High Turnover Rate at an Organisation Essay Example
High Turnover Rate at an Organisation Essay Example

High Turnover Rate at an Organisation Essay Example

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  • Pages: 9 (2229 words)
  • Published: October 5, 2017
  • Type: Essay
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In order to analyze the high turnover rate at EAV Singapore using organizational behavior principles, our goal is to conduct an interview with a staff member and collect data through online research.

In this paper, we will delve into the background of EAV - a multinational company that specializes in the electrical and fluid power sectors. The local office functions as an intermediary between global production lines and regional clients, with responsibilities ranging from product promotion to managing customer relationships. This branch comprises 50 staff members, including a general manager, departmental managers, and low-level staff within each department.

Despite its success, the local branch has been facing a primary issue - high turnover rate. Through interviews, we will explore the problem as perceived by the interviewee before analyzing its potential consequences and causes. We will discuss various

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models for analyzing this issue to determine the most suitable one before concluding our findings briefly.

The organizational hierarchy suffers from a significant shortage of staff. While the interviewee was there, two managers resigned with no proper replacements. Additionally, only one HR personnel (there was already a shortage of three) still works for the company. Consequently, a HR manager had to be brought in from the main office to address the situation.

Insufficient staffing has resulted in delayed order processing and delivery, leading to inefficiencies and higher operating costs. Although sales in the Asia-Pacific region increased last year due to market expansion, the inefficiencies caused by the staff shortage could potentially hinder EAV's global growth and sustainability as an industrial leader. Additionally, remaining employees have had to carry a heavier workload due to management personnel leavin

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without proper replacements, leading to some managers having to oversee multiple departments. This further exacerbates the problem, as increased workload causes more managers to resign.

Moreover, there has been an increase in expenses for staff training due to the constant flow of new staff, which has resulted from the high turnover rate. This has consequently affected staff morale since they must continually adjust to new colleagues. Various perspectives across the hierarchy, including all levels, employees (excluding the general manager), and employers, will be examined to determine possible causes.

All levelsWeak Organisation Culture A proper induction programme is crucial for new employees as it helps them form impressions of the workplace and culture, thereby creating a mental model on the appropriate modes of behaviour. However, in EAV, there is a lack of such programme to introduce new staff. Additionally, existing employees do not take the initiative to make new colleagues feel welcomed, reflecting a lack of sense of belonging to the organisation. As a result, new staff experience little "sense making" of the already weak organization culture.

The lack of culture within the organization can lead to a self-centered attitude among workers, causing them to prioritize personal interests over commitment to EAV. In addition, incongruence between espoused and enacted values can also contribute to high employee turnover. Comparing EAV's stated core values with the reality in the organization revealed inconsistencies. EAV's relevant values include treating each other with respect and maintaining fairness, honesty, and open communication.

The values an organization professes are called espoused values, while enacted values refer to those that are actually implemented. During our interview, it became evident that the communication among colleagues did not

align with the company's statement of being "fair, honest, and open." Moreover, there was a lack of respect displayed among co-workers as illustrated by an incident shared by the interviewee where one colleague betrayed another for personal benefit. This scenario underscores a corporate environment characterized by gossiping and backstabbing.

When there is a discrepancy between the values a company claims to uphold and the values they actually practice, it can have negative consequences for employee morale. This is especially true when these inconsistencies are present among higher-ups like managers, whom other employees often look to for guidance. Hypocrisy within a company can erode trust between employees and employers, causing tension and increased stress levels. Additionally, low work commitment and a high staff turnover rate may result from these circumstances. In addition to the issue of incongruent espoused and enacted values, there may also be conflicts between an individual's personal values and those of the company they work for. For instance, EAV's fundamental principles include taking environmentally responsible actions.

While not necessarily shared by all employees, those who do not personally value environmental concerns may experience internal conflict when attempting to align with the company's values. This can lead to increased stress levels, and ultimately, departure from the company.

Although it may be improbable that all EAV personnel share a disparity between their individual values and the company's, some may, which could add to the elevated staff turnover rate. Stress is another possible factor behind EAV's challenges. Along with originating from incongruity in personal values, stress can also result from an excess of work. Due to a lack of workers at EAV, team members have had to undertake more

tasks, compelling them to labor for extended periods or execute more demanding duties within those same hours, ultimately hindering their ability to succeed in their designated responsibilities. However, various other factors contribute to increased stress levels besides additional responsibilities.

When workers are given new responsibilities, they may experience role ambiguity which causes uncertainty about their expectations. This can lead to stress related to their roles and result in job dissatisfaction. To mitigate these issues, it is crucial for management to address sources of dissatisfaction like salary and ensure that rewards align with great results. Rewards have the potential to increase motivation, loyalty and create a sense of ownership within the company. However, unfortunately, there appears to be no correlation between performance and reward at EAV.

The multinational company seems to have neglected timely rewards for its employees' successful goal attainment and performance. While there is a brief reference online to a reward and recognition initiative, it may not have been conveyed to all staff members. Moreover, non-monetary incentives such as commendation of accomplishments, prospects for individual development, increased personal accountability, or more satisfying tasks were not mentioned.

There is a link between strong effort and performance and intrinsic factors, while high turnover rates are linked to poor person-job fit. Employers commonly blame this issue on a mismatch between an individual's skills, abilities, and personality and the job they excel in. This can cause employees to be inadequate in carrying out their responsibilities and have difficulty adapting which may result in them leaving the company. EAV experienced this firsthand.

