How to Manage Turnover – Leveraging Job Satisfaction and Commitment in the Workplace

While some people may contend that turnover isn’t always a bad thing since there is a constant need for novel ideas and perspectives at work, retaining top-talent has been a major need, as well as a challenge for every industry in every part of the world.

We realize that too much turnover can harm organizations by resulting in loss of expertise, decrease in quality of products and services and increased expenses for filling positions. Therefore, being able to leverage the importance of job satisfaction and organizational commitment to develop a plan for retention is crucial.

So, take a step back and think about the initiatives your company takes to stop people from leaving. Or to ensure that they don’t reach this stage at all. Do most of them relate to monetary benefits? If you’re thinking, “Yes!” then you’re likely to be aware that many organizations provide bonuses, profit sharing, spousal benefits, housing allowances and educational support (Mitchell et al., 2001) to their people. If you’re also thinking, “But what about other aspects that hold intrinsic value to employees? Do they relate to employee turnover?” you’re on the right path. Some of the important principles that require attention from practitioners include -

A. Making the job mentally challenging and fulfilling

It's important for employees to feel that the management cares about them, is fair and they feel comfortable in their work environment. While many individuals are genetically predisposed to be happy and easily satisfied with what they have, there are aspects that are equally influential in terms of job satisfaction.

Certain characteristics about a job tend to influence intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction among employees. These include (Hackman and Oldham, 1980):

• Employees being able to identify with tasks by seeing it from beginning to end

• Knowledge about the extent to which their tasks impact the organization

• The variety of skills that are required from the job

• The level of autonomy they can exercise and

• The quality of feedback they receive from their managers and peers

Therefore, if practitioners design jobs that cater to these 5 characteristics, it is likely for employees to perceive their jobs as meaningful and challenging. The mental challenge of a job can also be enhanced by increasing the complexity of the task by giving employees more responsibility, which is a process known as job enrichment (Locke, 2009). For instance, if a chef is asked to create the restaurant’s menu from scratch, then this would significantly increase his or her responsibility and level of expertise. Not only is his or her job to prepare food, he or she is involved in deciding the theme and recipes, creating new dishes and so on.

B. Inculcating organizational commitment among employees by giving them attention and nurturing.

This is possible by providing employees with:

• greater job security

• more involvement in the decision - making process

• encouragement to innovate and contribute ideas that would benefit the company

• a culture of credibility and trust between employees and the organization, and

• mentoring, coaching and career development to build a sense of attachment and belongingness among employees (Mitchell et al, 2001).

For instance, it is crucial that the policies and practices of an organization be firmly rooted in what they claim to value. If an employee finds out about unethical practices that conflict with his own personal values and those of the company, he is likely to interpret that the company encourages such practices and decide to leave.

Moreover, recognizing their contributions on a consistent basis, providing them with constructive feedback and giving them a voice to innovate and make decisions could be strong drivers of organizational commitment.

C. Identifying and analyzing various paths employees take when they leave

Turnover could be a result of a “shock” such as a merger, personal reasons such as spousal relocation or unethical practices in the workplace. It could also be the result of accumulated dissatisfaction over a period of time. For example, an IT specialist may be extremely dissatisfied by her job due to low pay, lack of interesting and new projects and disengaged managers and peers. One or all of these reasons could drive her to quitting her job. Also, in both cases, employees may or may not look for attractive alternatives before leaving (Mitchell, 2001).

Therefore, identifying potential future shocks and analyzing paths taken by employees would be a good way for employers to monitor the turnover process.

So how do you assess job satisfaction and commitment levels at your workplace?

• Initiating periodic check-ins with employees by managers could be one of the most useful ways. Asking your employees how they’re doing, what they need and what you can do for them is essential. This will also allow you to develop your relationship with them. Letting them know that you care about them will go a long way towards raising commitment (?).

• The people development team can periodically gather information via surveys such as the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) and Job Rating Form (JRF) by Hackman and Oldham (1980). They can also conduct interviews and focus groups. This will allow them to collect data from multiple sources and perspectives (e.g., employees, managers and top-level executives). These methods can be used to not only assess satisfaction and commitment levels, but also identify existing gaps and designing strategies to bridge those gaps.

At the end of the day, it’s a two-way street for both employees and the management. High motivation, performance and commitment will come from employees when their values, expectations, skills and needs are met. However, it’s the responsibility of the organization as a whole to ensure they build a culture and work environment that fosters such growth.

References:

Hackman, J. R. & Oldham, G. R. (1980). Work redesign (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA).

Locke, E. A., Editor. (2009). Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior, 2nd Edition. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN:9780470740941

Mitchell, T. R., Holtom, B. C., & Lee, T. W. (2001). How to keep your best employees: Developing an effective retention policy. The Academy of Management Executive, 15(4), 96-108