Warwick Business School: Research Methodology - Retention and Turnover

This report provides a detailed analysis of a research study focusing on employee retention and turnover. The study investigates the factors that influence an individual's decision to stay with or leave an organization, exploring the psychological aspects and identity issues involved. It examines the research questions, epistemological and ontological assumptions, and the research design, including the use of grounded theory methodology and sampling techniques. The report highlights the strengths and limitations of the research design, including the use of interviews and the selection of informants from various organizations. The analytical strategies employed to analyze the collected qualitative data are also discussed. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding employee perspectives and experiences to improve retention strategies.

Research Methodology: Retention and Turnover
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Research Questions/ Hypothesis
The research is mainly focused on the issue of turnover; which has remained a complex
issue for more than a decade for the organizations around the world (Mathis, Jackson and
Valentine, 2013). Hence the research question which is designed in this manner what is the
concept of retention and turnover and what drives an individual to take a decision regarding
staying of leaving the organization?
The decision of quitting job or retaining the job is quite a task for an individual and
during this process an individual might gone through various stressful and mind disturbing
thoughts. There are various factors which affects an individual’s decision of quitting or staying
in the job. However, all these actions are related with the psychological well being and identity
issues of an employee (Saridakis and Cooper, 2016). When people consider leaving the job then
it has been found that they found themselves in a quite low state of identity which also affects
their family and professional relations (Rothausen et al, 2015). The research will find out new
aspects in the area of retention and turnover, in addition to this the topic of the research will add
value to the already existing notion of retention and turnover. Apart from this, the meaning and
importance of retention and turning down the job from employee perspective will also be
understood with the help of research question.
Epistemological and Ontological Assumptions
Epistemological and ontological are two different ways of viewing a research philosophy.
Both the concepts of Epistemology and ontology are elements of philosophy of knowledge and
both have their own significant importance. In other words it can be said that epistemology is
about the way which is generally known by large masses whereas ontology is about what things
are and its deals with reality (MacLean, 2009). When it comes to epistemological assumptions
then grounded theory methodologies are used to investigate the phenomenon. The process an
individual goes through while considering turnover or retention is investigated.
Ontological assumptions focuses on what things are, it deals with the reality and the real
situations that are faced by an employee while dealing with the turmoil of leaving or staying
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back in the organization. There exists a wide array for an individual that leaves a job because nit
everyone who faces dissatisfaction and shocks leaves the organization (MacLean, 2009). There
are certain key shocks which an individual faces while at job. These shocks include changes in
marital status, merger of firm, transfers, layoffs and downsizing. It is quite significant to
understand here that every employee faces certain kinds of shocks or dissatisfaction from their
management but not everybody leaves the organization. They remain in the organization and
perform well. The issue of retention and turnover arises so much because every individual has
ascribed themselves different meaning of similar dissatisfaction and shocks (Finnegan, 2011).
The ontological assumptions tries to find out additional determinants what causes an employee to
quit and retain the job. The research questions focuses on the areas on which employees think
they leave the job and stay in. both the assumptions are properly linked with this aspect as
epistemology assumptions tries to find out the notions that are already known through
methodologies and ontological assumptions tries to find out the reality.
Research design
Research design is an important aspect in any research, a well developed and planned
research design helps in enhancing the research work and hence it should be selected carefully.
The research has been designed in an in-depth manner so that variety of aspects related to the
topic can be understood properly. The dominant models explain only 10% to 25% of voluntary
turnover. Self reports and exit interviews etc are used in this research in order to gain first hand
data (Rothausen et al, 2015). In addition to this grounded theory is also used in the report in
order to understand and explore the people that are involved in retention and turnover. Apart
from grounded theory methodology, primary data has also been collected through sampling
technique. For sampling 59 informants are selected using in-depth interviews. For the purpose of
the research study sampling technique is used. In addition to this the grounded theory
methodology is used which is expanded through sampling technique (Rothausen et al, 2015).
