Management Research Methods: Employee Retention Analysis Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of employee retention, beginning with a literature review that examines key factors such as recruitment, selection, training, motivation, and job satisfaction. The review explores various aspects of human resource management and their impact on retaining employees. The report then critically analyzes two research articles, evaluating their methodologies, applications, contributions, and limitations. The first article focuses on the influence of rewards, human resource policies, and job satisfaction on employee retention, while the second article is not fully presented in the provided text. The analysis includes the application of research methods, contribution of the research, and identification of gaps. The report concludes by summarizing the findings and suggesting potential areas for further research. The study highlights the importance of strategic human resource management in fostering employee retention and the need for organizations to invest in employee development, motivation, and career planning. The report also includes a table summarizing the research methods used in ten relevant research papers, emphasizing the prevalence of questionnaires and surveys as data collection techniques.

Running head: MANAGEMENT RESEARCH METHODS
Management Research Methods
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
2. Review of relevant literature:...................................................................................................5
2.1 Recruitment............................................................................................................................6
2.2 Selection................................................................................................................................7
2.3 Training..................................................................................................................................8
2.4 Motivation..............................................................................................................................8
2.4.1 Remuneration......................................................................................................................9
2.4.2 Rewards and recognitions...................................................................................................9
2.4.3 Career planning.................................................................................................................10
2.5 Job satisfaction.....................................................................................................................11
3. Analysis Methods Used in Employee Retention Research........................................................13
4. Critical Analysis of the Two Research Methodologies.............................................................13
4.1 Introduction to Research Article 1.......................................................................................13
4.1.2 Application of the Research Method used........................................................................14
4.1.3 Contribution of the Research............................................................................................15
4.1.4 Gaps in the Research........................................................................................................17
4.2 Introduction to Research Article 2.......................................................................................19
4.2.1 Application of the Research Method used........................................................................19

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4.2.2 Contribution of the Research............................................................................................20
4.2.3 Gaps in the Research........................................................................................................20
5. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................21
References......................................................................................................................................23

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1. Introduction
The aim of this paper is to conduct a literature review of academic articles on the topic
employee retention. The paper shall review the relevant articles and provide a critical analysis of
two research articles from amongst the ten selected articles related to the topic. The paper shall
also identify any limitations and propose a research question in order to identify and cover the
gaps.
Since ages, the companies have faced the issue of employee retention and have been
finding out ways to improve the employee retention rate. Organizations all over the world incur
huge costs in recruiting, selecting and training the staff. The organizations are unwilling to leave
potential employees for its competitors. This results in the incurrence of huge costs in
recruitment and selection and even financial losses to several organizations (Ahammad et al.
2016).
Employee retention refers to the capability of an organization to maintain and
preserve its employees. Employee retention can be measured in terms of the efforts put in by the
employers for retaining his or her workforce (Aruna and Anitha 2015). The organizations strive
to decrease the rate of employee turnover by attempting to retain its employees, which would
have otherwise resulted in the loss of talent and increase in the recruitment and training costs.
Several organizations have their own retention programs that involve career development,
executive coaching, orientation and motivation (Cascio 2014).
2. Review of relevant literature:
The figure below shows the several parts of strategic human resource management that lead to
employee retention. The recruitment, selection, training, and motivation work together in

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attracting and retaining the employees. Improper recruitment might affect the quality of the
employees in the selection stage and improper selection of candidates shall hamper the
productivity of the organization.
Figure 1: Factors causing employee retention
(Source: Pinder 2014)
According to Terera and Ngirande (2014), an organization can remain ahead of its
competitors only when it has talented employees that help in distinguishing the company from
the others. In order to gain competitive advantage, the organizations need to attract and retain
good quality and talented employees who work towards the achievement of the organizational
objectives.
According to Bode, Singh and Rogan (2015), the cost incurred by the companies in
recruiting and selecting the candidates often turns out to be more than the yearly salary of the
employees.

