Organisational factors that influence the turnover of core employees

The importance of human resources has been highlighted by many academic studies in recent times. This increase in interest has been a result of evidence that shows that employees contribute significantly to an organisation’s ability to gain a sustainable competitive advantage as well as to achieve increased efficiencies. It is therefore imperative that organisations retain this valuable asset to prevent the negative outcomes associated with high employee turnover. A high level of employee turnover tends to be exacerbated when these employees happen to be part of the core employees within the business. The organisation that motivated this study experienced an unacceptable level of core employee turnover. This study therefore aimed at identifying the organisational factors that influenced core employee turnover and in doing so, also ascertaining what relationship existed between these factors. The factors identified in the study were employee engagement, HRM practices, organisational culture, organisational support and organisational structure. These factors were uncovered and discussed by conducting a thorough review of the literature available on the subject. The literature review not only revealed the benefits associated with these factors, but also showed that the absence of these organisational factors has a negative influence on employee turnover. The study also utilised quantitative methods to collect and analyse data from respondents in the selected organisation. This focused on their opinions regarding the relationship between the various organisational factors and turnover intention. The data obtained indicated that all of the independent variables identified displayed a linear negative relationship with turnover intention and it could therefore be concluded that negative perceptions on employee engagement, HRM practices, organisational culture, perceived organisational support and organisational structure all had a negative impact on turnover intention. It was also noted that perceived organisational support displayed the strongest negative relationship with turnover intention. Consequently it can therefore be recommended that in order for organisations to retain core employees, it is necessary to develop robust systems that address employee needs on employee engagement, HRM practices, organisational culture, organisational support and organisational structure. A further recommendation made is that careful attention should be given to developing employee perceptions on organisational support, as the results showed that this is the most important factor in influencing core employee turnover behaviour