Factors influencing voluntary staff turnover in Uganda’s armed forces: A case study of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces

Abstract

The study sought to examine the organizational determinats of voulntary staff turn over in the UPDF. The study was prompted by the high rates of voluntary staff turnover from the UPDF. The study specifically sought to; find out the factors that influence voluntary staff turnover in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces; to establish the effectiveness of employee retention strategies in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces and to suggest strategies that could be used for reducing voluntary staff turnover in the Uganda Defence Forces. Using a cross sectional survey design, data were collected from a total of 377 Officers and Men using a questionnaire and an interview guide. The study found and concluded that the factors causing staff turnover in the UPDF were poor pay, lack of career advancement, poor management, poor working conditions, lack of adequate equipment like uniform and protective gear, unfairness in the deployment in international peace keeping missions like the African Union Mission in Somalia causes voluntary staff turnover in the UPDF, and not feeling valued by management. The study further found and concluded that strategies like improved pay, training programs, staff promotion, and voluntary retirement, improving staff welfare, and counseling and guidance were effective strategies in reducing voluntary staff turnover in the UPDF. The study recommends that; there is an urgent need to strengthen the Directorate of career planning and development to ensure that there is timely attendance of courses, annual leaves, promotions and retirement; there is need to allow the employees in the UPDF to freely air out their grievances without being intimidated and punished; there is need to improve the management of the UPDF if the challenge of voluntary staff turnover/desertion is to be addressed; the government should provide career counseling and guidance in order to reduce the problem of voluntary staff turnover and that the government should provide employees development opportunities for all Officers and Men in the UPDF.