The purpose of this study was to determine factors impeding rapid completion of the dissertation. The population studied was 1990-95 graduates of the Department of Leadership and Policy Studies (formerly the Division of Administrative and Educational Services) of the College of Education at Virginia Tech. Two hundred ninety-four surveys were mailed. The total of potential eligible responses was 263. The total of returned, usable surveys was 192, for a return rate of 73 percent. There was one primary research question, with four sub-questions: Are there any student characteristics that can be used as flags for potential problems with completion of the dissertation? 1.Are there any personal characteristics associated with time to completion of the dissertation? 2.Are there any student situational conditions associated with time to completion of the dissertation? 3.Are there any research capabilities associated with time to completion of the dissertation? 4.Are there any aspects of committee dynamics associated with time to completion of the dissertation? Two statistical procedures were followed: linear regression analysis to determine predictors of time to completion of the dissertation, and Chi-square analysis of the independent variables against speed of completion to determine which variables are most closely associated with relative time on the dissertation. Regression analysis showed four significant predictors of time to complete the dissertation: how dissertation writing time was scheduled, computer skills at the beginning of the dissertation, perceived difficulties caused by job demands, and changes in advisor or committee membership. These predictors had a total r2 of 189. Chi-square analysis showed that the following variables were significantly associated with time to completion of the dissertation: perceived difficulties caused by lack of access to resources; whether the subject changed full-time employment or took a new full-time position; whether the subject was a member of the Counselor Education Program; emotional support from the subject's employer; perceived difficulties caused by job demands; whether subjects were on-campus or off-campus, and relative distance from resources; how writing of the dissertation was scheduled; and whether the subject was employed full-time during the dissertation. / Ph. D.

The Cannibal system, comprised of an activated sludge process integrated with a side stream anaerobic bioreactor, is capable of reducing excess sludge up to 60% compared to the conventional activated sludge process. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) in the Cannibal bioreactor and the interchange rate (the percent of sludge by mass interchanged between the activated sludge system and the bioreactor on daily basis) are the two important operational parameters in the optimization of the Cannibal process. This research was designed to investigate the effect of the Cannibal bioreactor hydraulic retention time and the interchange rate on the solids destruction in the system. The first phase of this study has looked at the effect of three different HRTs, 5 day, 7 day and 10 day. The interchange rate during phase I was 10%. The results showed that the 7 day HRT can be recommended as the minimum retention period for the Cannibal process. The 5 day HRT Cannibal system had some settling problems and high volatile fatty acid content compared to the 7 day HRT Cannibal system. The protein and polysaccharide tests showed that the Cannibal bioreactor is primarily involved in the release of biopolymers which are degraded in the aerobic environment. The second part of this study focused on the effect of the interchange rate (IR) on the solids destruction in the system. The interchange rates that were applied in the system were 15%, 10%, 7%, 5% and 4%.The HRT in the Cannibal bioreactor was 7 day. The results showed that the 10% interchange rate gave maximum solids destruction than the other interchange rates. This implies that 10% is an optimum IR for the Cannibal system. Apart from higher solids wastage, the 4% and 5% IR Cannibal systems had higher volatile fatty acid production. / Master of Science

Yes / Challenges in the recruitment and retention of care workers is a long-standing issue [1]. However, these challenges have worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic. In October 2021, there was an average staff vacancy rate of 17% [2], and in November 2021, care homes feared they would lose around 8% of their care home staff as a direct result of the policy of vaccination being a condition of deployment in care homes [3]. This has profound impacts, not only on those in care homes and receiving care at home, but on the health service as a whole, with 33% of social care providers limiting or stopping admissions from hospital [2]. Therefore, this review was undertaken to identify learning about how to support recruitment and retention of care workers during the pandemic. Methods: To identify strategies that are currently being used to support recruitment and retention of care workers, a Google search was undertaken, combining termsthat referred to the setting or role (“social care”, “care worker”) and the topics of interest (recruitment, retention), and for some searches adding in terms that referred to the type of literature being sought (“case study”). Through this, we identified that research on recruitment and retention of care workers since the pandemic was already being published and so a search was also undertaken on Google Scholar for research published since 2020. This was supplemented by a review of websites recommended by an expert working in the area: Care England, National Care Forum, Care Forum, Care Choices, Care Workers Charity, National Association of Care & Support Workers, and Skills for Care. We also reviewed the websites of NHS Confederation, NHS Employers, and the Local Government Association. Inclusion criteria were reports that included recommendations and/or examples of strategies to recruit and retain the social care workforce. While we focused on reports published since the start of the pandemic, given that recruitment and retention of care workers is a long-standing challenge, we also