Business Question

The paper should focus majorly on voluntary employee turnover and not involuntary employee turnover.The paper should include- title- a clear description of the topic- background- why this topic is important- the purpose of the research paper- thesis (argument or expected findings) – value-added componentI want the paper to talk about- Why is it important to mitigate or reduce the turnover of good employees – What causes them to leave voluntarily – What the organization can do to improve- Why is it important to mitigate or reduce the turnover of good employees

I have attached 2 articles and 2 links I would like to use. please feel free to add any other links to make up the paper.For the value-added component please follow option 3

Further instructions for your research paper and proposal
At the 4th year level, it is a learning outcome of the course for students to demonstrate their ability
to not only read, understand, and compile literature from academic sources, but also to
demonstrate upper level skills such as synthesis of diverse literature bases, applying that literature
base to a practical application, or conducting primary research to add to what is written in the
existing literature. I call this the “value-added” component. The “value-added” component is
something that you do that goes beyond what has already been written in the literature on the
topic. So, when you are considering your research paper topic and the proposal, your proposed
work needs to go beyond summarizing what you read in the already published literature on the
subject, and you should detail how you plan to do so in your proposal.
There are many ways in which to provide the “value-added” component. Some suggestions are
as follows:
1.
by:
Conduct primary research – i.e., collect information or data directly. This can be done
a)
doing a small sample of interviews and incorporating the results of those interviews into
your paper in the analysis and recommendations sections;
b)
creating and conducting a short written/online survey and incorporating the results of the
survey responses into your paper in the analysis and recommendations sections; or,
Please Note: For these options, you must comply with the ethics training and approval protocols
of the University of Winnipeg.
2.
Conduct secondary research that brings value and relevance to your topic. This could be
done by:
a)
collecting/finding case scenarios, situations, publically accessible legal cases, etc. and
assessing them against your argument/topic, and then finding similarities/differences, and making
inferences/recommendations based on those cases.
b)
applying your concept/topic/argument to a particular organization or scenario, and
coming up with specific recommendations for that organization/scenario. (Note: This option
may require compliance with the ethics training and approval protocols of the University of
Winnipeg, if you are collecting the information from the organization directly. Please see me
regarding clarification on this based on your proposed research methods.)
3.
Comparing and contrasting two literatures, models/theories, or constructs to come to a
fuller understanding of both. For example, this can be done by demonstrating similarities,
differences, and how and why this is so. Then, coming up with specific suggestions for inclusion,
improvement, or moving the concepts forward.
Employee Voice and Employee Retention
Author(s): Daniel G. Spencer
Source: The Academy of Management Journal , Sep., 1986, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Sep., 1986), pp.
488-502
Published by: Academy of Management
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/256220
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The Academy of Management Journal
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CAcademy of Management Journal
1986, Vol. 29, No. 3, 488-502.
EMPLOYEE VOICE AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION
DANIEL G. SPENCER
University of Kansas
This study investigates the relationship between the extent to wh
employees have opportunities to voice dissatisfaction and voluntar
turnover in 111 short-term, general care hospitals. Results show th
whether or not a union is present, high numbers of mechanisms f
employee voice are associated with high retention rates. Implicatio
for theory and research as well as management practice are discuss
The relationship between the job satisfaction and employee
been one of the most widely studied but least understood r
the organizational behavior literature. The consistently low
between job satisfaction and turnover found in empirical re
topic clearly indicate that the relationship is not direct. Many
intercede either to cause satisfied employees to leave organizatio
fied employees to remain with organizations. Previous rese
posed and tested a number of moderators that might clarify t
between job satisfaction and turnover (March & Simon, 1958; Mo
Hand, & Meglino, 1979; Price, 1977). The two most prominent h
the number of employment alternatives employees who are con
ing an organization have, and (2) nonwork-related influence
spouse’s immobility. Also, research has recently centered ar
Mobley’s (1977) model of the process of employees’ decisions on
attempts to better understand those cognitive and behavioral p
mediate the relationship between affective reactions to jobs
But even though scholars have expended much effort in th
and researching the relationship between job satisfaction and t
sistently weak empirical relationships are still found.
Steers and Mowday (1981) suggested a heretofore neglected
may intervene in the relationship in question: employees’ effor
dissatisfying work situations that would otherwise be major fa
decisions to leave their organizations. Employees who succee
dissatisfying work situations will lower their dissatisfaction; w
University of Kansas General Research Fund Grants 3616-0038 and 3219
support for this research. In addition, it was supported by the University o
Business Research Fund provided by the Fourth National Bank & Trust Comp
ideas and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author. The comme
Mowday, George F. Dreher, and Morris M. Kleiner on earlier drafts are gr
Portions of this paper were presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of
Management, New York, 1982.
488
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Spencer
1986
489
leave changed to intent to remain, the likelihood increases that these employees will ultimately remain with their organizations. Up until recently, then,
the literature on turnover has focused on only one of several alternatives
open to individuals faced with dissatisfying work situations, leaving; it has
ignored the alternative strategy of attempting to change such situations.
HIRSCHMAN’S CONCEPTS OF EXIT AND VOICE
The proposed relationship between employees’ efforts to
satisfying work situations and turnover is implicit in much of
Albert Hirschman (1970, 1974), whose perspective served as the
foundation for the present research. He extensively studied
declining firms in terms of exit and voice. The two terms refer
that members or clients of an organization have when responding to an
economically dissatisfying relationship with that organization. The source
of dissatisfaction might be declining quality of the organization or declining
quality of its products. To voice dissatisfaction is to try to change a problematic situation, and to exit is simply to withdraw from and leave the problematic situation. Most of Hirschman’s work is grounded in economics and thus
focuses primarily on the clients of an organization using voice or exit rather
than on its members using these options. Hirschman’s concepts are gaining
increasing attention in the organizational behavior literature (Farrell, 1983).
This attention is not limited to studies of employee turnover; other relevant
work includes research on absenteeism (Hammer, Landau, & Stern, 1981),
political behavior (Farrell & Peterson, 1982), organizational due process (Aram
& Salipante, 1981), organizational dissent (Graham, 1986), and the cathartic
effects of voice (Greenberg & Folger, 1983).
EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AND THE LABOR RELATIONS LITERATURE
Unions can be viewed as vehicles for the collective voicing o
dissatisfactions. Previous research has demonstrated that union
associated with employee stability. Freeman and Medoff (19
their own and others’ analyses of individual behavior and indust
demonstrated that unionization is consistently and significa
with retention of employees if wage rates and other known
employee exit are controlled for. The control of wage rates is cr
to differentiate the effects of unions in terms of voice from
effects due to union control of equivalent jobs.
The research Freeman and Medoff (1984) reviewed is withou
based on analyses of very large data sets like the National L
Survey.1 Such data sets constrain the specific relationships tha
ied and the levels of analysis at which such relationships can
In particular, very little research exists on the effects of u
1 This survey was conducted by the Center for Human Resource Resear
University.
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Academy of Management Journal
490
September
quitting rates in organizations. Becker (1978) conducted such an organization level study, examining the effects of unionization on rates of quitting for
individuals in low-wage occupations in short-term, general care hospitals.
