Running Head: Addressing high Employee Turnover 1

Addressing high Employee Turnover

Rachael Brown

BUS370: Organizational Development (BWJ1724A)

Instructor: Kilburn Fulton

July 17, 2017

Addressing high Employee Turnover 2

Addressing high Employee Turnover

Problem Identification

Organizations face several challenges in their daily operations. These problems have the

potential of derailing the business from their strategies. They can also be costly if not handled on

time.

Description of the organization

Previously, I worked in an electronic assembly company with 30 employees. The

company was established in the early 21st century as a sole proprietor before graduating into a

limited liability company where the proprietors family holds the majority of the stakes. The

proprietor is the chief executive of company, who has held the same position since the

companys inception. Under the CEO, three other high-level employees are the main decisions

makers. These three are the finance officer, sales manager and the operations head, who are the

family members. The business decisions are mainly made away from the business premises.

The companys turnover has been steadily growing. By the time I left, the company was

making over $1 million in annual profits and had started making international supplies to Asia.

The number of employees had increased rapidly from 10 to 30. However, all human resource

decision and management were still managed by all the top leaders. The company premises have

not changed from its first location, which are the family owned premises located near their home.

Context of the problem

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The human resources management at the organization has been facing several challenges.

As the organization is growing both in terms of finances and operations, the number of

employees have also been increasing in numbers. The company has however lagged behind in

managing the human resources affairs. It is crucial that employees are able to ensure that the

employees relations and affairs are taken well care off to ensure that the human resources are

contributing to the success and growth of the organization. In any organization, the employees

area a key resource that has the potential power to ensure the organization stays on course

(Boxall, 2014). It is crucial that the company is able to keep the employees highly motivated,

well equipped, and empowered to perform the task assigned to them.

At the former place of work, the employee turnover was extremely high. I was not able to

stay in the organization for more than three months. After interacting with the other employees, I

noted that this was the trend at the organization. I noticed that this was a problem a month after

being hired. Five of the employees I thought were high performing left the organization under

very queer circumstances. There was a lapse in the production process that was occasioned by a

miscommunication form the supervisors. There was a heated loud argument between the

supervisors and the employees, which turned into an ugly scene. The finance and the operational

officer never took time to deal with the arguments but went ahead to label the employees as

being uncouth and fired the on the spot. By the third month of my employment, over 80% of the

employees who were employed before me had resigned, even without notice. New staffs were

being hired on a daily basis without being accorded an opportunity to earn about the

organization. They were requires to start producing results immediately they reported in their

working stations. There was no training of the new employees about their expected roles.
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The organization was losing much precious time, efforts, and resources in hiring new

employees to replace those who have left. It is estimated that organization spends at least 80% of

their employees salary in hiring new employees (Brannick, Levine, & Morgeson, 2007). This is

a huge cost to the small business to incur such a cost. Besides the cost of hiring the staff, the

organization is losing heavily on the time it takes for the employee to learn and stabilize within

the organization. The person in charge of human resources is always on a recruiting mode, which

makes the person unable to concentrate on other important duties. The organization also suffers a

great deal in the cooperation and integration between the employees. There trend to be more

conflicts in the organization since the employees are unable to forge lasting relations with each

other. The teams are new all the time and constantly changing. This makes it harder for the

employees to know each other well and form teams that will deliver better quality work.

The levels of cooperation among the employees were very poor. Interactions between the

top managers and the other employees were rare and strictly official only. Mostly, it was a

downward communication. The high employees turnover was costing this organization dearly.

There was high level of fatigue among the employees leading to desperation and finally giving

up. I exactly felt these pressures before I decided to quit and seek a better working condition.

The high employee turnover has the effect of lowering the motivation of the employees

(Radhakrishna & Raju, 2015). The employees stay with the constant fear of losing their job

anytime even without notice. This lack of certainty for the future becomes an obstacle for the

human resource stability and the future of the organization.

Needs Assessment and Diagnosis

The data concerning the turnover in the organization is readily available in the

organization. Having been an employee in the organization makes it easier since I already have
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some sources of primary data from observation and personal experience in the organization.

However, to get a more objective and in depth source of information concerning the employee

turnover, it will be crucial to interview the top management staff to give a wider view of the

employee turnover. It will also be crucial to collect data by interviewing some of the staff who

has stayed longer in the organization.

Gathering more information from the former and the current employees will be crucial in

assisting the research form better recommendations. The former employees will give a clearer

picture of the management of the employees affairs and therefore assists in the identification of

the gaps. These employees will be reached through filling out a questionnaire and through one on

one interviews. Secondary source of information will also be used to guide the research. These

sources will be crucial in giving a guideline on the best performing strategies as well as the

effects of the employee turnover. The secondary sources include the journals and the books. The

data collected will be analyzed carefully to understand the impact of the employee turnover.

Both qualitative and quantitative methods are to be used in the analysis.

Proposed Organization Development Interventions

The high employee turnover at the organization requires an immediate solution to save

the company from a bleak future in the near future. However the process may take a longer time

as the organization implements the strategies meant to make sure that the employee are happy,

motivated and empowered to stay longer with the organization.

