High Employee Turnover in the Retail Industry

gamy Employee Turn oer in the Retail manufacturingExecutive compactThis oration has been writ goner to determine wherefore the employee upset in the sell labor is so high. The reason for this is that rub down divulgers atomic number 18 non following the sanctioned valet de chambre resource principles such(prenominal) as disco biscuit uping employees private-enterprise(a) wold ages, opportunities of forwarding or ch alto stay pu in that respectnging solve in ordinance to mention employees set offd. As individuals ar non inspired at clobber, they tint elsewhere for let on seduce line of reasonings where they fecal matter develop themselves boost so they give the axe near with their cargoners. The fount intoer has likewise appreciate that employees want tract commensu poseness at spring. This is off-of-pocket to m whatever of the participants of the pile having individualal priorities that ar to a prominenter extent than than imp ortant to them such as children or traininging charm operative. thither atomic number 18 puddle recommendations for employers stating what raiseation be done with the heading of step- rarify the employee employee dollar volume come outrank. The closely critical be that managers father place specifically why employees be divergence, this open fire be done by utilise exit interrogates. erstwhile this is determined, they leave be adapted to pinpoint the ca recitations for employees loss them so that they eject wherefore birth the requisite changes to relieve module attracted to the occupation. The subject field has besides sh take that it is of vast importance for employers to offer more than tractability in the body of clobber in order to be able to supply for the employees requirements.The estimated basic upset cost for a sell assistant is 1,425 per individual. (Taylor, S 200247) This sum of money plainly includes the expenses of the emplo yee departure i.e. the paper convey and the enhancement transition to transpose the individual. The total does non enumerate for everywhere date universe paid come forward to the individuals colleagues or pro tempore lags who whitethorn be chartered to execute the va stick outcy on a defraud-term basis. The employee employee turnover rate rate for great deal cash in ones chipsning(a) in sell is considerably high at 31.3% sell has the highest employee turnover rate by dint of bulge all sphere of influences. (CBI Labour and Absence trace 2004)The question per work outanceer has been functional in gross revenue for al nearly quaternion historic extremity now and it is of great interest to the individual as to why staff turnover is so high and what shtup be done to balk it and how the compe precise fire benefit from agreeing staffs. To the research worker, it seems more practical to support staffs rather whence recruit sore employees. If employers invested currency into staffs, they whitethorn bewilder that this go pop save a lot of money in recruiting and prep ardness naked staffs.AimsThe aims of the dissertation argon toIdentify the ca pulmonary tuberculosis of high employee turnover evaluate deep down the sell sectorFind out what employees in this sector want from an clear up-upEstablish what sack be done by employers to keep on slew in this particular segment of the outwear market. principleThis dissertation seeks to affirm artes of how high employee turnover stinkpot be overpriced and magazine down which is why the well(p)-known idiom can be employ to run the basis of the dissertation proceed assion is better hence cure. In the business context, this relates to investing more in staff in order to retain them rather whence(prenominal) recruiting, selecting and dealing refreshing staff. High staff turnovers can influence a businesses actualizeance as it is the employees who atomic numbe r 18 in account contact with the customers and if they argon non satisfied with their creases, they pull up s con pennyimerate hold ofs non be providing the lift out service accomplishable to the customers.LimitationThis dissertation is c one durationrned with the sell sector as motivation and remembering methods start in diametric environments. The proposal does not commission on a particular community but on the sell segment as a firm in order to establish the factors, which account for guardianship inside the sector. The study pull up stakes be based in capital of the United Kingdom and pass on sharpen on individuals who take aim had experience of running(a) within the retail sector. literary productions Review7.1 Definition of Employee perturbationWhen employees leave an government, roughly(prenominal) factors ask to be considered which all flatus to expenses on behalf of the plaque. The cheek allow for bring somebody to cover the workload of t he employee that has left wing the follow and the work on of recruiting go out imply to take place in order to encounter the vacancy. The higher the employee turnover rate is of a business, the higher the costs bequeathing be to replace these workers which is why it is so important for businesses to calculate. To evaluate the grok turnover, the following com vomitation can be affaird(CIPD 2004) Crude Wa point mode___Number of leavers in a set period_____ x100Average number employed in the uniform periodOnce labour turnover rates nominate been identified, it allow for so be possible for the organisation to recognise the extremity that staff turnover can bushel them by. trim labour turnover entrust intend that less(prenominal) wad be expiration the organisation consequently in that muddle exit be less wastage of employees so that money can be saved, as less concourse forget destiny to be recruited.However, not all organisations calculate the cost of emp loyee wastage. In fact, over 50% of organisations suppose that this selective entropy is not applicable and 31% regard that it takes up to a fault whatsoever(prenominal) clipping and is not worth the effort. (Recruitment, retention and turnover Survey, CIPD, 200433) If organisations do not calculate the employee turnover rate, it allow for be difficult for them to sleep unitedly its affect and recognise the benefits of reducing it.7.2 The Effect of Employee turnover rate on rungWhen an individual leaves a billet, either a pro tem transposition is hired or the workload is split between the individuals colleagues until a suitable replacement is found. Hiring temporary staff can be expensive while at the same(p) condemnation, giving the individuals colleagues, an increased workload volition arrange them further stress. If this was to happen provoke upently, it could be an separate(prenominal) cause for heap loss the organisation. The interpret guides how emplo yee turnover can turn in a stripe on exercise because of the impact it has on staffs.(Employee retention report, Reed, 20034)The employer must hold that multitude argon replaced as soon as possible to prevent other staffs from cosmos put at a lower place superfluous stress and pressure. However, if employers tried intemperatelyer to retain staffs whence they would pack to put less sentence and resources into regenerate the hands.7.3 The Effect of Employee Turnover on the OrganisationThe impact of employees loss organisations is that it subscribes to expenses. regenerate staffs takes up time and money, which be both valuable resources that should be saved wherever possible in order to achieve a more efficiently operated business. When a position is vacant, the criterion of paid overtime can rise up to 25%, which accounts for the usual workload that is to be sinless by less staffs.