Impact of high turnover rate on organizational productivity in Marriott

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research Proposal
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
1.1 Background of the research..............................................................................................2
1.2 Research Purpose.............................................................................................................2
1.3 Research objective...........................................................................................................3
1.4 Research questions...........................................................................................................3
1.5 Research hypothesis.........................................................................................................3
1.6 Importance of culture in Marriott.....................................................................................3
1.7 Positive impact on Marriott..............................................................................................3
2.0 Literature review..................................................................................................................4
2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................4
2.2 Employee turnover Intentions..........................................................................................5
2.3 Factor affecting employee turnover.................................................................................6
2.3.1 Compensation................................................................................................................6
2.3.2 Engagement and embeddedness....................................................................................7
2.3.3 Job satisfaction..............................................................................................................7
2.3.4 Work environment........................................................................................................8
2.3.5 Employee motivation....................................................................................................8
2.4 Literature gap...................................................................................................................9
Research methodology.............................................................................................................10
Estimated Findings...................................................................................................................11
Research plan and cost estimate...............................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................13
Appendix..................................................................................................................................16

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Topic: Impact of high turnover rate on organizational productivity in Marriott"
1.0 Introduction
This research will examine the impact of high turnover rate on organisational
productivity in Marriott hotel in Australia. Employee turnover is a major issue in modern
organisation and hospitality industry has the highest turnover rate. The modern business
organisations are faced with the challenge of managing and sustaining a motivated skilled
workforce. Employee turnover is a multifaceted phenomenon as it is influenced by various
factors and at the same time, it has effect on several factors in a firm.
1.1 Background of the research
Employee turnover causes loss in company assets and corporate resources which
jeopardizes the organisational productivity. Hospitality industry leaders have experienced the
need for developing effective policies and strategies to manage an effective workforce and
improve the motivation, engagement, work environment and job satisfaction of employees
working in the industry. Studies conducted by the Bureau of Labour Statistics shows that
employee turnover results in increase in cost by $25 billion in one year (Pash 2018). This
signifies the importance of managing workforce effectively so that organisation can enhance
their productivity and performance (Abbas et al. 2014). The employees in the hospitality
industry due to leave due to lack of work-life balance and increase in stress levels and
majority of the organisations have not been able to developing work environment that
promotes motivation, engagement, satisfaction and culture.
Marriott Hotel and Resort consists of service hotels and resorts of the flagship
international brand. The company is based in Maryland and consists of more than 500 hotels
and resorts operating the international brand (Marriott.com 2019). The company has
expanded its business to all parts of the world and in the current situation in Australia with
the increase in turnover rate in the industry, it is essential for the organisation to examine
their current policies and strategies and identify gaps within the strategies.
1.2 Research Purpose
Australia has experienced a significant increase in staff turnover in the past three
years. As per a survey conducted on the organisations in Australia, majority of the employers
expect increase in staff turnover due to the lack of appreciation and wellness program (Pash
2018). Moreover, more than half of the organisations do not have regular training and
development and review programs. Marriott is no different from other organisations in the

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industry and there has been significant increase in employee turnover. However, employees
in the hospitality consists of casual and part time employees which makes the results skewed
in nature which is not a proper representation of turnover in the industry. Therefore, the
research aims to highlight the impact of employee turnover on the productivity of the
organisation and increase the awareness of the managers by providing suitable
recommendations on the research topic.
1.3 Research objective
 To examine the impact of high turnover rate on organisational productivity
 To highlight the different factors affecting the turnover rate
 To recommend suitable strategy to improve the organisational productivity
1.4 Research questions
How does high turnover rate impact the organisational productivity of Marriot?
What are the different factors affecting the turnover rate?
1.5 Research hypothesis
H0: There is no significant impact of high turnover rate on organisational productivity
H1: There is negative impact of high turnover rate on organisational productivity
1.6 Importance of culture in Marriott
Organisational culture consists of values, beliefs and attitudes which depicts the
common belief within the organisation. The attitude of the employees are reflected within the
organisational culture which is essential aspect of service quality. It is difficult for
organisations to manage an effective organisational culture as they are faced with the
challenge of managing a highly diverse workforce (Abbas et al. 2014). The stress level and
lack of work life balance among the employee working in the hotel industry is high.
Therefore, it is essential for the organisations to channelize and control behaviour of the
workforce to develop positive output. The service industry has witnessed significant change
in the needs of the employees where they wish to have well balanced higher level of lifestyle.
In respect to Marriott, the scenario is quite similar and it is key to manage an effective
workforce by motivating them and develop a culture which results in a motivated and
satisfied workforce.

