Employee Retention and Strategies in International Organisations (IOs) Based in Vienna

Abstract

Given that employee retention has become a critical strategy for HR managers, they must know what factors motivate their employees to stay or cause them to leave. In this research, a particular emphasis is placed on motivating factors that contribute to employee retention and strategies that are employed by HR departments to ensure effective retention of expertise in IOs. While much discussed, no one has attempted a study presenting a detailed consideration of elements which help increase retention rates in the international sector. This research will seek to fill this gap by providing ideas for further action. It will outline the key motivating factors, essentials of strategies to retain staff and describe what organisations can do to increase staff retention rates.

Aims and Objectives

The main aim of the study is to investigate key trends and strategies in employee retention and identify HR practices that affect employee retention in Vienna with emphasis on IOs. To accomplish this task, quantitative research approach will be employed. The main questions to be answered are as follows: What factors contribute to employees’ retention? How to effectively retain them? Furthermore, this study will attempt to approve the following hypotheses:

• to examine existing literature on retention and retention strategies and synthesise and present common arguments;
• to collect primary data from IOs’ staff and interview HR representatives on retention strategies;
• to identify key factors affecting retention positively in IO’s based in Vienna;
• to classify retention strategies used by HR departments;
• to analyse results and develop recommendations for HR managers.

Literature Review

In terms of theoretical framework, this thesis will attempt to relate some of the factors discovered as a result of the questionnaire to major motivation theories such as the Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory, Locke's goal-setting theory, Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, and McClelland’s Need Theory. The research will build on the latter theories analysing a variety of motivating factors, such as a needs hierarchy, invented by Maslow (cited in Singh and Behera, 2016) or need for achievement, affiliation, and power (McClelland, cited in Harvard Business Review, 2019). Herzberg’s (cited in Hinton, 1968) Two-Factor theory’s classification of hygiene factors (e.g. salary or working condi-tions) and motivating factors (e.g. achievement, recognition, and responsibility) and Locke’s (1996) theory of goal-setting as key determinant of motivation will assist the researcher when forming hypothesis regarding which factors are the most important when it comes to retention. Finally, the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) developed by Smith, Kendall and Hulin (cited in Özbilgin, Harvey and Groutsis, 2019) which is a measure of job satisfaction that consists of pay, promotion, supervision, co-workers, and the work itself will contribute to the development phase of questionnaire and in-terview questions.

In the literature reviewed, researchers of retention tend to separate motivating factors in two groups: HR factors and organisational factors (Chew, 2014) or, similarly, organisation and personal factors (Kyndt, et al., 2009). This division will be taken into consideration when designing a ques-tionnaire. Differently to previous research showing links between intrinsic and extrinsic work at-tributes, the current research conducted shows that employee retention is more influenced by in-trinsic factors, such as training and development, challenging work, work-life balance and leader-ship (Samuel and Chipunza, 2009; Giauque D., Anderfuhren-Biget S. &Varone F., 2016; Wakabi Muhangi, 2016). Furthermore, authors like Sutherland and Jordaan (2004) and Kyndt, et al. (2009) have discovered that the need for challenge, opportunities for learning, personal development are also very significant and their deficiency results in a turnover. Nevertheless, according to the find-ings of the research of Sherman et al. (2006), Masibigiri and Nienaber (2011), Maertz &riffeth (2004) or Taplin & Winterton (2007), extrinsic factors such as compensation, work conditions, and security needs, still remain of importance.

When it comes to retention strategies, the previous work has demonstrated that the main tech-niques used to retain employees are compensation, train-ing and development, competitive work environment, and facilitation of work-life balance, among others (Deckop, et al., 2006; Moncarz, Zhao, & Kay, 2009). During the interviews that will be con-ducted with HR professionals, it will be attempted to confirm whether their employed strategies and the strategies discussed by the above sources are similar. Authors like Buck & Watson (2002)and Debrah & Budhwar (2004) have highlighted that the HR leaders are aware of chal-lenges related to retention, however, there is not much literature on specific strategies that are used to increase employee satisfaction. The major deficiency of the available literature is that not many studies focused on what is being done in organisations to increase retention rates. Based on the scarcity of information regarding the latter issue, one of the two targets of this research will be retention strategies. Finally, when reviewing literature, it was discovered that most researchers have mainly focused on private sector, and there is a lack of research on public sector and IOs more specifically. To tackle this research gap, motivating factors for retention among a sample of international civil servants in IOs in Vienna will be investigated.

Research Methodology

The research questions will be answered through two research phases involving two distinct research tools. Primary data on main motivating factors will be collected using a self-administered questionnaire. This design was chosen because its findings are generalizable and data-objective. The respondents will be employees of Vienna-based IOs. The second part of the data will be collected during structured interviews with Human Resource representatives of the selected organizations. The HR professionals will be asked which HR practices are used in their organisations to improve employee retention. Also, they will be requested to identify other strategies that they perceive as important. The second part of the research methodology will assist in drafting recommendations on which strategies should be used to maximize employee retention rates. The interviews are used to illustrate and contextualise the results of the questionnaire.

Data Analysis

The results of the self—administered questionnaire will be analysed on SPSS software. Quantitative analysis techniques such as graphs and charts will be used in order to explore relationships and trends within the collected data. Similarly, the results of the structured interviews with the HR representatives will be interpreted using the same software to ensure consistency. Based on the results, the researcher will be able to compare which employee motivation theory can be easiest linked with practice and whether it is intrinsic or extrinsic factors that influence retention more substantially. Furthermore, the interview results will provide with a comparison of retention strategies used in different IO’s. Finally, a combination of questionnaire and interview results will allow the researcher to assess whether the strategies used in IO’s focus on right motivating factors.

Practical Value

The findings of this research will have implications for both theory and practice. The main theoretic contribution that this research offers regards the connection between employee retention and extrinsic and intrinsic motivating factors and it will consider the context of IOs, which has not been previously explored. The secondary contribution is the study of employee retention in the context of HR practices. The results will also provide a practical guide to HR managers to help them recognise and initiate measures that will increase job satisfaction and assist them in formulation of an effective employee retention strategy. The main difficulties that might be encountered are biased replies of respondents. Retention is a sensitive topic and some employees might not be willing to open up about their future plans in the organisations and the reasons why they would consider leaving them. Similarly, HR representatives may avoid disclosing information on strategies they employ to retain employees, especially if they do not prove to be efficient.

Timeframe

Pending approval of the thesis proposal, the next step will be drafting of the literature review chapter which should be finalised by the 10th October. What follows is a selection of a sample for the questionnaire and design of the questionnaire as well as formulation of interview questions. The questionnaire will be first tested and later amended if needed. Once confirmed, the survey will be sent to respondents by the beginning of November. Meanwhile, the researcher will conduct interviews with HR professionals from the selected IOs based in Vienna. After two weeks, a reminder will be sent to respondents to increase participation. At the end of November, it is foreseen that analysis of data will commence and the results of the questionnaire and interviews will feed into the chapter of conclusions and recommendations. December and January will be dedicated to the drafting of the dissertation report. The first draft will be finalised by 6th January and the final version of the thesis will be submitted by 31 January 2020.