Contrary to results at other levels of analysis, Becker found a weak, marginally significant relationship (p < .10) between unionization and rate of turn- over while controlling for monopoly effects and a wide variety of other known predictors of employee exit. The generalizability of research like Becker's (1978) is limited; such work is usually specific to the occupation, organization, and region studied.2 However, when an investigator controls data collection, a study is more likely to include predictors of exit that are not captured in studies using existing data bases. For example, Becker examined the effects of fringe bene- fits on rates of quitting in addition to the effects of wages. Freeman and Medoff (1984) noted that a major criticism of research on unions' effects in terms of voice is that most existing data sets do not include information on a principal monetary reward such as fringe benefits and thus do not fully control for monopoly effects. Another significant criticism of research on voice effects of unions is Ulman and Sorensen's (1984) demonstration that, for unionized employees, the effects of strikes and the threat of strikes provide other alternatives to quitting besides voice realized through the union grievance mechanism. Thus, accurately assessing the effects of employee voice on numbers of exits requires more than assessing the effect of unionization. It requires exploring the effects of mechanisms, whether union mandated or not, that organizations put in place to enhance their employees' opportunities for voicing dissatisfaction. This approach necessitates collecting data specifically for this purpose instead of using an existing data base. This study employed a data collection strategy similar to that used by Becker (1978). HYPOTHESES AND STUDY DESIGN Study One Two studies provided data for this research. The first sought to determine if there is a direct relationship between (1) the amount of opportunity an organization gives its employees to voice dissatisfaction and change dis- satisfying work situations, and (2) the organization's rate of employee retention. Thus, Hypothesis 1: There will be a significant and negative relationship between the total number of voice mechanisms for employees that an organization has and the voluntary turnover rate among the organization's employees. 2 Becker (1978) surveyed hospitals in three contiguous states in the north central United States. This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 1986 Spencer 491 The focus here was on the amount of opportunity available for voice and not on the quality of that opportunity; the second may, in fact, be a more viable determinant of retention. Employee voice mechanisms examined in this research included grievance procedures, suggestion systems, employeemanagement meetings, counseling services, ombudsman services, nonmanagement task forces, question and answer programs, and survey feed- back. The following known predictors of rate of employee turnover were con- trolled for in this study: wage rate, the ratio of fringe benefits to total compensation, unemployment rate, number of grievances filed (a surrogate for job dissatisfaction), percentage of minority employment, organizational size, and occupation-specific employment opportunities in the region (see Becker, 1978). The effect of unionization of the workforce on the rate of employee retention was examined separately, but for the purposes of this study, it is included as a control variable. This study examined only the retention rates of an occupation dominated by women that has a documented shortage of workers: registered nursing. Short-term, general care hospitals that universally employ continuing education for registered nurses were studied. This population was chosen to control for unwanted variance due to differences in total employment accounted for by women, shortage of workers, availability of continuing education, occupational type, and organizational type. Study Two The first study did not assess the quality of the hospitals' voice mechanisms. A second analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between the number of mechanisms offering employees the option of voice in an organization and employees' perceptions of the effectiveness of these mechanisms. From four hospitals participating in the first study, data were collected on registered nurses' expectancies for resolving work related problems and their perceptions of the general effectiveness of their organizations' voice mechanisms. It was proposed that, Hypothesis 2: A high number of employee voice mechanisms will be positively related to high expectancies of problem resolution among employees and high levels of effectiveness for the organization's problem resolution procedures. STUDY ONE Methods Sample. Organizations were the units of analysis in this study. Participa ing organizations were short-term, general care hospitals ranging from 50 over 1,000 beds in size. A systematic sample of presidents and executi directors of hospitals in the north central United States was drawn from American Hospital Association membership directory. These administrator This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Academy of Management Journal 492 Septernber received questionnaire packages with a cover letter requesting them to forward the questionnaire and the return envelope provided to their hospitals' personnel directors. In most cases, personnel directors or members of person- nel staffs completed the questionnaires. Out of a sample of 278 hospitals, individuals in 129 of them completed and returned questionnaires for a response rate of 46.4 percent. Previous studies using similar strategies for data collection have yielded response rates below 30 percent (Becker, 1978). Of the hospitals participating in the study, 13.9 percent that did not supply data on employee turnover were removed from the final sample. Data from 111 short-term, general care hospitals, 15 of which had unionized registered nurses, were analyzed. Employee voice mechanisms. The questionnaire asked whether or not a hospital's registered nurses were subject to the following employee-relations practices: (1) formal grievance procedure, (2) suggestion system, (3) employee- management meetings, (4) counseling service, (5) ombudsman, (6) nonmanagement task forces, (7) question and answer program, and (8) survey feedback. A composite index of employee voice mechanisms was created by simply summing the number of these mechanisms that an organization employed (Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 = .55). Turnover among registered nurses. Each hospital administrator was asked to supply the rate of voluntary turnover for its registered nurses for the previous 12-month period. Control variables. The questionnaire sought the following numerical information on a hospital's registered nurses: (1) wage rate per hour, (2) ratio of fringe benefits to total compensation, (3) number of grievances they filed, and (4) percentage of minority employment. It also asked the hospital's size (number of beds) and the number of hospital beds in the county to appraise alternative employment opportunities in the region. In addition, it asked if registered nurses were unionized. Finally, unemployment rates for each hospital's county and standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA) for the 12-month period under study were obtained from the research and statistics departments of state employment security divisions. Results Table 1 gives means and standard deviations of the study's variables The mean rate of turnover among registered nurses was 21.1 percent (s.d. = 11.5). Table I also provides Pearson correlations between variables. All correl tions between variables and turnover were in the predicted direction with the exception of the positive correlation3 between wage rate and turnover. 3 There is a potential explanation for this finding that Becker (1978), who found simil results, did not consider. For hospitals with production functions that require high levels staffing at all hours, average hourly wages are higher because they pay premium differentials staffing undesirable shifts. In such circumstances, particularly with a shortage of nurses, would not be surprising that turnover would be high as employees would leave for mo desirable shifts with other organizations. This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms TABLE 1 Means, Standard Deviations, and Intercorrelations for Variables Variables 1. Means Turnover s.d. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 among registered nurses 21.1% 11.5 Employee voice mechanismsb 2. Grievance procedurec 1.94 .23 -.28* 3. Survey feedback 1.50 .50 -.24* .07 4. Ombudsman 1.11 .31 -.13 -.03 .04 5. Question-and-answer program 1.53 .50 -.17* .05 .31* .04 6. Employee-management meetings 1.81 .39 -.01 .15 .13 .10 .24* 7. Counseling service 1.78 .41 -.15 .22* .16* .12 .17* .27* 8. Suggestion system 1.60 .49 -.02 .01 .15* .19* .22* .17* .03 9. Nonmanagement task forces 1.38 .49 -.02 -.10 .24* .01 .23* .24* .21* .10 Control variables 10. Hourly wage rate 8.3 0.8 .27* .15 -.07 -.07 .01 .17* .11 .01 -.09 11. Fringe benefits 25.2 6.6 -.01 .11 .18* .04 .09 .11 .20* -.09 .15 . 12. County unemployment rate 8.1 3.0 -.12 -.06 .12 .02 -.02 -.09 --.07 -.04 -.09 -.02 13. Grievances filed 9.6 14.0 .13 -.43* .06 -.01 .15 -.03 -.08 .00 .16*- 14. Minority employment 8.4 16.7 .17 .06 .10 .09 -.04 .12 .13 .04 -.02 .2 15. Beds in hospital 375.2 258.1 .13 -.06 -.01 -.04 .09 .10 .10 -.07 .11 .3 16. Hospital beds in 3592.4 4297.7 .18* .13 -.06 .02 -.06 .17* .05 -.07 -.02 . county 17. Unionizationb 1.1 0.3 -.05 .09 -.10 .04 -.04 .05 -.04 -.10 .17 .10 a Descriptive data are based on Ns ranging from 1 b Coded 2 if present, 1 if not present. c Mean turnover rates: with grievance procedures, rates in hospitals with grievance procedures: union *p < .05. This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Academy of Management Journal 494 September It was hypothesized that the more opportunities employees have to voice dissatisfaction and have input into changing dissatisfying work situations, the greater the number of employees that will remain with an organization. The composite index of employee voice mechanisms correlated negatively with turnover among registered nurses (r = -.24, p < .05); the greater the number of employee voice mechanisms that a hospital employed, the lower the turnover. This significant relationship between the composite index and rate of turnover holds when a number of known predictors of employee turnover are statistically partialled out (see Table 2). Ordinary-least-squares regression was considered appropriate for multivariate analysis of the data (cf. Kochan & Helfman, 1981). As indicated in Table 2, the multiple correlation of the linear combinations of all control variables, except for unionization, with turnover was R = .36. Adding unionization to the predictive equation did not increase the multiple correlation with turnover. Finally, adding the composite index of employee voice mechanisms, including the unionization variable, to the predictive equation significantly increased the multiple correlation with turnover to R = .45 and the explained variance in the dependent variable to AR2 = .07. This significant (t = 2.6, p < .05) increase is reflected by the twofold increase in R2 corrected for shrinkage. Therefore, number of employee voice mechanisms is significantly associated with rate of turnover among registered nurses TABLE 2 Results of Hierarchical Regression Analyses of Unweighte Composite Index of Employee Voice Mechanisms, Unionizati and Control Variables on Registered Nurse Turnovera Step 2: Step 3: Step 1: Assessment of Assessment of Control Variables Unionization Effect Voice Effect Independent Variables b 3 tb b 3 tb b e tb Hourly wage rate 3.31 .23 1.8 3.37 .23 1.8 3.55 .24 1.9 Fringe benefits -.10 -.06 -0.5 -.10 -.06 -0.5 -.03 -.02 -0.1 County unemployment rate -.53 -.14 -1.3 -.52 -.14 -1.2 -.73 -.19 -1.7 Grievances filed .04 .15 1.4 .04 .15 1.3 .04 .16 1.4 Minority employment .09 .13 1.1 .09 .13 1.1 .11 .16 1.3 Beds in hospital .00 .03 0.2 .00 .02 0.2 .00 .05 0.4 Hospital beds in county .00 .03 0.2 .00 .03 0.2 .00 .00 0.0 Unionization -.72 -.02 -0.2 -.66 -.02 -0.2 Employee voice mechanisms -1.92 -.28 -2.6* Constant R -2.67 .36 R2 .13 Adjusted a -3.02 .36 .13 R2 Deletion .05 of 3.68 .45* .20 .04 .10 missing were