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To Stay or Leave: Job satisfaction and turnover

By Teresa Howe, CHRP
May 20, 2003

Should I stay or should I go?

"People don't quit companies. They quit managers." While certainly not the exhaustive reason for turnover, presently this opinion is widely held by leadership authors and management consultants. Turnover is not about pure statistics; there is a need to put people first and ensure that business has a human face. Today, where there is heightened uncertainty about world events, the falling stock market, and employee layoffs, people are seeking organizations where they can have a voice and be recognized for their personal contribution in a supportive working environment. Their immediate supervisor has a great impact on their value system's fit with the organization and their level of job satisfaction; two factors which can determine if it is worth staying with their employer or leaving for greener pastures.

Does your organization have a retention problem? Have you analyzed who is leaving and why? Remember, people leave managers more often than they leave companies. Are your supervisors and managers "walking and talking" your talk?

If you haven't reviewed your turnover, should you be concerned? There are some facts we cannot ignore.

• Fact #1: Baby boomers who were and are the largest worker population are getting ready to retire.
• Fact #2: Organizations that are growing will suffer by not allocating necessary attention and financial resources to their human capital.
• Fact #3: High turnover leads to low staff morale, organizational instability and a loss in productivity.

It is well documented that losing an employee is a very expensive occurrence. There is a recruiting cost, interviewing, reference checking, testing, orientation cost, transitional time required to train the new employee, and more. There is also the cost of losing experience. Your clients lose their contacts and employees lose co-workers, both of which result in productivity loss.

The nonprofit sector, already known for high turnover, heavy workloads, and low wages, has traditionally experienced challenges in attracting and retaining employees. Until nonprofits alter their ideas about what is acceptable in terms of staff retention and begin to reflect on how work is valued, it will be difficult to "halt the merry-go-round" of staff turnover.

Why do people leave?

Most HR practitioners and leaders of organizations would instinctively say that people leave because of the following reasons:

• There are better opportunities elsewhere.
• It is difficult to work here.
• Never did fit in.
• Can't get ahead.
• Poor management.

In a recent study of 1,100 employees conducted by Towers Perrin, it was noted that 40% to 45% of the workforce is "at risk" of leaving for another job when the economy turns around. The other news determined in this study is that one third of employees are unhappy at work. Of this discontented group, 28% are actively looking for a new job or planning to leave.

What are their concerns? The top 5 in order were:

1. Workload.
2. Insufficient support by management.
3. Concerns about the future.
4. Lack of challenge.
5. Insufficient recognition.

While surveys provide us with a variety of challenging areas, some of which are controllable and others not, management can tend to the items within their control.

Why do people stay?

By taking proactive actions to improve job satisfaction, a supervisor or a manager can help reduce turnover and retain key staff.

Provide recognition. Never underestimate the importance of good, old-fashioned day-to-day feedback. Employees welcome the "pat on the back" for a job well done because the time taken for personal feedback is disappearing from many organizations. Regular performance reviews are essential communication tools to keep your staff informed and focused. People who are uncertain about where they stand with their current employer are receptive to the lure of another organization. Giving feedback, in a constructive manner, creates respect for the employment relationship.

Measure job satisfaction. To understand an individual's general attitude toward his or her job, positive or negative, is vital in understanding the relationship to employee productivity, absenteeism, and turnover rates. The most common assessment tool in measurement is an employee survey, or through observation.

Treat Human Resources professionally. To help you with turnover or retention problems, the HRPAO and other HR associations can help you recruit an HR professional on a part time or contract basis, or to join your Board as a volunteer. An HR professional can create and conduct exit interviews, review your policies, procedures, employee handbooks, and benefits.

What defines job satisfaction?

In a nutshell, important factors conducive to job satisfaction include mentally challenging work, equitable rewards, supportive working conditions, and supportive colleagues. Commitment to and involvement with the organization and the actual job are also factors.

• Mentally challenging work: Are there opportunities to use skills and abilities with variety of task, some freedom and constant feedback? Jobs with too little challenge are deemed boring, frustrating and can produce feelings of failure.
  
  
• Equitable rewards: Employees want to work in a system that is perceived as just and fair. Are your promotion and pay systems policies meeting their requirements? While not everyone seeks a paycheque as the sole reward, the key is linking pay to satisfaction, which does not mean the salary paid but the perception of fairness. If these policies are perceived as just and fair there is likely to be greater job satisfaction.
  
  
• Supportive working conditions: The working environment is very important in terms of safety, health and wellness. Physical comfort, location heating, noise and professionalism are all-important contributors. Ensuring that your environment is complying with all legislation and listening to employee complaints is important here.
  
  
• Supportive colleagues: For many employees the opportunity for social interaction, with friendly coworkers and supervisors adds greatly to the dimension of job satisfaction. The supervisor's role is a major determinant of satisfaction because of the direct impact this role plays with the employee. Whether there is praise, good listening skills, positive role modelling or a fair attitude, the supervisor will affect the satisfaction level.
  
  
• Job Involvement: Employees with a high level of involvement strongly identify with and care about the kind of work they do. The person here identifies closely with their job title and the perceived value of their individual performance and contribution to the organization.
  
  
• Organizational Commitment: Some employees identify strongly with the employing organization. Perhaps it is the mission or vision or value system of the organization. However an interesting development can occur: while the employee may be dissatisfied with his or her particular job, the employee may view this as a "temporary" condition due to high satisfaction with the organization as a whole and remain loyal. But when dissatisfaction spreads to the organization itself, the employee is more likely to resign.

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Source: Front & Centre Magazine, "Halting the employee merry-go-round" Nov 2002
Source: Organizational Behaviour, Stephen P. Robbins, Prentice Hall, Inc. Fifth Edition
Source: The Leadership Challenge, James M. Kouzes and Barry M. Posner, San Francisco, Third Edition
Source: Canadian HR Reporter, Feb 24, 2003 (Towers Perrin Survey)
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Teresa Howe, CHRP, is an independent HR consultant and writer. As an HR executive with 15 years of generalist experience, she has contributed to several successful organizations being recognized as Canadaâs Top 100 Employers and created meaningful change. As a long-standing member of the HRPAO, she also serves as president of the Board of Directors for Jobstart, a not-for-profit organization, speaks at conferences and creates workshops on HR related issues. Teresa can be reached at tandthowe@yahoo.ca.

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