Factors and practices of retention of qualified employees in the very small Cameroonian company: an inventory of the situation

Abstract

Management literature highlights a multitude of factors and employee retention strategies in companies. Our study seeks to understand this phenomenon in the particular field of very small Cameroonian business (from now on T.P.E). The work is divided into two sub-axes: First of all, we seek to know the organizational particularities of small businesses that impact the retention of qualified employees. Then how do very small business leaders integrate the retention of skilled employees into their strategy? We adopt a qualitative approach by studying cases through thirty-seven interviews. At the end of the thematic content analysis, factors such as the work environment, work overload, and the specificity of career development are mentioned by employees as being causes of employee voluntary departure. qualified whereas they consider the weak hierarchy and the diversification of the tasks as being determining in their retention. At the strategic level, the desire to make it easier for employees and a recruitment that integrates the congruence between the vision of new employees and that of key employees are at the center of the retention plans for managers of very small businesses.

JEL Classification : M12

Paper type: Empirical research