Despite extensive research spanning almost a century, no theory has yet been developed to adequately explain and predict voluntary turnover. This study replicated a relatively new approach to turnover theory, namely the unfolding model. Responses from 123 South African engineers, who had voluntarily left an organisation, to an electronic survey were used to test the validity of the model and its component parts, or decision paths. The data was also applied to the impact of sudden events, as well as relationships between the work-relatedness and negativity of these events, and the work-relatedness of the event and the resultant decision to quit. The model proved unsuccessful in describing the voluntary turnover of the respondents, and only one of the five component paths was successful in describing a proportional group of the respondents. Sudden events, when present, were found to play a significant role in the decision to quit, but no relationship was found between either of the workrelatedness and negativity of these events, or the work-relatedness of the events and the avoidability of the resultant decision to quit. Improvements to the model were suggested, and some suggestions were made as to possible actions companies might take to mitigate voluntary turnover and its effects. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This paper will demonstrate the relevance of employee demographics as extended factors in the voluntary turnover process as these models currently do not sufficiently explain the factors impacting the turnover decision. Over 1000 managers and knowledge workers were surveyed by making use of a cross-sectional questionnaire to identify potential similarities in demographics when deciding on leaving the organization. Findings indicated that various demographic factors (age, race and gender) influence whether pull- or push factors are cited in the turnover process. In addition, it was also found that the level of education has a stronger relationship to employee mobility than race, which contradicts current sentiment of the labour market. Furthermore, it is concluded that demographic factors of employees should be considered in the extension of contemporary turnover models. The findings have implications for human resource management practices in organisations which are more dependent on knowledge workers. In addition the findings have implications on current prevailing theory on voluntary turnover research. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This thesis portfolio includes two studies, a qualitative grounded theory of treatment adherence in people who inject drugs (PWID) and a systematic review of staff turnover in substance misuse services. The empirical paper is presented first, the findings of which led to the systematic review. The qualitative interview study arose from observations made within a clinical trial for the treatment of chronic Hepatitis C (HCV). The Chief Investigator of the ERADICATE trial team initially approached the Adult Psychological Therapies Service to investigate what seemed to be an anomaly – patient engagement with HCV treatment had far exceeded expectations. Indeed, positive treatment adherence is not common among PWID. What is more remarkable is participants continued the trial while experiencing the highly aversive side-effects of interferon, a medication known to mimic opioid withdrawal. It is important, if not crucial, to acknowledge the wider socio-cultural context in which this thesis portfolio was produced; the political landscape changed significantly over the course of writing. Divisive judgements about what characteristics make a person worthy and deserving of resources, became more dominant in public discourse and heightened the author’s awareness to these aspects in the data. PWID are among the most marginalised, and stigmatised groups in society. Several of the participants interviewed were homeless and all were at various points on a relapsing trajectory of injecting drug use. Perhaps positive treatment adherence in this population is counter-intuitive because intuition is often based on assumptions derived from implicit biases. Indeed, until 2008, Scottish policy systematically denied HCV treatment to PWID. Due to the assumption that re-infection was inevitable, treatment was seen to be wasteful. Epidemiological studies now show is that public health is significantly improved when PWID are treated, as population prevalence goes down. Completing this thesis led to an examination of fundamental assumptions, not just relating to the participants or the data, but also relating to the question of what Clinical Psychology is. What can we contribute to the science of human behaviour? How does a self-aware mind arise and become autonomous? What leads adults to mentalize and enact their intentionality through particular behaviours, like taking medication? In grappling with these questions, the reader will detect the influence of developmental theorists, Vygotsky, Erikson and Bowlby. Seminal experiments, such as Tronick’s still face (Tronick, 1989)1 and Harlow’s monkeys (Harlow and Zimmerman, 1958)2, alongside newer fields of interpersonal neurobiology and developmental trauma have supplied the soil in which to ground the data gathered in this study. From our earliest days we are designed to absorb stimuli and integrate our perception into a gestalt. When PWID are characterised as “chaotic”, there is a failure to appreciate what this may really reflect: difficulty making sense of internal experience resulting in the absence of order, coherence and meaning. Therefore, the ontological presupposition underlying both the empirical paper and systematic review, is that humans are resilient, relational beings. When the correct conditions and contingencies are in place, our innate propensity to learn and grow can manifest in positive, adaptive behaviour. Narratives are not only ways of seeing the world, but ways of constructing it; we live through and are created by the stories told by others and ourselves (Murray, 2003)3. The public narrative of scepticism that has emerged around scientific endeavour, makes it all the more incumbent upon researchers to carry out their work with personal conviction, integrity and transparency (Rea, 2017, February 22)4. This qualitative analysis was completed with a high level of scientific rigour. Indicators of quality were employed throughout, for example, particular attention was paid to preserving the colloquial expression of participants in transcription and substantiates the authentic representation of their voice. The resultant grounded theory shows that the interpersonal context is a key part of adherence behaviour among PWID. This finding precipitated another question, if good quality relationships are important for patient engagement, how do staff stay engaged in the task of providing consistent, sensitive care on a sustained basis? The current evidence base on supporting and preserving compassion did not substantiate a systematic review, however, the opposite phenomenon, people leaving their jobs has been explored. As Clinical Psychologists we are able to connect with and influence different audiences by skilfully adapting our language. In order to appeal to managers and team leaders, the most pragmatic way of framing staff disengagement, was to examine actual staff turnover as a ‘hard’, concrete outcome. The methodological quality of studies included for review was reasonable in the context of methodological limitations. Findings point to the importance of collective support, good quality relationships and job satisfaction in mitigating against turnover in substance misuse services. This thesis portfolio is a sensitive and pragmatic understanding of engagement in both PWID and staff with the respective systems within which they are embedded. The results are contextualised and oriented toward medical colleagues working in HCV treatment, service leaders and fellow applied psychologists.