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1.7 Positive impact on Marriott
This research will aim to increase the awareness of the manager in Marriott by
examining the issues and loopholes within the organisational processes. This research will
measure the various aspect of the organisational policies and processes to provide suitable
changes. This will consist of examining the human resource policies which consists of
employee engagement policies, diversity, inclusion and other aspect which will determine the
changes required.
2.0 Literature review
2.1 Introduction
The hotel industry is one of the most thriving and dynamic industry in the global
market and the hotel industry contributes significantly to the economy of a country by
supporting the tourism and hospitality industry. It is key to discuss the nature of the hotel
industry before examining the issue of turnover and its significance to the industry. Abbas et
al. (2014) described the hotel industry as organisations with the objective of satisfying variety
of consumers consisting of beverages, accommodation and food. The interaction between the
host and the guest is quite common in the hospitality industry and they have to deal with
diverse group of customers.
The hotel industry is responsible for providing jobs to a large number of workforce
and contribute effectively to the gross domestic product of a country. Additional research in
this field assists in improving performance of employees and enhances the competitiveness of
business entities. The success of the hotel industry is dependent on the management,
retention and recruitment of workforce in an effective way. Abbas et al. (2014) states that
hotel industry is seasonal in nature which is one of the major reason affecting the high
turnover rate in the hotel where studies show that employees are hired and fired due to the
seasonal fluctuation in the industry. Saeed et al. (2014) claimed majority of the managers in
the hotel industry are not aware of the concept of demand and labor which makes them
unprepared for matching labour to demand. Therefore, there is a significant need for the
leaders to develop strategies to retain skilled, well-trained and valuable employees so that
they can contribute effectively to the organisation. Deery and Jago (2015) stated that both
voluntary and involuntary turnover in disruptive and detrimental to the industry. The hotel
also face significant challenges from service management, social media, branding and
customization as these factor influence employee turnover.

5RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Organisations make considerable effort, time and money to hire and train new
employees which hampers the overall productivity of the organisation. Saeed et al. (2014)
states that organisation spend more than 30% of salaries on hiring entry level employees,
150% salaries for hiring mid-level employees and 400% annual salary for replacing high
management level employees.
2.2 Employee turnover Intentions
Shuck et al. (2014) states that turnover intention is the behavioural attitude of
individuals of withdrawing from a company. It is one of the significant predictor of authentic
turnover within an organisation. There is a significant need among the management of hotel
organisations to develop better techniques and policies in retaining the well-trained and
valuable employees that facilitate in competing in the international market. Deery and Jago
(2015) examined the relationship between turnover intentions and commitment level among
employees among staff nurses which observed the way organisational commitment affects
the work-unit relationship. This study clearly depicts the relationship between commitment
and turnover which facilitates in highlighting the driving factors in the hospitality industry. It
also shows that work-unit is affected by turnover intention in service industry. On the other
hand, Katsikea, Theodosiou and Morgan (2015) examined the turnover of employees using
normative, continuance and affective commitment collected from 336 respondents in the
nursing industry. The results from these studies showed that employees have high level of
normative and affective commitment showed work-unit relations which is positive in nature.
This is opposite in comparison to the other nurses having lower normative and affective
commitment and they were less likely to leave their job. This study also reflects on the fact
that employees working in service industry need to develop high level of affective and
normative commitment to develop effective policies.
Avanzi et al. (2014) emphasized on the antecedents affecting organisational
performance and employee engagement. Avanzi et al. (2014) also studied and opined that
employee engagement is a component of organisational performance and its outcomes.
Avanzi et al. (2014) used employee engagement in a collective perspective. These studies on
employee engagement aimed to examine and highlight the different factors that shape work
outcomes and employee engagement by examining the perception of human resources,
employees and leaders. Similar outcomes were achieved while conducting studies related to
employee engagement and work outcomes which showed that there has been employee
support has contributed momentously to work outcome and engagement of employees. In