive value for CP. The correlation coefficient between CP and WLB is the highest, followed by WF and then M. Overall, the findings of this research will support HR managers’ ability to better identify which retention strategies and empowerment-enhancing bundles would work best for their respective organizations.