Analysis of the Main Factors that Cause High Labour Turnover in Fuel Oil Retail Outlets: A Study of Petrol Stations in Nakuru Town, Kenya

Abstract

High labour turnover can destabilize a business due to various challenges such as; the high costs of recruitment and replacement; hidden organization costs; workers’ taxing monetary and psychological costs as well as costs of disrupted work schedules.  Petrol stations were chosen because high labour turnover among pump attendants had been identified to be among the most challenging aspects when operating a petrol station in Kenya. Yet, the energy business is at the core of all development efforts in any economy. The study used an exploratory research design where questionnaires were given to the respondents of the petrol stations. The population for the study consisted of 477 staff drawn from 32 petrol stations.  The sample size of 33% for pump attendants and leavers was found to be sufficient to determine the precision with which population values were extracted. Factor Analysis revealed that labour turnover is influenced by several factors and the leading factor was poor pay. Keywords: Attrition, Branded Petrol Stations, Forecourt attendants, High labour turnover, Independent Petrol Station, Labour turnover, Leavers, Wastage