Research: Employee Turnover or Intent to Leave As organizations work hard to recruit and retain top talent, it becomes very important to understand the reasoning behind employee turnover or intent to leave. Moreover, this subject becomes even more important when the basis of an organization’s success is closely tied to staff retention and knowledge development. This is particularly true in the field of behavioral health and social work assistances such as those offered by Partners in Behavioral Milestones (PBM). This organization is focused on providing services to an underserved population of the autistic community. Therefore, presented is an articulation of this problem, evidence to support the importance of the problem, identification of deficiencies in the evidence, and a focus on the audience that may benefit, in the answer to the question: what are the factors leading to employee turnover or intent to leave in the behavioral health and social service industries.
Research Problem In the illustration of PBM and clients being serviced, a one-on-one approach in counseling was established to ensure re-integration and success of all problem individuals. Establishing this close relationship with the clients has been a tremendous aspect of the organization’s overall success. According to Woltmann et al. (2008) within the mental health community any “turnover can contribute to …fracture relationships in clinical clients” (p. 732). Therefore, the Portfolio Project will focus on the question: what are the factors leading to employee turnover or intent to leave in the behavioral health and social services industries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013) the national turnover across all industries is twenty-three percent annually. However, Woltmann et al. (2008) noted that turnover rates in mental health agencies are approximately 25%-50% per year. When researching turnover rate at PBM, it was recognized that the turnover rate in the Therapy Services department was 52% in 2015, with a 24% turnover rate within the first 90 days of employment. Out of this group of terminations, 94% was voluntary and 38% quit without giving proper notice to their managers. With the cost of employee training of $2,000-$5,000 and the client impact, it is imperative to the success of the organization and clients for management to understand the reasons behind the turnover or even intent to leave. Evidence to Support the Importance of the Problem To the point that turnover will have detrimental effects on clients, cost, and productivity, Barak, Nissly, and Levin (2001) stated that Agency directors report that staff turnover handicaps their efforts to provide effective social services for clients for two reasons: it is costly and unproductively time- consuming, and it is responsible for the weary cycle of recruitment-employement- orientation-production-resignation that is detrimental to the reputation of socials work as a profession. Employee turnover in human service organzations may also disrupt the continuity and quality of care to those needing services. (p. 627) There exists a plethora of information with the subject matter of employee retetion, recruiting and retaining, and keeping top talent. As the overall competitive market place for all organizations continues to evolve and economies continue to come back, employers find themselves competing for top talent across all industries (Jacob, Bond, Galinsky, & Hill, 2008). Everyday organization understand that their most important asset is that of human capital and the ability to retain those top performers. Deficiencies in the Evidence One area of deficiency in the evidence is age and/or gender specific research. It is true that some research has been done to understand the different generations and their propensity for leaving an organization, but this is a limited field of research. According to …show more content…
In the behavioral health industry, with a very high turnover rate, companies must being to understand employee reasons for leaving or intending to leave. At PBM, with a super high turnover rate, it is important to understand the factors leading to employee turnover or intent to leave. Every organization is concerned with this subject and the strategies necessary to retain their top performers. Even with the overwhelming amount of information surrounding turnover or intent to leave, there is a deficiency in the area of generational and gender focus in the studies. As business leaders and managers work to make their organizations more efficient and effective, employee retention will be of the greatest concern for them and their competitive advantage in the global market
Research Problem In the illustration of PBM and clients being serviced, a one-on-one approach in counseling was established to ensure re-integration and success of all problem individuals. Establishing this close relationship with the clients has been a tremendous aspect of the organization’s overall success. According to Woltmann et al. (2008) within the mental health community any “turnover can contribute to …fracture relationships in clinical clients” (p. 732). Therefore, the Portfolio Project will focus on the question: what are the factors leading to employee turnover or intent to leave in the behavioral health and social services industries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013) the national turnover across all industries is twenty-three percent annually. However, Woltmann et al. (2008) noted that turnover rates in mental health agencies are approximately 25%-50% per year. When researching turnover rate at PBM, it was recognized that the turnover rate in the Therapy Services department was 52% in 2015, with a 24% turnover rate within the first 90 days of employment. Out of this group of terminations, 94% was voluntary and 38% quit without giving proper notice to their managers. With the cost of employee training of $2,000-$5,000 and the client impact, it is imperative to the success of the organization and clients for management to understand the reasons behind the turnover or even intent to leave. Evidence to Support the Importance of the Problem To the point that turnover will have detrimental effects on clients, cost, and productivity, Barak, Nissly, and Levin (2001) stated that Agency directors report that staff turnover handicaps their efforts to provide effective social services for clients for two reasons: it is costly and unproductively time- consuming, and it is responsible for the weary cycle of recruitment-employement- orientation-production-resignation that is detrimental to the reputation of socials work as a profession. Employee turnover in human service organzations may also disrupt the continuity and quality of care to those needing services. (p. 627) There exists a plethora of information with the subject matter of employee retetion, recruiting and retaining, and keeping top talent. As the overall competitive market place for all organizations continues to evolve and economies continue to come back, employers find themselves competing for top talent across all industries (Jacob, Bond, Galinsky, & Hill, 2008). Everyday organization understand that their most important asset is that of human capital and the ability to retain those top performers. Deficiencies in the Evidence One area of deficiency in the evidence is age and/or gender specific research. It is true that some research has been done to understand the different generations and their propensity for leaving an organization, but this is a limited field of research. According to …show more content…
In the behavioral health industry, with a very high turnover rate, companies must being to understand employee reasons for leaving or intending to leave. At PBM, with a super high turnover rate, it is important to understand the factors leading to employee turnover or intent to leave. Every organization is concerned with this subject and the strategies necessary to retain their top performers. Even with the overwhelming amount of information surrounding turnover or intent to leave, there is a deficiency in the area of generational and gender focus in the studies. As business leaders and managers work to make their organizations more efficient and effective, employee retention will be of the greatest concern for them and their competitive advantage in the global market