Abstract
One of the challenges that Higher education institutions (HEIs) face is the retention of
academics. HEIs and the Department of Higher Education (DHET) have adopted various
measures to attract and retain academics. The New Generation of Academics
Programme (nGAP) was adopted by DHET to attract young academics into the higher
education industry. Strategies such as the nGAP and the changing workforce
demographics have seen millennials assume various academic positions in the industry.
Work expectations for millennials are different from other generations.
The purpose of this study was to explore retention strategies that HEIs can use to attract
and retain millennial academics in South Africa. The retention of millennial academics is
important to the success of HEIs. As the number of millennial academics continues to
grow HEIs depend on millennials for sustainable competitiveness and organisational
sustainability while their work expectations shape 21stcentury organisational cultures.
The study adopted a cross-sectional qualitative research approach using semi-structured
interviews to collect the data. The sample included 14 millennial academics which are a
representative of various public higher education institutions in South Africa. Thematic
analysis was applied to analyse the data.The findings showed that five factors need to
be considered to retain millennial academics: career and growth opportunities, work-life
balance, work environment, leadership, and rewards.
The findings of the study suggest that millennial academics are attracted to organisations
that provide career and growth opportunities. Other factors like leadership, work-life
balance, work environment, and rewards were considered important if they indirectly or
directly contributed to career progression. Results indicated that most higher education
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institutions have employee growth strategies and employee compensation strategies as
the main strategies used to attract and retain academics. Employee growth strategies
influence their decisions to stay in the higher education industry and particular
institutions. The study concluded that although career development was significant, the
adoption of an integrated retention strategy that encompasses employee growth,
employee relationship, employee support, and employee compensation strategies will
assist to attract and retain millennial academics.
Keywords: Academics; Higher education institutions; Millennials; Retention strategies;
Turnover intentions.