Martel Communication was founded in Wichita, Kansas. Martel offered discounted long distance service in the USA. Martel service is offered to home and small business consumers from all states in the US. Headquarters are located near Chicago in Lake in the Hills, Illinois.[1] Martel shut down operation in 2009
Retention is the result of mutual satisfaction between the employee and the employer. The employer seeks to retain the satisfactory worker whose abilities serve its needs while at the same time the employee seeks to remain in the organization that fulfills his or her needs. To keep the workforce satisfied and at the same time advance organizational effectiveness, companies must promote employee learning and development and try to satisfy other employee needs.
There are three types of employee turnover: voluntary, involuntary, and reduction-in-force turnover (i.e., downsizing). In a meta-analysis by McElroy, Morrow and Rude (2001), the effects of these three kinds of turnover on organizational performance where studied, from the organization's point of view. Results showed an overall negative relationship between turnover and performance, regardless of the type of turnover.
High performance work practices and employee retention. According to the literature, firms that invest heavily in high performance work systems (HPWS) programs have more skillful workforce, more involved and dedicated to attaining corporate goals. Employee retention is critical to these companies, since their human capital is of major importance (Guthrie, 2001; Shih, Chiang, and Hsu, 2005). According to Shih et al. (2005), HPWS are characterized by a set of workplace arrangements that equip workers with the proper abilities, the means, and the motivation to do their jobs. The corresponding HR practices are proper worker selection and training programs, information sharing, worker involvement mechanisms, compensation related to performance, and promotion opportunities. Other core principles of HPWS are autonomous work groups, flatter hierarchies, giving information and feedback to the employee, training in multiple skills, designing challenging and motivating jobs, and fair treatment, (Griffeth, Horn, and Gaertner, 2000; Kontoghiorghes and Bryant, 2004).
High performance work practices and employee commitment. Organizational commitment refers to an individual's emotional attachment to and involvement in an employing organization (Cole, 2006). Three components of organizational commitment have been identified: affective commitment, normative commitment, and continuance commitment (Meyer, Allen, and Smith, 1993; Powell and Meyer, 2004). "Affective commitment reflects an emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization. Continuance commitment is based on the perceived costs associated with discontinuing employment with the organization. Finally, normative commitment reflects a sense of obligation on the part of the employee to maintain membership in the organization" (Meyer and Smith, 2000).
In all, continuance commitment develops in response to work conditions. Normative commitment develops in response to social pressures. Affective commitment is sensitive to work experiences (Powell and Meyer, 2004). Therefore, affective commitment has the strongest positive effect on desirable work behaviors (i.e., attendance, performance, organizational citizenship behavior), followed by normative. Continuance commitment has little or no impact on those behaviors (Powell and Meyer, 2004; Abbott, White, and Charles, 2005).
In terms of employee turnover, previous studies have found affective commitment to be significantly negatively related to turnover intention, or the intention to leave the organization. Negative correlations for normative commitment were also found, but not statistically significant. Continuance commitment was found to be unrelated to turnover intention (Abbott et al., 2005; Joseph et al., 2007). Consequently, the pattern of correlations between the three components of organizational commitment and turnover intention indicates affective commitment to be the most highly correlated, followed by normative commitment and then continuance commitment (Abbott et al., 2005).
In another study, Chiu and Francesco (2003) investigated whether the two work-related outcomes of job satisfaction and affective commitment mediate the effects of dispositional traits on turnover intentions. This study found both, job satisfaction and affective commitment to be significant predictors of turnover intention.
Purpose of the Study
Although there is wide research regarding employee turnover, mainly its relationship with organizational performance and the predictors of voluntary turnover, there is little or no research focused on retention of talented employees. The main objective of this empirical study, therefore, is to address this research gap by identifying and prioritizing the most important predictors of talent retention in a Cypriot broadcasting organization. A secondary objective is to describe the extent to which talent retention is associated with bottom-line organizational performance.
