INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP STYLES ON EMPLOYEES TURNOVER IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN KENYA

Esther Nyandoya Azinga

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya

Dr. Mary Kamaara, PhD Solutions

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya

Dr. Joyce Nzulwa, PhD

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya

Dr. Kepha Ombui, PhD

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya

CITATION: Azinga, E. N., Kamaara, M., Nzulwa, J. & Ombui, K. (2018). Influence of Leadership Styles on Employee Turnover in the Insurance Industry in Kenya. International Journal of Human Resources and Procurement. Vol. 8 (2) pp 1 – 22.

ABSTRACT

The Insurance Industry is a growing industry that contributes a lot to the Gross Domestic Product of Kenya. However, despite the merit that surrounds the insurance companies, the employee turnover in these organizations has been increasing over time a matter that puts the continued performance of the companies at risk. Based on the high cost of training and recruiting new employees, it simply means that the insurance companies are on the losing end as far as employee turnover is considered. It is against this background that the study sought to fill the existing gaps by assessing the influence of leadership styles on employee turnover in insurance companies in Kenya. The scope of the study was Nairobi City County which hosts most of the head offices of the insurance companies. The study adopted the descriptive research design which used both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The units of analysis were the 55 licensed insurance companies in Kenya, which have a total population of 10, 634 employees and the units of observation was top five performing insurance companies: Jubilee Insurance, APA insurance, UAP insurance, Britam insurance, and CIC insurance, with a total population of 2,167 employees. The philosophy of the study that was adopted is the positivism approach. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted where purposive random sampling was used in the first stage to identify the top five performing insurance companies. In the second stage stratified random sampling was used to come up with a sample size of employees in the top five companies. The sample size was 95 employees. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire for employees. It had both close-ended and open-ended questions and an interview guide for human resource managers. The study established that leadership styles had a significant and positive influence on employee turnover among insurance companies in Kenya. The study concluded that as a result of poor leadership styles, employee turnover was high in Kenyan insurance industry. The study therefore recommended that the management of the insurance firms should embrace effective remuneration and proper leadership styles so as to minimize employee turnover and enhance retention.

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