Why They Leave:Understanding Why Employees Leave

Organisations and Strategies for Encouraging Employees to Stay

Gerry Treuren, Carol Kulik and Prashant Bordia

Five pathways out of the organisation

Type Pathways

Dissatisfaction + Job The traditional explanation for turnover

Dissatisfaction + No Job Job is so unbearable – just had to leave

Typically explains about 30%

Five pathways out of the organisation

Type Pathways Plan Was going to leave when…[…..]…happens

Dissatisfaction + Job The traditional explanation for turnover

Dissatisfaction + No Job Job is so unbearable – just had to leave

Five pathways out of the organisation

Type Pathways Plan Was going to leave when…[…..]…happens

Pull Pulled towards a better job

Dissatisfaction + Job The traditional explanation for turnover

Dissatisfaction + No Job Job is so unbearable – just had to leave

Five pathways out of the organisation

Type Pathways Plan Was going to leave when…[…..]…happens

Pull Pulled towards a better job

Push Pushed out of job

Dissatisfaction + Job The traditional explanation for turnover

Dissatisfaction + No Job Job is so unbearable – just had to leave

The ways employees leave

The ways employees leave

The ways employees leave

Why the difference between organisations?

Different organisations have different leaving profiles based on:

– Organisational policies and practices– The quality of day-to-day management– Occupational types and labour market– Embeddedness of employees

Embeddedness

• Employees have varying degrees of attachment to their organisation and their out-of-work life

• The more embedded an employee, the more likely the employee is to stay

The buffer to the impulse to leave…

• Embedded employees are less likely to be dissatisfied with their job and their employment

• Embedded employees are less likely to resign because of shocks

• Management can increase the level of embeddedness

Embeddedness and turnover

Three factors of embeddedness

• Fit with the organisation and other employees• Linkages with the organisation and other

employees• The financial and social sacrifice of leaving

Fit-based embeddedness• Does the person fit the job, work group and

the organisation? Have similar values? • Management can improve embeddedness by

– Recruiting for Person-Job fit– Recruiting for Person-Organisation fit– Redesigning jobs to better suit high potential/

highly mobile employees

Linkage-based embeddedness• How well connected to their job and the

organisation? • Management can adopt in-house activities

– Mentoring schemes– Workgroups; reward team achievements– Consultative processes– Internal development programs– Appropriate induction and socialisation schemes

Sacrifice-based embeddedness

• What is the cost of leaving for an employee?• Management can increase the economic and

social cost of leaving, through: – Salary/conditions/ superannuation vesting– Development of internal labour market– Onsite/subsidised childcare, parking and childcare

Minimising unwanted turnover

1. Evaluate turnover and embeddedness profile

2. Diagnose organisational patterns3. Implement appropriate interventions4. Regular evaluation

Minimising unwanted turnover

Exit interviews

Identification of appropriate initiativesJob

Embeddedness/ pulse surveys

Evaluating turnover and embeddedness characteristics

• Using exit interviews process to identify leavers’ pathways

• Undertake an embeddedness survey (supplement with pulse surveys if necessary)

Diagnose

• Use embeddedness data and exit interview data to identify the pathways used to leave the organisation

• Identify an appropriate set of remedial and proactive steps to prevent turnover intention and increase embeddedness

Implement and evaluate

• Implement proposed remedies

• Regularly evaluate using pulse surveys and exit interviews and amend remedies if necessary

Takeaway points

• Turnover and turnover likelihood can be assessed and diagnosed

• Different organisations have different leaving profiles

• Management can cultivate embeddedness to minimise unwanted turnover

Thank you

Questions?