included some significant reports that were published before then. A number of the documents included did not provide a publication date. While many of the reports identified discussed the problems that have led to the social care workforce crisis, we limit our discussion of these in this report, instead focusing on possible solutions. Findings: From the Google and Google Scholar searches, 190 records were screened and 22 potentially relevant documents were reviewed in detail for possible inclusion. Alongside this, seven potentially relevant documents from the websites listed above were reviewed in detail for possible inclusion. From this, 21 relevant documents were identified and included in this review. These included seven documents reporting case studies, one Government report, one report based on a survey of employers, four reports based on surveys of care workers, two reports based on interviews with stakeholders, one report based on interviews and focus groups with care workers, managers, and commissioners, and one based on interviews with care workers. It quickly became apparent that potential strategies for improving recruitment of care workers were closely interlinked with strategies for improving retention of care workers. Below we consider those strategies relevant to both, before moving on to consider specific recruitment strategies and strategies focused specifically on increasing retention.

Syfte: I en kunskapsintensiv ekonomi blir den talangfulla medarbetaren med sin kompetens och erfarenhet allt viktigare att bibehålla inom företaget, vilket inte alltid kan motiveras med en högre lön. Istället kan organisationskulturen innefatta en central roll i bibehållandet av talangfulla medarbetare. Syftet med studien är att få en djupare förståelse för hur talangfulla medarbetare upplever organisationskulturens påverkan på intentionen om att stanna kvar i organisationen. De forskningsfrågor som studien avser att besvara är:  F1: “Hur upplever de talangfulla medarbetarna att en bibehållande organisationskultur uppkommer?” F2: “Varför upplever de talangfulla medarbetarna att vissa betoningar inom organisationskulturen är av vikt för intentionen om att stanna kvar i organisationen?” Metod: I studien har en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer använts för insamling av empiriska data. För att analysera insamlade data har en tematisk nätverksanalys gjorts. Det empiriska materialet och det analyserade materialet presenteras i separata kapitel med en efterföljande slutdiskussion. Resultat & slutsats: Resultaten från studien visar på att fyra olika grundläggande antaganden: “Tillhörighet”, ”Professionalism”, “Inga hemligheter” och “Frihet” är centrala att betona i en organisationskultur för att bibehålla talangfulla medarbetare. Studien visar även att de grundläggande antagandena verkar som egna teman men att de även har samband sinsemellan då de kan möjliggöra varandra eller verka som motpoler. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar med utveckling av befintlig teori då frågor om varför och hur en bibehållande organisationskultur kan uppkomma har besvarats. Den medför även ett djup då en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi har använts för att undersöka ett fenomen som tidigare forskare har undersökt kvantitativt. Studien lämnar även ett praktiskt bidrag till företagsledare vars anställda kan ses som talangfulla medarbetare. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: De begränsningar som finns med föreliggande studie är att organisationskulturen och dess påverkan enbart har undersökts i en specifik kontext i ett företag. Framtida forskning rekommenderas därför att utföra samma typ av studie i en annan kontext. Vi har inte kunnat bekräfta de samband som presenteras då de framkom genom analysen och därav bör framtida forskning studera sambanden vidare. / Aim: In a knowledge-intensive economy, talented employees with their skills and experience, are becoming increasingly important in the company, and this can’t always be justified by a higher salary. Instead, organizational culture can play a central role in maintaining talented employees.The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how talented employees experience the influence of organizational culture on the intention to remain in anorganization. One research question that the study intends to answer is: ●F1: "How do talented employees experience that a retaining organizational culture occur?" ●F2: "Why do the talented employees feel that some emphasis in the organizational culture is important for the intention of staying in the organization?" Method: In this study, a qualitative method of semistructured interviews has been used to collect empirical data. To analyze collected data, a thematic network analysis has been made. The empirical material and the analyzed material are presented in separate chapters with an accompanying enddiscussion. Result & Conclusions: The results from this study show that four basic assumptions: "Affiliation", “Professionalism”, "No Secrets," and "Freedom" are central to emphasizing in an organizational culture to maintain talented employees. The study also shows that the basic assumptions appear as their own themes, but that they also relate to each other as they can enable each other or act as counterparts. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes to the development of existing theory, as questions about why and how a retaining organizational culture can occur has been answered. It also implies a depth when a qualitative research strategy has been used to investigate a phenomenon that former researchers have quantitatively investigated. The study also provides a practical contribution to business executives whose employees can be seen as talented employees. Suggestions for future research: The limitations of this study are that organizational culture has only been investigated in a specific context of a company. Future research is recommended to carry out the same type of study in a different industry than the IT industry. We have not been able to confirm the relationships presented when they emerged through the analysis, and future research should further study the relationships.