conducted to 81. b Partial t. *p < .05. This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms data r Spencer 1986 495 when a large number of known predictors of employee turnover are controlled. In the composite index employed, each employee voice mechanism received equal weight. When a weighted linear combination of the components of this index was created through regression analysis, the multiple correlation with rate of turnover among registered nurses was R = .41. Little confidence can be placed in this weighted combination of variables, however, because when the sample was split into two subsamples composed of even and odd cases, the regression coefficients were not stable and the two subsamples failed to double-cross-validate at an acceptable level (r = .16, n.s.; r = .31, p < .05). STUDY TWO Methods Sample. Four hospitals that participated in study one volunteered t allow a survey of nonsupervisory registered nurses' perceptions of their organizations' voice mechanisms. In two hospitals, one with 53 beds and the other with 250, questionnaires were administered on site during working hours; response rates were 44.4 and 23.7 percent. In the second two hospitals (107 and 112 beds), personnel departments distributed questionnaires with return envelopes addressed to the researcher to be filled out at the employees' convenience; response rates were 42.8 and 27.3 percent. All nonsupervisory registered nurses currently on staff at the hospitals received questionnaires; participation was voluntary. Nurses' perceptions. Nurses estimated how often they felt they would be effective in resolving eight work-related problems. The response format ranged from 10 to 100 percent of the time on 10-percent intervals. Problems given were related to supervision, tasks, co-workers, pay, or promotions. Two items represented each of the first three types of problems and one item represented each of the last two types. The reliability for the eight-item composite measure of expectancy of problem resolution was satisfactory (( = .86). The questionnaire also asked the extent to which nurses agreed or d agreed with a series of ten statements (see Appendix) designed to reflect t extent to which the management of their organizations effectively respond to and used employee voice (a = .89). Finally, three one-item measures asked employees the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with three statements (see Appendix) designed to assess their perceptions of the effective- ness of voice mechanisms, the utility of efforts to change dissatisfyi situations, and their preference for leaving versus attempting to resolve dissatisfaction. Results Table 3 gives means and standard deviations of these variables as well as Pearson correlations. All correlations are in the expected direction. This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms TABLE 3 Means, Standard Deviations, and Intercorrelations f Variables Means s.d. la lb Ic 1. Expectancy of problem resolu 4.2 2.3 a. Supervisory problems 5.3 2.6 .39 b. Task problems c. Co-worker problems 5.4 2.5 .29 .53 d. Pay problems 3.2 2.3 .24 .30 .37 e. Promotion problems 3.8 2.6 .46 .30 .37 .56 f. Composite expectancy 4.6 1.8 .70 .77 .76 .59 2. Management's responsiveness to voice 3.5 1.2 .31 .40 .34 3. Effectiveness of voice mechanisms 2.8 1.5 .07 -.02 .08 4. Utility of efforts to change dissatisfying situations 4.0 2.0 -.13 -.15 -.19 5. Preference for leaving versus attempting to resolve dissatisfaction 2.7 1.3 -.06 -.27 -.23 -.16 -.23 a Correlations are based on the combined standardized data from each of the four hospitals This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Spencer 1986 497 TABLE 4 Registered Nurses' Perceptions and Relevant Organizational Char of Four Nonunion, Short Term, General Care Hospitals with Vary Numbers of Employee Voice Mechanismsa High Opportunity Low Opportunity for Voice for Voice I Hospital Hospital Hospital Hospital Variables 1 2 3 4 Relevant organizational characteristics Number of beds 52 250 112 107 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No Ombudsman Yes No No No Nonmanagement task forces Question-and-answer program Survey feedback Yes Yes No No No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No 6 5 3 3 20.7% 10.8% 21.6% 26.4% 33.3% 40.0% 45.0% Grievance procedure Suggestion system Employee-management meetings Counseling service Total number of mechanisms 8.3% Turnover among registered nurses Turnover among licensed practical nurses 16.6% 15.0% Total organizational turnover Perceived expectancy and effectiveness Problem resolution expectancies Supervisory problems Task problems Co-worker problems Pay problems Promotion problems Composite expectancy Management's responsiveness to voice 19.4% 23.1% 28.6% 59.4% 43.5% 34.5% 67.5%b 75.6%b 58.7% 41.3% 55.0% 56.2% 47.7% 49.7% 28.7% 30.9% 36.2% 42.4% 43.3% 58.7%b 48.7% 30.9% 31.5% 38.7% 4.20b 3.88 2.81 3.45 3.48 1.91 2.60 3.68 2.16 2.47 2.87b 3.88b Utility of efforts to change dissatisfying situations Effectiveness of voice mechanisms 37.3% 47.5% Preference for leaving versus attempting to resolve dissatisfaction 2.62b 2.20 3.34 2.80 a Ns = 8, 46, 33, 15, respectively, for Hospitals b t-test significant at the p < .01 level (combined to combined perceptions for Hospitals 3 and 4). Table 4 reports levels of expectancy ness of voice mechanisms for hospitals mechanisms. Hospitals 1 and 2 had six and five mechanisms respectively, and hospitals 3 and 4 had three mechanisms apiece. When these hospitals are treated as two groups, t-tests for differences between means indicate significantly higher levels of expectancy and perceptions of voice effectiveness in the pair of hospitals with the larger numbers of voice mechanisms. These differences emerged for all variables except expectancies for resolving problems related to supervision, pay, and promotion. These findings sup- port the hypothesis that employees of hospitals with large numbers of This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 498 Academy of Management Journal September employee voice mechanisms will have high expectancies for problem resolution and will perceive a high level of effectiveness in their organizations' responses to employee voice. These results should be interpreted with caution. First, the measures of employee perception are intercorrelated (see Table 3). Second, Table 4 reports separate means for each hospital in order to indicate the extent to which these means differ within each of the two designated groups. As these data clearly indicate, hospital 1 tended to have the highest levels of expectancy and perceptions of voice effectiveness and hospital 3 consistently had the lowest levels. More important, although hospital 2 had more voice mecha- nisms than hospital 4, the levels of expectancy and perceived effectiveness of voice mechanisms were only slightly higher for hospital 2 in most cases. The rate of turnover among registered nurses was also higher for both hospi- tals 2 and 4 than for the other hospitals. Although extrapolation to other turnover figures is somewhat problematic, Table 4 does indicate that voluntary turnover for licensed practical nurses and the organization as a whole was higher for the hospitals with the fewest employee voice mechanisms. DISCUSSION The results of study one suggest that the more an org employees the opportunity to voice dissatisfaction over aspe in order to change dissatisfying work situations, the greate that its employees will remain with the organization. Re turnover rates in short-term, general care hospitals were si in hospitals with many mechanisms for the voicing of em faction. In addition, this relationship held with statistical co variety of known predictors of rate of employee turnover. The results of study two, although only suggestive, in numbers of voice mechanisms are associated with high level expectancies for problem resolution and high perceived effe organization's procedures for resolving problems. These f credibility to the construct, number of employee voice m implies that when employees have many opportunities to tion they (1) appear to be predisposed to take advantage of th and (2) appear to consider procedures for problem resolution Although previous research has consistently found an ef ization on retention rate, this research did not find such an ness in the types of organization and occupation examined m these negative results. Unionization's effects on voice may h out. Data indicated that unionized hospitals averaged 4.42 mechanisms and nonunionized hospitals averaged 4.52 mechanisms; in addition, no signifi- cant differences emerged when each mechanism was considered individually. Perhaps this finding is a result of a union-threat effect; nonunionized hospi- tals may provide voice mechanisms that would otherwise be provided by This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Spencer 1986 499 unions in order to reduce dissatisfaction and thus reduce the threat of unionization.4 The strengths and limitations of this research are worth consider This research extended previous work on unions' effects on rates of empl retention by looking at the potential effects of voice mechanisms themselv Organizations might institute these mechanisms as a result of unionizatio or in attempts to improve management process. Additional strengths are this research controlled for a wide variety of potential predictors of rate turnover and included critical information on employees' perceptions of organizational characteristics under investigation. A limitation is that this research does not represent a complete picture the phenomena involved in the relationship between the options of v and exit. Two omissions are worthy of note. First, Hirschman's (1970) mo focused on exiting in silence versus staying and voicing concerns. Ad tional options open to employees, such as staying in silence and exiting w voice, need to be incorporated into the model (Barry, 1974; Birch, 1975). I fact, Birch (1975) argued that in many cases people are more likely to with voice than to remain and engage in voice, particularly when there is possibility of retaliation. Second, this research did not address the issu loyalty. Hirschman (1970) hypothesized that those clients or employees w have greater loyalty to a product or an organization will be more likely t others to respond with voice to correct a perceived decline in organizatio performance. Barry has criticized the loyalty concept as an "ad hoc equat filler" (1974: 95) that could be inversely as well as positively correlated w voice (see also Laver, 1976). But it is difficult to deny that loyalty in the f of behavioral commitment to an organization-entrenchment due to lengt service-is likely to have an inverse relationship with employees' exit r whether or not employees have successfully changed dissatisfying states affairs (Mowday, Porter, & Steers, 1982). An important limitation, addressed in the introduction, is that the act quality of the voice mechanisms under study was unknown. The seco study indirectly addressed this issue by assessing employees' perceptions the effectiveness of voice mechanisms. This assessment, however, cannot substitute for an approach that would ideally involve in-depth content analy- sis of the nature and quality of each employee voice mechanism at each organizational site under study. This research assessed employees' percep- tions of the effectiveness of voice mechanisms at only four of the organiza- tions represented in the larger study; in addition, sample sizes for these analyses were small and measures whose psychometric properties were relatively unknown were constructed and used. 4 Curtin (1970) found that unsuccessful unionization attempts generally result in improved communication practices; in over 60 percent of the companies these practices usually included: "establishment of regular meetings with the employees, institution of a formal grievance procedure, formation of an office committee, concerted effort to deal promptly with employee complaints" (1970: 67). This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 500 Academy of Managemenet Journal September Another limitation of this research is that although significant relationships emerged from the analysis, they are not very strong. Also, these relationships are purely associational and thus causality cannot be assumed. A related problem concerns synchronicity of the data; assessment of number of voice mechanisms