Benefits
It is imperative for prosperous organizations to retain quality employees. The cost savings advantage is tremendous, as an exorbitant amount of money is spent recruiting and training new employees each year. The initiative is so important that some organizations have “manager’s bonuses tied to preventing turnover of high-potential employees” (Stahl, 2004, p.6).
Productivity also may increase with a decrease in turnover. Managers may then spend less time recruiting new employees and more time developing those who have potential to be truly successful. According to Coulter, “If you see a company that’s achieving its productivity targets, you almost always see a company that’s achieving its profit goals” (2004, p.32). Thus, the quality of current employees may determine a company’s success. As Coulter reveals, “[Retention] is a quest to put the right people in the right place, achieving results the right way, continually learning and preparing for tomorrow” (2004, p.32).
Employee morale, which also contributes to productivity, may be boosted when retention is a primary focus of the company. People who feel good about their jobs are likely to share that feeling with others, potentially increasing the pool of interested applicants. In addition, the reputation within a given community may become increasingly positive if employees who enjoy working for the organization promote it to others.
Subscriber Acquisition Costs (SAC) may be decreased if a satisfied employee shares positive information about the products or services during non-working hours. If a Representative is out with friends and tells them about products and services at SunDial, he or she may have acquired a
customer at no cost to the organization. A happy employee also is more likely to deliver exceptional customer service, in turn pleasing the customer. Perry summarizes it well when he states that, “Aside from the issue of customer dissatisfaction, frequent turnover of staff translates into higher expenses for recruiting, training and lost productivity, not to mention the negative impact it can have on employee morale” (2004, p.36). Knowing that SunDial’s primary goal is to become number one in the home appliance industry, it is imperative that retention be given proper and immediate attention.
SunDial Incorporated employs over 20 thousand employees nationwide, with headquarters located in Colorado. The analysis of a Colorado-founded company that provides jobs within the Denver community should prove valuable for local residents. Both the Masters of Applied Communication Program and the Human Resources (Organizational Communication) discipline can benefit from analyzing a locally-based company and learning about enhanced retention strategies that can be utilized not only in Human Resources, but in the broader communications field as well.
Government budget cuts, redundancies and high levels of inflation have all had a dramatic impact on employee morale in recent months, which in turn have a negative effect on workforce productivity.
"In the early days of the recession, there seemed to be something of a 'Blitz spirit', with workforces helping their employers to weather the bad times by accepting pay freezes or even cuts," said Dilys Robinson, principal research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES).
She warned, however, workers will soon start thinking "enough is enough."
The challenge for HR managers is finding a way to provide these workers with adequate compensation, with continuing limited resources and little sign of the economic downturn ending anytime in the near future.
Predictions are that flexible benefits packages are likely to increase in popularity in the coming months, which will bring advantages to employees at no extra cost to employers.
Diana Bruce, policy liaison officer at the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, said: "Employees will hopefully feel the benefit by being given the option to adjust or increase their benefits in kind –whether that be through childcare provision or private health insurance."
One specific example Bruce highlighted was companies allowing their employees to buy additional leave, or sell any unused holiday, which could improve "the package" for staff without any additional financial burden.
Research conducted by first direct also suggested something as simple as introducing casual dress in some work places could boost output, with a third of respondents stating they felt this would have a positive effect on work place productivity.
"Employers need to keep communication open at all times and find other ways of motivating staff. Not everybody is driven by an increase in salary," she added.
One company which has introduced an employee benefit scheme to great success is National Grid. Since December 2009 the firm has been offering a discount scheme with various retailers through P&MM, a marketing services agency that specializes in performance improvement, recently adding re-loadable cards for the supermarkets Sainsbury and Asda to the list through the provider's digital platform.
Nearly a third of the firm's 10,000 workers are registered with the scheme, according to EmployeeBenefits.co.uk, which allows them to access discounts through online voucher codes, cashback, SMS codes and the telephone.
