Factors affecting the retention of knowledge workers.
- Authors: Sutherland, Margaret Mary
- Date: 2007-11-21T09:25:18Z
- Subjects: employee retention , labor turnover , knowledge workers
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6422 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/127
- Description: One of the characteristics of the knowledge economy is the high level of mobility of knowledge workers. The cost of labour turnover of these key resources is high in both financial and non-financial terms. There is a need to understand what the factors are that underpin the retention cognitions of knowledge workers in order that organisations may try to reduce the labour turnover of these key employees or to minimise its effects. Literature Research The review of pertinent literature was grouped under the following headings: the new world of work in a knowledge based economy; labour turnover (including its antecedents and consequences); retention; and demographic differences. The review revealed: the high costs associated with the turnover of knowledge workers; the low level of predictive ability of the antecedents of organisational withdrawal; and the wide range of variables considered to impact on knowledge workers’ retention cognitions. The literature also showed that most research had been carried out in single industries and had focused on one or two variables. No literature was found that used multivariate approaches to the problem of knowledge worker retention. Empirical Research Objectives The primary research aim was to determine what factors are important to knowledge workers when they decide to stay with or leave their employing organisation. A secondary aim was to determine if the sample was homogeneous in terms of these retention cognitions or whether they could be segmented into meaningful sub-groupings. Participants In the pilot study, 30 knowledge workers who had recently changed employer were used to determine the independent variables of retention. In the second phase, data was collected from 306 knowledge workers in full time employment. A wide range of demographic and industry groupings were represented by the participants. The Measuring Instrument A quantitative questionnaire was developed. It consisted of questions covering: demographic data, an international scale of job satisfaction factors, job mobility, intentions with regard to future length of service and organisational commitment. Forty three variables relating to retention cognitions, which had been developed through the pilot study, were then presented, with Likert scales used to determine their relative degree of importance. The Research Procedure The data was gathered while the knowledge workers attended a wide variety of courses at a university business school. The data was collected under lecture room conditions to ensure standardisation of the process. Statistical Analysis A wide variety of statistics were used to address the research questions. The data was processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences and the Number Cruncher Statistical System computer packages. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, CHAID, factor analysis, Mann Whitney U tests, Kruskal Wallis Analysis of Variance, and cluster analysis were used to analyse the data. Conclusions and Recommendations The findings revealed the high level of mobility of the sample. The study showed that job satisfaction and organisational commitment do not predict proposed future length of employment with an organisation but merely co-vary with it. The high levels of individualism, egocentricity, and focus on personal development amongst these workers were demonstrated. Factor analysis revealed seven underlying dimensions of retention cognitions of the respondents, five of which are viewed as important in determining retention. These were: the need for independence; career development provision by the organisation; egocentricity and challenge within the organisation; the organisational setting; and performance related rewards. The two factors found to have a low impact on retention were the desire for a career change and issues related to personal comfort. The latter finding explains the lack of effectiveness of traditional retention devices. A model was offered that consolidates the factors affecting the retention cognitions of knowledge workers. Uni-variate analyses examining differences based on demographic variables detected only 20 significant differences out of the 172 tests. Hence a multivariate approach was used to look at sample segmentation. A cluster analysis revealed a segmentation of these knowledge workers and their retention cognitions into nine distinct categories, termed respectively: the salon culture; the seekers; the groupies; the disengaged; the self sufficient; the depressives; the contented new-agers; the co-dependents and the self starters. Recommendations to academic researchers were offered based mainly on the need to understand the characteristics of knowledge workers operating in the new world of work and, in particular, the drivers of mobility of this important population. Recommendations to management were largely twofold. Firstly, to adapt to the mobility of knowledge workers as this is a defining characteristic of the new world of work. Secondly, to develop compelling employee propositions that highlight challenging work, career development opportunities as well as rewards based on individual performance in order to improve the retention rate of these key employees. , Prof. Chris Welman
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The development of a predictive model of turnover intentions of professional nurses.
