Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Aims
Identify the cause of high employee turnover rates within the retail
sector
Rationale
Limitation:
Literature Review
Once labour turnover rates have been identified, it will then be possible
for the organisation to recognise the extent that staff turnover can affect
them by. Reducing labour turnover will mean that less people are leaving
the organisation therefore; there will be less wastage of employees so that
money can be saved, as less people will need to be recruited.
However, not all organisations calculate the cost of employee wastage. In
fact, over 50% of organisations believe that this information is not
relevant and 31% believe that it takes up too much time and is not worth
the effort. (Recruitment, retention and turnover Survey, CIPD, 2004:33) If
organisations do not calculate the employee turnover rate, it will be
difficult for them to distinguish its affect and recognise the benefits of
reducing it.
7.2 The Effect of Employee Turnover on Staff
When an individual leaves a job, either a temporary replacement is hired
or the workload is split between the individuals' colleagues until a suitable
replacement is found. Hiring temporary staff can be expensive while at
the same time, giving the individuals' colleagues, an increased workload
will cause them further stress. If this was to happen consistently, it could
be another cause for people leaving the organisation. The graph shows
how employee turnover can have a knock on effect because of the impact
it has on staffs.
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(Employee retention report, Reed, 2003:4)
The employer must ensure that people are replaced as soon as possible to
prevent other staffs from being put under additional stress and pressure.
However, if employers tried harder to retain staffs then they would have
to put less time and resources into replacing the workforce.
7.3 The Effect of Employee Turnover on the Organisation
The impact of employees leaving organisations is that it leads to
expenses. Replacing staffs takes up time and money, which are both
valuable resources that should be saved wherever possible in order to
achieve a more efficiently operated business. When a position is vacant,
the amount of paid overtime can rise up to 25%, which accounts for the
usual workload that is to be completed by less staffs.
(Employee retention report, Reed, 2003:4)
The graph shows the adverse affects that happen because of employee
turnover. Reducing employee turnover will decrease expenses as the
company will not have to spend as much money to hire temporary staffs,
recruit new staffs or pay so for so much overtime.
7.4 The Importance of Retention from the Recruitment Stage
It is important in an organisation to recruit the right person with the right
skills and qualifications for the job.
People who represent the best match' in terms of their personality
attributes, skills and experience are those who are likely to perform best
in the job against a range of criteria. They are also the people who are
most likely to remain employed for some time and the least likely to take
the first available opportunity to leave.
(Taylor, S 2002:171)
This is essential as recruiting a person whom is inadequate to do the job
would be pointless as they would not be able to complete the tasks of the
job to meet the expectations of the company. Therefore, recruiting a
person who is not right for the job would be a waste of time and money as
the right person for the job will still need to be found for the long-term.
7.5 The Importance of Inductions
Once a suitable candidate is found and hired, they will require preliminary
training, which is known as an induction. This is where the employee is
introduced to the company, its culture and procedures. This will help to
familiarise the employee with the company and the job requirements. As a
result, the employees will learn the various procedures of how the
company wants to operate.
Inductions are used to welcome the new employee into the organisation
and ensure that they feel comfortable in performing their job role
successfully.
Labour turnover is frequently highest amongst those who have recently
joined an organisation. The term induction crisis' is used to describe the
critical period when new starters are most likely to leave. A well planned
induction course can help to decrease labour turnover by ensuring that
new starters settle quickly in their jobs and reach an efficient standard of
performance as soon as possible.
(Kenney, J and Reid, M 1990:241)
(Bevan, S. 1997)
These are the key features, which the organisation has the control to
change. The company has no control over circumstances such as people
wanting to move to a different location or ill health therefore these factors
cannot be influenced in order to retain employees.
Motivation
(Maslow's Hierarchy 1954) states that people first needed to fulfil there
basic needs before they can progress to achieve self-actualisation. This is
best shown in a pyramid, each person first starts from the bottom and
through work, the individual fulfil each stage and works his or her way up.
(Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs 1954)
Employees need money to pay for necessities such as food, rent etc.
This is the basis of satisfaction
Employees need to know that their job is safe so that they do not
have to worry about looking for a new job.
and feel that they are progressing, they will continue to work hard and
stay within the organisation.
7.9 How to find out why Employees are Leaving
The organisation needs to find out why its staffs are leaving so they can
then devise a plan to try to prevent this from reoccurring in the future.
The methods of finding out why employees are leaving can consist of:
Exit interviews: these interviews are normally held soon after the
employee has resigned. The interviewer can take the opportunity to
find out why the employee is leaving, the conditions under which
they would have stayed and improvements the company can make
in the future.
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Q1) Where does everybody work? / Where has everybody worked?
