Determinants of Employee Retention

Abstract

Employee retention is a strategic issue for public sector organizations, including the Regional
Office of the Directorate General of Corrections North Sumatra, given the high workload,
safety risks, and professionalism demands inherent in correctional duties. This study aims to
analyze the effect of compensation, work environment, and career development on employee
retention, both partially and simultaneously. The study employed a quantitative associative
approach using a saturated sampling technique on 110 employees. Data were collected
through a 1-5 Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using multiple linear regression. The
results indicate that compensation, work environment, and career development each have a
positive and significant effect on employee retention, both partially (t-test) and
simultaneously (F-test). The three variables jointly explain approximately 46.2% of the
variance in employee retention, while the remainder is explained by factors outside the
model. These findings indicate that compensation contributes the largest relative influence,
followed by work environment and career development. This study recommends that
management strengthen a fair compensation system, foster a conducive work environment,
and provide clear career development pathways to improve employee retention.