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LABOUR TURNOVER: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND PREVENTION

January 2016

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Mountain Top University, Ogun State, Nigeria

Employees' turnover poses a recurrent challenge to most business organization globally. There is virtually no organization that is immune to employees' turnover; be it small size or big size organizations, they are all exposed to employees' turnover. Although, it may not be feasible for any organization to totally eliminate employees' turnover due to several reasons, nevertheless it could be reduced to the barest minimum. Many of the prior studies only focused on the causes of employees' turnover without considering the remedies. In bridging this gap, the current study examines the causes, costs consequences and prevention of employees' turnover. The study provides theoretical foundation underpinning employees' turnover. The causes of employees' turnover are also provided among which we have poor work environment and poor remuneration packages. The study further indicates that employees' turnover has cost implications to the organization; such costs include but not limited to vacancy advertisement, interview, recruitment and training of new hire, loss of productivity, and cost of inefficiency of the new staff. Strategies that can help in addressing employees' turnover include favourable working environment, and improved remuneration packages, amongst others.

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A Publication of College of Management and Social Sciences, Fountain University, Osogbo.

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ISSN: 2315 – 6325 (Print), ISSN: 2408-6959 (Online)

LABOUR TURNOVER: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND PREVENTION

Oladele John AKINYOMI

Department of Accounting and Finance, Mountain Top University, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Employees’ turnover poses a recurrent challenge to most business organization globally. There is virtually no

organization that is immune to employees’ turnover; be it small size or big size organizations, they are all

exposed to employees’ turnover. Although, it may not be feasible for any organization to totally eliminate

employees’ turnover due to several reasons, nevertheless it could be reduced to the barest minimum. Many of

the prior studies only focused on the causes of employees’ turnover without considering the remedies. In

bridging this gap, the current study examines the causes, costs consequences and prevention of employees’

turnover. The study provides theoretical foundation underpinning employees’ turnover. The causes of

employees’ turnover are also provided among which we have poor work environment and poor remuneration

packages. The study further indicates that employees’ turnover has cost implications to the organization; such

costs include but not limited to vacancy advertisement, interview, recruitment and training of new hire, loss of

productivity, and cost of inefficiency of the new staff. Strategies that can help in addressing employees’ turnover

include favourable working environment, and improved remuneration packages, amongst others.

Key words: Costs Consequences, Labour Turnover, Productivity, Preventive Strategies.

1.0 Introduction

For any organization to run and actualize its objectives there is need for work force that will drive the

processes of the organization (Borthwick, 2011). As the world shift further into a knowledge-base economy that

relies majorly on information, knowledge and high level skills, human capital will become progressively more

central to business organizations across the globe. The work force of any organization represents its employees.

Ideally, every employee in any organization is expected to continuously render productive service to the

organization and remain in that organization until retirement. However, in reality, this is not so. This introduces

us to the concept of employees’ turnover.

The concept of labour turnover is often used interchangeably with employees’ turnover. It means the

rate at which employees leave a business enterprise (Hedwiga, 2011). A number of other terms have been used

interchangeably with employee turnover, such terms include: quits, attrition, exits, mobility, migration or

succession (Morrell, John & Adrian, 2004). It represents the relative rate at which a business enterprise gains or

losses its employees (Marisoosay, 2009). Kazi and Zedah (2011) describe employees’ turnover as the regular

change of employees around the employment market among organizations, professions and career; and between

the conditions of full employment and that of being without a job. Employees’ turnover can also be defined as a

measure of the number of employees leaving and being replaced within a particular period, usually a year,

expressed as a percentage of the total labour force at the beginning of the period (Abbasi & Hollman, 2000;

Adeniji, 2009). For the purpose of the current study, the concept of employees’ turnover can be defined as a

measurement of the length of time an organization’s employees remain in the workforce of the organization and

how frequent the organization has to replace its workforce. Anytime an employee leaves the workforce of any

business organization, the reasons for leaving notwithstanding, and such employee is being replaced, it is

referred to as labour turnover. Usually, employees’ turnover is expressed in accounting as a percentage as

follows:

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Employees’ turnover = Replacement x 100

Average number of employees in period 1

Labour or employee turnover is a natural part of doing business (Tettey, 2006). Employees’ turnover

represents a common problem to most business enterprises in recent time, as it has unfavourable consequences

to such business enterprises (Shamsuzzoha & Shumon, 2010). There are financial and non-financial costs

associated with the process, but while companies control the turnover, they can also control the costs. Although

there is variation in the rate of turnover between one organization and the other; the rate is higher in privately

owned organizations than those of public sector organization (Shamsuzzoha & Shumon, 2010).

Rajan (2013) observes that labour turnover may be categorized into five groups as follows. (a)

Functional and dysfunctional turnover. Functional turnover is a turnover in which employees that perform

poorly leave an organization; meanwhile dysfunctional turnover is a turnover in which employees that perform

excellently leave an organization. (b) Voluntary and involuntary turnover: Voluntary turnover is the turnover in

which employee has own choice to quit or instances of turnover initiated at the choice of employees whereas

involuntary turnover is one in which employees have no choice in their termination). (c) Skilled and unskilled

turnover: Untrained, uneducated and unskilled positions often face high turnover rate. On the other hand skilled

and educated positions may create a risk to the organization while leaving. Therefore turnover for skilled and

educated professionals incur replacement costs as well as competitive disadvantage of the business.(d)

Avoidable and unavoidable turnover: A turnover that happens in avoidable circumstances is called avoidable

turnover, whereas a turnover that happens in unavoidable circumstances is called unavoidable turnover. (e)

Internal and external turnover: Internal turnover happens when employees send-off their current position and

getting a new position within the same organization. It is related with the internal recruitment where

organizations filling the vacant position by their employee or recruiting within the organization.