Q2) How long have you all been at these jobs?
Q3) Do/did you enjoy it?
Q4) What do you like best about it?
Q5) What do you hate about it?
Q6) Do you feel that your organisation seems to constantly be recruiting
new people?
Q7) Do you feel that this affects you? i.e. do you have to help train them?
Are you often left with a bigger workload? How does this make you feel?
Q8) When you have left a job did u receive and exit interview?
Q9) Do you think this procedure would help the organisation to find out
why they are
loosing staffs?
Q10) If you were the manager, what would you do to retain staffs?
A copy of the minutes of the meeting is available in appendix A.
The problems associated with focus groups are that some of the members
may feel uncomfortable, as they do not know each other so they may
keep their opinions to themselves. However, the researcher will introduce
all the members to each other and start the conversation off in a relaxed
way to help everyone feel more at ease. Another problem is that it may be
difficult to get all the members together at the same time as some people
maybe working or have other responsibilities like studying or children.
8.3 Pilot Study
When the focus groups have been carried out, the information will be used
as the foundation for the first draft questionnaire. This will then be tested
in order to get feedback on it for improvements. This process will continue
until all feedback has been taken into account and all the necessary
changes have been made. When this is all completed, the questionnaire
will go through a pilot study of about ten people to ensure that all the
questions run smoothly and are not misunderstood. The final version of
the questionnaire is available in appendix B.
8.4 The Survey
After the required changes if any have been edited, the survey will be
carried out at Charing Cross train station on a sample of one hundred
people whom work or have worked in retail as a sales assistant. The
people completing the survey must meet the specific criteria, which are
that everybody who takes part must work or have worked in retail. The
location was chosen as it is very busy and it should be easy to find a
variety of people that meet the criteria that could spare five to ten
minutes to fill out the questionnaire while waiting for their train.
8.5 Analysis of Data
Once the survey has been carried out, the data gathered would be
entered into an Excel spreadsheet where the data will be put together to
analyse it and to find out what are the main reasons for employee
turnover within the industry and what can be done by employers to
reduce the amount of employee wastage. The data will then be evaluated
in order to identify if there are any trends or relationships that can be
established. This information will then be examined to find out what the
industry's employees require so that employee turnover can be reduced.
8.6 Limitations
It was too difficult to get a group of full time workers from different retail
segments together at the same time to hold the second focus group.
Some people refused to be part of it and others who said they would
participate were not able to agree to a specific time where they would all
be free. Therefore, only one focus group of university students could be
conducted.
The survey will be carried out on one hundred people whom have worked
in the retail industry. In addition, the survey will be based in central
London, if the survey was carried out around the whole of England, the
results could differ.
8.7 Secondary research
The dissertation focuses on primary research carried out by the researcher
however, secondary data in the form of academic books, reports, articles
and CIPD studies have been used to look at the existing trends in the
labour market. Information has been gathered from various human
resource textbooks to look at employees' behaviours more closely and to
define what factors motivate individuals within the working environment.
The Internet was used to find out reliable facts and statistics about the
retail industry in order to examine it closer and determine what has
quite low showing that there is a trend whereby the majority of the
sample, which accounts for sixty-seven per cent are working in retail parttime. The trend seems to be happening because people have other
responsibilities, which seem to take a higher priority in their lives. These
responsibilities are shown in the chart below:
As can be seen in the chart, all the candidates that worked part-time have
done so because they have other priorities which means that they do not
have the time to work full-time. Over one third of the participants are
studying, thus showing that these participants are looking to further their
careers and that the retail job is just a stepping stone for them to earn
some money while they are studying. With seventeen per cent of the
sample having other jobs, it shows that the retail job is there for the
respondents to earn extra money although they already have there own
full-time job. However, sixteen per cent of the sample is only able to work
part-time as they have children or somebody to take care of. Overall, the
data collected shows that the candidates have their own priorities that
come before their retail job. This means they need to balance these prior
commitments with their jobs allowing them to be able to do both things at
the same time. This is why employees need to have flexibility at work.
Employers need to understand that employees have other priorities and
that the more support they can offer them, the easier it will be for the
employee to balance their job and personal commitments. If employers do
not offer support or flexibility, it will cause the employee stress and
difficulties, which will cause them to leave the job, as their own
commitments come first.
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9.6 The participants' best feature of the job
The full-time and part-time workers data has been combined to show what
they like best about their job:
The most common feature that people like about their job is the money;
thirty-nine per cent of the participants appreciate the pay and/or bonuses
that they receive from their job. Almost a quarter of the respondents enjoy
the working environment, which contributes to job satisfaction in the
working atmosphere. The result of the data has shown that people are
should be used by organisations to find out why people are leaving the
organisation.
