A comparative case study of Zimbabwe’s Public and Private Universities’ staff retention strategies

This study sought to find out staff retention strategies in selected Zimbabwe’s two public and two private universities. Three Human Resources personnel who were selected using stakeholder sampling and four Retained and seven Returnee lecturers who were selected using criterion sampling participated in the thesis’ multiple case study. The research instruments were the ‘self’, open-ended interviews, observation and documentary analysis. The interview data were analysed using NVivo data analysis software, while the observation and documentary data were analysed using the traditional thematic content analysis. With regards to staff retention’s strategies obtaining in Zimbabwe’s public and private universities, both sets of universities were found to have some conditions of service which served as part of the staff retention strategies. Chief among such conditions of service were provision of opportunities for research, staff development leave, contact, sabbatical and study leave. Regarding differences in staff retention strategies, public and private universities had different sources of income. The effectiveness of staff retention strategies in both kinds of universities was undermined by lack of funds, which was the greatest staff retention challenge in the studied universities. The effectiveness of particular staff retention strategies such as salaries, allowances, tuition waiver, staff development, as well as research and career opportunities was of varying degrees in the studied public and private universities. The study revealed that various mechanisms such as staff appraisal, departmental discussions and monitoring candidates undertaking their Doctor of Philosophy Degree studies among other mechanisms have been used by public and private universities to monitor staff retention strategies. Public and private university lecturers were not involved in the formulation and monitoring of staff retention strategies.Regarding conclusions, staff retention strategies in public and private universities differed on paper, but in practice, they were the same. The realisation that lecturers needed more than their basic salaries appeared to be common to all the universities under study. Public universities tended to offer more allowances than private universities. The effectiveness of monetary and non-monetary staff retention strategies in both sets of universities is university-specific. Public universities appeared to have more staff retention monitoring mechanisms than private universities. Lack of attractive conditions of service in private universities tends to increase lecturer-quit rates more than what obtains in the public universities. The study also concluded that engagement of development strategic partners is one of the surest routes to efficient and effective staff retention strategies in public and private universities. Private universities need more staff development, research and career growth opportunities more than what the public universities do. The study recommends that performance-based- pay to pay lecturers is the best strategy to retain lecturers in both kinds of universities. Also, public and private universities should desist from practising poor management in order to retain staff. The study proposes the use of the Money, Research and Career Model (MRCM) to retain staff in the universities.