Previous studies have reported that employee turnover could pose a serious threat to the growth and

productivity of any business organization (Tettey, 2006; Ally, 2011; Mrope & Bangi, 2014). In fact, Armstrong

(2004) recognizes that employees’ turnover rates are considered to be one of the persistent problems in

organizations. Meanwhile, Pires (2009) observes that the foremost critical issue for employees today in all

industries is hiring and keeping qualified and capable employees. Thus, for business organizations to stand the

test of time in a highly competitive environment, the issue of employees’ turnover must be addressed. Although,

it may not be feasible for any organization to totally eliminate employees’ turnover due to several reasons,

nevertheless it could be reduced to the barest minimum. Glebbeek and Bax (2004) observe that despite the fact

that a lot of studies on labour turnover have focused on causes of employees leaving their employments; only

limited studies have investigated the consequences associated with voluntary employee turnover. Thus, the

current study examines the causes, consequences and prevention of employees’ turnover.

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Theoretical Review

The following theories buttress the study on employees’ turnover.

2.1.1 Equity Theory

Equity theory is concerned with the perceptions people have about how they are treated as compared to

others. Equity theory proposes that a person's motivation is based on what he or she considers being fair when

compared to others (Redmond, 2010). As noted by Gogia (2010), when applied to the workplace, equity theory

focuses on an employee's work-compensation relationship as well as that employee's attempt to minimize any

sense of unfairness that might result. When compared to other people, individuals want to be compensated fairly

for their contributions. A person's beliefs in regards to what is fair and what is not fair can affect his motivation,

attitude and behaviour. Employees who feel unfairly treated may be compelled to seek for better opportunities

elsewhere.

2.1.2 Expectancy Theory

Expectancy theory provides an explanation of why individuals choose one behavioural option over

others. The basic idea behind the theory is that people will be motivated because they believe that their decision

will lead to their desired outcome (Redmond, 2010). Expectancy theory proposes that work motivation is

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dependent upon the perceived association between performance and outcomes and individuals modify their

behaviour based on their calculation of anticipated outcomes (Chen & Fang, 2008). This theory is built upon the

idea that motivation comes from a person believing they will get what they want in the form of performance or

rewards. The theory states that individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated if they believe that:

(i) There is a positive correlation between efforts and performance. (ii) Favourable performance will result in a

desirable reward. (iii) The reward will satisfy an important need. The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough

to make the effort worthwhile (Lawler, Porter & Vroom, 2009). Thus, employees who feel their expectations are

not being met may be compelled to seek for better opportunities elsewhere, where they feel their expectations

would be met.

2.1.3 Herzberg Two Factor Theory

Boundless (2015) argues that in this theory, there are two types of factors that influence motivation and

satisfaction among individuals, particularly those who work in the employment sector. This theory asserts that

there are certain factors in the work place that can cause job satisfaction and a separate set of factors that can

cause dissatisfaction (Boundless,2015). It is critical to emphasize that this is not a linear relationship: the factors

that cause satisfaction do not necessarily negate those that cause dissatisfaction; one does not necessarily

increase exactly as the other decreases. According to Sincero (2008), in 1959, Herzberg conducted a study from

which he proposed a two-factor approach when attempting to understand motivation among employees. The

two-factor theory includes two types of factors that affect how motivated or satisfied an employee is at work.

These are comprised of hygiene factors and motivator factors. Hygiene factors are those that need to be

addressed by a business in such a way that they would not result to the employee’s unpleasant experiences and

feelings at work (Sincero, 2008). The satisfaction of hygiene factors motivates employees in their work. The

hygiene factors are: (i) Wages, salaries and other financial remuneration (ii) Company policy and administration

(iii) Quality of interpersonal relations(iv) Working conditions (v) Feelings of job security and (vi) Quality of

supervision.

Motivator factors emerge from the need of an individual to achieve personal growth. Job satisfaction

results from the presence of motivator factors. Moreover, effective motivator factors do not only lead to job

satisfaction, but also to better performance at work. The motivator factors identified by Sincero (2008) are: (i)

Challenging or stimulating work (ii) Status (iii) Opportunity for advancement (iv) Responsibility (v) Sense of

personal growth/job achievement (vi) Acquiring recognition.

2.3 Empirical Review

Shukla and Sinha (2013) examined employees’ turnover in the banking sector. The study employed

descriptive research design. Primary data were obtained from the respondents through the administration of

structured questionnaire. The collected data were analysed using mean, standard deviation and linear

correlation. The results of the study revealed that lack of job satisfaction and work environment ranked high

among the causes of employees’ turnover. Employees were willing and ready to change to a new job that

promised them better remuneration and work environment. This suggests that a strategic approach to reducing

employees’ turnover is to make the work environment conducive and provide improved remuneration.

Nwokocha & Iheriohanma (2012) conducted a study in Nigeria on emerging trends in employees’

retention strategies in a globalizing economy. They argued that to minimize the rate of employee turnover and

catch up with the current demands of global economic needs and organizational performance, organizations

should adopt critical sustainable retention trends such as establishing a strategic plan, involving employees in

decision-making process, initiating personalized compensation plan, installing mechanisms for career planning,

training and development and building flexible work programs especially for critical knowledge – employees.