9.9 What would the respondents change to reduce employee turnover if
they were the manager?
The candidates have used the knowledge from their own experience to
state what they would change if they could. It is vital for employers to pay
attention to staff and listen to their opinions, as the staffs communicate
more efficiently with one another on an informal level, so it is easier for
them to see the real problems at hand. The employees work on the shop
floor; therefore, they see what is going on and what can be done to
change things for the better. The chart shows what the candidates would
change:
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The data collected shows that the candidates have felt so strongly about
the worst feature of their jobs that they feel that others would also benefit
if these factors were improved upon. The biggest issue seems to be the
fact that candidates feel that the jobs in retail offer no promotion so there
is anything that the individual can work towards achieving. This is an
issue, which has affected a third of the participants. Once again, pay is
still an issue with almost a fifth of the participants. The information shows
that it is vital for employers to improve on these areas in order to reduce
employee turnover.
10. Conclusion
From the analysis of the data, it has been recognised that the main causes
of employee turnover consist of better job offers, poor wages, limited
prospects, long hours and poor management. These factors can be related
to basic theories of motivation such as Herzbergs' two-factor theory 1968
and Maslows' hierarcy of needs 1954. Both theorists believed that
individuals need motivators such as good pay and opportunities for
promotion in order to achieve satisfaction at work and to encourage them
to work harder to develop themselves further. It seems that the retail
industry does not try to satisfy even the most basic motivators, which is
why the employee turnover rate is so high. If individuals are not motivated
at work or feel that they are worthless, they will not be motivated to work
hard or remain loyal to the company. Individuals need to be stimulated at
work or they will get bored of the job and eventually look for work
elsewhere that is more interesting.
The fact that exit interviews are almost non-existent in the industry also
makes it difficult for managers to understand why their staffs are leaving
them. If they do not know why staffs are leaving, then they will not be
able to reduce or prevent this from happening. Both motivation theories
and exit interviews have been used in the past in order to help reduce
employee turnover. If managers want to cut costs and reduce staff
wastage then it is vital that they pay attention to the resources that are
available to them such as exit interviews. They maybe time consuming
but the information that can be found out can be of vast importance for
any business.
Only four per cent of the sample has worked in retail for ten years or
more, this relates closely to the fact that many retail jobs offer only
limited promotion prospects. Eleven per cent of the sample quit retail jobs
because they felt that they were not able to progress any further in their
job and thirteen per cent stated that they would try to offer more training
and promotion opportunities if they were the manager. This is a classic
example of a basic motivator that has not been implemented within the
retail industry.
Two thirds of the sample work part-time due to having other
responsibilities and commitments, which shows a trend that employees'
need more flexibility in the work place. Fifteen per cent of the sample quit
retail jobs because the shifts were too long or the job was not flexible
enough for them. Employers must be able to offer flexibility in the work
place, as they need to understand employees have other priorities such as
children or they are still studying. The employees' needs in the industry
are changing; they need more flexibility from the organisation in order to
balance their personal life with their career. As many people have more
important priorities, their jobs come second to them so if they flexibility
from the organisation is very important to individuals. If employers do not
offer flexibility, it will mean that the employees will look for work
elsewhere as it is obvious that their job is not their life as they have
commitments that are more important.
Eleven per cent of participants quit retail jobs because of the poor wages
they were receiving. A third of the participants stated that pay was the
worst feature of their job; a fifth of respondents claimed that they would
increase the wages if they were a manager. This was because they
recognised that the wages in the industry were not very high and that
increasing the wages would lead to more people being attracted to the job
as well as motivating people to stay within the organisation. Wages is
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Articles
Breuer, N. L.(2000). Shelf Life, Workforce, Vol 79, Issue 8, p28, 4p,
Dennis, J(2004). Golden age for mature retail staff, The choice of travel
professionals, Issue 1739, p3, 1p
Unearthing diamonds in a tough recruitment market, The monthly guide
to HR technology: e-HR
Websites
E-learning in Retail
www.bersin.com/tips_techniques [online]
accessed (20/01/05)
Help wanted: how to reduce employee turnover
www.groceryheadquaters.com [online]
accessed (16/01/05)
Improve sales and customer retention through hiring the best people
www.bigby.com/slcsatellite [online]
accessed (20/01//05)
Primary data collection methods
www.brent.tvu.ac.uk/dissguide [online]
accessed [12/11/04]
Retention management and metrics
www.nobscot.com/news [online]
accessed (14/01/05)
Study skills materials -dissertations
www.1sbu.ac.uk/caxton/studyskills/materials/dissertations [on-line]
accessed [15/11/04]
Me: At least your happy now, that's the main thing. Are you currently
working Marsha?