Sampling technique is a widely accepted method when it comes to the collection of first
hand data or primary data. Sampling technique is one of the widely used techniques as it usually
represents a portion of larger population. In this research also sampling technique is used which
has proved quite useful. Sampling technique also represents target population which makes this
technique more reliable (Creswell, 2014). The research has incorporated the interviews and
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discussions of people are leavers and also those who have decided to retain in the organizations.
Apart from this voluntary leavers are also added so that a wide aspect of the topic can be
understood. Sampling technique is least expensive and most convenient. In addition to this it can
also estimate rare characteristics which others method might fails to achieve. While interview the
target population has came up with various facts and aspects that were not known earlier
(Rothausen et al, 2015).
The sample size depends upon the researcher as they can decide the size accordingly; in
this a large sample size or fewer representatives can be selected. In this research 59 informants
are taken as representatives which are quite a good sample size according to the context of the
research study. Sampling technique is quite flexible and is easy to be implemented. Apart from
the strengths there are certain limitations of sampling technique (Creswell, 2014). Sampling
technique is highly prone to selection bias and if this happens then the sample taken will not
remain representative (Rothausen et al, 2015). Various types sampling techniques are present,
some of them are easy to conduct while others are time consuming and due to this very few kinds
of sampling techniques are used by the researchers. In this research, theoretical sampling
technique is used. In addition to this, sometimes sampling frame also become difficult to
construct and it also become expensive for the researchers. This research has also faced problems
related to the creation of sampling framework, it became a time consuming task for the
researcher.
Sampling strategy
The theoretical sampling technique is used in the research, which is a non random
sampling technique. This technique is selected because with the help of this technique only those
respondents are selected which were eligible for the research and these respondents were able to
give deeper information about the concept of retention and turnover in the organization (Stangor,
2010). The respondents were selected quite carefully and they also helped in expanding the
theory. For the purpose of research voluntary leavers were chosen so that they can add value to
the research study. Four organizations were involved in this research study which has provided
access to the information of voluntary leavers (Harrison and Williams, 2015).
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These four organizations were comprised of manufacturing firm, insurance companies,
Service Company and publishing company. The research has used every kind of reliable
information, leaver interviews experiences are also added and apart from this, their psychological
state of mind was also evaluated which has definitely has created value to the organization. In
addition to this the interview of people who believe to stay long in the organization are also
selected (Rothausen et al, 2015). The research has focused on retaining or turning out the job,
that is why it became quite important for the research that it should have authentic data collected
from the individuals that has already faced the situation of dilemma (MacLean, 2009).
The sampling technique that has been used in the research has targeted those individuals
that had left the organizations for a reason. Their responses have proved quite beneficial for the
research study as it has enhanced its validity. The informants have been selected from a list of 44
employees. However while selecting informants various factors were considered such as age,
sex, technical specialties and organization levels. All these factors influence the decisions of an
individual and hence they are selected for the purpose of research study. The informants ranged
from 20-58 years of age and an average age that was taken for research was 40 years. In addition
to this, the informants that were selected for the research also included employees that had
worked in the organization from a long period of time (Rothausen et al, 2015). The informants
belonged to different regions of the world which made the research study quite diverse.
Through sampling technique, a large sample size has been selected so that the research
can cover broad and wide areas. Employees make different kinds of decisions if certain
expectations are not got fulfilled and generally these employees leave the organization. These
informants are also involved in the research study. (Rothausen et al, 2015). Shocks,
dissatisfaction etc are some of the major factors that affect an individual’s decision. These
factors generally encourage an individual to leave the organization (Mathis, Jackson and
Valentine, 2013).
