Problem statement
Employee turnover can be viewed as the ratio of workers that had to be replaced within a certain period to the total average number of employees in an organization. In every organization, an employee plays a pivotal role in determining the success or failure of an organization. Therefore, the turnover rate in every organization is of great importance. In the contemporary world, there is a great significance for an organization to retain its employees.
Through technological advancement, employees’ experience is significantly determining the performance of an organization in day-to-day firm operations (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor). Therefore, high level of replacements can undermine the performance of an organization through the loss of experienced employees.
Therefore, there is a need to understand what really determines employees’ turnover rate. This research will help in determining the possible factors, which determine employee’s turnover rate. This will significantly help in making policy recommendations.
Questionnaire
- What was the average number of employees left the company over the last two years?
- How many of these left the company through retirement?
- How many of these left the company through resignation?
- How many of these left the company through termination?
What is the average level of absenteeism per age range of ten years beginning from 20-30, in the last two years?
- What is the total number of new hires over the last two years?
- How many off days do you give to your employees?
- What hourly rate do your employees receive? (In U.S Dollars)
- Do you have any incentives for employees?
- (If the answer to question (3) was yes, go to question (4), otherwise go to question (5)
- Which incentives do you have? (Explain)
- If asked, which of these incentives can you give the first priority (starting with the most important to least important).
- What do you think is the main cause of high employees’ turnover rate?
- What do you think should be done to lower the level of employee turnover?
How the proposed survey addresses the problem
The proposed survey seeks to address the above stated problem. This survey seeks to address the above problem by seeking to understand the causes of employees’ turnover rate. The questions are formulated in such a way that they will help in covering all the aspects related to employee turnover. The survey also seeks to collect views of leaders on what they think can be done in order to maintain high level of employees’ retention.
Importance of survey questions for researching employee turnover
The formulated questions will be of great significance in understanding employees’ turnover. To start with, in order to understand employee turnover, it is necessary to understand the factors, which determine the turnover rate. The questions will be of great signification in gathering such information.
The questions covers information on the incentives provided to employees. According to Taylor (2002), employee motivation is of great significance in retaining talented employees in an organization. Therefore, this information will be of great significance in this study. The information collected will be important in relating the two aspects: motivation and employees’ turnover.
The questions will also help in collection of data on the major contributing factors in employees’ turnover. For instance, the questions will help in clarifying a specific number of employees lost through retirement, retrenchment, and termination. This information will be of great significance in determining the major factor contributing to high employees’ turnover rate, and such results will be of great significance in determining the solution to the problem.
Levels of measurement used in survey questions
In this survey, various levels of measurements will be used depending on the data the question seeks to collect. These questions fall under one of the following measurements: Interval, Nominal, Ordinal, or Ratio.
Questions 1, 3, 4, and 5 are all under the ratio level of measurement. In this level of measurement, there is always an absolute zero that is meaningful (Research Methods Knowledge Base, 2006). For instance, it is possible to construct certain fractions or rations using the data collected in this case.
On the other hand, question 8 lies under the ordinal measurements. This is because the respondent is required to order the aspects according to their importance. Question 2 is under interval measurement because it seeks to collect data on the level of employees’ absenteeism in a certain age interval. In this case, the age interval is significant; for instance, the age between 20-30 years is not the same as from 31-40 years.
Finally, questions 6, 7, 9, and 10 lie under nominal measurement where there is no unique value.
Ethical Implications
In every study, it is necessary to consider ethical issues related withy the research. This should be reflected in all levels of research ranging formulation of questionnaires to execution. In the current study, the objects will be human beings. This raises some ethical research issues. The study will adhere to all specifications, which direct conduction of research. The study will work close to the specifications to ensure that the research is up to the required specifications for the security of the respondents. Therefore, the questions are formulated bearing this in mind.
In every research, it is important to keep confidentiality of the data retrieved. The interviewer is supposed to observe the privacy of the people who provide materials during the interview. In order to maximize the privacy of respondents in this study, the questions will not include names of the respondents. However, the respondents will be free to give their names out of their own will. Similarly, quotations will only be included at the consent of the respondents.
The respondents will be free to participate in the research voluntarily, that is, no one will be forced to participate in the study through coercion or enticement of any kind. The questions do not include specific names of the required respondents. Therefore, nobody will be compelled to answer the questions. This will ensure that the participants involved in the study are comfortable and this will improve the quality of information collected. Finally, the questions do not include personal details; they also avoid private details that may seem too intrusive into personal lives.
Appendix
Survey Questionnaire
- What was the average number of employees left the company over the last two years?
- How many of these left the company through retirement?
- How many of these left the company through resignation?
- How many of these left the company through termination?
- What is the average level of absenteeism per age range of ten years beginning from 20-30, in the last two years?
- What is the total number of new hires over the last two years?
- How many off days do you give to your employees?
- What hourly rate do your employees receive? (In U.S Dollars)
- Do you have any incentives for employees? (If the answer to question (6) is yes, go to question (7), otherwise go to question (9)
- Which incentives do you have? (Explain)
- If asked, which of these incentives can you give the first priority (starting with the most important to least important).
- What do you think is the main cause of high employees’ turnover rate?
- What do you think should be done to lower the level of employee turnover?
References
Pride, W., Hughes, R. and Kapoor, J. (2010). Foundations of Business. Mason, OH: Cengage.
Research Methods Knowledge Base. (2006). Levels of Measurement. Web.
Taylor, S. (2002). The employee retention handbook. London: CIPD.