was made at the end of the one-year period for which retention data was collected. Another limitation is that the research was conducted in one particular type of organization and on one specific o tional classification. A further limitation is the relatively low respon however, comparing the responses obtained against population demog provided by each of the hospitals and bed sizes obtained from the Na Center for Health Statistics indicated that the responses were represe of the population of individuals and of hospitals involved. Future rese should incorporate tests of the hypotheses in different populations a research methodologies where causality could be inferred as well a gies of data collection that would improve rates of response. The findings of this study reinforce Steers and Mowday's (1981) a tion that investigations of the process of employee turnover need to employees' efforts to change unsatisfactory work situations. On the o tional level of analysis, future research should consider not only voice mechanisms and their quality, but also informal organizatio tures that create and sustain those mechanisms. It is not inconceivable that the rough assessment of total numbers of voice mechanisms that this s used is tangible evidence of a potentially salient organizational comp such as managerial philosophy. The individual level of analysis need model of the process of turnover decisions that incorporates the two m alternatives available to employees: (1) searching for alternative em ment to exit from a dissatisfying work situation, and (2) attempting to a dissatisfying work situation in an effort to remain. Mobley's (1977) m of the process of turnover decisions focused only on the first cou action. But what causes employees to take one course of action before the other or to take both courses of action simultaneously? Perhaps employees' commitment and expectancies concerning the effectiveness of voice mechanisms and procedures for problem resolution would play a significant role in this process. If future research supports the hypotheses examined in this study, one practical implication is that organizations may be able to effectively reduce employee turnover by increasing the sophistication of their processes for resolving complaints. Employees who search for alternative employment without attempting to change dissatisfying work situations give organiza- tions no indication that anything is wrong until after they find other work and hand in their resignations. By listening to, encouraging, and providing mechanisms for employees who want to change dissatisfying work situations, perhaps organizations could prevent employees' forming an intent to leave. In addition, organizations that engage in such activities should be able to obtain information from employees that could improve the effectiveness of This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Spencer 1986 501 these organizations (Freeman, 1976; Hirschman, 1976), information that is not available when employees silently leave. REFERENCES Aram, J. O., & Salipante, P. F., Jr. 1981. An evaluation of organizational due resolution of employee/employer conflict. Academy of Management Rev Barry, B. 1974. Review article: Exit, voice, and loyalty. British Journal of Po 79-107. Becker, B. 1978. Hospital unionism and employment stability. IndustrialRel Birch, A. H. 1975. Economic models in political science: The case of "Exit, v British Journal of Political Science, 5: 69-82. Curtin, E. R. 1970. White collar unionism. Personnel policy study No. 220, Conference Board, New York. Farrell, D. 1983. Exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect as responses to job dissatisfaction: A mul mensional scaling study. Academy of Management Journal, 26: 596-607. Farrell, D., & Peterson, J. C. 1982. Patterns of political behavior in organizations. Acade Management Review, 7: 403-412. Freeman, R. B. 1976. Individual mobility and union voice in the labor market. American Economic Review, 66: 361-368. Freeman, R. B., & Medoff, J. L. 1984. What do unions do? New York: Basic Books. Graham, J. W. 1986. Principled organizational dissent: A theoretical essay. In B. M. Staw Cummings (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, vol. 8: In press. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press. Greenberg, J., & Folger, R. 1983. Procedural justice, participation, and the fair process effect in groups and organizations. In P. B. Paulus (Ed.), Basic group processes: 235-256. New York: Springer-Verlag. Hammer, T. H., Landau, J. C., & Stern, R. N. 1981. Absenteeism when workers have a voice: The case of employee ownership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 66: 561-573. Hirschman, A. 0. 1970. Exit, voice, and loyalty. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Hirschman, A. 0. 1974. Exit, voice, and loyalty: Further reflections and a survey of recent contributions. Social Science Information, 13(1): 7-26. Hirschman, A. 0. 1976. Some uses of the exit-voice approach-Discussion. American Economic Review, 66: 386-391. Kochan, T. A., & Helfman, D. E. 1981. The effects of collective bargaining on economic behavioral job outcomes. In R. G. Ehrenberg (Ed.), Research in labor economics: 321 Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press. Laver, M. 1976. "Exit, voice, and loyalty" revisited. British Journal of Political Science, 463-482. March, J. G., & Simon, H. A. 1958. Organizations. New York: John W Mobley, W. H. 1977. Intermediate linkages in the relationship betwee employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62: 237-240. Mobley, W. H., Griffeth, R. W., Hand, H. H., & Meglino, B. M. 1979. analysis of the employee turnover process. Psychological Bulletin Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M. 1982. Employee-organi psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover. New York: Academic Press. This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Academy of Management Journal 502 September Price, J. L. 1977. The study of turnover. Ames: Iowa State University Press. Steers, R. M., & Mowday, R. T. 1981. Employee turnover and post decision accommodation processes. In L. L. Cummings & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior: 235-281. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press. Ulman, L., & Sorensen, E. 1984. Exit, voice, and muscle: A note. Industrial Relations, 23: 424-428. APPENDIX All items used 7-point response formats; "R" indicates reverse scoring. Management's responsiveness to voice mechanisms: The management of my organization is not interested in resolving indivi problems. (R) The management of my organization encourages employees to voice their problems. The management of my organization has not provided enough mechanisms (for example, suggestion systems, grievance procedures, etc.) to allow employees to effectively voice their dissatisfaction. (R) I get the feeling that my superior does not want to hear about my complaints. (R) The personnel manager is open to receiving complaints. My boss comes around regularly to keep in touch with any complaints that I may have. The personnel manager makes an effort to keep in touch with any complaints that workers have. I feel intimidated by my superiors when pursuing a grievance. (R) Management views grievances as a challenge to their authority. (R) The organization encourages suggestions to improve situations that are dissatisfying to employees. Effectiveness of voice mechanisms: The mechanisms to resolve employee problems of my organization are very effectiv Utility of efforts to change dissatisfying situations: Attempting to change something at work that dissatisfies me would be a waste of tim Preference for leaving versus attempting to resolve dissatisfaction: I would rather find a job elsewhere than attempt to change something at work that dis fies me. Daniel G. Spencer is an associate professor of business at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. He received his Ph.D. degree in organization and management fro the University of Oregon. His current research interests include turnover, absenteeism and processes of resolution of employee-organization conflicts. This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:02:28 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms How to Keep Your Best Employees: Developing an Effective Retention Policy [and Executive Commentary] Author(s): Terence R. Mitchell, Brooks C. Holtom, Thomas W. Lee and Ted Graske Source: The Academy of Management Executive (1993-2005) , Nov., 2001, Vol. 15, No. 4, Themes: Business Strategies and Employee Development (Nov., 2001), pp. 96-109 Published by: Academy of Management Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4165789 REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4165789?seq=1&cid=pdfreference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Academy of Management is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Academy of Management Executive (1993-2005) This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Academy of Management Executive, 2001, Vol. 15, No. 4 How to keep your best employees: Developing an effective retention policy Terence R. Mitchell, Brooks C. Holtom, and Thomas W. Lee Executive Overview The competition to retain key employees is intense. Top-level executives and HR departments spend large amounts of time, effort, and money trying to figure out how to keep their people from leaving. This article describes some new research and its implications for managing turnover and retention. These ideas challenge the conventional wisdom that dissatisfied people leave and money makes them stay. People often leave for reasons unrelated to their jobs. In many cases, unexpected events or shocks are the cause. Employees also often stay because of attachments and their sense of fit, both on the job and in their community. We discuss these ideas and make recommendations for integrating them into a comprehensive retention plan. . ............................................................................................................................................................ tarily, he or she believes, at that moment, that Voluntary turnover is a huge problem for many organizations today.' A Wall Street Journal article leaving the job is the right thing to do. However, states: "Job hopping prevails amid a cornucopia of transitions to another job or situation (e.g., stay-at- vacancies."2 The Society of Human Resource Man- home parent, additional education) take a per- agement, a professional organization dedicated to sonal toll. Going to a new job is stressful. There is the problems facing managers, says that the reten- uncertainty and ambiguity. The employee, along with family members, must make numerous ad- tion issue is its "hottest topic."3 justments, especially if relocation is involved. New Some industries or groups are particularly at living accommodations, schooling for children, risk. The Big 5 accounting firms are described as and spousal reemployment are just some of the having "raging turnover," particularly among fe- possible hurdles. In addition, friends may be left male employees. While up to 50 percent of the new behind. Some people estimate that it can take up to hires may be women, only about 5 percent will a year for adjustments to be made and a career to make it to partner. High-technology companies get back on track.5 also face acute losses and shortages. One report At the organizational level, turnover inflicts nu- suggests the average tenure for people in high- merous costs. Departing employees often take with technology positions is one year. In addition, looking at the whole U.S. workforce, approximately them valuable knowledge and expertise gained half of the workers expect to leave their jobs in the through experience. Often they have established close relationships with clients. In addition to next five years.4 There are many reasons why people voluntarily these indirect or less quantifiable costs, organiza- leave organizations. Some are personal: changes tions face many costs directly related to turnover, in family situation, a desire to learn a new skill or including exit interview time and administrative trade, or an unsolicited job offer. Other reasons are requirements, payout of unused vacation time, and influenced by the employing organization: observ- the cost of temporary workers or overtime for co- ing the unfair