Strategies to Reduce Employee Turnover at Woolworths

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MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (ASSESSMENT 2)
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Description of the problem..............................................................................................................4
Model of leadership and strategic planning concepts to examine the problem...............................6
Designing an intervention for solving the problem.........................................................................8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
The leading Australian Company, "Woolworths Supermarket" is owned by the big group of
Woolworths & it was founded in the year 1924. It is the retail company which operates different
hotels & pubs, departmental stores & also indulges in the retailing of liquor. The complete report
will analyze & describe the particular problem which is being faced by the whole business
organization of Woolworths. The effective model of leadership or the different strategic concepts
will be analyzed to examine the problem along with designing the intervention for solving the
identified problem in the effective as well as in an efficient manner.
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Description of the problem
The company faces the major problem of "high staff turnover" which includes that rate at which
the employees get replace within the business organization. All the leaders are very well aware
of the fact that the high rate of employee turnover eventually decreases the overall productivity
of the business organization. It also results in the bearing of the higher amount of organizational
cost because of which the overall amount of organizational profits reduces (Green, et.al. 2013).
Therefore, the business managers of Woolworths need to implement effective strategies that can
help them retain the employees within the business for a longer period. The high turnover of the
employees is the warning sign of low morale, which is the highest negative factor affecting
organizational productivity.
The business managers should identify & analyze all those factors that can attract the employees
towards the other leading business organizations. This can also increase the level of competition
in the business market (Green, et.al. 2013). This major identified problem can result into the
negative consequences such as the reduced turnover of the whole business organization, reduced
morale among the organizational employees, lower level of productivity & the reduced return of
marketing on the investment. Also, it can be very expensive for the business organization
because they will be required to train new & fresh employees so that they can perform their
duties (Kehoe & Wright, 2013).
Figure: Low staff turnover
Source: By Smallbusiness, 2019
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Model of leadership and strategic planning concepts to examine the problem
There are multiple causes which can result in the high rate of employee turnover such as the
instability in income, lack of growth & career opportunities, bad management, lack of
effectiveness & efficiency, rapid advancements in the technologies & the implementation of the
ineffective styles of leadership within the business organization. The business managers of
Woolworths should identify all these factors/ causes & should implement the leadership models
or strategies, accordingly (Kehoe & Wright, 2013). Following are the certain leadership styles as
well as the strategic concepts that can help the organizational managers to determine or examine
the causes of the higher rate of employee turnover:
 Model of transformational leadership: It describes the relationship of trust between both
the managers & their respective employees. The employees leave the organization in the
case when they feel the state of unfairness or the unjust treatment done to them. Here, the
employees lose their trust in their respective managers & the chances of high staff
turnover increases. This model includes the essential factors of inspirational motivation,
intellectual stimulation, influence & consideration (Aarons, et.al. 2012).
Figure: Model of transformational leadership
Source: By Semanticscholar, 2015
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 Lack of alignment: Sometimes, the goals of individuals do not match with the goals of
the whole business organization because of which the employees lose loyalty towards the
business. When the vision will not be shared or effectively communicated between the
managers & employees, then they both will move & work in different directions.
 LMX theory: This theory helps in determining the biggest obstacle about leadership
effectiveness. According to this theory, the leaders or the managers vary their behavior
from one employee to the other which decreases the ethical fairness within the whole
business organization (Aarons, et.al. 2012).
 Motivation: This is one of the strong reasons which can negatively affect employee
turnover. Until & unless, the organizational employees will not be provided with the
motivational benefits, they will not be able to work effectively & efficiently in the
business for a longer period.
 Concept of relational leadership: The authors view this leadership as the two-way
leadership between the managers and the employees. The employee retention or the rate
of employee turnover can be determined & managed effectively by considering the
essential factors of mutual respect, support & ensuring a higher level of trust (Karatepe,
2013).
All the above models or styles of leadership, as well as the different strategic concepts of
planning, can help the business managers of Woolworths to effectively examine the problem of
high staff turnover. The business managers are advised to measure the rate of employee turnover
with the changing period because the identified rate will directly affect the management of the
organizational cost in both the financial or intangible ways (Karatepe, 2013). Hence, it is very
essential to analyze, determine & measure the rate of employee turnover along with the metrics
over a certain period.
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Designing an intervention for solving the problem
According to the author, John Maxwell, the higher rate of employee turnover can be reduced by
comprehensively describing the different responsibilities & roles of all the employees,
effectively & efficiently. The author explained the "360-Degree Leader" developing the
influence from anywhere, within the business organization. This model includes the four main
dimensions which should be considered & researched effectively by the organizational managers
to improve the situation & eliminate the identified problem (Lu, et.al. 2016). The business
managers of Woolworths can implement this model as an effective intervention or as a change
program which will help them to retain the large numbers of competent employees within the
organization for a longer period.