The research study was qualitative based and hence grounded theory methodology was
used. This methodology has made study more easy and knowledgeable. This methodology has
allowed the employees to talk freely so that their concerns can be understood properly (Bal and
Rousseau, 2015). Grounded theory allowed the construction of theories through methodological
gathering of data. The methodological strategies of grounded theory through data analysis are
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quite efficient in qualitative research study. The research study has been conducted on the basis
of grounded theory methodology because it provides clear guidelines for conducting research
(Gyensare, 2016). It addition to this it has also streamlined and integrated data collection and
analysis process in the research study. The grounded theory methodology has been selected
because it is one of the most significant theories which are used in qualitative research. This
research study is also based on qualitative method and hence in order to have an effective and
efficient understanding grounded theory methodology is used. The research is qualitative and it
provides data which is quite rich and it also shows a detailed picture of why people act in a
certain way. Apart from this it also shows their in-depth feelings and they quite freely explain
their experiences.
In this research study qualitative methodology is applied in order to gain an in-depth
understanding of the responses of the respondents. Qualitative research is designed in such a
manner in order to assess the experiences of the respondents. Interviews, focus groups,
ethnography are some methods which are generally used in qualitative research. Therefore
through interview the research study has collected data and analyzed the same (Rothausen et al,
2015). The research study deals with the concept of staying and leaving the organization and
what drives an individual to take decision. For this purpose a large sample size was selected so
that research study has wider domains.
Qualitative research method helped in gaining wider experiences of employees and they
have also shared their ideas while taking decision regarding leaving or staying in the
organization. Qualitative research method has aligned properly with the research question and it
has added value to the research study (Mathis and Jackson, 2010). However, qualitative research
method has various benefits and it has also provided a new dimension to the research study, there
are certain drawbacks or weakness of the same. Qualitative research method is quite a time
taking process as sampling interviews take a lot of time. One of the serious drawbacks was that
respondents were sometime become reluctant regarding giving proper answer and in this way
this method might leads to prejudice results.
Analytical Strategy or Strategies
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The data that has been collected through qualitative research method is being analyzed by
variety of steps. The validity of data is an important aspect in any qualitative research study.
There are five procedures which are generally followed to check the validity of data. These five
interrelated procedures ensure that the models that have been applied in the research study
efficiently describe retention and turnover process (Bal and Rousseau, 2015) Primary data
analysis is done in five steps in which various other measures are also included in order to
properly analyze the data (Rothausen et al, 2015). Open coding has been used so that the
research study can be safeguarded from misinterpretations. Open coding is also done to save
time so that more respondents can be catered in short span of time. Codes are used so that
general idea of what the respondent is wishing to convey can be realized. In this the respondents
have talked about the mission of their respective organizations and how they got deviated from
the mission which has lead to leaving the job.
In the next step first order categories were developed which has helped in gaining
knowledge of how things motivated employees to retain or quit their job. In this, it has been
identified that the reason for work becomes quite important for an employee and started making
sense to them. The reason becomes so dominant that it becomes the ground for employee to
leave or retain in the organization. in this step the factors that were leading to job satisfaction
were turned out because it is believed that they were in existence from earlier time also, such as
whether the job was enjoyable (Rothausen et al, 2015). Any factor which is related with the
concept of enjoying is discarded so that focus can be turned out for generating new ideas. The
first order categories possess various aspects such as vision; objective and meaning of life have
become driving force for the employees to retain the job. In step 4 theoretical similarities was
searched and for this, the second order themes were assessed.
The analysis concluded that the informants assess jobs from various perspectives which
are threats to element of identity such as purpose, relatedness, trajectory, acceptance, expression
and differentiation on a timely basis. Thus, threat to all these areas become a major focus in the
theoretical similarities section. The six and four features are interrelated to the informants and
they cannot be separately judge when a decision regarding the retention and quitting the job is
being made (Rothausen et al, 2015). In the last and fifth step theoretical comparisons were being
made. In this step when all the data collected is analyzed properly, diverse literatures were
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concerned so that a deeper and better understanding can be achieved. In this step comparisons
were being made (Rothausen et al, 2015).