treatment of a coworker, being workers asked to fill in. Replacement costs include passed over for promotion, or being asked to do advertising, processing of candidates, interview- something against one's beliefs. Turnover is a ing, and selection. Finally, training costs-both problem because it imposes extensive costs on formal and informal-add to the overall burden. both individuals and organizations. One well-known New York law firm estimates the replacement costs for an associate at as much as At the individual level, if a person leaves volun96 This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 2001 Mitchell, Holtom, $200,000.6 A BusinessWeek study estimated that re- and Lee 97 factors, including pay, benefits, and other rewards, placement costs alone are over $10,000 for about influence job satisfaction, as do structural and pro- half of all jobs, and for 20 percent of all jobs are cedural factors reflecting autonomy or fairness. In over $30,000.7 In a separate study, the Hay Group terms of what initiates the turnover process, job dis- found replacement costs are about 50 to 60 percent satisfaction has been described as the most impor- of a person's annual salary.8 Other costs may not tant and frequent cause. Thus it is good, solid advice be so easily quantified. For example, understaffing to design jobs and manage work environments to because of excessive turnover among corrections of- maintain a high level of job satisfaction. ficers has been blamed for high-profile prison es- Once dissatisfaction sets in, an employee pre- capes.9 Reduced effectiveness of cockpit crews that sumably looks around for other work alternatives. are reorganized frequently because of turnover is The employee may conduct a job search and un- another example of hidden organizational costs.'0 cover some interesting options. Both perceived and actual alternatives can influence this process. At A BusinessWeek study estimated that replacement costs alone are over $10,000 this point, it appears that the underlying thought is, "I intend to leave." If alternatives are judged to be favorable in comparison to the present job, the for about half of all jobs, and for 20 person is predicted to leave. If not, the person percent of all jobs are over $30,000. stays. Thus attitudes about one's current job and Organizations of all sizes and types are recognizing that they are engaged in a struggle to retain talent, and are actively trying to do something about it. One recent report declares that one in 10 big businesses has a full-time person assigned to retention." The big question is-what should this person do? How can an organization attract and retain its employees-especially its most valuable and irreplaceable ones? the availability of alternatives are seen as the antecedents for voluntary turnover.'3 Satisfied employees will be less attracted by alternative jobs. Research over the last 15 years has expanded this focus somewhat. Other attitudes have been studied, such as organizational commitment, job involvement, and perceived organizational sup- port. How and when people search for alternatives have also been explored as has how modern conceptions of a career influence propensity to remain in a firm.'4 It appears that many employees expect to have numerous jobs during their careers. Some authors have examined personality predictors of turnover, such as conscientiousness, while others The Prevailing Wisdom Management scholars have learned a lot about have examined the influence of psychological con- voluntary turnover over the years; thousands of tract violations on turnover intentions and actual studies have been conducted on the topic.'2 Both of this work, some clear and enduring principles turnover.'5 Violating initial job expectations can decrease trust, cause anger, and precipitate the turnover process. Still, while these studies have added to our knowledge, the prevailing wisdom have evolved. has remained relatively unchanged for 50 years. the academic and practitioner literatures have made contributions to our knowledge. And from all One of the best recent reviews summarizes this state of affairs: "Together with turnover intentions Academic perspective Two major factors have captured most of the aca- demic attention: job satisfaction and job alternatives. People who are satisfied with their jobs (e.g., evaluate positively their pay, supervision, chances for promotion, work environment, and tasks they do) will stay, while those who aren't will leave. Given the same level of dissatisfaction, people with more alternatives will be more likely to leave than those with fewer alternatives. Considerable research has explored these relationships in detail. There are many causes of job satisfaction, such as job enrichment, good super- and cognitions, affect and alternatives have been the prominent antecedents to turnover."'6 Two other comments on this academic literature are necessary. First, in most cases, staying is seen as the simple obverse of leaving. That is, people who are satisfied with their jobs and/or have few alternatives will remain on the job. The same au- thors quoted above concluded that "relatively less turnover research has focused specifically on how an employee decides to remain with an organization and what determines this attachment."'7 This point is critical for our work because we believe vision, clear roles, and met expectations. Dissatisfaction is associated with job stress, repetitive that staying and leaving involve different psychological and emotional processes. The second point is that researchers' collective work, role ambiguity, and role overload. Economic effort to predict turnover has not been very suc- This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 98 Academy of Management Executive November cessful. Even the more complex theories, with mul- with their jobs? We also knew that many people tiple attitudes and assessments of perceived alter- searched for alternatives and compared them with natives, leave about 75 percent of the variance in their present job. But were there people who left turnover unexplained.18 It was this rather gloomy without searching or making such comparisons? We assessment that prompted us to pursue new ways to understand this topic. spent a substantial amount of time talking to people about their personal experiences of leaving jobs. We read the practitioner and scientific literature, interviewed hundreds of people who had left jobs in a Practitioner perspective wide variety of occupations, and surveyed thou- Much of the practitioner literature has also re- sands of others-many of whom subsequently left flected the prevailing wisdom. Assessing job sat- their jobs. isfaction and making changes based on this infor- Some clear themes emerged from these investi- mation has been an organizational strategy for gations. First, many people said they initially retaining employees and reducing turnover for de- thought about leaving in response to some particular event. We call such an event a shock to the system. Frequently cited shocks were mergers, unsolicited job offers, friends' leaving, having a baby, spouse relocation, a poor performance appraisal, and administrative changes. What was of interest to us were the ways these shocks differed. Some were seen as positive (e.g., job offer, pregnancy); some were negative (e.g., friends' leaving, poor appraisal); and some were neutral (e.g., spouse relocation, administrative changes). Some were expected (e.g., being accepted to graduate school) and some unexpected (e.g., changes in compensation plan). Whether expected or unexpected, when a shock occurred, serious thoughts about leaving followed. Some violated mutual expectations (e.g., the psychological contract), while many did not. Some were external to the job, while others happened at work. There was a great variety in what precipitated thoughts of leaving. Some of these events, eventually or immediately, caused job dissatisfaction, but some did not. cades. Sears, for example, has been doing this for over 50 years.'9 Since perceived or actual alternatives are often beyond an organization's control, they have received less practitioner attention than job satisfaction. We should also point out that much of the practitioner literature on staying and leaving reflects an economic perspective. In terms of attracting employees in today's job market, signing bonuses have become commonplace.20 For keeping employees, "retention bonuses have become the tool of choice."2' Added to this financial arsenal are housing allowances, profit sharing, and spousal financial and job assistance.22 High-tech firms-which are extremely dependent on human capital-have often led this charge. They attract employees with stock-option riches; when market downturns threaten this carrot, they reprice or reissue the options.23 In short, one way to make a job attractive is to throw money at people. Before concluding this review, we want to make it clear that the prevailing wisdom has substantial truth behind it. Satisfaction is important for staying, and all the good management techniques that have been espoused over the years probably contribute to it. June Delano, at Eastman Kodak, in addressing the turnover problem, recommends things like frequent and honest communication, fair and equitable compensation, and clear performance expectations.24 In addition, pay and other financial incentives work to increase motivation, commitment, and satisfaction. That having been said, we believe that the prevailing perspectives on leaving and staying are too narrow. We've spent the last 11 years developing and testing new ideas about employee retention. Here is what we've found. Whether expected or unexpected, when a shock occurred, serious thoughts about leaving followed. A second theme that emerged was that quite a few people left their jobs without searching for another one and making comparisons with their present job. This process seemed to occur in two distinct ways. Some people seemed to have plans or scripts that were triggered by some event. They knew if they got pregnant or got accepted to graduate school, they would leave. Or they already had a plan in place based on past experience (e.g., to Shocks and the Unfolding Model Our initial focus was on why and how people leave their jobs. We knew that accumulated job dissatisfaction was one reason. But were there other reasons? Did some people leave who were satisfied leave if a small start-up were bought out by a big company). Other people did not have plans or scripts, but left because of an event that was so shocking or negative or unexpected, that they just packed up and exited without making comparisons. These people may have believed that they This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 2001 Mitchell, Holtom, could get another job elsewhere, but they left fairly and Lee 99 place. The event happens and the person thinks quickly and violated the oft-given advice to never about leaving, calls up the plan, and leaves. Dis- leave a job without another in hand. satisfaction is not the initiating cause, and there is So it seemed to us that the process of leaving no search for alternatives. was far more complex than the accepted model, where job dissatisfaction and the comparison of alternatives result in departure. Simply put, there were many different ways or paths that people used to leave their jobs. In an attempt to construct some orderliness out of this variety and complexity, we developed the unfolding model. The unfolding model describes four paths people take when they leave a job. These paths unfold over time at different rates, and they involve different processes and behaviors.25 We have many examples of these paths, based on our empirical research in Path 2: Leaving without a plan Path 2 also is started by a shock, but there is no plan or script in place. Again, the person leaves without searching for alternatives. Bill Russell, a famous basketball player and coach, left a coaching job soon after a game where he found himself yelling at his players to kill the opposition.30 The head of the computer services for a large organization quit the day after a person he didn't like was hospitals, banks, accounting firms, and retail gro- named his boss. A nurse was denied her request cery stores. Where possible, we present high-profile for six months' leave; an employee whose father be- examples that have appeared in the news. came ill needed to move