Figure: Model of Leader 360
Source: By leadership advice, 2013
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The four essential dimensions of this model are being discussed below:
 Self-leadership: This dimension states that the person should learn to lead himself first. It
includes the factors of learning, inspiring the vision of life & taking the action towards
living the visualize life.
 Lateral leadership: The business managers of Woolworths should make their employees
learn about inviting their colleagues & also explaining all of them the effective benefits
of enhancing higher level of cooperation, promoting & learning of the new behavior &
effectively explaining all of them about the reason to enhance the change within the
business organization (Lu, et.al. 2016).
 Leading up: The business managers should enhance the leading by inviting the boss also,
for reaching up to the defined goals sincerely.
 Leading down: Under this dimension, the leadership and authority or management are
being differentiated by the author. According to him, only enhancing the supervision &
management skills are not sufficient (Herman, et.al. 2013). To retain the employees, the
business managers of Woolworths should lead all their respective employees by the
effective example, being more energetic, empowering & highly encouraging the whole
teamwork.
Apart from the above described model of 360 Degree leadership, the business managers &
leaders of Woolworths can also identify & implement some other effective business strategies
that can help them retain the competent & experienced employees for a longer period of time &
help in reducing the higher amount of organizational cost (Herman, et.al. 2013).
The business managers of Woolworths should hire the right people who mat to get fit for the
culture of the business organization, should offer & provide the competitive pay & other
monetary as well as the non-monetary benefits by conducting the effective research in the whole
business market, praising all the good performances & encouraging them for highly performing
in the competitive & positive working environment, showing all of them the proper direction
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which can enhance not only the career opportunities but also help them developed in both the
personal & in a professional manner and allowing all of them with the flexible schedules of
working so that they can effectively create the work-life balance for themselves, appropriately &
suitably (Fu, et.al. 2014).
The managers of Woolworths should also make their people enjoy while working, they should
enable all the employees to enhance the standard balance between the work & their personal life.
Also, they should involve all the employees in the decision-making process & while ensuring the
strategic framework. They should also enhance the higher level of communication for sharing the
goals, responsibilities & roles (Kalemci Tuzun & Arzu Kalemci, 2012). And, most importantly,
the managers should seek the complaints of each & every employee & try best to solve them as
soon as possible.
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Conclusion
It has been concluded that the business organization of Woolworths faces the big problem/ issue
of the high staff turnover, which possesses the various negative consequences. The complete
report analyzes & demonstrates the effective models of leadership as well as the different
strategic concepts with the help of which they can effectively examine about those factors/
reasons which can examine the major problem of high staff turnover, such as the model of
transformational leadership, concept of motivation, LMX theory & the concept of relational
leadership. Apart from all these factors, an effective intervention is also being designed of the
360-degree leadership which illustrates about the four main dimensions, along with the other
effective strategies that can help in retaining the competent as well as the experienced employees
within the business, for the longer period.
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References
 Green, A. E., Miller, E. A., & Aarons, G. A. (2013). Transformational leadership
moderates the relationship between emotional exhaustion and turnover intention among
community mental health providers. Community mental health journal, 49(4), 373-379.
 Kehoe, R. R., & Wright, P. M. (2013). The impact of high-performance human resource
practices on employees' attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Management, 39(2), 366-391.
 Aarons, G. A., Fettes, D. L., Sommerfeld, D. H., & Palinkas, L. A. (2012). Mixed
methods for implementation research: application to evidence-based practice
implementation and staff turnover in community-based organizations providing child
welfare services. Child maltreatment, 17(1), 67-79.
 Karatepe, O. M. (2013). High-performance work practices, work social support and their
effects on job embeddedness and turnover intentions. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 25(6), 903-921.
 Lu, L., Lu, A. C. C., Gursoy, D., & Neale, N. R. (2016). Work engagement, job
satisfaction, and turnover intentions: A comparison between supervisors and line-level
employees. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(4), 737-
761.
 Herman, H. M., Huang, X., & Lam, W. (2013). Why does transformational leadership
matter for employee turnover? A multi-foci social exchange perspective. The Leadership
Quarterly, 24(5), 763-776.
 Fu, W., & Deshpande, S. P. (2014). The impact of caring climate, job satisfaction, and
organizational commitment on job performance of employees in a China's insurance
company. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(2), 339-349.
 Kalemci Tuzun, I., & Arzu Kalemci, R. (2012). Organizational and supervisory support
about employee turnover intentions. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 27(5), 518-534.
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