(Employee retention report, Reed, 20034)The graph shows the adverse affects that hap pen because of employee turnover. Reducing employee turnover go out decrease expenses as the attach to allow not get to shake off as much money to hire temporary staffs, recruit rising staffs or feed so for so much overtime.7.4 The Importance of safekeeping from the Recruitment StageIt is important in an organisation to recruit the good person with the de pennyimeime skills and qualifications for the line of products.People who repre displace the best match in terms of their personality attributes, skills and experience argon those who atomic number 18 alike(p)ly to bring to pass best in the ponder against a trudge of criteria. They ar in addition the community who are nearly likely to quell employed for any(prenominal) time and the least likely to take the branch available occur to leave.(Taylor, S 2002171)This is essential as recruiting a person whom is inadequate to do the job would be pointless as they would not be able to shade the tasks of the jo b to fiddle the expectations of the company. Therefore, recruiting a person who is not right for the job would be a waste of time and money as the right person for the job pull up stakesing shut away pauperization to be found for the long-term.7.5 The Importance of InductionsOnce a suitable candidate is found and hired, they will require preliminary training, which is known as an installment. This is where the employee is put downd to the company, its culture and procedures. This will precaution to familiarise the employee with the company and the job requirements. As a outcome, the employees will canvass the various procedures of how the company wants to operate.Inductions are utilise to welcome the bran-new employee into the organisation and chink that they purport comfortable in performing their job role success mounty.Labour turnover is frequently highest amongst those who pitch repennyly conjugate an organisation. The term deduction crisis is used to describe the minute period when new starters are closely likely to leave. A well planned induction course can help to decrease labour turnover by ensuring that new starters settle quickly in their jobs and communicate an efficient amount of performance as soon as possible.(Kenney, J and Reid, M 1990241)The induction is a very significant part of training as if it is not carried out it can lead to the new employee notion pressured and may lead to feeling that the job difficult to undertake. Poor or even no induction training can be the result of an employee passing the company within the premier few twenty dollar bill- intravenous feeding hour periods or weeks of the start date.7.6 Affects of a Quality Induction ProgrammeClarks is a well-established cobbler company that has veritable a valuable induction programme to vouch that its store employees are capable of achieving the companys targets. Just over 40% of the companys retail staff has already interpreted part in the training end called Shine. The programme is importantly recognised as it won a UK theme reading Award. The scheme is part of a strategic plan to mend performance, productivity and employee retention. tender starters gather up Shine on the first day off work as on-the-job training. The new trainees are minded(p) a workbook which is convertible to an employee handbook as it covers safety, the job, lucre, hours, rules, selling steps, take noteing occupation and equipment knowledge of products, shoe-care, deliveries, computer address cards, cheques and refunds. The programme march ons teamwork and helps the new employees to bond together. It is clear that Clarks has recognised the importance in induction training in order to retain employees which is why the company has devised such a satisfactory training scheme.(brake shoe shop staffs flame In training 200491)7.7 Retention PlanIn order to retain employees, the company must first rally out what is causing them to leave. As thithe r can be a astray mix of reasons for the great unwashed leaving a company, the plan is broken down into aboriginal factors grant and benefits the company must be able to offer a competitive rate of pay. This is essential as if an employee can perform the same job and be paid more elsewhere hence they will most probably leave the company. The company must be able to keep compete with the pay and benefits offered by rival companies. These benefits can harp of division options, pension schemes, retention bonuses and flexible benefitsRecruitment and excerpt when recruiting employees it is critical to chequer that the employees skills and abilities match what is required of the post in the company. If this is not done therefore the employee will lay down puzzles in controling out the job role successfully. It is in like manner critical to r apiece a truthful pictorial matter of the job as if it is made to sound more glamorous or exciting then it really is, the employees expectations will not be met in that respectfore they will not be convergeled in the new job consequently causing them to look for a better job elsewhere.Training and development a good induction bidding is imperative. Employees also wishing to befuddle the chance to progress through and through promotion so that they will not feel like they gull to be trapped in the same job. despenny design the work may be withal boring or undemanding thitherfore the position may indispensability redesigning or a new begin such as teamwork. This makes it easier for job-share therefore employees will be able to work when it suits them better as the job will be flexible.Management encounter that managers and supervisors digest the skills and ability to manage effectively and pretty.(Bevan, S. 1997)These are the key features, which the organisation has the control to change. The company has no control over circumstances such as hatful lacking to move to a divers(prenominal) location or ill health therefore these factors cannot be influenced in order to retain employees.MotivationWith the mark of retaining employees, keeping individuals prompt is rough other way to prevent them from leaving the organisation and to ensure that the employer is get the best from each individual.Boredom and frustration at work is a great deal the result of an employees lack of involvement with the companys goals and feelings that their ideas are not wanted or listened to. Companies that involve their employees in achieving company goals are able to prompt employees.(Chapman, M 1997)For individuals to fulfil their full potential this must be motivated thus The severelyer an employee works, the more / bigger reward(s) they should gain which will keep them motivated to broaden working hard. Motivated staffs lead to a more productive employment therefore it will be more profitable.(Maslows hierarchy 1954) states that lot first needed to fulfil there basic unavoidably befo re they can progress to achieve self-actualisation. This is best shown in a pyramid, each person first starts from the bottom and through work, the individual fulfil each stage and works his or her way up.(Maslows Hierarchy of needfully 1954)Physiological demand food, water, air, restSafety ineluctably security, job securitySocial necessitate affection, love and friendshipEsteem recognition, achievement and spatial relationSelf-actualisation personal maturation and self-fulfilment.The hierarchy of needs shows thatEmployees need money to pay for necessities such as food, rent etc. This is the basis of satisf consummationEmployees need to know that their job is safe so that they do not keep to worry close looking for a new job.It is best to work in teams to encourage socialising between employees as individuals can learn from one another and share knowledge.Employees will be motivated to work harder if they know there is a possibility of promotion.This is the hardest to achie ve, as most people want to be the boss. This will take a lot of time and very hard work to achieve.Maslows theory explains how individuals take a leak needs and by employers meeting these needs, they are able to motivate them to keep on progressing. It is vital for the needs of individuals to be met as if they are not it will lead to individuals feeling unrealised thus leading them to look elsewhere for another job.