Employee turnover can cost an organization a significant amount of money. In addition, retention of employees can beneficial towards to an organization as it e.g. allows to save costs related torecruitment and training of new employees. The fast food industry is recognized as an industry which employs low-skilled employees and is especially in the United States known to be prone to high employee turnover. With regards to Europe, only little information is available in the field of low-skilled employee retention in the fast food industry. Looking towards the Netherlands, there has been no conducted research concerning this topic from a manager’s perspective allowing to identify the best HR practices to limit employee turnover in the organization. Our purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of the practices on employee retention of low-skilled employees in the Dutch fast food industry. To be able to meet this purpose, the following research question was developed “How do managers address retention of low-skilled employees in the Dutch fast food industry?” To be able to answer this research question, a multiple case study was conducted to study several franchises of the Dutch fast food organization “Verhage fast food”. We chose to conduct a qualitative study by developing semi-structured interviews. The empirical material was collected by interviewing an HR manager and the CEO of Verhage to develop an overview of the organization. Furthermore, we conducted five interviews with franchisees of Verhage. These franchisees were chosen based on four criteria being location, variety in experience, amount of employees, and amount of franchises owned. These four criteria ensured that the chosen franchisees in our study are active in different environmental settings. These interviews were conducted with the aim to find out how these franchisees perceive low-skilled employee retention and to identify how these franchisees address retention through the implementation of HR practices. Our study provided a contribution that shows the most effective HR practices in the fields of recruitment and selection, training and development, career development, and recognition and rewards are depending on the situational factors. Whereas one franchisee needs to pay well above minimum wage to attract low-skilled employees, another franchisee can easily pay the employees minimum wages without the need to worry for job applicants. Another contribution based on the outcome of our study is that the provision of training and responsibilities besides being done to benefit the company in e.g. productivity it also results in more engaging employees with a higher intention to stay.