closer to his home; a trans- Three of the paths are initiated by shocks- fer request was denied; a friend was laid off; an events that caused people to question their staying individual was passed over for a promised promo- with a firm-not job dissatisfaction. Examples tion. In all these cases, the people left without con- abound in the popular press. A man is pressured to sidering alternative jobs. In Path 2, the shocking fly to an out-of-town meeting when his pregnant wife event is often negative and involves such a violation is three days overdue and he misses the delivery of of expectations that negative emotions like distrust their baby. It was the "deal breaker, the event so or anger accompany the leaving process. egregious that it drove Mr. Walton to quit."26 A woman likes her job at a plastics start-up, but starts Bill Russell, a famous basketball player looking for another job when she is asked to clean the bathrooms.27 A man's boss trims $1.25 off a travelexpense reimbursement request for laundering a shirt while on a trip.28 These events, or shocks, prompt people to think about leaving. at his players to kill the opposition. Path 1: Following a plan Path 3: Leaving for something better Path 1 is characterized by a shock to the system Path 3 commences with a shock that leads to rela- and a plan or a script already in place for leaving. tive, possibly minimal job dissatisfaction. In turn, Some people know that they will leave if they or the person considers alternatives and eventually and coach, left a coaching job soon after a game where he found himself yelling their spouse gets pregnant or if they get accepted leaves, usually with another job in hand (or in into some sort of educational program. Temporary some cases, almost a sure thing). Patty Stonesifer or part-time employees often work for some spe- was a Microsoft executive. When she turned 40, she cific amount of money, then quit. Many of today's decided she wanted to be with her family more. technical employees plan to leave their jobs after She lined up some consulting with DreamWorks, 12 months; when the time is up, they quit, confident and quit her job at Microsoft.3' David Falk, of that they can find something else whenever they ProServ, found himself in the hospital with a blood want.29 One of the best examples we encountered clot. While he rested and reflected about the diffi- was the employee in one organization who took a culties he had with his boss, Donald Dell, he de- hiring bonus, received the standard three month's cided to quit and start his own business.32 In our training, got a bonus for finishing the training, interviews, we found a considerable number of then quit, without another job lined up. And that Path 3 leavers report the shock as being an unso- was the employee's plan from the start. In sum, licited job offer. Many of these people are not dis- Path 1 is precipitated by a shock. The shock can be satisfied with their jobs. Mike Mitchell, a Phelps expected (e.g., end of training) or unexpected (e.g., Dodge Corp. employee, was "perfectly happy" spouse has to relocate). It can be positive (e.g., preg- when he got an offer he couldn't refuse.33 Path 3 nancy), neutral (e.g., merger), or negative (e.g., sex- dissatisfaction is often relative; the people like where they are, but the alternative is better. The ual harassment). The key point is that a plan is in This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 100 Academy of Management Executive November two key time periods: the time between some event or accumulating dissatisfaction and the decision key is that the shock triggers the relative dissatisfaction, which leads to consideration of alterna- to be very thoughtful and quite complex. to leave, and the time between the decision to leave and actual leaving. The first phase involves checking for a script or plan and seeing how a shock may Path 4: Leaving an unsatisfying job happen fairly quickly in Paths 1 and 2, where time is tives, which results in quitting. This process tends fit with the rest of one's feelings about a job. These measured in days or weeks. It can also involve Path 4 is initiated by accumulated job dissatisfac- accumulation of discontent, which happens more tion. There are two different ways in which this slowly in Paths 4A and 4B, where time is typically dissatisfaction leads to quitting. In what we call measured in months and years. The second phase Path 4A, people become dissatisfied and leave involves searching for and evaluating altematives. without searching (similar to Path 2 people, but This process is often lengthy in Paths 3 and 4B, and, without the shocking event). Jim Manzi was the therefore, they take the longest time to unfold. CEO for Lotus Development Corp. when IBM took it over. Initially enthusiastic about the merger, he found over the next half year that a variety of things happened he didn't like, especially the direction and The Complexities of Leaving a Job vision for the new merged group with which he We gathered data from five separate samples that worked. He decided to quit-without another job in address the principles of the unfolding model. In hand.34 We interviewed people who quit because the first two studies (one qualitative and the other over time they got bored, failed to make friends, or quantitative), we focused on leavers and the paths changed in such ways that their current job was they took. In the first study, we interviewed 44 clearly not where they wanted to be. nurses who left eight hospitals in a large metro- Path 4B also involves accumulated job dissatis- politan area.36 In the second study, we surveyed faction, but here the person does look for and eval- 229 voluntary leavers who left the Big 5 accounting uate alternatives. He or she leaves upon finding a firms.37 We then conducted two more studies where more attractive option. Note that this path reflects the prevailing wisdom we described above. Dis- we gave questionnaires to a large sample of employees and then tracked who left and who stayed. satisfaction leads to search, which leads to leav- In the third study, we examined 177 employees at ing. One computer-system consultant reported that over six months he was shuffled about and felt eight stores of a retail grocery chain. The fourth study involved 208 employees of a community- "like a piece of meat." Eventually his dissatisfac- based hospital.38 The participants in these last two tion led him to search for a better job and ulti- predictive studies were given a list of events that mately to quit.35 People following this path reported to us examples of cost cutting, increased workloads, or continuing problems with work were previously determined to be shocks, based on schedules or work assignments that over time led asked to indicate whether they had experienced to dissatisfaction, search, and leaving. these events and how much the experience made interviews and focus groups. These people were Table 1 presents a summary of the four paths, them think about leaving their jobs. They were including the attributes of each and the amount of also asked whether they had scripts or plans for time it takes for paths to unfold. There seem to be leaving in place, in case the event did occur. In our Table 1 The Unfolding Model Paths Path 1 2 3 4A 4B Following a Leaving without Leaving for Leaving without Leaving for Attribute plan a plan something better a plan something better Initiating event Shock Shock Shock Job dissatisfaction Job dissatisfaction Script/Plan Relative job Yes No No No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Medium Long dissatisfaction Alternative No search Time Very short Short Long This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 2001 Mitchell, Holtom, and Lee 101 fifth study, we did both. We had 841 employees at tion, unsolicited job offer, pregnancy), while 99 left a large financial center fill out questionnaires, because of internal shocks (e.g., poor evaluation, then interviewed 72 of them who subsequently left merger, disagreement with boss). Thus shocks that during the next year. We will call these the nurse, did not involve money and were often out of the accountant, grocery store, hospital, and bank stud- organizations' control frequently precipitated the ies in the following summary comments. Table 2 presents the paths taken by the employ- ees who left their jobs in the nurse, accountant, and bank studies.39 One initial comment is neces- sary. Using either questionnaires (accountants) or interviews (bank), we were able to classify over 95 percent of the leavers reliably (i.e., agreement leaving process.4' Again, the conventional wisdom's reliance on a primarily economic explana- tion for turnover may also be too simple. We can look at the reactions to shocks in more detail by analyzing the data on thoughts about leaving from the grocery, hospital, and bank studies. The internal organizational shocks that caused across several independent, impartial judges) into the most thinking about leaving were: being en- a particular path. Our data suggest almost everyone leaves via one of these paths. But how and why people left is what is impor- couraged to leave (but not fired); having a major for promotion; or receiving an unexpected negative tant. Note that Paths 3 and 4B are the most fre- performance evaluation. disagreement with one's boss; being passed over quently used in all three studies. Both of these Mergers, reorganization into work teams, the paths involve a search and evaluation of alterna- completion of a training or education program, tives, with about 75 percent of people searching or disagreement with a coworker produced fewer before leaving. Also note that the process of leav- strong thoughts about leaving. The external ing is initiated for more people by a shock (Paths 1, 2 and 3, which account for 63 percent) than by shocks that caused the most thoughts of leaving were the unexpected job offer (which probably in- accumulated dissatisfaction (Paths 4A and 4B, which account for 37 percent). In combination, cludes pay as an issue to consider), followed by a these data help to explain why the traditionally leaving were significantly related to intention to studied variables of job dissatisfaction and alter- leave and actual leaving in these three samples. spouse's relocation. Importantly, thoughts about natives aren't strongly predictive of turnover. A lot We conclude this section with two final points. of people leave without alternatives, or as a result First, the job satisfaction of leavers, while signifi- of some shocking event that may not be associated cantly lower than stayers, was above 3.0 on a five- with job dissatisfaction.40 Our findings show that the leaving process is considerably more complex than reflected in the conventional wisdom. The content of these shocks is important to understand what went on. Very few people left specifically because of a shock involving money (e.g., lower-than-expected raise, change in benefits, someone else in a similar job makes more). Interestingly, no nurses, four out of 69 bank employees, and 14 out of 212 accountants cited a monetary shock as the reason for leaving. Slightly over half the people (128) left because of shocks that were external to the organization (e.g., spouse reloca- point scale for the four samples where it was measured (accountant, grocery, hospital, and bank). Thus many people leave who are relatively satisfied with their jobs. Second, the paths unfold at different rates, much the way we have suggested. People in Paths 1 and 2 (who experienced a shock) reported that they left more quickly than those in Path 3, who experienced a shock, but also searched for alternatives. It is hard to assess time to leave for Paths 4A and 4B people because the job dissatisfaction that precipitates leaving (4A) or search (4B) can take a very long time (in two of our studies Path 3 occurred more quickly than Path 4B). Fur- Table 2 Number of Leavers by Paths Path 1 2 3 4A 4B Following a Leaving without Leaving for Leaving without Leaving for Sample plan a plan something better a plan something better Total Nurses 6 6 14 8 10 44 Accountants 6 7 136 8 55 212 Bank employees 4 6 19 6 34 69 Total 16 19 169 22 99 325 Percent 5 6 52 7 30 100 This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 102 Academy of Management ther, Path 4B, which involves search, takes longer than Path 4A, which doesn't. In summary, we have added to the accepted principles that