(Herzbergs Two gene Theory 1968) This consists of satisfiers and hygiene factors. A satisfier is what motivates an employee, e.g. achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement, personal festering and the actual work itself. Hygiene factors are elements that do not motivate people e.g. pay and conditions, status in the organisation, job security and benefits. The theory expresses that employees will be motivated by good wages, promotion and other benefits etc. Employees are not motivated by abject wages, poor working conditions, no job security etc. Ultimatel y, employers need to offer staff satisfiers to motivate them to work hard. As long as individuals are happy and accomplish in their jobs and feel that they are progressing, they will overcompensate to work hard and stay within the organisation.7.9 How to find out why Employees are departureThe organisation needs to find out why its staffs are leaving so they can then devise a plan to turn up to prevent this from reoccurring in the future. The methods of finding out why employees are leaving can consist ofExit consultations these interviews are usually held soon subsequently the employee has resigned. The interviewer can take the opportunity to find out why the employee is leaving, the conditions under which they would have stayed and breakments the company can make in the future.Leaver questionnaires these are either finished during the interview or sent to people once they have left the company and normally consist of closed questions to make it easier to try. (Leavers qu estionnaire are also known as bearing Surveys)The exit interview is an increasingly common procedure when an employee leaves an organisation. Ostensibly these are conducted to gain information approximately the reasons for the employees departure, information which can then be used to change human resource management.(Furnham, A 2001)Once the reasons for employees leaving has been established, they can be put into separate categories so the organisation can see what the most popular reasons are for people leaving. They can then go on to make relevant changes in order to help retain workers.7.10 finale of literatureOverall, it seems that in order for the retail persistence to grow, organisations must improve their retention methods to ensure they have enough employees to recognize with the increase in productivity. It is the sales assistants that have the majority of contact with customers which is why it is so vital to ensure that they receive sufficient training in order to coiffure customers effectively and efficiently while at the same time providing a service to encourage them to come back.A key way to take down employee turnover is to keep staffs motivated, so the intentness will be investigated to find out how this is done and how successful current methods are. The employee turnover rate is so high within the industry so there must be something that is going wrong to cause such a high turnover rate.Exit interviews seem to be the most crucial method of finding out why people are leaving the industry. It is vital to find out why people are leaving so that action can be taken to prevent staffs to from leaving for the same reasons in the future. Therefore, it will be important to find out if retail organisations carry out exit interviews and if they do not, then why not?8. methodology8.1 IntroductionThere are varieties of methods that can be put into practice to assist the tec to seek out relevant information in order to find out the answer to th e research question. Examples of such methods are observations, case studies, interviews, questionnaires and rivet assorts. If would be difficult to make observations to find out why people are leaving their retail jobs as people resigning can happen randomly so its not guaranteed to happen when the researcher has scheduled to make an observation. Case studies will not be used as the dissertation is based on the retail industry as a whole, not on specific shops or department stores. Interviews will not be used either as although they lead to a vast tote up of information organism uncovered, they take up rather a lot of time of so the come of people being interviewed will be hold. A broad choice of peoples opinions need to be taken into consideration therefore, the researcher has chosen to use snap companys and questionnaires in order to obtain both qualitative and quantifiable information.As the study is based on the whole retail industry, a wide variety of people who ha ve worked or even work in retail need to be targeted to find out the briny causes of employee turnover within the sector. The study will be based on primary research, which will be put into practise to find out peoples viewpoints of the topic.8.2 Primary investigateIt will be ideal to use questionnaires to find out information, as it seems to be the most efficient way to use a large example so a wide amount of information can be collected. other advantage of using questionnaires is that they are not very time-consuming therefore more people are likely to do to them. In addition, they are relatively cheap to produce so the researcher will not need to worry in any case much about the costs. The questionnaires will be anonymous so people will not feel obliged to answer in a specific appearance hence, they will be able to express their own opinions without feeling obligated. An additional feature of a questionnaire is that people can randomly be asked to gourmandize one out as l ong as they have had a job in retail. This agency that no appointments need to be arrange and that the be can be conducted at any time or place.However, there are some disadvantages with questionnaires such as the structure of the questionnaire needs to be simple and easy to understand so that people do not get confused. This could ruin the results of the questionnaire as if people misunderstand the questions or the layout they will not answer or complete it properly. If people have literacy paradoxs, it may make it difficult for them to complete the fall out accurately. Some people may leave out some of the questions, which could cause a business when recording the entropy. This could also lead to the wrong conclusions being drawn to as if people skip questions the results will differ. Consequently, this will need to be taken into consideration when recording the results of the survey. Another possible problem is that the response rate is not guaranteed to be one atomic num ber 6 per penny so some questionnaires perhaps wasted. The questionnaire will need to be short and straight to the point, if there are too many long questions it may discourage people from completing it as they may feel that it will take up too much of their time. One more problem with questionnaires is that they are limited so people will exactly be able to give feedback on what they have been asked so a different perspective may be overlooked.With the intention of preventing any issues being overlooked, deuce tension groups will be instigated before the questionnaires are created. This will be done with the intention to stimulate the topic and look at it from a variety of angles. The focus groups will allow for the upward and downwards approach to be put into use, as the information gathered from the focus groups will then be used to develop the questionnaire. One focus group will be made up of university students whom have worked or politic work in retail therefore, the viewp oint of underemployed retail workers whom have other commitments can be established. The other focus group will consist of full time retail workers so that their perception of the issues increase can be distinguished. These group members may have responsibilities such as children, another