Arbetsgivares största utmaning på dagens multikulturella arbetsmarknad är att vinna kampenom de medarbetare som är duktiga och besitter såväl rätt kunskap som rätt kompetens. Detkrävs stort engagemang och framförhållning för att arbetsgivarna ska lyckas marknadsföra sigpå arbetsmarknaden och hitta rätt personal. Det tycks vara av stor betydelse för arbetsgivareatt attrahera unga, talangfulla studenter för att få ett försprång i kampen om de bästamedarbetarna. Mycket tyder på att kommunala, offentliga organisationer har en svårighet i attändra ungas bild av jobben som erbjuds vilket bekräftas då det är ytterst få offentliga företagsom utmärker sig på topplistor över attraktiva arbetsgivare. Tidigare studier klargör attarbetsgivare är i behov av att skapa sig ett varumärke på arbetsmarknaden och att de börfokusera lika mycket på arbetet med att behålla talangfulla medarbetare som självarekryteringen av dem. Då denna mindre grupp av personer, som är duktiga och har både rättkunskap samt kompetens, får fler valmöjligheter i karriären blir konkurrens om arbetskraftenhård. Syftet med vår studie är att undersöka individers behov både som medarbetare ochprivatpersoner vid beslutstillfället att söka sig till, stanna hos eller lämna en arbetsgivaregenom att anta ett kulturellt helhetsperspektiv. Detta för att se vad en eftertraktad arbetsgivarekan göra för att påverka en individs beslutsfattande om valet av arbetsgivare och därmedbehålla verksamhetens kunskaps- och kompetensnivå.Studien baserades på datamaterial som samlades in genom åtta semi-strukturerade intervjuermed medarbetare från en kommunal organisation. Intervjuerna baserades på en guidebestående av fyra teman där tekniken för kritiska händelser användes i syfte att fårespondenterna att förmedla en detaljrik berättelse kring sina beslut. Följaktligen genomfördesen narrativ analys av berättelserna som lyfte fram avvikande såväl som gemensammaföreteelser i en kronologisk följd.Utifrån analysen för vi slutligen en diskussion där resultatet av vår studie förhåller sig tilltidigare forskning och som sedan mynnar ut i vår slutsats. Vår slutsats är att eftertraktadearbetsgivare arbetar på ett engagerat sätt med att tillgodose de behov och egenskaper somvärdesätts av medarbetare. Detta kräver en medvetenhet hos arbetsgivaren om att talangfullamedarbetare påverkas av kulturella grupper i deras omgivning. Det krävs också en insikt i hurkonkurrenssituationen förändras beroende på tidpunkt i karriären som den åtråvärdamedarbetaren befinner sig i. En eftertraktad arbetsgivare kan påverka medarbetarnasbeslutsfattande genom att vara medvetna om vad som är viktigt vid valet av arbetsgivare,nämligen att: utsidan räknas, insidan avgör. / The greatest challenge faced by employers on today’s multi-cultural labor market is thecompetition for talented employees in possession of the right knowledge and competence. Tobe able to market themselves properly and in order to find the right personnel, employers needto be well prepared and highly committed to the task. It seems to be of great importance foremployers to attract young, talented students in order to get an advantage in the fight for theemployees of the future. There is however few public companies included in the top lists ofattractive employers, which confirm the public organizations’ suspicion that they havedifficulties with changing students’ perception of the jobs they offer. Previous studies haveidentified a need for employers to establish a brand on the labor market and the importance offocusing just as much on retaining talented employees as on recruiting them. Since potentialemployees in possession of the right knowledge and competence are faced with an increasingselection of possible career paths, the competition for this small group of talents hardens. Thepurpose of our study is therefore to investigate the private and work related needs ofindividual employees in their decision of applying to, staying with or leaving an employer.With regards to a holistic and cultural perspective this study aims to see what an employer ofchoice can do to affect an individual’s decision making with the purpose of retaining theorganization’s level of knowledge and competence.This study is based on data gathered through eight semi-structured interviews with employeesfrom a public organization. The interviews were conducted with the help of an interviewguide comprised of four themes in accordance to the critical incident technique, meant tofacilitate more depth to the respondents’ stories. A narrative analysis of the stories was carriedout in which common as well as divergent incidents were emphasized in chronological order.Lastly, we provide a discussion based on our analysis that compares and contrasts the resultsof our study with previous research. The discussion leads to the conclusion of our study: anemployer of choice works in a committed way to accommodate the needs and qualities thatare valued by the employees. That work requires awareness of the influences talentedemployees gets from cultural groups in their milieu. It also requires an insight in how thecompetition changes depending on the career stage in which the desirable personnel aresituated. An employer of choice can influence the employees’ decision making by beingaware of what is important in their choice of employer: the external matters, the internaldetermines.This thesis will continue in Swedish.

