Running head: EMPLOYEE RETENTION IN ORGANIZATIONS 1

Employee Retention in Organizations

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EMPLOYEE RETENTION IN ORGANIZATIONS

Employee Retention in Organizations

The most critical problem affecting many organizations today is the issue of employee

retention. There are more than 1, 500 published works of literature discussing employee turnover

and retention. Employees depart from their workplaces for various reasons. Some secure a

different job, and some follow their loved ones or spouse who has been transferred out of the city

and others go back to their studies. Other employees retire, others get furious over an issue and

leave on impulse. Still, other employees are laid off, or they win a lottery and reach a decision

that they need no job to survive. All these issues represent employee turnover. According to

Smith, (2018) due to numerous problems related to employee turnover such as spending billions

of dollars replacing and recruiting new employees, many organizations worldwide focus on

employee retention. Literature examines the reasons employees leave and reasons that make

them stay as well as the means of developing an effective retention management scheme.

Adequate literature reviews have been illustrated in an attempt to explain employee

retention by examining significant reasons that make employees leave an organization. Similarly,

various online literature also endeavors to investigate the procedure through which employees

reach such a decision. Allen, (2019) literature review found that many employees who leave

work spend much of their time analyzing and evaluating their current job in comparison to a

possible alternative, generating intentions about what step to take, and getting involved in

different job search traits. The available literature reviews indicate that certain turnover forces

impact primary job attitudes like satisfaction with one’s duty and allegiance to the organization.
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Low contentment and loyalty can prompt an employee to start considering withdrawal

process which includes thoughts of job searching, job quitting, comparing available job

opportunities and the urge to leave. Such behaviors may lead to a turnover if an organization

does not act in advance. The drivers of employee turnover are also responsible for other job

behaviors that show signs of withdrawal such as lateness, absenteeism, and poor performance.

Any of these behaviors may make an employee leave without analyzing job alternatives, going

through job search, or adjusting the notion of quitting the current job (Allen, 2019).

Some recent scholars have evaluated how employees find it difficult to leave an

organization as employees attend to their job obligations; they develop a series of relationships

and connections off and on the job. For such employees leaving a job would require them to

break up these ties or reestablishing these connections. Smith, (2018) suggests that three

connectors enhance the embeddedness of an employee to an organization. The first connector is

the links which refer to connections an employee has with other groups, people and organization

in general. An example includes a mutual relationship with colleagues, work groups, relatives,

friends, mentors, and church groups. Employees with exuberant links with others in their work

environment will find it difficult to leave.

The second connector is the fit which shows the level to which workers perceive

themselves as compatible with their community, job, and organization. For instance, a worker

who enjoys outdoor practices and inhabits in a community that provides enticing outdoor

opportunities would find it impossible to depart his or her job to relocate to a new community

devoid if such opportunities. The third connector is sacrifice which refers to the types of value an

employee would have to lose if he or she left a current job. Sacrifices in this regard can mean

financial rewards in terms of tenure, a favorable work environment, status in the community,
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promotional capabilities, and incentives. Employees who fear giving up or sacrificing such

values will find it difficult to leave hence more embedded to an organization (Allen, 2019).

Employee retention is an integral factor in delivering premium profits and customer

services. As a result, organizations should generate proper management plans or schemes that

will ensure a high possibility of employee retention. The primary objective behind retaining

potential employees include learning how to rework and asses retention strategies, understanding

how to recognize when employees are almost being disengaged and learning how to create a

good connection with new staff. An effective retention plan should address components such as

rearrangement of an orientation program for new employees. Redesigning of this approach is

essential in assimilating the new employee into the organization, so during the first days of an

employee organizations need to make an exclusively positive experience. As a result, employees

will feel proud to have secured a job in your organization (CSDA’s Business Affiliates, 2014).

Another significant plan that the management can utilize to ensure high employee

retention is providing flexible work schedules that are accustomed to the needs of the employees.

In the 21st century flexibility is the lifeblood of employee retention practices. Employees move

to an organization that provides them with benefit packages that suffice in meeting the

employees' demands, whether they are single parents, older workers, adults who care for their

aging parents, part-time workers, younger works, telecommuters or older workers. Employees

will want to be promised flexibility in their job and salary. According to CSDA’s Business

Affiliates, (2014) getting rid of the whiners and slackers is also a critical approach in employee

retention plan. Employee retention does not necessarily mean you keep every Tom, Harry, and

Jack. No one likes to work with colleagues who cannot pull them when the need arises. Those

businesses that endure poor performing employees will end up driving off the committed
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employees and be left with the slackers and whiners who rarely drive the objective of the

organization.

Numerous pieces of literature have discussed employee motivation as a key component in

promoting employee retention. Smith, (2018) posits that research conducted by WorldatWork's

Total Reward Inventory highlights benefits, compensation, work-life, career opportunities,

performance, and recognition as principal elements all organizations should use in motivating

employee hence leading to employee retention. Compensation and benefits are the basic factors

that enhance a good relationship between employees and employers. Benefits and compensations

are considered the building blocks of high employee retention in an organization. The

organizations should identify specific compensation and benefits for different employees

according to their needs.

In summation, having looked at the reason’s employees leave and reasons that make them

stay as well as the means of developing an effective retention management scheme I can

confidently say that I have gained new knowledge such as the components that make employees

stay in an organization. Components such as fits, sacrifices, and links are essential embedding

employees in their work environment (CSDA’s Business Affiliates, 2014). This knowledge is

important in my career because it will enable me to create factors that may enhance employee

retention through meeting their needs and flexibility they need. This knowledge means a lot to

me since I aim to become an effective human resource manager in the future who will

holistically be fit to work with renown organizations of the world. Therefore, at a personal level,
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the knowledge acquired from this literature has acquainted me with the necessary information

sufficient for attaining organizational goals through high employee retention.

References

Allen, G., D., (2019). Retaining Talent: A Guide to Analyzing and Managing Employee

Turnover. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/special-

reports-and-expert-views/Documents/Retaining-Talent.pdf

CSDA’s Business Affiliates (2014): How to Motivate and Retain Employees: That District

Human Resource Departments and Management Should Consider. Retrieved from

https://www.cpshr.us/documents/resources/HowtoMotivateandRetainEmployees.pdf

Smith G., (2018). Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers: Proven Ways to Retain Your Best

Employees. Retrieved from https://pridestaff.com/sites/default/files/resources/PS-

RetainEmployees_EBk-072013-FINAL.pdf
EMPLOYEE RETENTION IN ORGANIZATIONS