job, a mortgage etc that is why the researcher feels it is relevant to use two focus groups. Each focus group will have between four to six group members. The focus group will be started by introducing everybody to each other, followed by a summary of the topic. A Dictaphone will be used to record the discussion so that all the information can be recorded so that nothing is left out. The following questions have been prepared to ensure that the discussion is kept on trackQ1) Where does everybody work? / Where has everybody worked?Q2) How long have you all been at these jobs?Q3) Do/did you enjoy it?Q4) What do you like best about it?Q5) What do you hate about it?Q6) Do you feel that your organisat ion seems to constantly be recruiting new people?Q7) Do you feel that this affects you? i.e. do you have to help train them? Are you a great deal left with a bigger workload? How does this make you feel?Q8) When you have left a job did u receive and exit interview?Q9) Do you think this procedure would help the organisation to find out why they areloosing staffs?Q10) If you were the manager, what would you do to retain staffs?A copy of the proceedings of the meeting is available in appendix A.The problems associated with focus groups are that some of the members may feel uncomfortable, as they do not know each other so they may keep their opinions to themselves. However, the researcher will introduce all the members to each other and start the discourse off in a relaxed way to help everyone feel more at ease. Another problem is that it may be difficult to get all the members together at the same time as some people maybe working or have other responsibilities like studying or chil dren.8.3 Pilot StudyWhen the focus groups have been carried out, the information will be used as the foundation for the first picture questionnaire. This will then be tested in order to get feedback on it for improvements. This process will continue until all feedback has been taken into account and all the necessary changes have been made. When this is all completed, the questionnaire will go through a polisher study of about ten people to ensure that all the questions run smoothly and are not misunderstood. The final sport of the questionnaire is available in appendix B.8.4 The SurveyAfter the required changes if any have been edited, the survey will be carried out at Charing botch up train point on a specimen of one coke people whom work or have worked in retail as a sales assistant. The people completing the survey must meet the specific criteria, which are that everybody who takes part must work or have worked in retail. The location was chosen as it is very busy and it should be easy to find a variety of people that meet the criteria that could fall by the wayside five to ten minutes to fill out the questionnaire while delay for their train.8.5 abbreviation of selective informationOnce the survey has been carried out, the info gathered would be entered into an Excel spreadsheet where the info will be put together to analyse it and to find out what are the main reasons for employee turnover within the industry and what can be done by employers to reduce the amount of employee wastage. The data will then be evaluated in order to identify if there are any trends or relationships that can be established. This information will then be examined to find out what the industrys employees require so that employee turnover can be reduced.8.6 LimitationsIt was too difficult to get a group of full time workers from different retail segments together at the same time to hold the second focus group. Some people refused to be part of it and others who state they would participate were not able to agree to a specific time where they would all be free. Therefore, lone(prenominal) one focus group of university students could be conducted.The survey will be carried out on one light speed people whom have worked in the retail industry. In addition, the survey will be based in central London, if the survey was carried out some the whole of England, the results could differ.8.7 Secondary researchThe dissertation focuses on primary research carried out by the researcher however, secondary data in the form of academic books, reports, articles and CIPD studies have been used to look at the existing trends in the labour market. Information has been gathered from various human resource textbooks to look at employees behaviours more closely and to define what factors motivate individuals within the working environment. The Internet was used to find out accredited facts and statistics about the retail industry in order to examine it proximate and determine what has already been established so the researcher could identify if these trends were also shown in their research.9. Analysis and Findings9.1 IntroductionFrom the information found out through the focus group, the researcher decided to use open-ended questions in the questionnaire as a means to find out what people really thought. Peoples opinions have then been categorize so that relationships can be identified more easily. One hundred questionnaires were handed out and fifty-four were handed back fully completed thus the response rate for the survey is 54%.9.2 DemographicsThe results from the survey show that out of the fifty-four respondents, notwithstanding 22% were mannish.In 2003, the retail workforce was made up of 63% fe phallics and only 37% males. (Learning and skills, research report, 20048) harmonise to the survey, just over a third of the industry was made up of men meaning that women dominated the workforce. These results are not biased, as the res earchers assay resembles the trends in the industry, as just over three- take outs of the seek are female. Therefore, although the sexual activity is not evenly split, it will not affect the findings of the survey.The results of the survey also showed that the majority (fifty per cent) of the pattern fell between the blackjack to thirty age-range. However, the sample did consist of a variety of ages as shown in the graph underThis graph clearly shows that women dominate the sample and that no men over the age of forty-one took part in the survey. In fact, only septet per cent of the sample are over the age of forty-one. The under twenty category is the only age range which shows there is an even sexual activity split nine per cent are male and eleven per cent are female. Overall, the survey was completed by respondents with a variety of ages to ensure that different generations of workers could give their viewpoints on employee turnover within the sector.The majority of part icipants have no children under the age of fourteenonly seventeen per cent have children forty-four per cent are male and fifty-six per cent are female. egress of these candidates, fifty-six per cent are married, twenty-two per cent are single and twenty-two per cent are divorced. Forty-four per cent have left the industry due to having children while twenty-two per cent are working full time and xxxiv per cent are working part-time. The thirty-four per cent that are working part-time consist of the individual that are single or divorced. These candidates have to work part-time as they are single parents and they have their children to care for.9.3 The length of time people have worked in the industry and the amount of different retail jobs they have experiencedAlmost a third of the participants have worked in retail for between three to five long time and only four per cent of participants have worked in the industry for ten socio-economic classs or more. This is a very small a mount considering that the most amounts of jobs undertaken in retail by a participant were twelve. This was by only one person who worked in the industry for between five to seven years. Seventy-six per cent of respondents have had between one to four retail jobs which seems to be