Caroline Adams, employee benefits manager at National Grid, told the news provider: "The new website will not only aid us in offering our staff a vast array of discounts but will help us boost employee engagement.
Retention is the result of mutual satisfaction between the employee and the employer. The employer seeks to retain the satisfactory worker whose abilities serve its needs while at the same time the employee seeks to remain in the organization that fulfills his or her needs. To keep the workforce satisfied and at the same time advance organizational effectiveness, companies must promote employee learning and development and try to satisfy other employee needs.
There are three types of employee turnover: voluntary, involuntary, and reduction-in-force turnover (i.e., downsizing). In a meta-analysis by McElroy, Morrow and Rude (2001), the effects of these three kinds of turnover on organizational performance where studied, from the organization's point of view. Results showed an overall negative relationship between turnover and performance, regardless of the type of turnover.
High performance work practices and employee retention. According to the literature, firms that invest heavily in high performance work systems (HPWS) programs have more skillful workforce, more involved and dedicated to attaining corporate goals. Employee retention is critical to these companies, since their human capital is of major importance (Guthrie, 2001; Shih, Chiang, and Hsu, 2005). According to Shih et al. (2005), HPWS are characterized by a set of workplace arrangements that equip workers with the proper abilities, the means, and the motivation to do their jobs. The corresponding HR practices are proper worker selection and training programs, information sharing, worker involvement mechanisms, compensation related to performance, and promotion opportunities. Other core principles of HPWS are autonomous work groups, flatter hierarchies, giving information and feedback to the employee, training in multiple skills, designing challenging and motivating jobs, and fair treatment, (Griffeth, Horn, and Gaertner, 2000; Kontoghiorghes and Bryant, 2004).
High performance work practices and employee commitment. Organizational commitment refers to an individual's emotional attachment to and involvement in an employing organization (Cole, 2006). Three components of organizational commitment have been identified: affective commitment, normative commitment, and continuance commitment (Meyer, Allen, and Smith, 1993; Powell and Meyer, 2004). "Affective commitment reflects an emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization. Continuance commitment is based on the perceived costs associated with discontinuing employment with the organization. Finally, normative commitment reflects a sense of obligation on the part of the employee to maintain membership in the organization" (Meyer and Smith, 2000).
In all, continuance commitment develops in response to work conditions. Normative commitment develops in response to social pressures. Affective commitment is sensitive to work experiences (Powell and Meyer, 2004). Therefore, affective commitment has the strongest positive effect on desirable work behaviors (i.e., attendance, performance, organizational citizenship behavior), followed by normative. Continuance commitment has little or no impact on those behaviors (Powell and Meyer, 2004; Abbott, White, and Charles, 2005).
In terms of employee turnover, previous studies have found affective commitment to be significantly negatively related to turnover intention, or the intention to leave the organization. Negative correlations for normative commitment were also found, but not statistically significant. Continuance commitment was found to be unrelated to turnover intention (Abbott et al., 2005; Joseph et al., 2007). Consequently, the pattern of correlations between the three components of organizational commitment and turnover intention indicates affective commitment to be the most highly correlated, followed by normative commitment and then continuance commitment (Abbott et al., 2005).
In another study, Chiu and Francesco (2003) investigated whether the two work-related outcomes of job satisfaction and affective commitment mediate the effects of dispositional traits on turnover intentions. This study found both, job satisfaction and affective commitment to be significant predictors of turnover intention.
Purpose of the Study
Although there is wide research regarding employee turnover, mainly its relationship with organizational performance and the predictors of voluntary turnover, there is little or no research focused on retention of talented employees. The main objective of this empirical study, therefore, is to address this research gap by identifying and prioritizing the most important predictors of talent retention in a Cypriot broadcasting organization. A secondary objective is to describe the extent to which talent retention is associated with bottom-line organizational performance.
