Author(s): Cindy Miranda Zwane, Wellington Bonginkosi Zondi, Emmanuel Mutambara, Pfano Mashau
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has experienced a continuous staff turnover, especially regarding scarce and critical technical skills, is not efficient. Preliminary research findings discovered that appointed employees only remain in the Department of Transport for periods not exceeding five years on average and then resign or move to the private sector, municipalities, or non-governmental organizations. The study aims to explore the employers’ retention practices for managing critical skills, using the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport as a case study. The study seeks to explore the practices employed in order to retain scarce and critical technical skills. The study employed an exploratory qualitative research approach and used focus groups and interviews as data collection methods. The purposive sample that was used in this study involved ten senior managers and 30 skilled technical employees including engineers, production engineering technicians, and surveyors. The study revealed that the main reason for the exits of technical and scarce skilled employees in the Department is linked to remuneration. The Department is unable to offer competitive salaries. The Department must develop different drivers of retention to make them competitive beyond remuneration. The study also revealed that the Department has struggled to retain skilled technical employees for many years due to retention strategies that are not competitive. The study recommends that the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) should open discussions on the review of the Occupation Specific Dispensation