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2.1 Recruitment:
According to Alias, Noor and Hassan (2014), recruitment is the process of attracting the
right kind of candidate for a job role. Recruitment is one of the major parts of human resource
management. Recruitment is the first step of hiring an employee. The process of recruitment
involves job analysis, sourcing, and screening. job analysis refers to providing the proper
description and specification of the job vacancies. Job analysis refers to mentioning the job role
and the required qualification according to which the candidates may apply for the vacant post.
Alias, Noor and Hassan (2014) stated that sourcing involves finding out the strategies of
attracting the candidates.
2.2 Selection:
According to Gupta (2014), selection refers to the process of choosing the best possible
candidates from among the ones who have cleared the initial stage of recruitment. Selection
involves selecting a qualified person who has the potentiality of contributing to the development
of an organization. The selection system involves judging the candidates on the basis of their
knowledge, skills, and abilities. Selection involves several ability tests, personality tests,
interviews and knowledge based tests. The selection ratios of different companies vary largely.
Beynon et al (2015) conducted a research to establish a relationship between selection
methods and the employee retention rate in the organizations. The researchers have proven that
there is a direct relation between the selection process and the employee retention rate. On the
other hand, any error in the selection process shall increase the expenses of an organization
without increasing the productivity.
2.3 Training:

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According to Pinder (2014), training and development is an essential part of human
resource management wherein the selected candidates are provided the knowledge about their
exact job roles and their skills and knowledge are sharpened for improving their performance.
Training involves providing theoretical as well as practical knowledge about the job role and
making them fit for their job role. The training can be in the form of on the job training, online
training, case studies, apprenticeship, classroom training, mentoring and off the job training.
Training helps the employees to improve their performance and gain appreciation. Appreciation,
in turn, helps in keeping the employees motivated, which in turn helps in increasing the retention
rate. Training is also an effective way of motivating the employees and creating a sense of
belongingness among them (Pinder 2014).
2.4 Motivation:
According to Das and Baruah (2013), motivation refers to inspiring the employees and
instilling enthusiasm within them so that they work more efficiently towards the achievement of
the goals and objectives of an organization. Motivation can be of two types namely monetary
motivation and non- monetary motivation. The monetary motivation involves motivating the
employees by providing them with salaries, compensations, incentives, bonus, profit sharing and
other monetary benefits. The non- monetary motivation involves motivating the employees by
providing them rewards, recognition, appreciation, status, work- life balance, promotion, job
enlargement and job enrichment.
2.4.1 Remuneration:
According to Davis (2013), remuneration refers to the payment made to the employees in
return for the work done by them. Employees put in their efforts and work to earn money, which

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is their basic right. The organizations all over the world have a fixed minimum wage payment
structure that is not related to the performance of the employees. When an employee over-
achieves his or her targets or performs exceptionally, he or she is provided with an additional
remuneration, which is usually termed as incentives. Remuneration plays a vital role in
motivating the employees (Haider et al. 2015).
2.4.2 Rewards and recognitions:
Rewards and recognitions are the non-monetary ways of motivating an employee.
Rewards and recognitions are effective only when the employees are not attracted towards
monetary and financial benefits. Retaining employees has always been a challenge for the
organizations. (Pinder 2014).
Kwenin, Mauthe and Nzulwa 2013, conducted a research on the impact of rewards and
recognitions on the employee retention rate within an organization. For this purpose, they
prepared an online questionnaire and 60 percent of the 146 respondents agreed to the fact that
rewards and recognitions help in motivating the employees that in turn increases the employee
retention rate within an organization.
2.4.3 Career planning:
According to Pinder (2014), career planning refers to the process of matching the
individual career goals and capabilities with the opportunities for their fulfillment. Career
planning is not just the task of the employees but the employers are also responsible for helping
his or her employees in the career planning and development of the employees.

