and reach thousands of daily visitors
3 DECEMBER 2008
NO 1381
Staff turnover
After interviewing numerous potential CCWs, hiring 31 CCWs in 24 months and directing a division in which most CCWs had an average of just over one year of experience, the administrative staff of the division realized the need to make some changes. The child care literature adequately documents the problem of turnover but offers the administrator relatively few aids in correcting the problem. The business /management literature is helpful at this point.
Most of the early research on employee turnover centered around the construct of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is associated with an employee's interest in the work, pay, and the opportunity to gain achievement, recognition, responsibility and/or advancement (Herzberg,1957). A moderate and consistent relationship has been found across various samples between greater job satisfaction and the length of tenure with an organization (Herzberg, 1957; Vroom, 1964; Porter & Steers, 1973).
As the early research has demonstrated, recognition and responsibility are important elements in job satisfaction. This is at least one of the reasons that management experts have emphasized the need for employee participation in planning and decision making (Preston & Hawkins, 1981; Steinmetz & Todd, 1984; Deal & Kennedy, 1982; Peters & Waterman,1982). Admittedly, these experts are generally more concerned with the success of the organization than turnover. However, it is easy to see that a dissatisfied worker, one that does not have the opportunity for recognition or responsibility through participation, is more prone to terminate than a satisfied one.
A 1974 study by Porter looks beyond the job satisfaction construct and examines the relationship between turnover and the attitude construct of organizational commitment, that is, does an employee's commitment level to the organization effect turnover. Porter's study is a 10 1/2 month longitudinal study based on a sample of psychiatric technicians. The study finds that the attitudes held by the individual concerning the organization are predictive of turnover, with individuals who ultimately terminated having a less favorable attitude than those who remain. It also finds that the two attitude constructs, organizational commitment and job satisfaction, are related yet distinguishable attitudes.
In 1982, Graen compares the constructs of leader-member exchange (supervisor-employee relationship) and leadership style to turnover. He finds, when examining the termination of 20 of 48 systems analysts and computer programmers of a large public utility firm, that leader-member exchange is a stronger predictor of turnover than leadership style. Leader-member exchange accounts for nearly three times more valid variance than does leadership style. Thus, he concludes the unique exchange (relationship) that develops between a leader and member, not supervisory style, has the greatest influence on an employee's decision to remain or leave the organization. This study was duplicated in 1985 with the researchers finding the same results, although not quite as strong (Ferris, 1985). Training has also been cited for the reduction of turnover in both management and child care literature (Zemke, 1989; Concilio, 1986; Kimmerling,1986; Blessing, 1986; Meglino,1988). In Job Satisfaction for Child Care Workers (Krueger,1982), a chapter is dedicated to the importance of the supervisor's role in recruiting and training staff.
In a more recent article Krueger states,
"training of all kinds is valuable in reducing turnover" (Krueger,1989,
p. 26). Krueger's main emphasis is on introductory training. He suggests
that CCWs be given 40 hours of formal introductory training spread over
six months. He believes that giving CCWs all their training at one time
tends to cause cognitive overload. When it is spread out over a period
of time, the CCWs are more able to relate what they have learned to
their experience. The premise is that this type of training helps reduce
some of the initial pressures and demands of the job.
B. SCOTT FINNELL
Finnell, B.S. (1992). Reducing child care worker
turnover: A case illustration. Journal of Child and Youth Care Work,
8. pp. 16-17.
REFERENCES
Blessing, B. (1986). Support Your Support Staff. Training and Development Journal, 40. pp. 22-24.
Concilio, R. (1986). Will Coaching Pay Off? Management Solutions, 31. pp.18-22.
Ferris, G. (1985). Role of Leadership in the Employee Withdrawal Process: A Constructive Replication. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70. pp.342-353.
Deal, T. & Kennedy, A. (1982). Corporate Cultures. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Press.
Graen, G. (Ed.) (1982). Role of Leadership in the Employee Withdrawal Process. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67. pp. 868-872.
Herzberg, F. (1957). Job Attitudes: Review of Research and Opinion. Pittsburgh: Psychological Services of Pittsburgh.
Kimmerling, F. (1986). The Youth Market: A Valuable Resource. Training and Development Journal, 40. pp. 59-64.
Krueger, M. (1982). Job Satisfaction for Child Care Workers. Milwaukee: Tall Publishing.
Krueger, M. (1989). Slowing the Revolving Door: Reducing Turnover in Your Agency. Caring, V. pp. 26-27.
Meglino, M. (Ed.) (1988). Effects of Realistic Job Previews: A Comparison Using an Enhancement and a Reduction Preview. Journal of Applied Psychology, 73. pp. 259-267.
Peters, T. & Waterman, R. (1982). In Search of Excellence. New York: Harper and Row.
Porter, L. & Steers, R. (1973). Organizational, Work and Personal Factors in Employee Turnover and Absenteeism. Psychological Bulletin, 80. pp. 151-176.
Porter, L. (Ed.) (1974), Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Among Psychiatric Technicians. Journal of Applied Psychology, 59. pp. 403-409.
Preston, P. & Hawkins, B. (1981). Managerial Communication. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear Publishing.
Steinmetz, L. & Todd, H. (1984). First Line Management. New York: Nichols Publishing.
Vroom, V. (1964). Work and Motivation. New York: Wiley.
Zemke, R. (1989). Employee Orientation: A Process, Not a Program. Training: The Magazine of Human Resources Development, 26. pp. 33-38.
