Abstract
South African engineering organisations face the challenge of a high turnover of engineers; hence the engineering sector needs to pay special attention to turnover intention to control the actual employee turnover. When there is employee turnover, organisations incur considerable costs such as the financial costs of finding and replacing the employees who would have left and recruiting and training new employees. The loss of knowledge and expertise acquired over an extended period also negatively impacts on organisations, particularly in the engineering industry with a shortage of skilled labour. Despite prior empirical studies from researchers on transformational leadership, work engagement and turnover intention, there is very limited research conducted in the South African engineering industry. This study examined the moderating effect of transformational leadership in the relationship between work engagement and turnover intention in a South African engineering organisation. The study used a non-experimental quantitative research approach, while the population comprised a non-probability sampling (N=124) permanently employed engineers in a South African engineering organisation. Hierarchical moderator regression analysis was used to determine the effect of transformational leadership in the relationship between work engagement and turnover intention. The results revealed a significant relationship between transformational leadership, work engagement and turnover intention. Furthermore, the results showed that transformational leadership (idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualised consideration) variables acted as moderators in the relationship between work engagement (vigour and dedication) variables and turnover intention. These findings add value to leadership development and human resource management field. Organisational leaders who portray idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualised consideration, will enhance employee’s dedication and enthusiasm.