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Gupta (2014) has concluded that the organizations in which the employees have assisted
their employees in managing their career have witnesses highly motivated and enthusiastic
employees. These employees have been observed to stay longer with the organization. On the
contrary, those organizations in which the employers have taken no interest in the personal
development and career planning of the employees have witnessed employees with low morale.
2.5 Job satisfaction:
According to Davis (2013), job satisfaction refers to the overall satisfaction that an employee
derives from working for an organization. The satisfaction can be in terms of monetary benefits,
non- monetary benefits, psychological benefits, and others. Cascio (2014) has stated that some
employees lay more emphasis on the salaries, wages, incentives, bonus and other financial
benefits. On the other hand, there are several employees who give more importance to the non-
monetary benefits such as rewards and recognitions, good relationships with the employers, job
enlargement, job enrichment and organization policies. These employees cannot be retained by
offering them monetary benefits instead, these employees can be retained by providing them
status, rewards, and recognitions.

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3. Analysis Methods Used in Employee Retention Research
In order to conduct the literature review, 10 research papers were identified as relevant
journals to the main topic of employee retention. In order to support the 10 journals on employee
retention, an additional 12 relevant journals were used as supporting references.
Research Methods Count
Questionnaire/Survey 7
Interview 2
Secondary/Thematic Analysis 1
Observational/Behavioral Analysis 0
Table 1: Types of Research Methods used in 10 research papers
According to the table, the most preferred and used data collection technique on the topic
of employee retention is by survey or questionnaire. The questions constituted of both open-
ended and close-ended questions with options provided in Likert scale.
In a paper, secondary or thematic analysis has been conducted, as it included a
comparison between the employee retention techniques of two different companies. These
allowed the researcher to compare and a contrast between the employee retention strategies of
both the companies and predict the rate of success.

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4. Critical Analysis of the Two Research Methodologies
4.1 Introduction to Research Article 1
This section of the report emphasizes on the research method followed and implemented
by the Kwenin, Mauthe and Nzulwa (2013) in the research journal named The Influence of
Employee Rewards, Human Resource Policies and Job Satisfaction on the Retention of
Employees in Vodafone Ghana.
4.1.2 Application of the Research Method used
The research paper by Kwenin, Mauthe and Nzulwa (2013) aim towards evaluating the
influence of rewards, job satisfaction and the human resource policies on employee retention.
The most interesting research question in the aforementioned research paper is an association
between rewards and job satisfaction on employee retention.
For this research paper, data has been collected from both qualitative and quantitative
data collection technique. For example, the questions developed for the quantitative data analysis
included responses in terms of rewards, places, and education. After collecting the response from
the survey, statistical analysis has been conducted. The survey questionnaire was circulated
online and it was not mandatory for all the participants for the response. However, the
participants were allowed to gather a wide range of information related to employment and
employee retention. These aforementioned factors emphasize on maximizing the rate of
completion of the survey by offering incentives.
While conducting the research in 2013, the online website of the survey has received
several responses with valid returns. The respondents sampled belonged to the employees of
Vodafone in Ghana, Africa. As the online survey gathered thousand of responses, inclusion, and

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exclusion criteria were used to bring the data to the minimum. Respondents above the age 60 and
self-employed participants were excluded to minimize the respondents. Moreover, monetary
rewards as low as $3 to $ 400 were also excluded. The final sizes of the sample used for
statistical analysis for the research were 142.
The size of the sample needs to fulfill the minimum criteria from the employees of
Ghana. The data was further skimmed by creating various sub-categories of the population
identified by the researcher. The main purpose of creating the subpopulations was to filter the
large set of data and narrow it down. Narrowing the data set gathered through online survey
helped in conducting the SPSS accurately and appropriately. In order to make the respondents
more presentable, propensity score and post-stratification weighting were used by the researcher.
During 2008-2013, the online survey questionnaire was continuously available on the
website. However, the paper fails to mention whether the online survey questionnaires were
updated during 2008-2013. Failure to update may result in the lack of relevance of the questions
with the research topic. For example, responses to the global crisis of 2008 might have
influenced the employees to stay with the organization and retain their position to enable job
security. Lastly, the research for this study has been conducted by implementing questions that
were composed previously.
4.1.3 Contribution of the Research
The hypothesis stated by Kwenin, Mauthe and Nzulwa (2013), in accordance with the
research topic are:
H1: Reward and employee retention are not associated with Vodafone Ghana Ltd.
H2: Job satisfaction and employee retention have no effect on each other for Vodafone Ghana.