Factors that contribute to the level of employee engagement in the telecommunication industry in Kenya: a case study of Zain Kenya

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to identify factors which contribute to employee engagement; and to determine the extent to which employees are engaged at Zain Kenya Limited. A case study research design was adopted. The population of interest consisted of management and non management staff working at Zain Nairobi headquarter. A sample size of 42 respondents was selected through stratified random sampling process to ensure representativeness of the Divisions of the company. Data was collected through questionnaires emailed to respondents and results analyzed using factor analysis, mean scores, and standard deviation. Results were presented in tables. Out of the forty two sampled respondents, 21 responded representing a response rate of 50 percent. Even though respondents were represented in various age groups, majority of the employees sampled (52 percent) were aged between 21 and 30. Seventy six percent of the respondents were females, and sixty seven percent of employees had worked for less than 5 years at Zain. Married respondents were represented by 57 percent while respondents who were single were represented by 43 percent. Remuneration contributed to employee engagement to a very large extent. Other factors which contributed to engagement to a large extent include training and development; career growth; supervisor skills and fairness; job security; and recognition and appreciation. On the other hand, provision of mobile phones by the company; and company mission statement were identified as factors which contributed to engagement to a small extent implying that they were less significant. On the contrary, the study found that punishment had a moderate but, positive contribution to employee engagement. It was also noted that the contribution of punishment to engagement was greater than provision of free mobile phones and company mission statement. It was established that employees at Zain were disengaged. This was depicted by distraction from work, lack of satisfaction with remuneration, work-life balance. Respondents showed that they lacked the freedom to express their opinions and that they were not adequately involved in making company strategic decisions. It was concluded that several factors contribute to engagement but, salary and benefits was the largest contributor. It was also concluded that punishment could be used to positively influence ix employee engagement. This however, would depend on the magnitude of punishment as well as circumstances leading to punishment. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that; 1. The relationship between punishment and engagement of employee at the place of work should be investigated by researchers in future. 2. Zain should undertake remuneration survey within the communication industry and consequently use findings to review its remuneration levels. 3. Zain should allow her employees to form a trade union or register with existing unions to represent them effectively. 4. Since career development is crucial for retaining staff, the company should invest in staff training and be fair and objective when carrying out promotion of employees. 5. Studies on employee engagement should be replicated in other industries.