Employee Turnover Research - Dissertation Example

?Methodology Research Philosophy & Approach Research refers to search for meaningful knowledge. It’s a scientific investigation of facts and factual (Goddard W & Melville S, 2004). According to Redman and Mory, “Research is an investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge. It is a systematic effort to gain new knowledge (Newman & Benz , 1998).” Research design This research will be exploratory and descriptive in nature. It will try to find out various factors which can be held responsible for employee turnover in organizations. The study would also highlight whether, the management has a key role in mitigating the turnover effect or not. Research Process & Strategy Identify the problem Set the objectives Develop the Research Plan Data collection Analysis of Data Finding (results) Source : Kothari , 2008 A literature review was undertaken to investigate the influences and motivational forces that increase employee turnover. Further the link was established in order to find a relationship between the established theories and people own personal opinions. According to Marchington & Wilkinson (2005) the best and most reliable information given by employees is done so by exploring their own personal views. The literature review had enabled me to gather and link a good amount of research from theorists who have researched employee retention in depth. The above mentioned steps are executed systematically to achieve the desired goals and objectives. The first step in the research process is to identify the problem and set objective carefully and agree on the research objective. In an investigative and descriptive study as the one in particular can frame the objectives by breaking them into various investigative questions as stated in the above research objective section (Goddard W & Melville S, 2004). The second step to research process is to develop the most efficient research plan for gathering the needed information highlighting the literature that examines the recent affairs of the organization from a comprehensive perspective. The plan may define the need for the proposed work. Designing the research plan calls for gathering the primary and secondary data. The next step in the research process is data collection. It is most expensive and most prone to error. The fourth step in research process is to analyze the collected data. The last step in the research process is that the representation of findings or ultimate deduction of the analysis drawn. According to the nature of research problem, it is beneficial to emphasize more on qualitative data rather than quantitative data. It is a proven fact that human behavior can be complex, interactive and consist of indescribable and illogical aspects (Goulding, 2002) particularly when discussing personal experiences. Denzin & Lincoln (no date) found that qualitative research is a method for examination, contribution, interviewing, and ethnography. It serves as a metaphor for majestic knowledge, for strength and for the truth (Denzin & Lincoln, no date), it really depends on the size of data you need. Both quantitative and qualitative are scientific, and the results will deliver a similar result, but each method has a different approach, and the results are presented differently to the reader. Data Collection: Collection of data is one of the important aspects of research methodology. This consists of gathering the data from various sources. Types of data & Analysis: Data is important to collect the necessary information. Data may be of two types: primary and secondary data. Secondary data is one of the parts of research methodology through which information about the project can be collected. This particular research would be based both on the secondary and primary data information, different sources such as Journals, Books, Newspaper, Magazines, Internet, Articles and all authentic published relevant material would be referred for the accomplishment of the objectives and goals of the current project related to the selected developing countries. For primary aspect, personal interviews and questionnaires are preferred for data collection from employees working at different hierarchical levels of the organization. Based on the respondent’s response, a comprehensive viewpoint of the same would be figured out for better understanding. Validity & Reliability The data collected was from both primary and secondary findings. Initially the project commenced with a literature review. The literature research studies used were by known theorists and therefore the data was from a reliable source, the only issue I experienced was that the sourcing theorists that had conducted research in more recent years, was very difficult and therefore some of the research is much older than I hoped to use. Secondly for the primary findings I used a small sample of candidates; this was due to working in a smaller time frame, and the availability of interviewees. I hoped to secure 15 interviews as I hoped to receive a generalized response giving the study more weight and validity, this was fairly important as some interviews may share similar answers (Wragg, 1980). Saosford & Jupp (1996) advises that depending on the sample sized used will significantly change the weight of the validity of the response. As I used a smaller sample size, my study would have benefited more from a larger sample size. However I was able to link my research to the theories and concepts, strengthening the validity of my study (Marshall & Rossman, 1995). Interviews Due to the nature of the topic gathering data from an individual’s own view would be more valid to research, particularly when discussing personal matters and experiences with individuals, and therefore I decided to conduct a survey interview (Moser & Kalton (1971). By doing so it gave me the opportunity to probe and investigate motives and feelings, which a sample questionnaire would not. Cohen (1976) advises