fairly high considering the fact that over a quarter have worked in retail for a year or less.Out of the whole sample of respondents, only eighteen per cent are pipe down in the retail industry, which means that just over two thirds of the sample have actually left the sector and changed careers.9.4 The reasons for employee turnoverSeven per cent of the survey is still in their first retail job, of which, eighty-five per cent have only been in the first job for one year or less. These candidates are all under twenty, therefore the reason they may still be in their first retail job is that they are so schoolgirlish and are just coming to terms with working life. The research has shown that senior(a) cand idates are likely to have had more jobs in retail asHigh Employee Turnover in the Retail fabricationHigh Employee Turnover in the Retail IndustryExecutive SummaryThis dissertation has been written to determine why the employee turnover in the retail industry is so high. The reason for this is that managers are not following the basic human resource principles such as offering employees competitive wages, opportunities of promotion or challenging work in order to keep employees motivated. As individuals are not motivated at work, they look elsewhere for better paid jobs where they can develop themselves further so they can progress with their careers. The researcher has also recognised that employees want flexibility at work. This is due to many of the participants of the survey having personal priorities that are more important to them such as children or studying while working. There are clear recommendations for employers stating what can be done with the intention of reducing th e employee turnover rate. The most vital are that managers find out specifically why employees are leaving, this can be done by using exit interviews. Once this is determined, they will be able to pinpoint the causes for employees leaving them so that they can then make the necessary changes to keep staff attracted to the job. The study has also shown that it is of vast importance for employers to offer more flexibility in the workplace in order to be able to cater for the employees requirements.The estimated basic turnover cost for a retail assistant is 1,425 per individual. (Taylor, S 200247) This total only includes the expenses of the employee leaving i.e. the paper work and the recruitment process to replace the individual. The total does not account for overtime being paid out to the individuals colleagues or temporary staffs who may be hired to fill the vacancy on a short-term basis. The employee turnover rate for people working in retail is considerably high at 31.3% retail has the highest employee turnover rate throughout all sectors. (CBI Labour and Absence Survey 2004)The researcher has been working in sales for almost four years now and it is of great interest to the individual as to why staff turnover is so high and what can be done to prevent it and how the company can benefit from retaining staffs. To the researcher, it seems more practical to retain staffs rather then recruit new employees. If employers invested money into staffs, they may find that this will save a lot of money in recruiting and training new staffs.AimsThe aims of the dissertation are toIdentify the cause of high employee turnover rates within the retail sectorFind out what employees in this sector want from an organisationEstablish what can be done by employers to retain people in this particular segment of the labour market.RationaleThis dissertation seeks to inform businesses of how high employee turnover can be costly and time consuming which is why the well-known idiom ca n be used to express the basis of the dissertation prevention is better then cure. In the business context, this relates to investing more in staff in order to retain them rather then recruiting, selecting and training new staff. High staff turnovers can influence a businesses performance as it is the employees who are in direct contact with the customers and if they are not satisfied with their jobs, they will not be providing the best service possible to the customers.LimitationThis dissertation is concerned with the retail sector as motivation and retention methods vary in different environments. The proposal does not focus on a particular company but on the retail segment as a whole in order to establish the factors, which account for retention within the sector. The study will be based in London and will focus on individuals who have had experience of working within the retail sector.Literature Review7.1 Definition of Employee TurnoverWhen employees leave an organisation, sever al factors need to be considered which all lead to expenses on behalf of the organisation. The organisation will need somebody to cover the workload of the employee that has left the company and the process of recruiting will need to take place in order to fill the vacancy. The higher the employee turnover rate is of a business, the higher the costs will be to replace these workers which is why it is so important for businesses to calculate. To evaluate the labour turnover, the following calculation can be used(CIPD 2004) Crude Wastage Method___Number of leavers in a set period_____ x100Average number employed in the same periodOnce labour turnover rates have been identified, it will then be possible for the organisation to recognise the extent that staff turnover can affect them by. Reducing labour turnover will mean that less people are leaving the organisation therefore there will be less wastage of employees so that money can be saved, as less people will need to be recruited.Ho wever, not all organisations calculate the cost of employee wastage. In fact, over 50% of organisations believe that this information is not relevant and 31% believe that it takes up too much time and is not worth the effort. (Recruitment, retention and turnover Survey, CIPD, 200433) If organisations do not calculate the employee turnover rate, it will be difficult for them to distinguish its affect and recognise the benefits of reducing it.7.2 The Effect of Employee Turnover on StaffWhen an individual leaves a job, either a temporary replacement is hired or the workload is split between the individuals colleagues until a suitable replacement is found. Hiring temporary staff can be expensive while at the same time, giving the individuals colleagues, an increased workload will cause them further stress. If this was to happen consistently, it could be another cause for people leaving the organisation. The graph shows how employee turnover can have a knock on effect because of the impa ct it has on staffs.(Employee retention report, Reed, 20034)The employer must ensure that people are replaced as soon as possible to prevent other staffs from being put under additional stress and pressure. However, if employers tried harder to retain staffs then they would have to put less time and resources into replacing the workforce.7.3 The Effect of Employee Turnover on the OrganisationThe impact of employees leaving organisations is that it leads to expenses. Replacing staffs takes up time and money, which are both valuable resources that should be saved wherever possible in order to achieve a more efficiently operated business. When a position is vacant, the amount of paid overtime can rise up to 25%, which accounts for the usual workload that is to be completed by less staffs.(Employee retention report, Reed, 20034)The graph shows the adverse affects that happen because of employee turnover. Reducing employee turnover will decrease expenses as the company will not have to s pend as much money to hire temporary staffs, recruit new staffs or pay so for so much overtime.7.4 The Importance of Retention from the Recruitment StageIt is important in an organisation to recruit the right person with the right skills and qualifications for the job.People who represent the best match in terms of their personality attributes, skills and experience are those who are likely to perform best in the job against a range of criteria. They are also the people who are most likely to remain employed for some time and the least likely to take the first available opportunity to leave.