8 - Separation & retention

Question 1

How do organisations tend to perform better?

Answer 1

Organizations with low turnover and satisfied employees tend to perform better.

Question 2

What is involuntary turnover?

Answer 2

• Turnover initiated by an employer.
• Often with employees who would prefer to stay.

Question 3

What is voluntary turnover?

Answer 3

• Turnover initiated by employees.
• Often when the organization would prefer to keep them.

Question 4

What is employee separation?

Answer 4

Organizations must develop a standardized, systematic approach to discipline and discharge.
These decisions should not be left solely to the discretion of individual managers or supervisors.

Question 5

What are policies?

Answer 5

Policies should allow for various ways to intervene. Policies should be based on principles of justice and law.

Question 6

What are the principles of justice?

Answer 6

Outcome fairness, procedural justice, interactional justice.

Question 7

What is outcome fairness?

Answer 7

A judgement that the consequences given to employees are fair.

Question 8

What is procedural justice?

Answer 8

A judgement that fair methods were used to determine the consequences an employee receives.

Question 9

What is interactional justice?

Answer 9

A judgement that the organization carried out its actions in a way that took the employee’s feelings into account.

Question 10

What are the legal requirements?

Answer 10

Wrongful discharge, discrimination, employees’ privacy, notification of layoffs.

Question 11

What is wrongful discharge?

Answer 11

• Discharge may not violate an implied agreement: o E.g., employer had promised job security
  o E.g., action inconsistent with company rules
• Discharge may not violate public policy:
  o E.g., terminating employee for refusing to do something illegal or unsafe.

Question 12

What is discrimination?

Answer 12

Employers must make discipline decisions without regard to a person’s age, sex, race, or other protected status.
- Evenhanded, carefully documented discipline can avoid such claims.

Question 13

What is employee’s privacy?

Answer 13

• Employers need to ensure that the information they gather and use for discipline is relevant.
• Privacy issues also concern the employer’s wish to search or monitor employees.
• Employers must be prudent in deciding who will see the information.

Question 14

What is notification of layoffs?

Answer 14

• Organizations that plan broad-scale layoffs may be subjected to the Workers’ Adjustments, Retraining and Notification Act (WARN).
• Employers covered by the law are required to give notice before any closing or layoff.

Question 15

What is progressive discipline?

Answer 15

A formal discipline process in which the consequences become more serious if the employee repeats the offense.
Rules of behavior should cover disciplinary problems such as: Tardiness, absenteeism, unsafe work practices, poor quantity or quality of work, sexual harassment, cyberslacking.

Question 16

What is the hot-stove-rule?

Answer 16

Principle of discipline that says discipline should be like a hot stove, giving clear warning and following up with consistent, objective, and immediate consequences.

Question 17

What are the guidelines to respond to misconduct?

Answer 17

1. Be clear about performance standards.
2. Be consistent.
3. Don’t ignore the problem behavior.
4. Investigate complaints ASAP.
5. Record statements in writing, with signatures & dates.
6. Focus on behaviors, not personalities.
7. Documentation should be clear and complete.
8. Be honest.

Question 18

What are the options for alternative dispute resolution?

Answer 18

Open-door policy, peer review, mediation, arbitration.

Question 19

What is open-door policy?

Answer 19

An organization’s policy of making managers available to hear complaints.

Question 20

What is peer review?

Answer 20

Process for resolving disputed by taking them to a panel composed of representatives from the organization at same levels as the people in the dispute.

Question 21

What is mediation?

Answer 21

Nonbinding process in which a neutral party from outside the organization hears the case and tries to help the people in a conflict arrive at a settlement.

Question 22

What is arbitration?

Answer 22

Binding process in which a professional arbitrator from outside the organization (usually a lawyer or judge) hears the case and resolves it by making a decision.

Question 23

What is outplacement counselling?

Answer 23

A service in which professionals try to help dismissed employees
manage the transition from one job to another.

Question 24

What are the goals for outplacement counselling?

Answer 24

Goals for outplacement counseling are to help former employee address psychological issues associated with losing a job while helping them find a new job.

Question 25

What is employee engagement?

Answer 25

Degree to which employees are fully involved in their work and the strength of their commitment to their job and company.
Employees who are engaged and provide a clear competitive advantage to that firm, including higher productivity, better customer service, and lower turnover.

Question 26

What is job withdrawal?

Answer 26

A set of behaviors with which employees try to avoid the work situation physically, mentally, or emotionally.
Job withdrawal results when circumstances such as the nature of the job, supervisors and coworkers, pay levels, or the employee’s own disposition cause the employee to become dissatisfied with the job.

Question 27

What are the causes of job dissatisfaction?

Answer 27

Personal dispositions, tasks and roles, supervisors & coworkers, pay and benefits.

Question 28

What are actions that employees take when dissatisfied?

Answer 28

Behavior changes:
- Change the condition
- Whistle-blowing
- Bring a lawsuit
- Lodge complaints
Physical job withdrawal.
Psychological withdrawal:
- Decrease in job involvement
- Decrease in organizational commitment

Question 29

What is job satisfaction?

Answer 29

A pleasant feeling resulting from the perception that one’s job fulfills or allows for the fulfillment of one’s important job values.

Question 30

What are the three components of job satisfaction?

Answer 30

1. Values
2. Perceptions
3. Ideas of what is important
   People will be satisfied with their jobs as long as they perceive that their jobs meet their important values.

Question 31

What is monitoring job satisfaction?

Answer 31

• Employers can better retain employees if they are aware of satisfaction levels, si they can make changes if employees are dissatisfied.
• Usual way to measure job satisfaction is to survey.
• A systematic, ongoing program of employee surveys should be part of the organization’s HR strategy to monitor trends and prevent voluntary turnover.

Question 32

What is exit interview?

Answer 32

A meeting of a departing employee with the employee’s supervisor and/or a human resource specialist to discuss the employee’s reasons for leaving.
A well-conducted exit interview can uncover reasons why employees leave.
When several exiting employees give similar reasons for leaving, management should consider whether this indicates a need for change.