that interviewing takes a great deal of preparation, patience and a considerable amount of practice (Cohen, 1976) So I decided to conduct my interviews on approximately 15 people, allowing 30/45 minutes to answer eleven questions (appendix 1). I also decided to plan for an un-structured interview rather than a structured; but with the mindset that I may adapt both methods when conducting the interviews. Apparently some researchers find themselves using both options (Bell, 2005). A structured interview would enable me to prepare a set of questions, and for individuals who were less confident I could rate their responses. An un-structured interview would be more flexible and allow me to encourage them to explore their responses, which would enable me to gather a more detailed response. Throughout the interviews I would maintain a level of consistency, to ensure that the responses could be analyzed correctly. The first interview I treated as a pilot interview. This allowed me to ensure that I could gain the responses to the questions that I had anticipated and make any necessary amendments i.e. increase my questions or tweak them if needed. I managed to conduct the pilot test on a family member, who was seeking alternative employment. All of the questions were good and just a little bit of tweaking was needed. The pilot interview took only 25 minutes, but I recognized that a little bit more probing would have increased the time sufficient to cover at least 40 minutes. Initially I was going to work with candidates that were seeking alternative employment, however after conducting the pilot interview I decided that my questions were best suited to individuals that had already secured a new role. This worked really well as they were very enthusiastic to assist me with my research and as they had secured a new permanent role were more relaxed talking about their previous employer. I decided to tape record my interviews. Questions asked: What type of business is your organisation? (i.e. finance, commercial, customer service) How long have you been employed with your employer? Could you explain what has led you to leave your organisation? (i.e. management, environment, training and development) Could you tell me about the situation, which leads you to feel unhappy working for your current employer? How did your employer respond to your resignation? Did your employer’s response lead you to reconsider your decision to leave? Is there anything that your employer could have done to change your mind? Has your employer created any methods to try and reduce employee turnover? Are your reasons for leaving your past employer similar to your current ones? Could you explain how your past employer responded to your resignation? Do you believe or are you aware that other people within your organisation are leaving due to the similar reasons? Sampling Sampling Design The particular research regarding the employee turnover would include probability sampling where people working in various departments of the organization will be intervened and surveyed in order to make authentic and reliable deductions regarding their attitude towards the functioning of the organization and its performance. Deliberate sampling would be preferred as it seems to be best suited for the topic. Sample Size: as mentioned, Probability sampling is the chosen method for this research where a total sample size of 15 is aimed and targeted from different organizations. Employee turnover is a topic that I work with on a daily basis, from both sides of the coin where I am assisting candidates with securing new roles but also helping clients by making recommendations on how to decrease employee turnover. I decided to use probability sampling and base my research on 15 interviewees who had found employment via the agency. This enabled me to choose 15 candidates that I had built good relationships with, and felt positive that they would provide good responses to my questions. If I had chosen non-probability sampling than it would not have suited my type of study by choosing probability it enabled me to choose individuals from the finance industry, which was where my case study was based on. Also, I needed to approach candidates that I had placed and ones that I knew had good reasons for leaving their organizations. It was also important for me to ensure that I had a good amount of data to put towards my study and data that would enable me to answer my questions. I decided to conduct my research on individuals who had secured permanent roles via the agency. This was only identified after my pilot interview, as it was then that I felt the questions developed were more suited to this type of interviewee, and it was actually more beneficial. The interviewee felt so much more comfortable talking about the ex-employer that I received excellent responses for my case study. So I contacted the 15 individuals via telephone and asked if they would assist me with my case study and answer 11 questions which would take 45 minutes, 10 individuals immediately responded with their availability, which was great. Unfortunately a further 5 individuals were unable to commit their time and after a lot of arranging and re-arranging I found that it was becoming extremely time wasting and I could have lost my ten confirmed interviews, so decided to only go with the ten I had, my interviews were completed over a two week period, of an evening and lasted between 30/40 minutes. I planned to conduct structured interviews, but with an open mind that I could ask several other questions around my main 11 questions. It worked well and the data I gathered was a good size and therefore I felt happy with what I had gained, the responses were generalized and therefore making it more valid. I still felt that my study would have benefited from a larger sample, but was comfortable with the data that I had gathered. So 10 interviews enabled me to gain everything I needed for my case study. Confidentiality Due to data protection laws, I am required to ensure that all candidate information is kept confidential. As the interviews were recorded, I have assured the individuals that the recordings will only be used to remind me of the meetings when preparing the transcripts. Individuals agreed verbally that they were happy for me to record their interviews, and that they will be transcribed and used as part of my case study. However their details would be kept confidential. Research Limitations 1. Authenticity of the data printed in terms of figures and other indicative facts is subjective which may lead to inappropriate evaluations and incorrect conclusions. 