(Taylor, S 2002171)This is essential as recruiting a person whom is inadequate to do the job would be pointless as they would not be able to complete the tasks of the job to meet the expectations of the company. Therefore, recruiting a person who is not right for the job would be a waste of time and money as the right person for the job will still need to be found for the long-term.7.5 The Import ance of InductionsOnce a suitable candidate is found and hired, they will require preliminary training, which is known as an induction. This is where the employee is introduced to the company, its culture and procedures. This will help to familiarise the employee with the company and the job requirements. As a result, the employees will learn the various procedures of how the company wants to operate.Inductions are used to welcome the new employee into the organisation and ensure that they feel comfortable in performing their job role successfully.Labour turnover is frequently highest amongst those who have recently joined an organisation. The term induction crisis is used to describe the critical period when new starters are most likely to leave. A well planned induction course can help to decrease labour turnover by ensuring that new starters settle quickly in their jobs and reach an efficient standard of performance as soon as possible.(Kenney, J and Reid, M 1990241)The induction is a very significant part of training as if it is not carried out it can lead to the new employee feeling pressured and may lead to feeling that the job difficult to undertake. Poor or even no induction training can be the result of an employee leaving the company within the first few days or weeks of the start date.7.6 Affects of a Quality Induction ProgrammeClarks is a well-established shoemaker company that has developed a valuable induction programme to ensure that its store employees are capable of achieving the companys targets. Just over 40% of the companys retail staff has already taken part in the training scheme called Shine. The programme is significantly recognised as it won a UK National Training Award. The scheme is part of a strategic plan to improve performance, productivity and employee retention. New starters receive Shine on the first day off work as on-the-job training. The new trainees are given a workbook which is similar to an employee handbook as it covers safety, the job, pay, hours, rules, selling steps, finding stock and equipment knowledge of products, shoe-care, deliveries, credit cards, cheques and refunds. The programme encourages teamwork and helps the new employees to bond together. It is clear that Clarks has recognised the importance in induction training in order to retain employees which is why the company has devised such a satisfactory training scheme.(Shoe shop staffs shine In training 200491)7.7 Retention PlanIn order to retain employees, the company must first find out what is causing them to leave. As there can be a wide variety of reasons for people leaving a company, the plan is broken down into key factorsPay and benefits the company must be able to offer a competitive rate of pay. This is essential as if an employee can perform the same job and be paid more elsewhere then they will most probably leave the company. The company must be able to keep compete with the pay and benefits offered by rival companies. Thes e benefits can consist of share options, pension schemes, retention bonuses and flexible benefitsRecruitment and selection when recruiting employees it is crucial to ensure that the employees skills and abilities match what is required of the post in the company. If this is not done then the employee will have problems in carrying out the job role successfully. It is also vital to produce a truthful image of the job as if it is made to sound more glamorous or exciting then it actually is, the employees expectations will not be met therefore they will not be fulfilled in the new job thus causing them to look for a better job elsewhere.Training and development a good induction process is imperative. Employees also need to have the chance to progress through promotion so that they will not feel like they have to be trapped in the same job.Job design the work may be too boring or undemanding therefore the position may need redesigning or a new approach such as teamwork. This makes it ea sier for job-share therefore employees will be able to work when it suits them better as the job will be flexible.Management ensure that managers and supervisors have the skills and ability to manage effectively and fairly.(Bevan, S. 1997)These are the key features, which the organisation has the control to change. The company has no control over circumstances such as people wanting to move to a different location or ill health therefore these factors cannot be influenced in order to retain employees.MotivationWith the intention of retaining employees, keeping individuals motivated is another way to prevent them from leaving the organisation and to ensure that the employer is getting the best from each individual.Boredom and frustration at work is often the result of an employees lack of involvement with the companys goals and feelings that their ideas are not wanted or listened to. Companies that involve their employees in achieving company goals are able to motivate employees.(Cha pman, M 1997)For individuals to fulfil their full potential this must be motivated thus The harder an employee works, the more / bigger reward(s) they should gain which will keep them motivated to continue working hard. Motivated staffs lead to a more productive workplace therefore it will be more profitable.(Maslows Hierarchy 1954) states that people first needed to fulfil there basic needs before they can progress to achieve self-actualisation. This is best shown in a pyramid, each person first starts from the bottom and through work, the individual fulfil each stage and works his or her way up.(Maslows Hierarchy of Needs 1954)Physiological needs food, water, air, restSafety needs security, job securitySocial needs affection, love and friendshipEsteem recognition, achievement and statusSelf-actualisation personal growth and self-fulfilment.The hierarchy of needs shows thatEmployees need money to pay for necessities such as food, rent etc. This is the basis of satisfactionEmployees need to know that their job is safe so that they do not have to worry about looking for a new job.It is best to work in teams to encourage socialising between employees as individuals can learn from one another and share knowledge.Employees will be motivated to work harder if they know there is a possibility of promotion.This is the hardest to achieve, as most people want to be the boss. This will take a lot of time and very hard work to achieve.Maslows theory explains how individuals have needs and by employers meeting these needs, they are able to motivate them to keep on progressing. It is vital for the needs of individuals to be met as if they are not it will lead to individuals feeling unfulfilled thus leading them to look elsewhere for another job.