Bula (2012) in the study of labour turnover in the sugar industry in Kenya found that salary is a major factor

causing labour turnover followed by training, promotion, performance appraisal and work condition. Other

factors like recognition, job content, participation in decision making and leadership style were also considered

as immediate factors. It was also revealed that although lack of employee commitment and motivation can be

major causes of labour turnover, they are dependent on all the other factors causing labour turnover.

Studies in Tanzania observed that labour turnover can be influenced by a number of controllable and

uncontrollable as well as demographic factors. Magalla (2011) observed that controllable factors such as short

contract, poor working condition, poor recruitment procedure, lack of motivation, and poor or inadequate

incentives and rewards are the reasons that influence voluntary labour turnover in the public organizations

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especially for employees living in rural areas. Managerial controllable factors such as unequal treatment of

workers, lack of promotion and growth, low wages and salary, unclear compensation procedures, less

recognition and lack of employees’ involvement in decision making were also mentioned by Susana (2011) as

other factors that cause voluntary employees’ turnover in both public and private sectors including microfinance

and health institutions in Tanzania.

Ongori (2007) conducted a related study in Botswana. It was observed that among of the factors that influence

employees’ turnover in any organization are inadequate information including physically powerful

communication systems on effective performance, uncertain supervisors’ desires and peer employees, and

conflicting job functions. These factors may be the basis on which employees may begin to experience loss of

job satisfaction and may finally result in an employee leaving the organisation. Factors such as poor personnel

policies, poor recruitment policies, poor supervisory practices and poor grievance procedures contribute to high

labour turnover from the study. Where there were cases of improper management practices and policies on

employees matters; especially when employees are not recruited systematically, promotions of employees are

not based on spelled out policies, no grievance resolution procedures in place, these would lead to high

employees’ turnover.

Ng'ethe, Iravo & Namusonge (2012) examined the determinants of academic staff retention in public

universities in Kenya. The results of the study revealed that leadership influence over the behaviour or action of

subordinates was a potential cause of employees’ turnover in Kenyan organizations. Distributive justice, the

extent to which rewards and punishments are related to job performance and fairness in the allocation of

outcomes such as pay and promotions were reported to be critical to employees’ retention. Work environment

was another factor that affects employees’ decision to stay with or leave any organization. The work

environment include issues such as office space, equipment, air conditioning, comfortable chairs just to mention

but a few. The employees’ perception on their work environment also affect their productivity and efficiency.

Many people would be dissatisfied if working conditions are poor. Thus, to reduce employees’ turnover, the

work environment should be made very conducive for the employees.

Okubanjo (2014) examined the predictive power of organizational commitment and job satisfaction on

primary school teachers’ turnover intention in Ijebu North Local Government area of Ogun State. Three

instruments, turnover intention scale, organization commitment scale and intrinsic motivation inventory were

utilized in the study. Multiple regression (stepwise) and simple percentage were used for analysis. Findings

showed that the two determinant variables (organizational commitment and intrinsic motivation) when taken

together, determined the criterion variable (turnover intention). Finding also indicated that organization

commitment was the most potent contributor to the prediction of turnover intention of primary school teachers.

3.0 Methodology

The current study, being a review, adopted the desk research methodology. This approach involves the

collection of relevant information from existing resources in the internet and the library. Specifically, online

journal articles, hard-copy journal articles, text-books and other periodicals were consulted for the relevant

secondary information used in this study. This approach is considered appropriate bearing in mind the large

volumes of studies which have already been carried out on employees’ turnover.

4.0 SUBMISSION ANALYSIS

4.1 Causes of Employees’ Turnover

Literature reveals that some factors facilitate employees’ turnover. This section presents the most

important causes of employees’ turnover.

4.1.1 Work Environment

Shamsuzzoha & Shumon (2010) argue that if the physical condition in the place of work is deficient of

crucial amenities, it could discourage employees and promote employees’ turnover. Inadequate provision of

basic amenities such as health care services, furniture, suitable lighting, and proper ventilation can cause

employees to begin to seek for alternative employment where the physical condition is more conducive. Another

work environment factor that can cause employees’ turnover is stress. Shukla and Sinha (2013) observe that in

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the banking sector, technological advancement and globalization have increased time pressure; extreme work

demand, role conflicts and problematic customer relationship which are causes of stress. Employees who prefer

to work under less pressure may quit for alternative employment opportunities that promise less stress (Firth,

David, Kathleen & Claude, 2007).

4.1.2 Poor Remuneration Packages

This represents one of the major causes of high labour turnover. Shukla and Sinha (2013) observe that

when an employee is engaged in a low-wage position with inadequate benefits, there is little or no motivation to

continue if a comparable employer offers even a slightly higher rate of pay. Thus, low-wage jobs usually record

a higher rate of employees’ turnover; although, it cost less for employers to replace employees in this category

when compared to those in a high-wage positions (Handelsman, 2009). Employees who contribute significantly

to an organization but whose wages fall short of the current market rate, possibly will feel cheated in the present

employment and seek for employers that will pay what they considered appropriate remuneration (Firth et al.,

2007). Hissom (2009) asserts that the topmost factor that causes high labour turnover rate is salary structure

since employees are rational and will often prefer employment that has comparable salary structure in place.

Therefore, poor remuneration remains a major cause of high employees’ turnover (Rampur, 2009).