Caseworker turnover in child welfare agencies has been a problem for many years. The turnover negatively impacts the agency, and the staff left behind by their departing peers, and continuity of services provided to clients. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore parental experiences with child welfare staff turnover to determine how clients perceived that turnover impacted their child welfare case. The research questions for this study focused on (a) how clients perceived that child welfare turnover impacted their case and (b) how the turnover impacted their case plan and (c) recommendations for child welfare to enhance services. Conceptually, ecological and general systems theories provided the framework for understanding perceptions of child welfare clients’ experiences. Data were collected using semistructured questions administered to the 8 former child welfare clients in individual interviews. The participants were recruited through purposeful and snowball sampling. The selection criteria for participants were previous clients who had experienced the loss of their caseworker at least 3 times due to turnover. The collected data were transcribed verbatim from an audio recording. Codes were assigned to the data and reliability checks were conducted. The themes that emerged from analysis of the data included (a) effect of turnover on the outcome of the case, (b) loss that comes with turnover, (c) different perspectives, (d) frustration with notification of change, (e) case plan changes, and (f) advice for child welfare agencies. The knowledge gained from this study can help child welfare agencies learn how clients are affected by turnover and what families need from the child welfare agency when facing turnover. The findings of this study could potentially contribute to positive social change by providing guidance for practice and a greater opportunity to help families who experience staff turnover in child welfare agencies.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology Tourism and Hospitality Management in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / The human resource department in the hospitality industry has a reputation for high staff turnover and labour instability due to various reasons, such as staff members who are not motivated and are not recognised for hard work. Another problem is employing unskilled staff, low staff remuneration, staff members not being trained and long working hours. The main research problem was: What were the reasons for the high staff turnover in the selected hotels of this research study? From the main research problem three sub-problems emerged the first being, Why does the selected hotels not understand what actually motivates their employees to stay on in positions? The other two sub-problems are stated in chapter 1. The main objective was to research the reasons why the selected hotels were experiencing such high staff turnover. According to Amos, Ristow and Pearse (2008:172), staff turnover can be from a combination of factors such as what the organisation pays, the working conditions, opportunities for promotion, the quality of supervision, and poor group relations, which makes it more or less appealing as an employer. The research design utilised a multi-strategy approach whereby both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered. The questionnaires were a quantitative data-gathering tool that provided the researcher with information relating to why staff turnover is so high in the selected hotels. Questionnaires were completed by human resource managers, senior managers, managers, supervisors and staff members. The qualitative data were obtained from the interviews and the literature review. Interviews were conducted with human resource managers (HRM) in the selected hotels to find out what problems they face and to find solutions to reduce staff turnover. The main findings were that many of those associated with the selected hotels maintain that hotel positions do not offer creative and intellectual development. Once people have understood the needs and demands of their particular job, their cultural learning and intellectual stimulation comes to an end quickly, causing people to lose interest in their jobs and look elsewhere. The main recommendations were that management styles and human resource practices should be applied to stimulate, communicate with and recognise staff potential. Money was not the main reason why staff resigned from their positions; rather it was the fact that managers were not acknowledging them for their hard work and that there was no growth within the selected hotels.

