Hospitality Business Management Research 2022

Dissertation Draft
Factors responsible for high staff turnover the UK Hospitality industry
BA (Hons) Hospitality Business Management
University College Birmingham
Validated by:The University of Birmingham
April 2020

Abstract:
This research focuses on exploring and analyszing the numerous reasons that contribute towards
the high employee turnover rates in the hospitality industry within the United Kingdom and to
identify the effect employee work environment has on the UK’s high employee turnover rates.
The author specifically chose this topic because of the current state of employee turnover in the
hospitality industry, especially in the United Kingdom (Monster, 2019).The focus of this
research project was to come up with effective and efficient solutions to the employee turnover
problem affecting the UK’s hospitality industry.Based on the research that was done the study
revealed that the three leading reasons why hospitality employees leave the industry is because
of: Better career opportunities elsewhere, Lack of employee empowerment from management,
their job in the hospitality industry was simply not their career path and the lack of a work-life
balance The study recommends the for the employers in the industry to consider engaging with
employees more, offer more benefits and incentives for hard working employees, expose
employees to career paths within the industry and delegating workload appropriately allowing
staff to have a reasonable work-life balance.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................5
Chapter 1.1. Aims............................................................................................................................5
Chapter 1.2. Objectives....................................................................................................................6
Chapter 1.3 Theoretical Framework................................................................................................6
Chapter 2 : Literature Review:........................................................................................................8
Chapter 2.1. Negative Impacts.....................................................................................................9
2.4 Theories...................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16
Chapter 4 : Methodology...............................................................................................................16
Secondary research:.......................................................................................................................19
4.3 Sample:....................................................................................................................................23
Chapter 5: Findings, Analysis and Discussion 3000.....................................................................25
Chapter 6.0. Conclusion................................................................................................................40
7.0 Recommendations for Further Research:................................................................................41
Research on the issue of staff turnover in other industries within the United Kingdom:..........41
Research on staff turnover in hospitality industries in different nations:..................................42
Use of social media:...................................................................................................................43
References:....................................................................................................................................44

Chapter 1: Introduction
According to Thomas (2017) a research project can be defined as not only a body of work
that is focused on a particular topic that the author must synthesise and analyse, but can be
considered to be a learning experience that one goes through while conducting said research. The
hospitality industry is one of the largest employers in the world, covering many sectors from
food and beverage to travel and tourism. The hospitality industry is a significant source of
employment for the economy in the United Kingdom. The hospitality industry is the UK’s fourth
biggest industry in employment terms and accounts for 8.8 per cent of total employment. The
hospitality industry in the UK has a very high employee turnover rate of 30 percent, which
represents double that of the UK average. Therefore, this research project will seek to explore the
reasons for high staff turnover in the hospitality industry in the United Kingdom. Therefore, the
research will analyse topics such as employee engagement/empowerment, work-life balance and
retention schemes with reference to possible sustainable strategies that could be implemented to
alleviate the impact of the negative effects caused by high employee turnover rate in the UK. To
carry out this research properly primary and secondary data will be used, as the author would
like to ensure that the information presented is appropriate, relevant and valid.
Chapter 1.1. Aims
This project seeks to explore the reasons for high staff turnover in the Hospitality
industry in the United Kingdom.

Chapter 1.2. Objectives
Objective 1. To identify and examine the causes of high staff turnover within the Hospitality
industry in the United Kingdom.
Objective 2. To observe employee's opinion on the factors affecting high staff turnover within
Hospitality in the United Kingdom.
Objective 3. To evaluate high staff turnover can have a negative impact on the day to day
operation of the hospitality industry in the United Kingdom.
Objective 4. To provide a conclusion and recommendations of how employers in the United
Kingdom can improve employee retention in the hospitality industry.
Chapter 1.3 Theoretical Framework
A theoretical framework was constructed once the topic was chosen to aid in research
completion. This was needed in order to ensure that the theories being used is relevant to the
project. Osanloo and Grant (2014) defines a theoretical framework as one of the most important
areas of the research process as it conceptualises the literature review, the research design and
the analysis plan. Ibid (2014) states a that theoretical framework can be considered to be a
blueprint for the research project.

Negative impacts on the industry
Lack of employee engagement
Never ending recruitment
Lack of trained employees
Lack of productivity
Strategies for improving employee retention
Staff appreciation initiatives
Hire effective management
Employee progression
Offer flexible working hours
Better recruiting processes
AIM
To explore the reasons for high staff turnover in the hospitality industry in the United Kingdom.
Factors affecting turnover
Low pay in the hospitality sector
Long and unstable working hours
Absence of career development
Career changes
0 hour contracts (cheap Labour)
Theories
Maslow Hierarchy Theory
Equity theory
Victor Vroom Expectancy theory
Herzberg Theory
Job embeddedness theory

1.4 Rationale
Employee turnover has long been a major concern of the service industry more
specifically the hospitality industry and of academics who investigate human resources issues.
The reason why the author thought that this was something worth researching is according to a
survey carried out by the CIPD. The hospitality industry in the UK has the highest level of staff
turnover and retention issues. The sector suffers from high employee turnover in spite of being
one of the industries in the country generating high employment opportunities (Cipd.co.uk.
2020). The survey also reflected the high level of staff turnover negatively impacts the
organizations in this industry, with 74% of organizations in the UK reporting that high staff
turnover hinders their business performance. The survey also revealed that the four main reasons
that resulted in high staff turnover are, change of career (55%), promotions outside of the
company (45%), level of pay (41%) and lack of career development (33%). High employee
turnover affects the quality of products and services. Mok&Luk,(1995) discovered that high
employee turnover rates are a fundamental labor problem in the hospitality industry, and
theimpact of job attitudes such as organizational commitment on employee turnover has been
found to be significant (Cronin 2019). Based on the evidence stated above staff turnover in the
hospitality industry in the United Kingdom proves to be a pressing issue, therefore the author
proposes to explore the reasons for this issue.
Chapter 2 : Literature Review:
In order to begin to explore the reasons for high employee turnover in the UK’s
hospitality industry; it is inevitable that the author examine the literature that has been written
previously by various authors. This can be done by conducting a literature review, this can be