At first, the company needs to develop clearly understood job analysis and planning.

Currently, the employee is unaware of what their duties are in the organization, their roles, as

well as the responsibilities. They do what the supervisor allocates them to do. This is one of the
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major sources of confusion. The development of job description will allow the each employee to

understand their jobs, their roles as well as what is expected of them (Boxall, 2014). With better

job description, it will be easier for the employees to be motivated as they are sure of what they

are supposed to do and therefore avoid the conflicts and confusion. A job analysis should also

entail the organization understanding the resources required by the employees to undertake their

duties (Youssef, 2012). Such an understanding makes it easier for the organization to allocate the

needed resources to where they are most needed and therefore enable the staff to deliver their

targets. The allocation of the resources will also act as a motivation to the employees.

Streamlining the employee management in the organization is essential. The issues

surrounding the employees need be great an equal measure of attention like the operations, ales,

and finances in the organization. It will be crucial that a human resource department be

established and headed by a qualified, experienced, and competent human resource manager.

This new manager should be allowed to deal with all the issues related to the human relations of

the organization. This new department should handle the aspects of the job designing,

monitoring, hiring, training, and development (Bierema, 2014). This will ensure there is

continuity in the organization as well as ensure that the right employees are in the company.

The hiring process in the organization should be professionally handled. This is means

that the human resources department is well equipped to identify the talents, recruit them, and

ensure they are well maintained within the organization. The Human resource, having developed

an elaborate job analysis and planning should be allowed to lead in the recruitment process from

the job advertisement to the placement of the new employees (Radhakrishna & Raju, 2015). This

will ensure that the organization is hiring the right persons who have the capacity to deliver their
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mandate. The professionalization of the hiring process will be crucial in minimizing the high

employee turnover.

Training and development is a crucial element in keeping the employees motivated. It is

important that the organization develop the right kind if employee training and development

programs, which are meant to enhance their capacity, skills, and expertise in handling their

assigned jobs (Paynevandy, 2016). For the new employees, they need be trained about the

pertinent elements of the organization, the culture as well as the expectations to ensure they are

well fitting in the organization. The training can be done both on an ongoing basis as well as be

organized in form of classes or refresher training. The program should be based on objectivity

where the human resource department identifies the skills gaps and design a training program

that will equip the employees with the needed skills (Brannick, Levine, & Morgeson, 2007). The

training should also be open to all and be transparent such that the employee feels that they are

not discriminated in any way.

The reward system in the organization should be well defined to suit the needs of the

organization as well as be motivating enough. Both financial and non-financial rewards will be

required in the organization. It is not enough to offer a salary to the employee but the

organization should consider offering some form of benefits depending with the characteristics

of the employees (Boxall, 2014). These benefits are meant to give a boost to the employees

private lives and keep them motivated to work longer with the organization

To actualize the strategies above, both financial and non-financial resources are required.

Finances are needed to establish, equip, and operate the human resource department. Engaging a

consultant to assist in the job evaluation will also require financial. The strategy will take six
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months to come actual for the organization. Given the nature of the organization, there may be

little resistance to the changes from the employees.

Suggested Evaluation Approach

The above approaches will be evaluated on a regular basis to ensure total objectivity and

that the process is according to the plan. After every four week, the employees will be

interviewed about the implementation of the strategies. They will also be required to give their

responses on the questionnaires on a confidential basis. The responses will be measured against

the desirable outcomes where the deviation will be noted and rectified.

The level of employee satisfaction will be evaluated on a monthly basis to establish

whether the factors that would make them demotivated are beign addressed. This will assist in

the evaluation of the effectiveness of the strategies in reducing turnover orates. It will also be an

indicator of the expected turnover rate.

The hiring process will also be evaluated based on the level of professionalism and the

quality of the employees sending their application to work with the organization. At the end of

the implementation process, the turnover rate will be measured to establish the impact of the new

strategies in the organization.

Conclusion

The highly turnover rate at my formed place of work has resulted into great losses for the

organization. The company has lost much time and experience as the employee does not spend

much time in the company. It is also causing major employees motivation and team working, as

there is always a new team member. The poor human resource management is a major

contributor to the high turnover rates. Addressing this rate requires the establishment of a human
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resource department run by an experienced person. There should be a job designing to ensure

clarity of roles, functions, and responsibilities as well as development of an objective training

and reward scheme.

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References

Bierema, L. (2014). Organization Development: An Action Research Approach. San Diego:

Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Boxall, P. (2014, April 22). The future of employment relations from the perspective of human

resource management. Journal of Industrial Relations, 56(4), 578-593.

doi:10.1177/0022185614527980

Brannick, M. T., Levine, E. L., & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). Job and Work Analysis: Methods,

Research, and Applications for Human Resource Management. SAGE Publications,.

Paynevandy, S. G. (2016). The role of empowerment in Organization Development.

International Academic Journal of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource

Management, 3(5), 9-16.

Radhakrishna, A., & Raju, R. S. (2015, july). A Study on the Effect of Human Resource

Development on Employment Relations. Journal of Knowledge Management., 13 ( 3),

28-42.

Youssef, C. (2012). Human resource management. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.