THE INFLUENCE OF SUPERVISOR-EMPLOYEE REALATIONSHIP ON RETENTION OF MILLENNIAL EMPLOYEES IN PRIVATE HOSPITALS IN BOMET AND KERICHO COUNTIES, KENYA

Prevailing trends of turnover in hospitals in Kenya shows a need for hospital management to look for effective ways of controlling and retaining its most valued employees. In contribution to this, the research sought to assess how supervisor-employee relationships influence retention of millennial employees in private hospitals in Bomet and Kericho Counties. The study adopted descriptive research design. The target population comprised all employees of private hospitals in Bomet and Kericho Counties. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the respondents of the study. The basis of stratification was age of employees. Questionnaire, interview schedule and content analysis were the main data collection tools. Qualitative data were analyzed in form of frequency counts and percentages. Karl Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient was computed to establish the level of significance of relationships between study variables. A Karl Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was computed using a two tailed test at 0.01 to establish the strength of each of the components of supervisor-employee relationshipl aspects on retention of millennial employees. The r- values ranged from 0.631 to 0.834. All r- values were above 0.500. The study, therefore, established a significant relationship between supervisor-employee relationship and retention of millennial employees at their work places. This shows that there is a strong correlation between supervisor-employee relationship and retention of millennial employees in private hospitals under study. Of greatest significance was the strength attached to supervisor’s appreciation of employee’s work in the hospitals. The study strongly recommends that hospital managements should develop innovative and competitive intervention strategies to help them build sustainable retention of millennial employees. The supervisors should strive to build congenial relationships between them and their employees in order to enhance retention of millennial employees.