4.1.3 Poor Interrelationship between Employees and Management

The nature of interrelationship between employees and management represents another factor that

cause employees’ turnover. If the interrelationship between employees and the management is poor, employees

will not hesitate to quit for another employment at any available opportunity (Shukla& Sinha, 2013).Conflict

with managers and supervisors is a frequent cause of employees’ turnover. A feeling that management in

general, or a particular manager and team leader is treating employees unjustly or is bullying his staff can lead

to a high rate of employee turnover (Armstrong, 2004). Shamsuzzoha & Shumon (2010) argue that it is

somewhat unusual for employees to quit employments in which they are happy and having good interpersonal

relationship, even if offered another employment with a higher salary elsewhere. This is because employer-

employees relationship plays a very important role on employees’ turnover.

4.1.4 Lack of Career Progression

Employees’ turnover tends to increase if there are no career prospects in the employment. Discontent

with career prospects is a foremost cause of turnover. Increasing number of employees desire to grow in their

careers and need to move forward, and there is little or nothing employers can do about it, particularly in today’s

flatter organization and promotion prospects being so limited. These are the individuals who acquired portfolio

of skills and may deliberately change direction numerous times during their careers (Armstrong, 2004).

Europhia (2008) cited in Shukla and Sinha (2013) reports that career development is a lot more significant than

remuneration in Europe and America but it is considered equivalent to remuneration in Asia. Increase in labour

turnover could also be as a result of lack of potential opportunity for promotions or elevations. As a rational

being, employees would prefer employments which provide them with opportunity for higher position and

higher remuneration packages (Rampur, 2009).

4.2 Costs and Consequences of Employees’ Turnover

Increased labour turnover is very costly for all business organizations (Amour, 2011). These include

direct and indirect costs. The generally noticeable costs in connection with turnover are the amounts of funds

expensed on vacancy advertisement, headhunting fees, interview, recruitment and training of new hire, loss of

productivity, and cost of inefficiency of the new staff. These costs have been estimated to range from thirty

percent to as high as four hundred percent of a single employee’s annual salary, depending on the industry and

job role being filled (Bureau of Statistics, 2008; Beam, 2009; Wangui, 2010).

Amour (2011) recognizes that there are other hidden costs related to employees’ turnover. Instead of an

organization expending substantial amount of money and time trying to find replacements for disengaged

employees; it could have dedicated such resources and energy in productive activities that will contribute

towards moving the organization in achieving its objectives. This hidden cost of turnover is one that frequently

gets ignored when considering approaches geared towards reducing employees’ turnover. Organizations that

spend fewer amounts of time and financial resources on solving employees’ turnover problems could actually

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focus on increasing productivity and improving customer satisfaction. This will culminates in higher long-term

profitability and improved quality of service (Amour, 2011).

4.3 Strategies that Minimize Employees’ Turnover

There are strategies which could be put in place in every organization to address the problem of

employees’ turnover. These measures may not totally eliminate employees’ turnover but surely it will reduce it

to the barest minimum (Ngethe, Iravo & Namusonge, 2012).

4.3.1 Provision of Quality Leadership

Employees’ turnover can be reduced through the provision of quality management by management

generally and by individual manager and team leader (Armstrong, 2004). Employees should be treated fairly,

justly and with human dignity by managers, giving them due respect, devoid of harassment and embarrassment.

This will create an atmosphere of mutual respect between managers and their staff, and in turn drastically reduce

employees’ turnover (Shamsuzzoha & Shumon, 2010). Employees are likely going to stay with an organization

if they are convinced that their managers show interest and concern for them, if they are familiar with what is

expected of them, if they are given a role that fits their capabilities and if they receive regular positive feedback

and recognition. The quality of relationship an employee has with his or her immediate managers elongates

employee stay in an organization.

4.3.2 Creating Conducive Work Environment

Another strategy which can be utilized in addressing employees’ turnover is through the creation of

conducive work environment for employees. Work environment is one of the factors that affect employee’s

decision to stay with the organization (Ngethe, et al., 2012).The physical condition in the place of work should

be such that it has crucial amenities that will motivate employees to do their best. Adequate provision of basic

amenities such as health care services, air conditioning, office space, furniture, suitable lighting, and proper

ventilation can encourage employees to remain with their employers (Shukla& Sinha, 2013). Similarly,

employers should create an atmosphere that will reduce employees’ stress level at all times as this will further

boost their morale to remain in the organization (Firth, et al., 2007).Working environment that is comfortable,

relatively low in physical psychological stress, facilities and attainment of work goals will tend to produce high

levels of satisfaction among employees.

4.3.3 Enhanced Remuneration Packages

Attractive remuneration package is one of the extremely essential factors of reducing employees’

turnover since through it employees’ financial and physical needs can be met. Employees will not likely want to

quit their present job for a new one if they are convinced that their current remuneration packages are above

average of what is obtainable in the same industry. According to Tettey (2006) satisfaction with salaries is one

of the key factor facilitating the commitment of employees to their organizations and careers, and consequently

their decision or intent not to leave.

4.3.4 Provision of Career Progression Opportunities

Employees’ turnover can be drastically reduced through the provision of avenues for career progression

by employers. There should be opportunities for growth and promotion within the organization (Rampur, 2009).

Employees look forward to working in organizations that make available to them opportunities to be promoted

to new higher and more challenging positions. Dockel (2003) strongly argues that employees should not only be

rewarded financially but they should also be provided with opportunities to grow within the organization.

