RETENTION FACTORS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT The factors that influence employee retention in South Africa are as follows: Remuneration Money is still the primary incentive to lure managers and professionals High salaries not essential, but salaries show strong correlation with ‘fair’ intention to stay Employees want to understand how the pay system works and how they can earn pay increases Once the pay level is reached, intangibles such as career, supervisor support, work and family balance become important Compensation has a strong relationship to organisational commitment, affective commitment and normative commitment Pay satisfaction on retaining technology professionals confirms that these employees want competitive salaries Elaborate benefit packages are becoming increasingly common in high technology firms, i.e. indirect financial rewards received in terms of time off for example In the end, some want money, some want security, recognition and career pathways and some want improved self-worth and importance Job characteristics Most employees want to do interesting work that challenges their skills and talents Unchallenging and narrow tasks hamper growth and employees become less engaged Organisational citizenship behaviours diminish when employees are given repetitive tasks to complete Job characteristics such as variety and autonomy are determinants of organisational commitment Professionally-qualified employees will leave the organisation if their skills are underutilised Skill variety relates to feelings of belonging and a sense of attachment to the organisation Training and development opportunities Sustaining employability has given importance to further training and development for the survival of any worker Organisations need to keep their employees well trained in latest technologies Employees stay at companies that promote career opportunities through learning and the ability to apply their learnt skills
RETENTION FACTORS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT The factors that influence employee retention in South Africa are as follows: Remuneration Money is still the primary incentive to lure managers and professionals High salaries not essential, but ‘fair’ salaries show strong correlation with intention to stay Employees want to understand how the pay system works and how they can earn pay increases Once the pay level is reached, intangibles such as career, supervisor support, work and family balance become important Compensation has a strong relationship to organisational commitment, affective commitment and normative commitment Pay satisfaction on retaining technology professionals confirms that these employees want competitive salaries Elaborate benefit packages are becoming increasingly common in high technology firms, i.e. indirect financial rewards received in terms of time off for example In the end, some want money, some want security, recognition and career pathways and some want improved self-worth and importance Job characteristics Most employees want to do interesting work that challenges their skills and talents Unchallenging and narrow tasks hamper growth and employees become less engaged Organisational citizenship behaviours diminish when employees are given repetitive tasks to complete Job characteristics such as variety and autonomy are determinants of organisational commitment Professionally-qualified employees will leave the organisation if their skills are underutilised Skill variety relates to feelings of belonging and a sense of attachment to the organisation Training and development opportunities Sustaining employability has given importance to further training and development for the survival of any worker Organisations need to keep their employees well trained in latest technologies Employees stay at companies that promote career opportunities through learning and the ability to apply their learnt skills
IOP_3706_Unit_1_Chap_7_ORIGINAL_.docx