When looking at factors that influence the performance of call centre employees there are many that can have an effect. The key is to identify the ones that can be managed by the employer and that can be utilized in order to be an advantage to the company. At first a comprehensive literature review was completed in order to establish these factors and next these factors were grouped in four main groups namely: system, employee, managerial and performance measurement factors. The objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence performance of call centre agents. A questionnaire was compiled to test the different factors under four main themes, and then to compare the two sections of the questionnaire that deal with the expectation and the experience of the said employee. A debt collecting company in Johannesburg was used in order to complete this research and the finding was that the following factors need to be looked at and addressed in great detail, ie the employee factors and managerial factors. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

When looking at factors that influence the performance of call centre employees there are many that can have an effect. The key is to identify the ones that can be managed by the employer and that can be utilized in order to be an advantage to the company. At first a comprehensive literature review was completed in order to establish these factors and next these factors were grouped in four main groups namely: system, employee, managerial and performance measurement factors. The objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence performance of call centre agents. A questionnaire was compiled to test the different factors under four main themes, and then to compare the two sections of the questionnaire that deal with the expectation and the experience of the said employee. A debt collecting company in Johannesburg was used in order to complete this research and the finding was that the following factors need to be looked at and addressed in great detail, ie the employee factors and managerial factors. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Company A has experienced high voluntary staff turnover at middle management level between 2007 and 2009. During this period 35% of middle managers have resigned and, this has resulted in significant financial costs being incurred. This research focused on understanding what factors would make the current middle managers stay in Company A’s employment and what the financial impact has been due to these resignations. The research concluded that career development, people development by line manager, feedback of own work, a line manager who teaches and coaches subordinates, and working with a knowledgeable line manager, were the top five factors that would make the current middle managers stay in Company A’s employment. The research further concludes that there was a gap between Company A’s retention initiatives and what the middle managers actually value, thus the resignations. The research has also established that the middle managers’ resignations have had a significant financial impact on the organisation.

Company A has experienced high voluntary staff turnover at middle management level between 2007 and 2009. During this period 35% of middle managers have resigned and, this has resulted in significant financial costs being incurred. This research focused on understanding what factors would make the current middle managers stay in Company A’s employment and what the financial impact has been due to these resignations. The research concluded that career development, people development by line manager, feedback of own work, a line manager who teaches and coaches subordinates, and working with a knowledgeable line manager, were the top five factors that would make the current middle managers stay in Company A’s employment. The research further concludes that there was a gap between Company A’s retention initiatives and what the middle managers actually value, thus the resignations. The research has also established that the middle managers’ resignations have had a significant financial impact on the organisation.

Studien har haft som mål att undersöka och analysera vad som är viktigt för att en ingenjör ska vilja stanna inom ett företag. Datainsamlingen har skett via en kvalitativ ansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer som insamlingsmetod. Studien har tagit plats på ett anonymiserat företag i norra Sverige där sammanlagt nio intervjuer med ingenjörer från olika avdelningar hölls. I studien framkom det att ledarskap, psykisk arbetsmiljö, utvecklingsmöjligheter och en väl fungerande organisation var viktiga faktorer. Utifrån resultatet blev det också tydligt att kontexten företaget befann sig i starkt påverkade vad ingenjörerna uppfattade som viktigt då det var företagsspecifika problem som till stor del påverkade ingenjörernas vilja att stanna.