Employee Turnover and Retention
CHAPTER 4: STUDY OF SELECTED RESEARCH PROBLEM
4.1 Statement of research problem:
EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AND RETENTION IN LAW FIRMS.
4.2 Statement of research objectives:
• What are employee turnover and retention?
• Measuring turnover and retention
• Why do people leave organisations?
• Improving employee retention
4.3 Research design and methodology:
• What are employee turnover and retention?
Employee turnover
Employee turnover refers to the proportion of employees who leave an organisation over a set period (often on a year-on-year basis), expressed as a percentage of total workforce numbers.
At its broadest, the term is used to encompass all leavers, both voluntary and involuntary, including those who resign, retire or are made redundant, in which case it may be described as ‘overall’ or ‘crude’ employee turnover. It is also possible to calculate more specific breakdowns of turnover data, such as redundancy-related turnover or resignation levels, with the latter particularly useful for employers in assessing the effectiveness of people management in their organisations.
Retention
Retention relates to the extent to which an employer retains its employees and may be measured as the proportion of employees with a specified length of service (typically one year or more) expressed as a percentage of overall workforce numbers.
• Measuring turnover and retention
Measuring employee turnover
Organisations may track their ‘crude’ or ‘overall’ turnover rates on a month by month or year by year basis, expressed as a percentage of employees overall. The formula is simply:
Total number of leavers over period x 100
Average total number employed over period
The total figure encompasses all leavers including those who leave involuntarily due to dismissal or redundancy (and as a result of retirement). It also makes no distinction between functional (that is, beneficial) turnover and that which is dysfunctional.
4.1 Statement of research problem:
EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AND RETENTION IN LAW FIRMS.
4.2 Statement of research objectives:
• What are employee turnover and retention?
• Measuring turnover and retention
• Why do people leave organisations?
• Improving employee retention
4.3 Research design and methodology:
• What are employee turnover and retention?
Employee turnover
Employee turnover refers to the proportion of employees who leave an organisation over a set period (often on a year-on-year basis), expressed as a percentage of total workforce numbers.
At its broadest, the term is used to encompass all leavers, both voluntary and involuntary, including those who resign, retire or are made redundant, in which case it may be described as ‘overall’ or ‘crude’ employee turnover. It is also possible to calculate more specific breakdowns of turnover data, such as redundancy-related turnover or resignation levels, with the latter particularly useful for employers in assessing the effectiveness of people management in their organisations.
Retention
Retention relates to the extent to which an employer retains its employees and may be measured as the proportion of employees with a specified length of service (typically one year or more) expressed as a percentage of overall workforce numbers.
• Measuring turnover and retention
Measuring employee turnover
Organisations may track their ‘crude’ or ‘overall’ turnover rates on a month by month or year by year basis, expressed as a percentage of employees overall. The formula is simply:
Total number of leavers over period x 100
Average total number employed over period
The total figure encompasses all leavers including those who leave involuntarily due to dismissal or redundancy (and as a result of retirement). It also makes no distinction between functional (that is, beneficial) turnover and that which is dysfunctional.