2. Findings of the study are based on primary data which may be biased and fictitious. Thus the accuracy and authenticity of the data is not 100 percent. 3. The universal sample size is too small; hence larger size could have been benefited. RESEARCH FINDINGS Employee turnover as clearly depicted in the above mentioned sections is a comparison between the total number of employees an organization is expected to restore and reinstate in a stipulated time period to the total average number of employees calculated. There are numerous factors which are responsible for employee turnover, few of which may include wage issues, perquisites, extra company benefits, attendance, performance etc. Thus, to gather a comprehensive and deeper understanding of the same, an analysis of the data collected through interview of employees is done underneath so as to ascertain a clear picture of what employees feel and comprehend regarding the turnover process, its influence on the organizational as well as the personal front. Each and every questions drafted in the questionnaire, displayed above would be analyzed. Nature of Business Most of the respondents who were intervened were parts of financial services organization belonging to wealth management, banking services, fiduciary services etc. from the data it can be analyzed that many employees who prefer turnover actually belong to a specific industry where turnover rates are quite high in comparison to other firms. Here the turnover may be related to wage, performance or other parameters. Relationship with the Organization As far as the tenure of employees with the particular organizations was concerned, most of them were found to serve companies for almost a year and above. This reveals that employees have worked for organizations for a considerable time period, hence there has to be significant reasons for the turnover. Reasons for Leaving Organization The most common answer that was received among respondents regarding the cause for their departure from the organization was ‘redundancy’. On some it was imposed by the management while few others opted for it willfully and voluntarily. However, this was not the only reason identified. The reasons were: Downsizing of departments Change of Management (Management Issues, bureaucracy etc) Staff and Management interest conflicts Staff Issues Lack of Technological Advancements Lack of Resources Poor Management Skills Unacceptable Management Behavior Unrealistic Goals and Targets Misguided job profiles and Job role Gender Biasness Stagnation in Career development and Personal Growth Lack of Timely and Effective Performance Appraisals Excessive Work Load Unhealthy Employee Treatment Unrealistic Management Expectations Most often it is considered that the major reason for an employee turnover might be the difference or the gaps that creep up due to the monetary and financial gains one expects and actually one receives from the management of higher authorities. But the results that are extracted after the data analysis clearly reveal the absence of monetary aspects but the dissatisfaction or resentment caused due to non-financial factors mainly the in competency of the management to understand the need and requirements of their employees. The unrealistic expectations from employees and constrained working environment are the most critical factors of employee turnover, visible after data analysis. There is a dire need from the management aspect to delve and probe deeper into the root cause for soaring discontentment levels prevailing among employees. Discontentment of Employees towards Employer Respondents were asked to narrate and describe specific incidents with their employer which actually probed them to leave their job. It was found that the decision for turnover was not instant, unpleasant situations had accumulated to such an extent that on one fine day , most of the employees had given up to tolerate it further. On some occasions employees felt that employer was apathetic towards employees difficult situations which further aggravated and worsened up the scenario. For instance, an employee who was pregnant was made to work for long hours irrespective of her critical condition which led to a breakdown finally. In another incidence, an employee had urgent family commitments to meet which was genuine but as a result he was asked to leave as employer did not like him personally. On another occasion, employee was not given his due appraisal that aggravated his annoyance. Likewise may such short occurrences were quoted by employees which revealed that unfriendly, stubborn and unrealistic behavior of employer towards employee is one of the prime and leading cause for employee turnover. However, the decision to quit is not all of a sudden, it is based on past experiences that become the foundation or grounds on which employees develop a negative and unconstructive attitude towards the organization and its head. Employer’s Viewpoint Regarding Employee Turnover In most of the situations employee’s decision to leave the company was well accepted by the employers and not many efforts were made to figure out the reasons for the same, except in few of the cases where the employer tried to have a dialogue in order to identify and determine the reason for employee dissatisfaction. The changing negative attitude of