Employees who feel that they are making progress in their positions generally are motivated and will likely stay

in fulfilling position. Promotion offers opportunities for growth and is also one of Herzberg motivators which

can be used to enhance retention (Rampur, 2009).

4.3.5 Provision of Training and Development Opportunities

Training and development represent another strategy for reducing employees’ turnover in any

organization. Training provides employees with specific skills or helps to correct deficiencies in their

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performances, while development is an effort to provide employees with abilities the organization will need in

the future (Chew, 2004). The purpose of training in the work context is to develop the abilities of the individual

and to satisfy the current and future manpower needs of the organization. Dockel (2003) observes that

opportunities for training and development are among the most important reasons why employees stay

especially young and enthusiastic ones. Investment in training is one way to show employees how important

they are. One of the factors that Hertzberg identifies as an important motivator is the advancement opportunities.

5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations

Employees’ turnover poses a recurrent challenge to most business organization globally. There is

virtually no organization that is immune to employees’ turnover; be it small size or big size organizations, they

are all exposed to employees’ turnover. Although, it may not be feasible for any organization to totally eliminate

employees’ turnover due to several reasons, nevertheless it could be reduced to the barest minimum. Many of

the prior studies only focused on the causes of employees’ turnover without considering the remedies. In

bridging this gap, the current study examines the causes, consequences and prevention of employees’ turnover.

The study provides theoretical foundation underpinning employees’ turnover. The causes of employees’

turnover are also provided among which we have poor work environment and poor remuneration packages. The

study further indicates that employees’ turnover has cost implications to the organization; such costs include but

not limited to vacancy advertisement, headhunting fees, interview, recruitment and training of new hire, loss of

productivity, and cost of inefficiency of the new staff. Strategies that can help in addressing employees’

turnover include conducive working environment, and improved remuneration packages, amongst others.

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Predicting Employee Attrition by Machine Learning

Preprint

Nov 2022

Recently, a renewed interest in adopting data analytics to help solving HR problems and to make more informed and effective choices appeared in the literature. One of the greatest challenges for organizations is employee turnover because of its adverse impact in many areas, such as productivity, performance and reputation. In case of attrition, one of the problems is that data from HRIS are complex, full of sensitive information (GDPR) and of useless data. Once data are clean, they can be analyzed by using statistical approaches such as machine learning. This study is about predicting employee attrition using machine learning models on a real dataset of a large Italian financial company, and, in particular, we focus on choosing the best. This contrasts with much extant research which is based on artificial datasets. To address this issue, machine learning tools have been developed for investigating and predicting employee attrition, as well as methods for evaluating their predictive power. Evidence on what are the most important predictors that lead to attrition and in what areas it is more likely to happen enable HR managers to implement targeted retention policies and practices. The contribution of this paper is to explore and compare the performance of several common models which are found in the literature on real data. Then, we focus on the results of the best performing model and identify some groups of employees who have a high risk of attrition on which the company could intervene to reduce voluntary resignation.

Personality Traits and Voluntary Leaving Organization in Selected Government Establishments in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2022

This study was designed to examine the relationship between personality traits and voluntary leaving organization in selected government establishments in Akwa Ibom State. To achieve the study objective, a survey research design was used. The population of the study consisted 90 senior staff in personnel Department from the Ministries of Agriculture, Finance and Information in Akwa Ibom State. A total sample size of 60 respondents were selected using stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected through questionnaire titled “Personality Traits and Voluntary Leaving Organization Questionnaire (PTVLOQ)” carefully designed and administered to the respondents. A total of 60 copies of questionnaire were distributed to respondents, out of which 58 copies were returned and found to be correctly filled. Data collected were analyzed using tables, simple percentage and Regression. The result of the study showed a positive significant relationship between personality traits and voluntary leaving organization in selected government establishments in ty.ectiveness in organization'toor management of personnel.ibilities , assignment of the right jobs to wrong and unq Akwa Ibom State. The findings also revealed that employees who scored high in openness to experience as well as neuroticism are bound to make a voluntary decision to leave their organizations. It was recommended from the study that, government establishments in Akwa Ibom State should introduce and maintain a fair and effective reward system for outstanding performances so as to motivate employees to always put in their best and remain in their organizations.

Effects of Performance Appraisal on Remuneration Practices and its Impact on Motivation of Employees in Public and Private Sector Companies in Kosovo

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2022

Aim. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of reward policies that are based on performance evaluation of employees. The study links employee performance appraisal with remuneration and other used features for capacity building of employees. Methods. The research consists of primary and secondary data, according to the quantitative method with deductive approach by using the comparison of correlation in analysis. Apart from literature review, the research involves surveys with different entities that would bring an insight into the present situation pertaining to reward practices. Results. The study confirms the significance of the problem between performance evaluation and reward, since there is a weak connection between reward systems and employee’ needs. The majority of respondents approve that reward is bound to the systematic performance appraisal. Results indicate that work experience, acquired knowledge and skills are more often being used, based on high correlation coefficient .435-.784. The ANOVA model shows the accuracy of the regression model with the significance p < .001, whereas the value of independent variables, 66.766 may be used for further research. Conclusions. There is a slight difference between public and private companies concerning the research phenomenon, which makes it a good topic for further research in this field. Based on the study outcomes, we recommend that managers can use promotion as a tool to motivate employees to perform at a higher level and attain their work objectives, especially those that operate in the private sector.

