Factors that Determine Academic Staff Retention and Commitment in Private Tertiary Institutions in Botswana: Empirical Review

Bushe Bernard

Faculty of Commerce, Department of Business Management, BA ISAGO University College, Private Bag 362, Maun, Botswana

Email: bernard.bushe@baisago.co.bw, bbushe2002@yahoo.com, Tel: (+267) 6867021

Accepted 03 October 2012

Abstract

Employee retention posits one of the greatest challenges in many organisations, let alone, academic institutions world-wide, in contemporary times. There is a growing global interest in matters of recruitment and staff retention in higher education institutions and Botswana is no exemption. Invariably all tertiary institutions in Africa are confronted with the tremendous challenge of identifying, recruiting and retaining high caliber staff, particularly lecturers. These trends have engendered a more strategic approach to human resource management across the higher education sector, (Kubler and DeLuca (2006: 9). This study found that there is a dearth of research that focuses on academic staff retention in private tertiary education institutions in Botswana, let alone methodological framework that provides for framework to conduct such research. This study therefore reviews content and process theories of motivation alongside job satisfaction, organisational commitment and employee engagement theories as possible avenues towards a framework for understanding what motivates academic staff let alone how to actually motivate them in practice. The study conducted an empirical review of literature and applicability of the theories. Eventually this study made a conclusion that a combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors was critical to staff motivation, hence providing a hypothetical conceptual model.         

Keywords: Factors, Determine, Motivation, Content and Process Theories, Organisational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, Employee Engagement, Academic Staff Retention, Private Tertiary Institutions in Botswana