Benefits
It is imperative for prosperous organizations to retain quality employees. The cost savings advantage is tremendous, as an exorbitant amount of money is spent recruiting and training new employees each year. The initiative is so important that some organizations have “manager’s bonuses tied to preventing turnover of high-potential employees” (Stahl, 2004, p.6).
Productivity also may increase with a decrease in turnover. Managers may then spend less time recruiting new employees and more time developing those who have potential to be truly successful. According to Coulter, “If you see a company that’s achieving its productivity targets, you almost always see a company that’s achieving its profit goals” (2004, p.32). Thus, the quality of current employees may determine a company’s success. As Coulter reveals, “[Retention] is a quest to put the right people in the right place, achieving results the right way, continually learning and preparing for tomorrow” (2004, p.32).
Employee morale, which also contributes to productivity, may be boosted when retention is a primary focus of the company. People who feel good about their jobs are likely to share that feeling with others, potentially increasing the pool of interested applicants. In addition, the reputation within a given community may become increasingly positive if employees who enjoy working for the organization promote it to others.
Subscriber Acquisition Costs (SAC) may be decreased if a satisfied employee shares positive information about the products or services during non-working hours. If a Representative is out with friends and tells them about products and services at SunDial, he or she may have acquired a
customer at no cost to the organization. A happy employee also is more likely to deliver exceptional customer service, in turn pleasing the customer. Perry summarizes it well when he states that, “Aside from the issue of customer dissatisfaction, frequent turnover of staff translates into higher expenses for recruiting, training and lost productivity, not to mention the negative impact it can have on employee morale” (2004, p.36). Knowing that SunDial’s primary goal is to become number one in the home appliance industry, it is imperative that retention be given proper and immediate attention.
SunDial Incorporated employs over 20 thousand employees nationwide, with headquarters located in Colorado. The analysis of a Colorado-founded company that provides jobs within the Denver community should prove valuable for local residents. Both the Masters of Applied Communication Program and the Human Resources (Organizational Communication) discipline can benefit from analyzing a locally-based company and learning about enhanced retention strategies that can be utilized not only in Human Resources, but in the broader communications field as well.
Government budget cuts, redundancies and high levels of inflation have all had a dramatic impact on employee morale in recent months, which in turn have a negative effect on workforce productivity.
"In the early days of the recession, there seemed to be something of a 'Blitz spirit', with workforces helping their employers to weather the bad times by accepting pay freezes or even cuts," said Dilys Robinson, principal research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES).
She warned, however, workers will soon start thinking "enough is enough."
The challenge for HR managers is finding a way to provide these workers with adequate compensation, with continuing limited resources and little sign of the economic downturn ending anytime in the near future.
Predictions are that flexible benefits packages are likely to increase in popularity in the coming months, which will bring advantages to employees at no extra cost to employers.
Diana Bruce, policy liaison officer at the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, said: "Employees will hopefully feel the benefit by being given the option to adjust or increase their benefits in kind –whether that be through childcare provision or private health insurance."
One specific example Bruce highlighted was companies allowing their employees to buy additional leave, or sell any unused holiday, which could improve "the package" for staff without any additional financial burden.
Research conducted by first direct also suggested something as simple as introducing casual dress in some work places could boost output, with a third of respondents stating they felt this would have a positive effect on work place productivity.
"Employers need to keep communication open at all times and find other ways of motivating staff. Not everybody is driven by an increase in salary," she added.
One company which has introduced an employee benefit scheme to great success is National Grid. Since December 2009 the firm has been offering a discount scheme with various retailers through P&MM, a marketing services agency that specializes in performance improvement, recently adding re-loadable cards for the supermarkets Sainsbury and Asda to the list through the provider's digital platform.
Nearly a third of the firm's 10,000 workers are registered with the scheme, according to EmployeeBenefits.co.uk, which allows them to access discounts through online voucher codes, cashback, SMS codes and the telephone.
Caroline Adams, employee benefits manager at National Grid, told the news provider: "The new website will not only aid us in offering our staff a vast array of discounts but will help us boost employee engagement.
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