dissatisfied people who have options quit. Our research shows that many people leave as a result of shocks. Many of the shocks are external and don't involve money. Many people are relatively satisfied when they leave. All the paths are taken and occur with different speeds, suggesting that a rich diversity characterizes voluntary turnover. Executive November scribe as nonaffective or nonattitudinal. Many peo- ple stay because of attachments they have to people (e.g., coworkers, employee network groups), or activities like the company softball team or sponsored community-service activities.44 Leaving a job often requires individuals to sacrifice or give up perks, routines, or projects to which they have grown accustomed. People reported to us that they weren't particularly satisfied or dissatisfied, but that wasn't the issue that was important. It was the idea that they couldn't leave right now because too many things kept them entrenched in their jobs. Job Embeddedness and Staying The traditional perspective of why people stay on a job includes the factors from the turnover research (e.g., satisfied with job, no alternatives), plus other attitudes or affective reactions (positive feelings) about the job, including organizational commitment and perceived organizational support. If we like our job, are committed to our organization, and believe they are committed to us, we stay. As we mentioned earlier, these variables have been shown to be related to turnover.42 However, our research on the unfolding model, and our reading of both the scientific and practitioner literature (we will treat them together in this section), suggested that other factors were operating to keep people in their jobs. Two streams of thought seemed important. First, it was clear that nonwork factors could keep someone on the job. Family pressures, community commitments, and many other off-the-job variables can influence an employee's likelihood of staying with an organization. For example, one issue that is receiving increased attention is worklife balance. Employees today want time to attend to their personal and family activities off the job. Related issues include work-related stress and frequent travel. One study reported that 40 percent of Americans feel they have excessive workloads that negatively influence their lives off the job. In short, accumulating evidence suggests family, hobbies, and church commitments can keep one on the job (especially if one would have to relocate when changing jobs), and lack of attention to these outside commitments by one's employer might prompt one to leave.43 Job embeddedness was the term we used to summarize a broad constellation of factors influencing retention, including those mentioned above. Think of a person's life as being like a web, with various nodes or objects on the web representing people, things, groups, and institutions. One's job is in the middle of the web. The number of connections may vary, the distance or strength of the attachments may vary, and the overall connectedness of the web (attachments among nodes) may vary. Leaving a job may greatly disturb that web, and it was our belief that it was this web-like quality, or embeddedness, that often keeps people on the job. Based on our research on the unfolding model, people's stories about why they stay in a job, and our ongoing deliberations about these topics, we believe that job embeddedness consists of three factors: links, fit, and sacrifice. In addition, each of these factors can occur on or off the job. A review of these factors and some examples are presented below. Links Links are the connections between a person and other people, groups, or organizations. Many organizations are coming to see these links as im- portant on the job. Many CPA firms are using men- tor systems and designated role models to increase the attachment of their female employees. They are also encouraging employees to choose their own clients.45 These are link-building activities. Engelhard, a diversified manufacturing company in New Jersey, uses mentors and what they call a Buddy System.46 We also know that many organizations have increased their use of teams, but some organizations, such as the soft- One study reported that 40 percent of Americans feel they have excessive workloads that negatively influence their lives off the job. The second big area omitted from the traditional perspective was all the things that one might de- ware development firm WRQ, use teams strategically to increase this networking bond.47 Off-the-job links can influence the employee as well. The number of family, relatives, friends, and other types of links established through hobbies, church, or community activities can embed a person. Organizations can facilitate such links. Some firms give employees time off to volunteer in their communities.48 SAS Institute, a statistical software firm, of- This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 2001 Mitchell, Holtom, and Lee 103 fers a discount on homes purchased in a nearby Other employers provide a pleasant organizational community. Other companies provide new employ- environment, funds to personalize offices, an atrium, ees with information on resources and activities in lovely views, exercise facilities, and massages.55 their communities. Thus a variety of organizational strategies are available to increase links. ities with a more long-term or personal focus. Some of the sacrifices involve programs or activ- Many companies (e.g., Sears, Citibank, and Inter- The number of family, relatives, friends, and other types of links established through hobbies, church, or community activities can embed a person. national Paper) have long-term development plans they work out with employees.56 They invest in the employees' training and growth. Other companies offer personal-development funds to retain top employees, who can use the funds to obtain training on any topic they feel will help their performance. Equally important are the things an employee would give up that relate to their personal, off-the- Fit job situation. Child-care support through the use of Fit is defined as an employee's perceived compat- on-site centers, vouchers, or assistance is frequently ibility with job, organization, and community. The used. The Child Care Action Campaign reports that research on organizational fit has been extensive 10,000 firms provide some sort of help. Twenty-seven and clear. The more individuals fit with their jobs, percent of job applicants to Union Bank in California said that the day-care center was a big attraction, coworkers, and larger corporate cultures, the lower the turnover. Perceptions of fit are especially important during the early stages of adjustment to a job.49 A recent survey conducted by Caliper of 180 executives who left their jobs reported that "nearly 40 percent of employees essentially said they are resigning because their jobs just did not f it."50 The fit with one's off-the-job environment is also important. Does the employee like to ski, fish, sing in a choir, or attend local theater? Do they have a child with soccer practice after school, or a parent who needs to be visited? Both recreational preferences and interpersonal responsibilities can be and the turnover for those using the center was 2.2 percent, compared with 9.5 percent for non-users.57 Healthcare clinics can also help embed an employee.58 Booz Allen & Hamilton builds loyalty through its concern for the demands of one's personal life by providing time off when it is needed.59 In summary, job embeddedness is a relatively new idea. It reflects those on- and off-the-job factors that keep people in their current positions. Table 3 summarizes examples of how employers can help embed employees in jobs using the various dimensions to guide their specific efforts. better fulfilled if the employee has some choice over when and where they work. The use of flex- time is one organizational option that helps this fit and is widely used. For example, a recent survey of 614 accounting firms worldwide ranked flexible schedules as the most effective retention tool.5' Other strategies, like part-time work, telecommuting, and 35-hour work weeks, give people a better chance to be in sync with their off-the-job activities. One retention champion summarizes these ideas by saying that companies need to "recruit" their good performers and that jobs should be customized. "One size fits one" was his motto.52 Embeddedness limits leaving To capture the impact of these diverse forces that keep people in their jobs, we developed a measure of job embeddedness that we have used in three separate studies.60 It is measured with a survey designed to assess fit, links, and sacrifice, both on and off the job. The three studies were mentioned earlier: a retail grocery story chain (N = 177), a hospital (N = 208), and a banking center (N = 841). In each study, we surveyed a large group of employees and measured job embeddedness, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, perceived job alternatives, job search, and intention to leave. Sacrifice Sacrifice reflects the cost of what people have to We then tracked who left over the next year and conducted exit interviews. A clear and compelling give up if they leave a job. Many of these sacrifices involve foregoing financial incentives tied to lon- story emerged. gevity. Retention bonuses, retirement funds, stock options, and golden handcuffs help to keep people on the job.53 But many of these benefits can be matched by competing firms. More subtle approaches are also being used. For example, many companies have minisabbaticals tied to longevity.54 tention to leave and actual turnover in all three or- Job embeddedness was negatively related to inganizations. People who reported being more embedded in their jobs were less likely to leave their organizations. Of greater importance was the fact that, in all three studies, job embeddedness added to the prediction of turnover, over and above the pre- This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 104 Academy of Management Executive November Table 3 Job-Embeddedness Suggestions by Dimension Dimension Organization Community Links * Provide mentors * Provide organizational support for community* Recognize team accomplishments; reinforce based service team identities * Sponsor employee sports teams in local leagues Fit * Hire based on fit with the job * Recruit most intensively in local markets * Hire based on fit with the organizational (minimize relocation) culture and values * Promote work-life balance programs (e.g., flextime, job sharing) Sacrifice * Provide financial incentives (golden * Promote without requiring transfer handcuffs) * Provide home-buying assistance * Provide nonfinancial incentives (e.g., sabbaticals or unique perks) dictions made by job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job search, and perceived alternatives Retention cannot be accomplished purely combined. Thus job embeddedness captured some- through money. A host of on-the-job and thing new and different from the standard measures off-the-job factors must be considered used in traditional turnover research. In addition, we tried to understand how job em- when developing a retention plan. beddedness influenced the decision to leave. It turns out that those who are highly embedded, when faced with an event we have called a shock (from the unfolding model), have fewer thoughts about leaving. They also have fewer scripts or plans in place for leaving in case a shock occurs. As we would also suspect, people who are embedded tend to be satisfied, committed, and have high job involvement. Thus job embeddedness is reflected not only in traditional job attitudes, but also seems to buffer the individual from the effects of shocks that might otherwise prompt one to leave. Employees go through several stages during the time they are employed by organizations. There is an entry phase, where employees learn the ropes, the norms, and expectations surrounding a job. There is a period where employees settle in. This period can be very short or very long, but is char- acterized by some stability in terms of employees' lives on the job. Not a lot of new information is learned about the job or the organization. Finally, there is a period of withdrawal or detachment that precedes retirement or voluntary or involuntary turn- over. The material we have covered so far is very important for