Factors Affecting Employee Retention in Zimbabwean Companies

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2022

The decline of the Zimbabwean economy characterised by the high inflation rate has rendered it difficult for Zimbabwean manufacturing to retain talented employees. The quantitative research methodology was adopted in this paper. The sample size of the study comprised 100 respondents who were randomly selected from the manufacturing companies in Zimbabwe. The sample size of the study was made out of 10 managing directors 10 managers 10 supervisors and 70 employees drawn from the 50 manufacturing companies that were randomly selected. It was established that the companies are failing to retain talented employees and a lot of the employees are leaving the organisations. Retrenchments and restructurings have become the order of the day. The study recommended that employees needed to implement employee retention strategies to remain viable.

Relationship between Human Resource Management Practices and Employee’s Turnover Intention: An Empirical Study

Article

Aug 2021

The objective of this study was to identify the relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) practices and employees’ turnover intention. This study employed a quantitative research approach by conducting a survey to collect data. By using convenience sampling, 70 permanent employees from the organization were sampled for the study. Employing SPSS version 18.0, descriptive statistical analysis revealed that level of HRM practices was moderate while turnover intention of respondents was at low level. Meanwhile, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient analysis showed that HRM practices were significantly negative correlated with turnover intention. In conclusion, these findings can be used by the management board of the organization to understand their employees’ turnover intention and further improve HRM practices.

Case Based Employee Turnover at Banking Sector with reference to The Navanagar Co-operative Bank Ltd, Jamnagar, Gujarat

Article

Jul 2022

This work is a case study based analysis of employee turnover at the Navanagar Cooperative Bank Ltd situated at Jamnagar, Gujarat. Labor turnover is the rate or frequency at which employees leave their current jobs. This study shows the pros and cons of employee deficit and employee surplus in the particular bank. This study also shows amicable solutions to overcome the problem of under and over-staffing. There are various factors responsible for labour turnover at banking sector which includes lack of training and development programs at branch, lack of promotion, bad working conditions, lower wages, challenging and improper manpower planning, lack of incentives and other perks, poor communication, culture-employee misfit etc. This study also provides important suggestions to minimize the rate of turnover at banking sector such as. (a) Continuous training for operational banking and soft-skill (Team Building, Communication, Motivation, etc. (b) Bank may introduce a system of recording confidential reports of annual performance of officers and staff. (For the format is available from CBRDE). Introduction: Labor turnover refers to the rate and frequency at which employees leave their jobs. One of the way to measure labor turnover is to evaluate it by relating the number of employees leaving their current job during a period of time to the total or average people employed in that particular period. For example suppose in a bank there are 1000 employees are working in 2020 and in the same year suppose 20 employee leave the job during the same year then labor turnover ratio will be 20*100/1000 = 2 per cent. Employee turnover is a ratio comparison of the number of employees a company must replace in a given time period to the average number of total employees (M Purohit 2016). Employee morale is viewed as feelings of well-being an employee has in a workplace setting and its proven to have a significant effect on job satisfaction and productivity (Kanimozhi & Vinothkumar 2018). There are various factors responsible for labor turnover ratio like Lack of training and development, Lack of appraisals and promotions, bad working conditions, lower wages, challenging and improper manpower planning, lack of incentives and other perks, termination from service due to indiscipline, culture-employee misfit, poor communication, personal causes e.g. change for better opportunity, death, retirement, marriages for women workers, chronic illness and accidents, domestic responsibility. In any situation labor turnover is costly and harmful which in turn results in to increase in production cost. The top three categories for leaving job were career development, work life balance and manager behavior (Retention Report 2020). Organizations strive to invest and retain the right human capital to remain competitive in a market economy. The observation shows that organizations that do not integrate staff retention strategies into their business operations will face problems such as a shortage of sufficient skilled workforce. Keeping qualified employees is a daunting task for organizations. Losing any skilled employee equals a massive setback for the organization. Institutions with effective employee retention strategies enjoy maximum profitability and smooth business operations(Alrazehi and Noor Aina Amirah 2020). The employers should provide capacity development opportunities for employees to gain new and advance business knowledge and application for organizational development. In the changing and dynamic nature of business environment human work force is the source of competitive edge(Gul, Asiya; Akbar, Sajjad; Zeb 2012). Employees working in different sectors and organizations have to deal with stress. Bank workers are among the group of workers under a great deal of stress due to many antecedents of stress. Stress contributes to decreased organizational performance, decreased employee overall performance, high error rate and poor quality of work, high staff turnover, and absenteeism due to health problems such as anxiety, emotional disorder; work life imbalance, depression and other forms of ailments such as frequent headache; obesity and cardiac arrests(Ajayi 2018). Growth and success of any organization mostly depends upon its employees (Getie et al 2015). Human resources are the most important asset of any organization and they are connected with organizational facets and functionalities (Kanimozhi & Vinothkumar 2018). Human emotions are directly connected to employee morale, and both are not stagnant things. They are blend with each other. Moral is the mix of feeling attitude and emotion that contribute to overall feeling of satisfaction. It is a state of mind which affecting employees willingness to work. Morale can range from very low to very high. Low morale is characterized by negative feelings of employees like dissatisfaction or disliking or discouragement whereas high morale is characterized by positive feelings of employees such as enthusiasm, willingness to follow order, and show readiness to cooperate. Human resources are the livelihood of all types of an organization. Even though all types of the organizations are now a days, found to be technology driven, yet human resources are required to run the technology. With all round development in each and every area of the economy, there is stiff competition in the market(Kumar and Mathimaran 2017).