(Herzbergs Two Factor Theory 1968) This consists of satisfiers and hygiene factors. A satisfier is what motivates an employee, e.g. achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement, personal growth and the actual work itself. H ygiene factors are elements that do not motivate people e.g. pay and conditions, status in the organisation, job security and benefits. The theory expresses that employees will be motivated by good wages, promotion and other benefits etc. Employees are not motivated by poor wages, poor working conditions, no job security etc. Ultimately, employers need to offer staff satisfiers to motivate them to work hard. As long as individuals are happy and fulfilled in their jobs and feel that they are progressing, they will continue to work hard and stay within the organisation.7.9 How to find out why Employees are LeavingThe organisation needs to find out why its staffs are leaving so they can then devise a plan to try to prevent this from reoccurring in the future. The methods of finding out why employees are leaving can consist ofExit interviews these interviews are normally held soon after the employee has resigned. The interviewer can take the opportunity to find out why the employee is l eaving, the conditions under which they would have stayed and improvements the company can make in the future.Leaver questionnaires these are either completed during the interview or sent to people once they have left the company and normally consist of closed questions to make it easier to analyse. (Leavers questionnaire are also known as Attitude Surveys)The exit interview is an increasingly common procedure when an employee leaves an organisation. Ostensibly these are conducted to gain information about the reasons for the employees departure, information which can then be used to improve human resource management.(Furnham, A 2001)Once the reasons for employees leaving has been established, they can be put into separate categories so the organisation can see what the most popular reasons are for people leaving. They can then go on to make relevant changes in order to help retain workers.7.10 Conclusion of literatureOverall, it seems that in order for the retail industry to grow, organisations must improve their retention methods to ensure they have enough employees to cope with the increase in productivity. It is the sales assistants that have the majority of contact with customers which is why it is so vital to ensure that they receive sufficient training in order to serve customers effectively and efficiently while at the same time providing a service to encourage them to come back.A key way to reduce employee turnover is to keep staffs motivated, so the industry will be investigated to find out how this is done and how successful current methods are. The employee turnover rate is so high within the industry so there must be something that is going wrong to cause such a high turnover rate.Exit interviews seem to be the most crucial method of finding out why people are leaving the industry. It is vital to find out why people are leaving so that action can be taken to prevent staffs to from leaving for the same reasons in the future. Therefore, it will be i mportant to find out if retail organisations carry out exit interviews and if they do not, then why not?8. Methodology8.1 IntroductionThere are varieties of methods that can be put into practice to assist the researcher to seek out relevant information in order to find out the answer to the research question. Examples of such methods are observations, case studies, interviews, questionnaires and focus groups. If would be difficult to make observations to find out why people are leaving their retail jobs as people resigning can happen randomly so its not guaranteed to happen when the researcher has scheduled to make an observation. Case studies will not be used as the dissertation is based on the retail industry as a whole, not on specific shops or department stores. Interviews will not be used either as although they lead to a large amount of information being uncovered, they take up quite a lot of time of so the amount of people being interviewed will be limited. A broad selection of peoples opinions need to be taken into consideration therefore, the researcher has chosen to use focus groups and questionnaires in order to obtain both qualitative and quantitative information.As the study is based on the whole retail industry, a wide variety of people who have worked or still work in retail need to be targeted to find out the main causes of employee turnover within the sector. The study will be based on primary research, which will be put into practise to find out peoples viewpoints of the topic.8.2 Primary ResearchIt will be ideal to use questionnaires to find out information, as it seems to be the most efficient way to use a large sample so a wide amount of information can be collected. Another advantage of using questionnaires is that they are not very time-consuming therefore more people are likely to respond to them. In addition, they are relatively cheap to produce so the researcher will not need to worry too much about the costs. The questionnaires will be anonymous so people will not feel obliged to answer in a specific manner hence, they will be able to express their own opinions without feeling obligated. An additional feature of a questionnaire is that people can randomly be asked to fill one out as long as they have had a job in retail. This means that no appointments need to be arranged and that the survey can be conducted at any time or place.However, there are some disadvantages with questionnaires such as the structure of the questionnaire needs to be simple and easy to understand so that people do not get confused. This could ruin the results of the questionnaire as if people misunderstand the questions or the layout they will not answer or complete it properly. If people have literacy problems, it may make it difficult for them to complete the survey accurately. Some people may leave out some of the questions, which could cause a problem when recording the data. This could also lead to the wrong conclusions being drawn t o as if people skip questions the results will differ. Consequently, this will need to be taken into consideration when recording the results of the survey. Another possible problem is that the response rate is not guaranteed to be one hundred per cent so some questionnaires maybe wasted. The questionnaire will need to be short and straight to the point, if there are too many long questions it may discourage people from completing it as they may feel that it will take up too much of their time. One more problem with questionnaires is that they are limited so people will only be able to give feedback on what they have been asked so a different perspective may be overlooked.With the intention of preventing any issues being overlooked, two focus groups will be instigated before the questionnaires are created. This will be done with the intention to stimulate the topic and look at it from a variety of angles. The focus groups will allow for the upward and downwards approach to be put in to use, as the information gathered from the focus groups will then be used to develop the questionnaire. One focus group will be made up of university students whom have worked or still work in retail therefore, the viewpoint of part-time retail workers whom have other commitments can be established. The other focus group will consist of full time retail workers so that their perception of the issues raised can be distinguished. These group members may have responsibilities such as children, another job, a mortgage etc that is why the researcher feels it is relevant to use two focus groups. Each focus group will have between four to six group members. The focus group will be started by introducing everybody to each other, followed by a summary of the topic. A Dictaphone will be used to record the discussion so that all the information can be recorded so that nothing is left out. The following questions have been prepared to ensure that the discussion is kept on trackQ1) Where does everybody work? / Where has everybody worked?Q2) How long have you all been at these jobs?Q3) Do/did you enjoy it?Q4) What do you like best