developing a comprehensive retention Developing a Comprehensive Retention Plan plan that can influence employees during all the There is no magic pill for a company's retention we will organize the key findings to help executives problems. We know from observing professional formulate a comprehensive retention plan. stages of their careers. In the following discussion, sports or CEO succession, for example, that even paying a person millions of dollars a year does not prevent relative job dissatisfaction and lower or- ganizational commitment, more job search, or an increased likelihood of quitting. We know from a century of observing collective bargaining, more- over, that the positive effects of more pay are often short-lived. Retention cannot be accomplished purely through money. A host of on-the-job and off-the-job factors must be considered when developing a retention plan. Ultimately, a company's leader must survey these factors and select those that are most applicable to his or her firm. We do have some guidelines about how to proceed. Make strategic decisions The first steps in developing a retention plan are largely strategic: Determine whether turnover is a problem. How many people are leaving? Who is leaving? Do we want these people to leave? What does it cost to replace them? Determine why people are leaving. Conduct exit interviews. Consider having outside consultants perform the exit interviews one to three months after departure to ensure that the reasons provided are not defensive or protecting those left behind. Having the This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 2001 Mitchell, Holtom, HR department or an outsider conduct the interview also helps the leaver to not fear retribution. and Lee 105 Use realistic job previews for new employees. These previews can reduce the number of events Investigate reasons why people stay. Conduct that are unexpected, and clarify the psychological focus groups with existing employees. Determine the factors that keep them in their jobs. Develop top-level support for the plan. The or- contract and reduce turnover.6' Attack the unsolicited job offer problem directly. ganization needs to be willing to devote financial and human resources to the planning, develop- outside offers.62 This information lets firms adjust ment, execution, and maintenance of any plan. Identify the targets of the plan. Is it for only a Some companies offer bonuses to people reporting current compensation and organizational policies to be competitive. It also provides opportunities for quick strike counter offers. Employees could be few? Is everyone involved? If everyone is part of the program, that means that the initial selection encouraged to report job offers for spouses (espe- of employees into the company is critical, because ment counseling and services for spouses to keep from that point on the company will attempt to employees from leaving. retain almost every employee. cially if they require relocation). Provide place- Determine which scripts most frequently appear for Path 1 leavers. If pregnancy is a major factor, Draw on conventional wisdom Once these strategic parameters are set, organizations should continue to pay close attention to basic management practices advocated by the traditional turnover literature. Routinely assess job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Make the gathering and public feedback of these data part of the organizational culture. Be prepared to make changes based on these findings. Have resources and strategies at the ready. Gathering data without action causes cyn- icism and anger. Focus on topics like supervision, pay, the work environment, and company values. These are the more traditional factors that human resources personnel are trained to deal with. Apply the unfolding model In addition, we think the unfolding model highlights some important practices for the development and implementation of a retention plan. For example, for many people, the leaving process is initiated by a shock (Paths 1, 2, and 3). Through the use of surveys of former and current employees as well as exit interviews, organizations can identify the types of events that cause people to reconsider their employment. This information can be helpful in the following ways: Learn the distribution of shocks across paths. This information shows how many people leave because of dissatisfaction, and how many people leave without another alternative in hand. It gives you a feel for what initiates the process. Analyze the content of the shocks. Are people leaving because of family responsibilities or educational opportunities? Are they leaving as a result of unsolicited job offers? Are the events expected or unexpected? consider day care, healthcare support, or extended maternity leave as policies that may sustain employment. If educational opportunities are causing people to leave, consider the development of educational programs in-house, or provide time off and tuition support to attend a nearby college or training facility. Prepare people for potential shocks. If mergers or the annual performance appraisal period are seen as shocks, get employee discussion groups underway to ascertain anxieties and solicit input about these events. Make sure the reasons and procedures for such events are clear. Be prepared to respond to external personal shocks. Part-time work, telecommuting, flex time or minileaves can help an employee deal with an acute (or chronic) problem such as an ill child or a parent who comes to live with an employee's family. Assess the time it is taking people to leave. Some paths (e.g., Paths 1 or 2) unfold fairly quickly, while others (e.g., Path 4) take longer. In some cases (e.g., low job satisfaction), companies can react to the information and improve conditions over time, while in other cases they need to anticipate shocks and move quickly to preempt departure. Assess job embeddedness Job embeddedness can be established and maintained through careful attention to the connections employees make to people, institutions, and activities both inside and outside the organization. Pro- viding support and/or incentives to get involved in the local community can have an important impact on retention that is independent of job satisfaction or organizational commitment. Work to ensure a good fit with the job for each employee. Through the use of personal develop- ment plans, employers can continue to provide opportunities for employees to fit in their jobs throughout their caireer. One job fits one. This content downloaded from 132.174.251.47 on Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:03:02 +00:00 All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms 106 Academy of Management Executive November Acknowledgments One job fits one. This article was written while the first author was a visiting professor at New Mexico State University's College of Business Facilitate fit off the job. Resources about commu- nity activities can be gathered and made avail- Administration and Economics. Ren6e Brown was especially helpful assisting in its completion. able. Work hours (flextime, part-time) can facilitate a match with employee preferences. Cafeteria-style compensation plans allow people to choose compensation options that fit their personal lifestyles (e.g., more healthcare, more vacation time). Endnotes 'Bernstein, A. We want you to stay. Really. BusinessWeek, 22 June 1998, 67; see also Lublin, I. In hot demand, retention czars face tough job at some top firms. Wall Street Journal, 12 Sep- Influence links on the job through programs that create connections between people. Establish tember 2000, B1. mentoring or buddy systems. Set up teams and be in control of careers. Wall Street Journal, 11 September 1997, B 1. mindful of the composition. Try to put people together who will like one another (similar interests, hobbies, or life circumstances). Introduce longterm projects and provide project teams with a sense of identity. Recognize group achievements. Influence off-the-job links. These can be tougher to influence than those on the job. However, a company can sponsor (and provide time for) employees to participate in various activities, such as community cleanup or beautification. Organizations can sponsor little league teams for children or bowling leagues for employees. Various off-the-job social activities can increase the opportunity to establish links. Create sacrifices on the job by introducing financial incentives tied to longevity. Some firms have sabbaticals available after a set number of years. Suitable perks, such as access to a beach house or tickets to the opera or sports events, are good ideas. Long-term career development and training are increasingly valued by employees. The best offices and parking places can be made dependent on tenure. One investment bank pays the college tuition for children of employees who have been with the company for five or more years. Pay attention to off-the-job sacrifices. Many of these things would be given up only if one had to relocate (such as football seats that get better every year). However, other company-related sacrifices can be made salient. Company vehicles (e.g., trucks or vans) used off site, weekend day-care facilities, or support for long-term community ser- 3 Wysocki, B. Retaining employees turns into a hot topic. Wall Street Journal, 8 September 1997, B1. vice would disappear if one left. Winning the Competition for Talent Employee-retention programs require an overall, comprehensive, thoughtful process to be effective. They are expensive and require substantial effort, and vary across organizations and industries. However, there is growing recognition that these programs compete for talent. Our ideas based on the unfolding model and job embeddedness have ex- panded knowledge of the turnover process and suggested important actions to alleviate the problem. 2 Lublin, J., & White, J. Throwing off angst, workers are feeling 4 A number of recent articles make this point. See Gilbertson, D. Why do people quit their jobs? Because they can. New York Times, 1 February 1998; and Konrad, R. Tech employees jumping jobs faster. CNET Newsletter, 14 June 2000. 5 Papers that document these difficulties in adjustment include: Shellenbarger, S. An overlooked toll of job upheavals: Valuable friendships. Wall Street Journal, 12 January 2000, Bl; Shellenbarger, S. Many employees falter at helping families adjust to job transfers. Wall Street Journal, 27 September 2000, B1. 6 Schmitt, R. From cash to travel, new lures for burned-out lawyers. Wall Street Journal, 2 February 1999, Bl. 7 BusinessWeek, 20 April 1998. 8Wysocki, op. cit., addresses this issue of replacement. 9Blase, J. After prison breaks, guards feel the heat: Highprofile escapes nudge states to address an acute shortage of guards. Christian Science Monitor, 2 February 2001, 2. '0 Smith, D. 1999. The role of collective efficacy and transactive memory on aircrew performance. Unpublished dissertation. University of Washington. 1' Lublin, op. cit. 12 Two excellent reviews are: Griffeth, R. W., Hom, P. S., & Gaertner, S. 2000. A meta-analysis of antecedents and correlates of employee turnover: Update, moderator tests, and research implications for the next millennium. Journal of Management, 26(3): 463-488; Maertz, C. P., & Campion, M. A. 1998. 25 years of voluntary turnover research; A review and critique. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson, (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology: London: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 49-86. 13 Maertz & Campion, op. cit. 14 Hall, D. T., & Moss, J. E. 1998. The new protean career contract: Helping organizations and employees adapt. Organizational Dynamics, 26: 22-37. 15 Robinson, S. L. 1996. Trust and breach of the psychological contract. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41: 574-599; Robinson, S. L., & Rousseau, D. M. 1994. Violating the psychological contract. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15: 245-259; Turnley, W. H., & Feldman, D. C. 1999. The impact of psychological contract violations on exit, voice, loyalty and neglect. Human Relations, 52(7): 895-922. 16 Maertz & Campion, op. cit., 56. '7 Ibid., 75. 18 Griffeth, Hom, & Gaertner, op. cit. 19 review of Sears policies was done by Bernstein, D. S. Satisfaction guaranteed? How Sears keeps its people. Inside Technology Training, 11 April 1999. 20 Lu...