CHAPTER 5

Myth: Turnover Is Out of My Control

How Managers Can Directly Influence Turnover Decisions

Manager Green remains frustrated. Despite his best efforts, valued employees continue to leave and the turnover rate in his business unit continues to fluctuate. Many individuals seem to be leaving for reasons over which it would be difficult if not impossible for Manager Green to have any control, such as external job offers, trailing spouses, or even the employee who inherited a large sum of money. Even when it comes to the work environment, Manager Green sometimes feels like many aspects are out of his control. The organization announced plans to contract in size, leading many employees to be fearful and even to look for other jobs. Employee contributions to benefits costs are rising, leading to considerable grumbling and dissatisfaction. Manager Green is acutely concerned that once economic conditions improve and job markets become more favorable, there may be little he can do to stem pent-up turnover from occurring. He mentions these concerns to Manager Savvy one day over lunch. Manager Savvy shares some of his frustrations, but believes there are specific actions all managers could take to directly influence turnover decisions. She provides a few examples, and points Manager Green to a few sources he could go to for more information and ideas. After lunch, Manager Green sighs. It sure would be helpful if there were one resource he could go to and find a summary of evidence-based managerial actions he could implement to help manage turnover and retention…

Kernel of Truth

Sometimes managers may get frustrated by feeling that much turnover is out of their control. It is true that there are many factors that influence turnover decisions that are outside of managerial control, such as macroeconomic conditions and labor market fluctuations. It is also true that drivers of individual turnover decisions are often beyond managerial control, such as an individual who leaves to follow a spouse, to follow a script, or because of health reasons. Recall our discussion in Chapter 1 about avoidable and unavoidable turnover: there are some turnover drivers and turnover decisions that are unavoidable from the organization’s perspective and it may make little strategic sense to invest heavily in trying to alter or prevent unavoidable turnover. Even considering many of the organizational drivers of turnover decisions we’ve discussed, it may be that individual managers have limited discretion to control or influence those factors. For example, if employees are dissatisfied with organizational communication, don’t believe they fit with organizational culture, experience a negative organizational shock such as an announced downsizing, or are not embedded in positive relationships with co-workers, there may be little managers can do to directly influence these issues, at least in the short run. However, the good news is that research demonstrates that there are a number of specific actions managers can take that we can confidently say will have an impact on turnover and retention.

What the Research Says

Extensive research shows that there are evidence-based retention practices over which many managers have direct influence. For example, there are specific practices managers can employ from the earliest stages of new employees entering the organization that affect subsequent retention. There are even practices managers can employ before individuals join the organization that have been shown to affect subsequent retention.¹ One key example is that managers who provide job applicants the most comprehensive picture of what it would be like to work in a particular job and organization during the recruitment process can reduce later turnover. This is particularly true during the first year of employment, when turnover rates are often highest. Managers can act on this research in at least two ways. One is to provide realistic information to recruits about some of the more challenging or unpleasant aspects of a particular job or work environment prior to their accepting a job offer, enabling recruits to make a more informed decision about whether the job is a good fit for them. Another is to encourage referrals from current employees: research shows that recruits stemming from employee referrals tend to have better performance and lower turnover than recruits from any other recruitment source.² Many managers have even found the beneficial side effect that the referring employees also tend to stay longer after their referrals have been hired. Managers can also influence retention before hiring by assessing turnover predictors during the selection process. One way to implement the research findings on hiring practices is to go beyond selecting individuals solely for their ability to perform a particular job, and also focus on selecting individuals who are likely to be a good fit for the organizational culture and work environment. Another way is to screen for individual factors that predict turnover or job-hopping, for example, by using application information that is statistically weighted to identify biographical information that predicts quitting.

Soon after hiring, during the organizational entry and socialization process, managers can help to “on-board” new employees in ways that relate to retention.³ For example, research shows that providing connections to others during the on-boarding process is related to lower turnover. Thus, managers can provide experienced organizational members as trainers or mentors to newcomers, and design socialization processes to enable new hires to experience on-boarding with others who are new to the organization. Research also shows that providing clear expectations about socialization processes and positive learning experiences during socialization relate to lower turnover. Thus, managers can design and communicate clear steps to the on-boarding process and provide positive feedback to newcomers as they adjust to their new work roles and settings.

There are also specific practices managers can employ to affect retention through the development of a positive work environment. For example, research suggests that training and development opportunities can reduce turnover, especially when linked to tenure. So, for example, managers may allow valued employees to participate in valuable training programs or educational opportunities contingent on remaining with the organization for a specific length of time. Although we have debunked the myth that pay is the most important driver of turnover (see Chapter 2), there are strategic ways managers can use compensation and rewards to influence retention. For example, managers can strategically match rewards to pivotally important positions, hard-to-replace skill sets, or individual preferences; ensure the transparency of reward decision making to enhance perceptions that reward allocations are fair; and link some rewards to tenure. Research evidence also suggests that the nature of the direct supervision an employee receives can have a major impact on turnover, that is, people often leave or remain with bosses as much as organizations. Thus, managers can influence retention by adequately preparing the supervisors and managers that work for them in the science and art of supervising others. In some cases, this may involve holding these supervisors accountable for retention in their work-units or even removing ineffective or abusive supervisors.

Finally, an increasingly important element of a positive work environment is the fostering of employee engagement.⁴ Engaged employees are not just satisfied with their work or loyal to the organization, but are energized about their contributions to the workplace and willing to go above and beyond their job description to contribute to the organization’s mission. A key component of engagement is that employees feel that the organization cares about and values their contributions. Managers can design a work environment that fosters engagement through designing work to enrich job characteristics such as autonomy and variety, clearly demonstrating how individual actions and responsibilities contribute to the larger organizational mission, creating a challenging yet supportive environment where employees feel they have the resources they need to achieve challenging goals and will be rewarded accordingly, and other tactics discussed in more depth in Chapter 12.

Evidence-Based Management Implications

Below are some of the key evidence-based management implications that managers can implement to influence retention. We discuss each of these in more detail in subsequent chapters.

•Provide a comprehensive and realistic picture of the job and organization during recruitment through realistic job previews and encouraging referrals from current employees—see Chapter 6.

•Hire individuals who are less likely to voluntarily quit by selecting for person–job, person–organization, and person–environment fit, and by screening for biographical factors that predict quitting—see Chapter 7.

•During new hire socialization, design on-boarding to foster relationship building, provide positive feedback, and ensure clear communication—see Chapter 8.

•Provide training and development opportunities linked to tenure—see Chapter 9.

•Strategically design rewards to fit with strategy and preferences, enhance perceptions of fairness, and encourage tenure—see Chapter 10.

•Prepare, develop, and evaluate direct supervisors and managers to effectively manage and retain talent, including removing ineffective or abusive leaders—see Chapter 11.

•Foster employee engagement through job design, support and recognition of varied contributions, implementation of HR practices that encourage ongoing development and motivation, and drawing a clear link from individual contributions to the organizational mission—see Chapter 12.

Final Thought

Although many turnover drivers and decisions may be outside of a manager’s direct control, there are many well-researched evidence-based actions managers can take to influence employee turnover decisions. Table 5.1 summarizes the evidence-based perspective relating to all five turnover myths we’ve discussed. Although Manager Green’s wish for a single resource that summarizes all evidence-based managerial prescriptions in one place may be somewhat wishful thinking, the remainder of this book is dedicated to describing how managers can implement many of the most well-researched and impactful evidence-based findings and practices regarding employee retention.