The Perception of Labour Turnover on Organisational Performance of Private Sector Companies for the Hospitality Sector in Arusha City

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2023

This study examines the perception of labour turnover on organisational performance for the hospitality sector in Arusha City. The research design is descriptive in nature. The targeted sample size was 384 employees. However, only 103 respondents were available for data collection. Findings for the first research question have shown that hospitality industry in Arusha City do not experience labour turn over in terms of employee exit organizations every month, and organizations do not experience turn over above 10%. Findings for the second research question have shown that tour companies surveyed had strongly agreed that they have skilled and knowledge employees, companies strongly agreed they meet needs and interests of their employees. Respondents agreed that companies are reliable to customers for quality services; moreover the respondents agreed that companies are empathetic to customers' concerns. For this reason the perception of employee turnover influence organisational performance. For this reason organisational should provide a conducive working environment with various incentive to reduce employee grievance and complaints which will eventual minimize employee turnover and therefore enhance organisational performance.

International Journal of Science and Management Studies (IJSMS) Exploring the Attrition and Employee Retention in the Broadcast Industry : A Phenomenological Study

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2022

This study explored the lived experiences of Broadcasters regarding their perception of their present and past jobs, reasons why these people shift from one employer to another, according to the employees and why employees shift from one employer to the other, according to the perception of the employers. Retaining employees in an organization has been one of the greatest challenge of every Human Resource Officer. Every HR in an organization should always sustain and maintain an environment that greatly fosters retention. This phenomenological study aimed to explore the lived experiences of these Broadcasters. The study used interview with the researcher as the instrument. It utilized Creswell’s steps of data analysis to capture each perception of employees and employers. Themes appeared from the data collected from the interviews based on the brodcasters’ perception of their past and present job as follows: a) first step of the journey b) I am a celebrity c) money versus passion . Themes based on the reason of the decision to shift according to employers .With this, career shift theory emerged in this study explaining that this theory can be dictated by financial, social and psychological dimension of a person.

Employee turnover and job satisfaction: A synthesis of factors influencing employee turnover in institutions of higher learning in Ghana

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2022

Tel: +233243689543 Turnover among Lecturers in higher institutions of learning are mostly due to dissatisfaction with their jobs. Employee job satisfaction is of utmost importance to stimulating and sustaining the interest of the individual in order to prevent employee turnover. There are many factors influencing employee job satisfaction and preventing employee turnover. Factors such as salary, working conditions, cordial relationship with colleagues at work, opportunities for job progression among several other factors. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which these factors affect the job satisfaction and prevent turnover among lecturers in the University for Development Studies using a cross-sectional research design and a survey as method of data collection. Questionnaires were employed as data collection instruments to elicit information from 287 lecturers recruited from selected departments in the University for Development Studies within the Tamale Metropolis. Multiple regression was used to establish the relationship between factors influencing job satisfaction and employee turnover. Major findings from the study alluded to the fact that salary, working conditions, working environments, carrier advancement, relationship with co-workers have significant correlation with job satisfaction and turnover of lecturers in the selected institutions of higher learning. Based on these findings, the study recommends yearly salary adjustments, create a conducive working environment for lecturers, improve upon infrastructural facilities and facilitates carrier advancement issues for lecturers so as to prevent them from exiting the institutions.

Nexus between Work Stress and Employee Turnover Intention: Study of Non-Managerial Female Employees in Apparel Industry of Sri Lanka

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2021

Current study examines the nexus between work stress and turnover intention of non-managerial female employees in apparel industry, Sri Lanka to bridge the lacuna in up-to-date body of knowledge with more precise empirical evidence from the context. Five companies representing the whole industry, were selected from Katunayake Free Trade Zone, Sri Lanka from which the primary data were collected via a questionnaire survey. A standard questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 320 non-managerial female employees. Random sampling technique was used to select a representative sample. Correlation, independent sample t-test and One-way ANOVA were applied to analyse the collected data and to test the advanced hypotheses. In the analysis demographic differences do not come out as significant in predicting for turnover intention, except the education level and level of work experience. However, it is found that, non-managerial females in the apparel industry experiencing higher job demands and negative work relationships are more likely to leave. Further, a greater extent of work control, clarity of job role, management support & colleagues support will increase the chances of employees staying. Thus, non-managerial females who are open to higher work stress are at a higher risk of leaving than other employees. Findings revealed that less experienced and less educated employees are more likely to leave than other females. Moreover, practical and theoretical implications are emphasized in the present study.

IMPACT OF NURSES TURNOVER ON ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2013

Durairaj Rajan

This survey based descriptive research work has been undertaken with the objectives of analysing impact of turnover of nurses on organization performance and offering suitable suggestions to control and prevent turnover of nurses. The study has adopted both convenient and judgement sampling methods and sampled 30 administrators from 30 leading private multi speciality hospitals in Tirunelveli city, Tamilnadu, India. Primary data have been collected by a constructed questionnaire along with personal discussion. Percentage method has been administered to analyse profile of the respondents. Both Mean and Standard deviation have been employed to analyse impact of turnover of nurses on organization performance. The research has found excessive work load for remaining staff, delay in daily routine procedures (e.g. transfer of the patient to operation theatre, ICU and wards), poor patient satisfaction and complaints from patients (as newly joined staffs take long time to cope with routine procedures) are foremost impact of turnover of nurses in private hospitals. The study has given suitable suggestions to control and prevent turnover of nurses. 1.1 Background of the Study Employee turnover is one of the most serious issues in current scenario. Educational growth, rapid technology and economical changes and cultural variations have influenced in all occupations. Turnover of nurses is seen almost in all hospitals. High demand of the nurses and scarcity of the colleges offering nursing courses are the major issues to be considered in India. The wide scope of employment opportunities for nurses has increased the demand for nurses in India. As a result of high turnover of nurses, the routine work flow of the hospitals

