Roll of HRM to overcome high labour turnover in Sri Lankan Industries

High labour turnover in Sri Lanka

Labour turnover refers to the net departure of employees over a defined period of time. It can be divided into voluntary vs. involuntary and avoidable vs. unavoidable labour turnover. Some common causes of labour turnover include employee dissatisfaction, organizational downsizing, and employee relocation [1]. A high turnover rate means that many of your employees, more than what's expected in your line of business, have quit the organization over a certain period of time [2]. Most organizations are facing a frequent turnover of staff, and as such the high turnover is costing them in terms of productivity, money and time. High turnover is a critical human resource issue in all sectors of the economy. Turnover affects productivity, product and service quality, and profitability [3]. In Sri Lankan context In the manufacturing industry, the turnover rate of labourers was 15%, and supervisor turnover was 5% in 2017 (Department of Census and Statistics, 2017). This is really high and therefore HRM should have critical plan and policies of retaining staff in the organizations ensure its sustainable growth.

Factors to be considered

Job satisfaction

Job satisfaction refers to the employee’s positive emotions, feeling and attitudes on the job and workplace. Positive emotional experiences directly affect higher job satisfaction [4]. Kim, Knutson found that satisfaction significantly affects employee turnover regardless of the generation of the employee. To minimise the turnover HRM should pay individual attention on each employee and develop tailor-made plan for satisfy individuals.

 

Work-life balance

work-life balance involves the minimization of work-related stress, and the establishing of a stable and sustainable way to work while maintaining health and general well-being. burnout, exhaustion, and stress are common among employees with poor work-life balance. Therefore, the employee’s commitment heavily depends on work-life balance, an essential requirement for employee retention [5]. Work-life balance policies could be implemented by organisation s in order to enable employees to attain a proper balance between work and their personal commitments. Flexible working hours, part time and term time working, job share arrangements, working time policy and maternity leave are some examples of these work-life balance policies [6].

 

Happiness

The workplace must be a source of happiness for employees. Unhappy employees in a workplace tend to increase employee turnover, absenteeism, low productivity, and time wasted deadlines. Creating happiness within the workplace is not a simple process. It is a comprehensive and continuous process. Happy employees generally have a fair idea of the organisation’s vision, mission and values. Employees in each department should have a clear idea about their goals [7]. However, happy employees are not always productive. But they can guide and explore things without organisations forcing them. Those employees required proper career management and support to be productive.

 

Innovative work behaviour

Innovative behaviour is a leading factor in gaining a competitive advantage. The organisational learning culture is a key factor for innovative work behaviour. Saoula, Fareed [8] conducted research in Malayasia, a developing country in Asia to examine the relationship between organisational learning culture and employee turnover intention. The organisational learning culture improves learning capability, supports sustainable development, and affects organisation’s positive changes. As organisational learning culture and employee turnover intention have a negative relationship, the result helps to identify the impact of innovative work behaviour.

 

Conclution

Labour turnover is a critical issue in all industries and HRM system should be occupied with strong policies to overcome the situation. However, the implementation of these policies will not be sufficient for them to successfully ‘work’. The support of the workplace culture, which reflects the values and norms of the entire organisation is essential for them to ‘work’. It is also important to raise adequate awareness of the policies and educate the managers about the significance of the policies and how to implement them.

 References:

1. https://www.personio.com/hr-lexicon/labour-turnover/
2. https://www.aihr.com/blog/high-turnover-meaning-rates/#:~:text=A%20high%20turnover%20rate%20means,a%20certain%20period%20of%20time.
3. Amre T, 2013: Cause of Turnover and Its Influence on Organizational Performance

4. Kim M, Knutson BJ, Choi L. The Effects of Employee Voice and Delight on Job Satisfaction and Behaviors: Comparison Between Employee Generations. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management. 2015;25(5):563–88.

5. Deery M, Jago L. Revisiting talent management, work-life balance and retention strategies. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 2015;27(3):453–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-12-2013-0538.
6. https://hrsrilanka.lk/index.php/k2-items/item/69-work-life-balance
7. Jalilianhasanpour R, Asadollahi S, Yousem DM. Creating joy in the workplace. Eur J Radiol. 2021;145(N/A):110019. Epub 2021/11/20. pmid:34798537.
8. Saoula O, Fareed M, Hamid RA, Al-Rejal HMEA, Ismail SA. The Moderating Role of Job Embeddedness on the Effect of Organisational Justice and Organisational Learning Culture on Turnover Intention: A Conceptual Review. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews. 2019;7(2):563–71