Contribution of Research
The research has focused its attention towards one of the growing issues in the corporate
world and that is to leave or to stay back in the job. In order to gain a better insight various
aspects have been analyzed. The research has been designed so that the meaning of employees
staying in the organization or leaving the organization can be understood properly. It has been
found out that members of an organization are an important part and sometimes they are the most
neglected one also. The major contribution of the research was describing retention and turnover
from a different perspective and that is of the employees who in reality faced the situation
(Rothausen et al, 2015). In addition to this, the research study has also addressed the major gaps
which were there in the concept of turnover and retention. The research has also contributed
towards the understanding of the employee’s physical and emotional strain when they have to
take decision. The research has also developed understanding that turnover and retention are two
major aspects which are related with employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction (Harrison and
Williams, 2015). The data in the research shows that identity and well being is a threat for
organization. The research has also shown that while considering whether to quit or to stay in
organization, well being and identity plays an effective role Coetzee, Potgieter and Ferreira,
2018). Another contribution that the research study makes is that the aspect of coping is an
integral part of turnover processes. Those who have left their jobs have reported that coping with
threat was quite difficult and also it is an important dimension in the organization. In addition to
this, those employees who are in the organization from a long period of time have also shown
that coping is their part of job. Through research study it has become clear that coping is an
integral part of an organization and everybody experience it irrespective, whether they are the
employee of the organization or they have left the same. Another contribution the research study
has made is that turnover is a disorganized process which involves employee’s emotions and
behavior (Rothausen et al, 2015).
For various decades, turnover and retention have been studied separately, because it was
generally believed that both are different and should be studied separately ((Harrison and
Williams, 2015). But the research study supports the idea that both the interrelated and are found
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across jobs all over the world. Another contribution the research has made is the use of
qualitative research methodology which has supported the research question properly and
effectively (Rothausen et al, 2015). The data that has been collected in the research study
provides numerous advantages that also enrich the contribution which was otherwise might get
difficult if quantitative methodology has been applied. Through qualitative research
methodology, the concept of retention and turnover has been discussed together otherwise these
are two different aspects which has been studied and discussed separately.
The concept of turnover is studied with less attention and more attention is paid to
individuals who stay back in the organization. The use of qualitative research methodology is
significant because it provides clear understanding regarding the organizational behavior
(Rothausen et al, 2015). The research study has contributed effectively in generating new ideas
towards the concept of turnover and retention. It is quite significant to know that voluntary
turnover by a good performers are often create complexities for the organization. Turnover
negatively affects the performance for most of the organizations around the world. Employee
turnover in high rates also affects the goodwill and market reputation of the organization. The
research has made a huge contribution towards the understanding of the concept of turnover and
retention and in addition to this it has also touched various aspects related to employee identity
related issues, mental thinking overall health of employee (Rothausen et al, 2015). Identity and
well being are an integral part for an employee to take decision regarding to leave or to stay in
the organization. However there are certain areas which need more attention in the aspect of
retention and turnover.
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References
Teresa J. Rothausen
Kevin E. Henderson
James K. Arnold
Avinash Malshe
Teresa J. Rothausen
Kevin E. Henderson
James K. Arnold
Avinash Malshe
Teresa J. Rothausen
Kevin E. Henderson
James K. Arnold
Avinash Malshe
Teresa J. Rothausen
Kevin E. Henderson
James K. Arnold
Avinash Malshe
Teresa J. Rothausen
Kevin E. Henderson
James K. Arnold
Avinash Malshe
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Organizations: Conceptual issues, applications and the role of co-workers. Routledge.
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Finnegan, R.P. 2011. Rethinking Retention in Good Times and Bad: Breakthrough Ideas for
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Gyensare, M.A. 2016. Employee turnover intention. Empirical evidence from the Savings and
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MacLean, P.J. 2009. Taming Turnover: Creating Strategies for Employee Retention. UK:
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Mathis, R.L., Jackson, J.H. and Valentine, S.R. 2013. Human Resource Management. US:
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