R X for excessive turnover: lessons in communicating a vision (part 1)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate causes of high staff turnover among production workers at a large‐scale retail case meat processor. Design/methodology/approach – Three hypotheses were developed to investigate six independent variables as possible factors of high job turnover. The research is based on a two‐step process consisting of a literature review and field research. The literature review served to establish empirical links among the variables and construct an appropriate questionnaire for the field research. The field research consisted of 38 employees (out of 475) completing a 41‐question survey. Individual interviews were also conducted with 20 of the 38 respondents. The paper is an empirically based case analysis. Findings – The results demonstrate that the employees' organizational commitment affects employee turnover. The findings also suggest that organizational commitment can be improved through increased effective communication between management and employees and ensuring that the organization's vision is shared and understood by employees. The link between job satisfaction and turnover was not supported by the research. Research limitations/implications – Sample size was affected due to the limited availability of employees during production hours. Increased sample size would allow further investigation within specific departments and shifts. Additional research could also have been done on how the company's HR policy mandated from their US head office fits the needs of a Canadian based workforce. Originality/value – The paper provides insight on the causes of employee turnover and low organizational commitment. The paper recommends four actions to address communication and vision sharing to improve organizational commitment and ultimately turnover.