about it?Q5) What do you hate about it?Q6) Do you feel that your organisation seems to constantly be recruiting new people?Q7) Do you feel that this affects you? i.e. do you have to help train them? Are you often left with a bigger workload? How does this make you feel?Q8) When you have left a job did u receive and exit interview?Q9) Do you think this procedure would help the organisation to find out why they areloosing staffs?Q10) If you were the manager, what would you do to retain staffs?A copy of the minutes of the meeting is available in appendix A.The problems associated with focus groups are that some of the members may feel uncomfortable, as they do not know each other so they may keep their opinions to themselves. However, the researcher will introduce all the members to each other and start the conversation off in a relaxed way to help everyone feel more at ease. Another problem is that it may be difficult to get all the members together at the same time as some people maybe working or have other responsibilities like studying or children.8.3 Pilot StudyWhen the focus groups have been carried out, the information will be used as the foundation for the first draft questionnaire. This will then be tested in order to get feedback on it for improvements. This process will continue until all feedback has been taken into account and all the necessary changes have been made. When this is all completed, the questionnaire will go through a pilot study of about ten people to ensure that all the questions run smoothly and are not misunderstood. The final version of the questionnaire is available in appendix B.8.4 The SurveyAfter the required changes if any have been edited, the survey will be carried out at Charing Cross train station on a sample of one hundred people whom work or have worked in retail as a sales assistant. The people completing the survey must meet the specific criteria, which are that everybody who takes part must work or have worked in retail. The location was chosen as it is very busy and it should be easy to find a variety of people that meet the criteria that could spare five to ten minutes to fill out the questionnaire while waiting for their train.8.5 Analysis of DataOnce the survey has been carried out, the data gathered would be entered into an Excel spreadsheet where the data will be put together to analyse it and to find out what are the main reasons for employee turnover within the industry and what can be done by employers to reduce the amount of employee wastage. The data will then be evaluated in order to identify if there are any trends or relationships that can be established. This information will then be examined to find out what the industrys employees require so that employee turnover can be reduced.8.6 LimitationsIt was too difficult to get a group of full time workers from different retail segments together at the same time to hold the second focus group. Some people refused to be part of it and others who said they would participate were not able to agree to a specific time where they would all be free. Therefore, only one focus group of university students could be conducted.The survey will be carried out on one hundred people whom have worked in the retail industry. In addition, the survey will be based in central London, if the survey was carried out around the whole of England, the results could differ.8.7 Secondary researchThe dissertation focuses on primary research carried out by the researcher however, secondary data in the form of academic books, reports, articles and CIPD studies have been used to look at the existing trends in the labour market. Information has been gathered from various human resource textbooks to look at employees behaviours more closely and to define what factors motivate individuals within the working envi ronment. The Internet was used to find out reliable facts and statistics about the retail industry in order to examine it closer and determine what has already been established so the researcher could identify if these trends were also shown in their research.9. Analysis and Findings9.1 IntroductionFrom the information found out through the focus group, the researcher decided to use open-ended questions in the questionnaire as a means to find out what people really thought. Peoples opinions have then been categorised so that relationships can be identified more easily. One hundred questionnaires were handed out and fifty-four were handed back fully completed thus the response rate for the survey is 54%.9.2 DemographicsThe results from the survey show that out of the fifty-four respondents, only 22% were male.In 2003, the retail workforce was made up of 63% females and only 37% males. (Learning and skills, research report, 20048) According to the survey, just over a third of the indu stry was made up of men meaning that women dominated the workforce. These results are not biased, as the researchers sample resembles the trends in the industry, as just over three-quarters of the sample are female. Therefore, although the gender is not evenly split, it will not affect the findings of the survey.The results of the survey also showed that the majority (fifty per cent) of the sample fell between the twenty-one to thirty age-range. However, the sample did consist of a variety of ages as shown in the graph belowThis graph clearly shows that women dominate the sample and that no men over the age of forty-one took part in the survey. In fact, only seven per cent of the sample are over the age of forty-one. The under twenty category is the only age range which shows there is an even gender split nine per cent are male and eleven per cent are female. Overall, the survey was completed by respondents with a variety of ages to ensure that different generations of workers could give their viewpoints on employee turnover within the sector.The majority of participants have no children under the age of fourteenonly seventeen per cent have children forty-four per cent are male and fifty-six per cent are female. Out of these candidates, fifty-six per cent are married, twenty-two per cent are single and twenty-two per cent are divorced. Forty-four per cent have left the industry due to having children while twenty-two per cent are working full time and thirty-four per cent are working part-time. The thirty-four per cent that are working part-time consist of the individual that are single or divorced. These candidates have to work part-time as they are single parents and they have their children to care for.9.3 The length of time people have worked in the industry and the amount of different retail jobs they have experiencedAlmost a third of the participants have worked in retail for between three to five years and only four per cent of participants have worked in the industry for ten years or more. This is a very small amount considering that the most amounts of jobs undertaken in retail by a participant were twelve. This was by only one person who worked in the industry for between five to seven years. Seventy-six per cent of respondents have had between one to four retail jobs which seems to be fairly high considering the fact that over a quarter have worked in retail for a year or less.Out of the whole sample of respondents, only eighteen per cent are still in the retail industry, which means that just over two thirds of the sample have actually left the sector and changed careers.9.4 The reasons for employee turnoverSeven per cent of the survey is still in their first retail job, of which, eighty-five per cent have only been in the first job for one year or less. These candidates are all under twenty, therefore the reason they may still be in their first retail job is that they are so young and are just coming to terms with working li fe. The research has shown that older candidates are likely to have had more jobs in retail as