Assessing the Effectiveness of Human Resources Retention Strategies on Employee Retention in the Ministry of Health Institutions in Gwanda Town, Matabeleland South Province in Zimbabwe

Sikhathele Margaret Moyo & Dingindawo Ncube
Matabeleland South Regional Campus
Zimbabwe Open University
Email: margiemoyo@gmail.com/ ncubd@zou.ac.zw

Abstract: The study sought to assess the effectiveness of the human resources retention strategies employed by the Ministry of Health and Child Care in health institutions Gwanda Urban in Matabeleland South province. The Ministry of Health and Child Care in Zimbabwe has experienced massive brain drain of employees such as doctors, nurses, environmental health technicians and the support staff in general to seek greener pastures in the private sector and in the diaspora, leaving health institutions in the country critically understaffed, leading to poor service delivery. In response to this massive exodus of employees, the Ministry implemented several strategies to retain its employees which included increased allowances, reduced working hours, shared decision making and retraining among other incentives. This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies in retaining the employees and improving service delivery. The study used an exploratory survey design and a qualitative approach to capture the experiences of the participants. A sample of 24 participants comprising of doctors, nurses and ancillary staff was purposively sampled from a target population of 400 employees. Interviews and focus group discussions were used for data generation. The findingsrevealed that the retention strategies employed by the Ministry are ineffective because employees continue to leave in large numbers for greener pastures in the country and beyond resulting in institutions critically understaffed, and servicedelivery remaining poor. The researchers recommend that the Ministry revisits its retention strategies to make them effective to reduce the high levels of staff turnover and improved service delivery.