Marsha: I'm not. I'm concentrating on my studies now. There not a lot of
time to go so it's worthwhile.
Me: Do you think Marks and Spencer have a plan to retain staff?
Marsha: Well, after staffing got very bad; they increased the wages and
have tried to balance the pay out between various departments so that
one department isn't underpaid causing it to be continuously
understaffed.
Me: What about the rest of you? Do you think any of your previous retail
employers have tried to retain their staff?
Josephine: No
Falvia: Not really
Elvan: I'm still working for Mark One but they haven't really done anything
to stop people from leaving.
Me: If you guys were the managers, what would you do to retain
employees?
Flavia: I don't know. I went into the job knowing it was just a stop gap so I
knew it wouldn't be long term so I didn't take it very seriously.
Me: It seems that you didn't really like the job, what made you take it?
Flavia: I just finished my A-levels so I just wanted any job just to earn
some money.
Me: Was it good pay?
Flavia: No
Me: Elvan what would you do?
Elvan: Well I really like my job mostly because we all get on with each
other so I guess I'd have to do my best to ensure that there was a happy
environment.
Me: Yes I think people also work more productively if they get on as it's
easier to communicate with each other and overall there is a better
atmosphere. Josephine what would you do?
Josephine: I would probably buy the staffs little gifts to reward them, I
think this will help to motivate them.
Me: Marsha would you do?
Marsha: I guess I would have to assess the situation and find out why
people were leaving. Once I found out the reasons, I would then have to
see what I could do to make things better.
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Me: That a good idea which now brings me onto the idea of exit
interviews. Have any of you guys had an exit interview? -This is where you
are interviewed to find out your reasons for leaving the company.
All: No
Me: Do you think companies could benefit from this type of information?
Marsha: Yes it's important to find out what the problem is in order to
create a solution.
Flavia: I agree. Managers won't be able to retain staff if they don't know
what the problem is.
Elvan: That's true.
Josephine: I also agree.
Me: Okay. I think that about rounds it all up. Thanks to all of you for
sparing your time to participate in the focus group.
Appendix B
Questionnaire
This questionnaire is aimed at individuals whom have worked within the
retail industry.
Q1) What is your gender?
Male
Female
Q2) Which age category do you fall into?
Under 20 41-50
21- 30 50+
31- 40
Q3) What is your marital status?
Married
Single
Divorced
Q4) Do you have children under the age of fourteen?
Yes
No
If yes, how many?
Q5) How long have you been working in retail?
0-6 months3 - 5 years
6 months -1 year5- 7 years
1 year -18 months7 -10 yrs
18months -2 years10yrs +
Q6) How many different retail jobs have you had during your working life?
Q7) Have you ever left a retail job?
Yes
No
If yes, what were your reasons for leaving?
Q8) Are you still in the retail industry?
Yes
NoPlease go to Q14
Q9) Where do you currently work?
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Q10) Do you work full time or part time?
Full time Please got to Q12
Part time
Q11) What other commitments do you have such as another job, children
etc
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Q12) What is the best feature of your job?
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Q13) What is the worst feature of your job?
___________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Q14) When you left your job, did you receive an exit interview?
Yes
No
Q15) If no, do you feel that an exit interview would have helped the
organisation to understand why people leave?
Yes
No
Q16) If you were a manager what one thing would you do to prevent
employees from leaving?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Thank you for taking the time to fill out the questionnaire, please state
any other comments you would like to make on retention within the retail
industry;
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Appendix C
Reflective Document
My initial idea when completing the dissertation proposal was to focus on
what motivates and retain people in the retail sector. However, after
discussing the idea with my tutor she explained that this subject had
already been thoroughly investigated and that it would be more
interesting to look at it from another angle. Therefore, I chose to focus my
opportunity to resubmit the work so that I know that it does meet the
required standards.
From the processes of planning and conducting the primary research for
the dissertation, I have learnt that it is important to stick to deadlines and
to try and meet the targets each week that were made in the dissertation
proposal in year two. This would help anybody to stay on track and not be
left behind in the work. I also feel that it was very useful to use the
discussion group as it is possible to get more in-depth knowledge and at
the same time, new ideas or views may arise. Another idea would be to
create a focus group with a wider variety of people such as part-time and
full-time workers, i.e. people with families and other commitments and
responsibilities.
In the future, if I had to do a dissertation again, I would make a plan of
everything needed to be done with a realistic time estimate and I would
stick to it. When, having to do something as complex as a dissertation,
planning is crucial. Another thing that I would change is I would start my
literature review during the summer holidays so I would have more time
to gather even more research. This would mean I would also have more
time to use a wider sample to carry out my survey on.