employees specially those who have been loyal to the company for many past years, did not come as a surprise to employers as a gradual change was well noticed in their behavior. As a consequence management readily accepted their decision willfully. Effect of Employer’s Attitude on Employee Decision To my utter surprise, all the respondents did have the same opinion when they were asked, whether employers response could influence their decisions. It was a clear ‘NO’ as they felt that once the decision to leave is made, it has such a strong psychological impact that none of the counter actions can actually change it. On the other side of the coin, the incidents revealed by the respondents also supported the fact that almost none of the employees actually wanted to change or reconsider employee’s decision. Such an inconsiderate and thoughtless attitude of the top management, is a clear sign of indication that if organizations need to survive and sustain in the long run amongst intense competitive environment, then employers must respect and understand the deformities and loopholes that exist in their work culture and must make genuine efforts to overcome them and value their most precious asset that is ‘human workforce’. According to employees, there is nothing that could have been done by the employer or the management that could have influenced or changed employer’s decision in any respect. They had made up their mind and under no circumstance would they reconsider there decision. Efforts Made up on Behalf of Employer to Reduce Employee Turnover All the respondents who were intervened unanimously held the same view that almost negligible efforts and attempts were made by the employer to reduce or mitigate the turnover effect. This clearly reveals that management is least interested to retain their candidates which is certainly not in favor of both, the organization as well as the employees, however few of the employees did feel that is management would have adopted measures in form of salary hikes or increased role of job opportunities etc, then there might have been certain possibilities to reduce redundancy. However, it cannot be completely denied that all managers or employers are the same. One or two interviewees did mention that employers have opted methods such as career progression, salary hikes etc for motivating employees. Analysis does support the fact that there is a desperate need of innovative and effectual strategies from the management to combat turnover effects. The matter needs to be addressed meticulously, if the organizations have to sustain in the long run. Comparison between the Past and Current Job Interviewees were questioned whether the reasons for leaving their previous jobs were similar when compared to the current one. In response, a complete denial was supported by majority of the sample size. Most of them displayed resentment towards redundancy as a major factor; hence question of comparison was relevant. For few others, their personal dissatisfaction towards the work culture and environment was another reason which was under no way similar to their current jobs which was pleasant, enjoyable, motivating and comfortable to work for. Switch over for better career prospects was another reason, hence again the similarity factor is faded. In few of the cases causes were varied, firstly it was due to dissatisfaction on account of job role and in another personal grudges against the management. On the whole, a similarity fit was found missing when reasons for leaving the past and the recent job was compared. It can be said that employees find it difficult to explore a job that completely fulfills all their desires as somewhere on some grounds discrepancies seem to arise. Employees have also switched on jobs on grounds of taking a ‘career break’, hence in all matters; the management solely cannot be blamed and pinpointed. Reaction of Past Employer towards Employee Turnover Employees were further probed to ascertain .the reaction posed up by their previous employer towards their decision to leave the organization. Majority of them responded that organizations were not keen to let them go of easily and were disappointed by their decision. They said that if they get an opportunity even today to make a come back, their organizations and management would willfully and happily appoint them back. Reason for Other Employees Leaving the Organization When employees were asked about the different reasons for other employees who have left the similar organization then redundancy was a common factor for most of them. This clearly shows the impact that recession and market crises are having on employees not only in domestic market but markets worldwide. Cost cutting is the weapon that most of the organizations prefer in this high competitive business scenario where maximum output from limited human resources is the key and fundamental exercise adopted by majority of employers. Recently almost 1800 employees from a renowned organization like ‘NASA’ have been made redundant. This is an open fact that companies all over the world are trying to prune down their cost structure in which employees are considered to be the prime hit. Conclusion The data analysis clearly reveals that if the employer’s are not satisfied working in a particular work culture then they would certainly look for a new job. Turnover rates would be high in those firms where employers are unable to meet up their employee expectations and also are incompetent to create a working environment which is constructive, growing and encouraging. Managing people is an art, hence management must introduce effective strategies so that, workforce can be directed to achieve the organizational goals in the best possible manner, keeping both the management and employees contented to the maximum extent possible. BIBLIOGRAPHY Plunkett Research, Ltd. Telecommunications Trends. 2007. Retrieved on 27th July, 2011. 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