Emerging Trends in Employee Retention Strategies in a Globalizing Economy: Nigeria in Focus

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2012

This study explores the emerging trends in employee retention strategies in a globalizing economy, with a focus on Nigeria. The paper argues that globalization has enhanced the mobility of labor, and has also accelerated the rate of employee turnover in organizations in Nigeria. The paper identifies some of the reasons for turnover to include inequity in the compensation packages of organizations, employees' dissatisfaction and autocratic managerial pattern in most organizations in Nigeria. It further identifies the effects of turnover to include disruption in production, cost of training new employees, the recruitment and selection cost and knowledge lost. As a panacea to minimize the rate of employee turnover and catch up with the current demands of global economic needs and organizational performance, the study proposes that organizations in Nigeria should adopt critical sustainable retention trends such as establishing a strategic plan, involving employees in decision-making process, initiating personalized compensation plan, installing mechanisms for career planning, training and development and building flexible work programs especially for critical knowledge - employees. These will help to retain core employees that will competitively drive the production wheel in the organizations in Nigeria in this era of globalization.

Labor Turnover in the Sugar Industry in Kenya

Article

Full-text available

Hannah Bula

This study was an exploratory study that aimed at establishing the reasons why workers leave Kenya's sugar industry. The study further sought to establish the human resource practices in the sugar industry, assessed the extent of labor turnover, determined factors causing labor turnover and identified possible solutions to labor turnover in the sugar industry. The researcher gathered information through the use of two questionnaires, one for managers of the selected sugar firms and one for non managerial staff. Data was analyzed by use of basic descriptive statistical tools. The study revealed that labor turnover is widespread in the sugar firms and that it affects all categories of staff in these firms. The study also observed that labor turnover is spread throughout the year and that it frustrates and impacts negatively on the sugar firms. The study found that salary is a major factor causing labor turnover followed by training, promotion, performance appraisal and work condition. Other factors like recognition, job content, participation in decision making and leadership style did not feature prominently as causes of labor turnover. Participation in decision making and leadership style has a major bearing in performance of workers and productivity. It was also revealed that although lack of employee commitment and motivation can be major causes of labor turnover, they are dependent on all the other factors causing labor turnover.

Managing MNC Expatriates through crises: Achallenge for International Human Resource

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2004

Janet Chew

Abstract International crises experienced by multinational corporations include both the premature return of expatriates due to failed assignments and the poor retention of returned expatriates due to failed repatriation. To reduce the direct and indirect costs inherent with expatriate failure, multinational corporations are striving to improve their capability to manage their expatriates before, during and after international assignments. This article highlights these issues and discusses the challenges for human resource professionals when managing expatriates. The results of the study presented in this paper suggest that the management of international human resources is increasingly being acknowledged as a major determinant of success or failure in international business. It concludes by proposing that a well-managed and proactive response to an international crisis may help an organisation retain experienced international employees.

How Can Managers Reduce Employee Intention to Quit?

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2004
J Manag Psychol

This paper reports on an investigation of the variables that may be predictive of intentions to leave a job, and tests a model that includes mediating variables. A total of 173 retail salespeople completed questionnaires measuring commitment to the organization for which they worked, job satisfaction, stress, supervisor support, locus of control, self-esteem, the perceived stressors in the job and their intention to quit. Path analysis was used to test the relationships hypothesized in the model. The majority of hypotheses were supported, with the variables included accounting for 52 per cent of the variance in intention to quit. Emotional support from supervisors and self-esteem mediated the impact of stressors on stress reactions, job satisfaction, commitment to the organization and intention to quit. It is suggested that to ameliorate intention to quit and in turn reduce turnover, managers need to actively monitor workloads, and the relationships between supervisors and subordinates in order to reduce and manage stress. Managers also need to monitor both the extrinsic and intrinsic sources of job satisfaction available to employees. These activities could assist in maintaining and increasing job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. <br /

A review of the literature on employee turnover

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2007
AFR J BUS MANAGE

Henry Ongori

''Employee turnover" as a term is widely used in business circles. Although several studies have been conducted on this topic, most of the researchers focus on the causes of employee turnover but little has been done on the examining the sources of employee turnover, effects and advising various strategies which can be used by managers in various organisations to ensure that there is employee continuity in their organisations to enhance organizational competitiveness. This paper examines the sources of employee turnover, effects and forwards some strategies on how to minimize employee turnover in organisations.

Organisational change and employee turnover

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2004
PERS REV

Using insights from the relevant literature and recent empirical data, this paper investigates the relationship between organisational change and employee turnover. It proposes a mechanism for how widespread change translates into individual decisions to quit, and corroborates four relevant hypotheses. The paper also illustrates the importance for managers of understanding avoidability – the extent to which turnover decisions can be prevented – and concludes with a research agenda, encapsulated by a model describing the relationship between organisational change and turnover.

Is High Employee Turnover Really Harmful? An Empirical Test Using Company Records

Article