The research focuses on investigating the relationship between individuals’ career adaptability, employability attributes and retention factors within the context of talent retention in the 21st century workplace. A quantitative research approach was followed, and a probability sample of (N = 337) of single (42.7%), African (53.4%), female (65.9%), individuals between the ages of 26-40 years (57.4%), who are part time employees (50.7%), mostly at staff level (54.0%) were utilised. Correlational analysis indicated differences between the variables of CAI, EAS and RFMS. Inferential statistics showed a strong relationship between the variables of career adaptability, employability attributes and retention factors. Stepwise hierarchical regression analysis showed that age, gender, race, marital status and job level, their career adaptability and employability attributes significantly and positively predict retention factors. Test for mean differences revealed that males and females differed significantly in terms of their career adaptability, employability attributes and retention factors. Recommendations are suggested for use by human resource professionals in terms of retention practices. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business management)

This ex post facto study (N = 209) examined the relationships between employer job strategies and job retention among organizations participating in Florida welfare-to-work network programs and associated the strategies with job retention data to determine best practices. An internet-based self-report survey battery was administered to a heterogeneous sampling of organizations participating in the Florida welfare-to-work network program. Hypotheses were tested through correlational and hierarchical regression analytic procedures. The partial correlation results linked each of the job retention strategies to job retention. Wages, benefits, training and supervision, communication, job growth, work/life balance, fairness and respect were all significantly related to job retention. Hierarchical regression results indicated that the training and supervision variable was the best predictor of job retention in the regression equation. The size of the organization was also a significant predictor of job retention. Large organizations reported higher job retention rates than small organizations. There was no statistical difference between the types of organizations (profit-making and non-profit) and job retention. The standardized betas ranged from to .26 to .41 in the regression equation. Twenty percent of the variance in job retention was explained by the combination of demographic and job retention strategy predictors, supporting the theoretical, empirical, and practical relevance of understanding the association between employer job strategies and job retention outcomes. Implications for adult education and human resource development theory, research, and practice are highlighted as possible strategic leverage points for creating conditions that facilitate the development of job strategies as a means for improving former welfare workers’ job retention.

Employee turnover negatively affects retail organizations and can lead to poor financial performance, a decrease in competitive advantage, loss of productivity, deficiencies in retaining external customers, and economic failures. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that retail store leaders from the Illinois area of the United States use to reduce frontline employee turnover. Herzberg's 2-factor theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from documents pertaining to retention methods and through face-to-face semistructured interviews with 7 leaders of a retail company in the Illinois area who had experience with effective employee retention strategies. Data were analyzed using manual coding methods, auto-coding features, and word frequency searches. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) effective communication and transparency-improved employee retention, (b) competitive compensation and benefits-package-improved employee retention, and (c) training-and-development-improved employee retention. Organizational leaders mitigating employee turnover contribute to social change by creating initiatives focused on the recognition of value in people, the company, and the community.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Fred O. Bradley / This study investigated the impact of an extended orientation program, Wildcat Warm-up, on academic performance and retention. The study sought to quantify differences between students who participated in the program and those who did not attend in terms of grade point average and retention to sophomore year. Participants in the study were all domestic, full-time, freshmen undergraduate students enrolled at the institution in the fall semester (2004 to 2007). This study sought to provide descriptive and predictability data by comparing two groups of students. One group consisted of participants in Wildcat Warm-up while the second was a comparison group matched on ACT composite score, residency status, and gender. Institutional data were analyzed, including student self-report record information, institutionally generated grade reports from the end of each semester, and enrollment information. The participant group and comparison group were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The first two research questions provided a preliminary analysis of the overall impact of the extended orientation on the two measures identified for the study: freshman grade point averages and retention. The first research question and hypothesis were explored with a two-group independent samples Chi-square test with a dichotomous response variable. The second research question and hypothesis were explored with an analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) for both first and second semester grade point averages. The third research question and remaining hypotheses were explored through a logistic regression analysis using the forward stepwise method. This study found there was a relationship between retention to sophomore year and Wildcat Warm-up participation and slight significant differences between first semester grade point averages for the two groups. In both cases, the strength of the association was small, but significant. The logistic regression analysis allowed for the creation of odds ratios for the predictor variables of the study where it was discovered when all other variables remain constant, the odds of a Wildcat Warm-up participant being retained from freshman to sophomore year were 31% higher than for a non-participant. While statistical significance was found, practical significance considerations did not allow much, if any of the variance, to be attributed to Wildcat Warm-up participation.