At first, the interviewee was supposed to be an admin assistant. However, she ended up being a customer service assistant when

hired. This is not a suitable match as admin assistants need technical skills whereas customer service assistants require personable skills. This indicates inadequate leadership that should involve motivating, influencing and empowering others for better organizational efficiency and success.

As per the interviewee, the high turnover rate in EAV could be attributed to poor leadership, particularly displayed by the GM. The GM's ineffective leadership is evident from his behavior, causing employees to lack respect for him due to their perception of incompetence and inadequate leadership qualities. According to the interview, instead of proactively assigning tasks or delegating responsibilities, he waits for volunteers, which may lead to further dissatisfaction among workers. Additionally, since some employees may view themselves as more skilled and experienced than the GM, they might not consider him a proficient leader resulting in possible employee discontentment and increased turnover.

The interview revealed that the company had a centralized decision-making process and lacked shared leadership. As a result, employees were excluded from participating in decisions that impacted them directly, which made them feel unimportant and undervalued. This could ultimately lead to their lack of commitment towards decisions made and the organization as a whole, potentially resulting in employee turnover.

This lack of bonding among team members due to the ineffective leadership of the GM is likely to increase employee turnover, as without a sense of belonging to the organization, individuals may become more self-oriented and feel less motivation to remain with the company.

For our chosen perspective/theory/model, we opted for the Team Effectiveness Model. This model examines EAV from various levels such as the entire organization, as well as employees when grouped in teams. It has a vast scope

that includes situational and human factors like physical space and team norms. These elements can provide a realistic and complete view of the EAV problem. Our discussion will only center on relevant aspects. One of these aspects is the Ineffective Rewards Systems. EAV recognizes formal and informal rewards from verbal appreciation to promotions or salary raises. However, according to employees who participated in the 2003 survey, some did not receive acknowledgment for job well-done 5.

Insufficient communication or implementation of reward programmes may lead to employees not recognizing the connection between their efforts and the rewards. Consequently, employees might feel undervalued and decide to leave the company in search of better job opportunities. Additionally, EAV emphasizes individual accomplishments over team contributions, creating a dog-eat-dog culture and reducing cohesiveness among employees. Inadequate physical space also poses a challenge, as some supervisors share cubicles with employees, blurring the lines of power distance and infringing on personal space due to increased supervision.

Delegating tasks to nearby subordinates may be more convenient for superiors, but it can also cause additional stress on employees and lead to a desire to quit. According to a recent study by The Society of Personality and Social Psychology, a lack of identification with one's employing organization can be a sign of turnover. Despite EAV's leading position in the industry and growing sales, an increased workload for existing staff may cause some to leave the company if they cannot adapt.

The GM's poor leadership skills have resulted in a lack of planning, organization, delegation, and engagement with employees. Department heads and employees do not respect the GM as a leader, leading to a lack of leader acceptance. Managers

may be overseeing multiple departments, making it difficult to coach or closely monitor subordinates. The hierarchical approach is neglected, as workers bypass their immediate managers and approach the GM directly with complaints, which is demonstrated by the "backstabbing" email. As a result, managers may feel unimportant, and misunderstandings may arise.

Job insecurity can lead to managers leaving when new opportunities arise, which in turn can affect team cohesiveness. Task characteristics play a role in job satisfaction, with mundane tasks having a negative impact and important tasks with freedom, variety, ownership and feedback being associated with higher satisfaction. The interviewee stated that many employees find their jobs repetitive and unimportant, leading to low satisfaction and contributing to high turnover. A younger workforce with more choices and a tendency to job-hop, along with part-time personnel who are easily replaceable, also contribute to the high turnover rate.

EAV has a high turnover rate due to hiring young, part-time personnel to fill job openings. This has hindered team development because new employees constantly enter the "Forming" and "Storming" stages of team development without staying long enough to establish common mental models that foster effective interaction, mutual support, and trust. As a result, dysfunctional team norms have emerged, as seen in the printing paper incident where employees are self-centered and wait for others to take the initiative.

Undesirable behavior is promoted among employees when they push their workload onto new staff, even if it falls outside of their assigned job scope. Such norms are practiced out of fear of being alienated by colleagues, further perpetuating the negative behavior. Additionally, insufficient staffing forces managers and employees to take on multiple roles, resulting in ambiguous

responsibilities and increased stress.

The EAV group suffers from a lack of team unity, which is caused by backstabbing and leads to members feeling unhappy and hypocritical. Additionally, there isn't enough social support, causing employees to feel insecure and disconnected. This results in a lack of motivation to remain with the organization and fails to meet their needs for job security, involvement, and belonging. As a result, employees act against the company's best interests and experience job dissatisfaction and stress. The high turnover rate jeopardizes the company's survival. Although the model addresses many aspects of this issue, it still has limitations. According to staffing experts at OfficeTeam, 85% of HR managers admit that poor person-culture fit is responsible for staff leaving their jobs.

Although the model does not place much importance on company culture, it recognizes its impact on turnover intentions. Moreover, relocated employees tend to have higher turnover rates due to situational and intrinsic differences unique to each individual, which the model fails to consider. Furthermore, external factors that may contribute to employee turnover are not acknowledged in the model.

Employee turnover is a common issue in the high-tech industry, often caused by the use of contract workers. During economic downturns, dissatisfied employees may stay in their positions despite wanting to leave due to limited alternative job opportunities. Although EAV's challenges are hard to analyze without complete information, it is important to acknowledge that high turnover rates can jeopardize an organization's progress and sustainability. Losing skilled employees leads to losing valuable knowledge and experience. Therefore, EAV must prioritize both talent retention and constant innovation to remain a leader in its field.

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