- Authors: Jacobs, Everhardus Johannes
- Date: 2007-10-23T09:14:00Z
- Subjects: nurses' job satisfaction , employee retention , nurses' employment , labor turnover
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/368486 , uj:11362 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/109
- Description: South African nursing profession is in a crisis as professional nurses leave the country in search of lucrative work overseas. This exodus will have a catastrophic effect on the delivery of health care over the next decade. It is also clear that the shortages of staff due to the turnover problems in hospitals are also creating various other problems such as enormous pressure on existing employees, job stress and job dissatisfaction. Financial constraints to compete with international competitors, exchange rates, tax-free foreign money, the existence of many job opportunities overseas and the tendency that a person’s career is enriched with overseas experience, makes the retention of professional nurses almost uncontrollable for nursing employers in South Africa. The question was therefore asked whether employers should not rather focus their retention strategies on things they can control internally to retain their employees. An alternative approach, to build strategies around the needs and work circumstances of professional nurses, was therefore proposed. The focus of this study was to develop a predictive model with organisational culture and the selected mediating variables, namely knowledge sharing, organisational commitment, organisational citizenship and job satisfaction, as well as various demographic variables (sub-cultures, tenure, age, level of education, gender, race, home language, level of seniority, marital status, number of dependents) of turnover intentions. A General Linear Model approach was adopted to answer the research question. The relationship between organisational culture and turnover intentions was determined, followed by the independent and/or interdependent role of the demographic variables in predicting firstly, organisational culture and secondly, turnover intentions on a bivariate and a multivariate level. Thereafter, the objective was to determine the independent and/or interactive role of the independent variable (organisational culture) and the selected mediating variables (knowledge sharing, organisational commitment, organisational citizenship behaviour, job satisfaction) in explaining turnover intentions. The next objective was to determine whether knowledge sharing, organisational commitment, organisational citizenship behaviour and job satisfaction mediates the relationship between organisational culture and turnover intentions. The final objective was to determine a most parsimonious model by entering all demographic variables, the independent variable and the mediating variables simultaneously into an equation to determine which variables independently and/or interactively emerged to predict turnover intentions. The most important finding was that 49% of the variance in turnover intentions was explained by the proposed model when all the variables were simultaneously entered into the equation. Organisational commitment emerged as the only independent predictor in the final most parsimonious model of turnover intentions. This result support theoretical evidence of the importance of organisational commitment as predictor of turnover intentions. Organisational culture, in interaction with knowledge sharing and job satisfaction, emerged as predictors in the final model decreasing turnover intentions, while organisational culture in interaction with organisational citizenship behaviour increases turnover intentions of professional nurses. Organisational culture also emerged in interaction with white professional nurses, as demographic variable, decreasing turnover intentions. Organisational culture is therefore an important concept in determining turnover intentions, clearly emphasising the responsibility of nursing employers to seriously embark on internal strategies to prevent turnover amongst professional nurses. Various other demographic variables also emerged in interaction to determine turnover intentions in the final model. They are professional nurses in ICU/casualties and 50 years and older, 1-5 years in unit and an incumbent of a chief professional nurse position, 11 years and more in the current hospital and no dependents above 18, being married/co-habitating and no dependents above 18, 50 years and older and no dependents under 18 and working in ICU/Casualties and in possession of a degree. Finally, knowledge sharing, organisational commitment and job satisfaction mediated the relationship between organisational culture and turnover intentions, although only partially, while OCB’s did not mediated this relationship. Various conclusions and recommendations, theoretically, methodologically and empirically, were made as a result of this study. Further theoretical development of the concepts, especially knowledge sharing, the value of General Linear Modelling and further development of turnover models amongst professional nurses and other health professional alike, were recommended. , Prof. Gert Roodt
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The retention of sales consultants in the security industry.
- Authors: Radivoev, Joanita
- Date: 2008-04-24T12:35:49Z
- Subjects: employee retention , sales personnel , private security services , employee motivation , labor turnover , compensation management
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6617 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/300
- Description: Most organisations depend on their sales consultants to generate revenue. Sales consultants across industries normally work for commission, determined by the amount of business they bring in. A group of security companies are currently spending a considerable amount of money and other resources on the recruitment, selection and development of sales consultants. In the past 18 months, 39 sales consultants left the company after being employed on average for no longer than five months. Keeping the above in mind, it was necessary to establish exactly what caused the high turnover rate among sales consultants. By identifying these factors it would be possible for the organisation to eliminate the causes for high employee turnover and work towards promoting factors which would retain the sales consultants. An overview of different motivation theories was considered. Most of the theories consider motivation from a personal need satisfaction perspective, while Herzberg also considers the motivation through restructuring of the work environment. For this reason, Herzberg’s theory was found to be the more appropriate one for this study . Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene (MH) Theory and other current literature on employee retention were used as a basis to investigate the high turnover rate of sales consultants at a group of security companies. ii The nominal group technique was used to determine whether certain intrinsic and extrinsic factors are influencing the retention of sales consultants. A study of the relevant literature revealed that employee motivation is at the heart of retention. Literature on employee retention state that retention should be seen as a process, which starts even before an employee joins the organisation. Organisations need to focus on scientific recruitment and selection in order to employ the right person for the position. Retention should then be managed by developing employees and by introducing the intrinsic and extrinsic factors as formulated in the Herzberg MH theory. The outcome of such an employee retention process will result in cost savings over a wide spectrum. The literature on retention is summarised in an employee retention model, which was used to make recommendations to the organisation. The findings indicate that various factors such as company policies on remuneration, and administration, remuneration structure, working conditions and job security are playing a role in the retention of the sales consultant. Based on the results of the empirical study, recommendations are made to the organisation in terms of retaining their sales consultants. This includes a commitment to retention from top management, creating attractive sales positions; improve opportunities for training and development and a revised remuneration structure for sales consultants. The problem areas were identified and should be addressed satisfactorily by following the proposed recommendations. , Prof. W. Backer
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