Reported Reasons for StayingRetaining top talent remains a primary concern for many organizations today. Criticalanalysis of workforce trends points to an impending shortage of highly-skilled employees whopossess the requisite knowledge and ability to perform at high levels, meaning that organizationsfailing to retain high performers will be left with an understaffed, less qualified workforce thatultimately hinders their ability to remain competitive (Rappaport, Bancroft, & Okum, 2003).Despite the vast literature on employee turnover, which is aimed at identifying factors that causeemployees to quit (e.g., Griffeth, Hom, & Gaertner, 2000), much less is known about the factorsthat compel employees to stay. For example, Maertz and Campion noted “relatively less turnoverresearch has focused specifically on how an employee decides to remain with an organizationand what determines this attachment…retention processes should be studied along with quittingprocesses” (1998, p. 65). Steel, Griffeth, and Hom added “the fact is often overlooked, but thereasons people stay are not always the same as the reasons people leave” (2002, p. 152).Retention is a critical element of an organization’s more general approach to talentmanagement, which is defined as “the implementation of integrated strategies or systemsdesigned to increase workplace productivity by developing improved processes for attracting,developing, retaining, and utilizing people with the required skills and aptitude to meet current
and future business needs” (Lockwood, 2006, p. 2). The latter part of this definition is important
because it suggests that talent management programs should be tailored to those who are most
responsible for the organization’s success. In this study, we focus on job performance as one
indicator of employee value under the assumption that high performers are most likely to possess
the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to contribute to the overall success of the
organization. We also examine employees at different job levels based on the premise that an
Targeted Employee Retention 4
organization’s most critical talent, whether top management or line employees, may value
different aspects of the what the organization has to offer when deciding whether to stay.
Thus, we propose that understanding the reasons why people stay, on average, is an
important goal, but also contend that it may be more valuable to examine how these retention
factors differ for high performers and those at different levels of the organization (Griffeth &
Hom, 2001). Blanket retention policies may be disadvantageous if they appeal to employees at
all levels of performance, and organizations would want to adopt particular strategies that
contribute to the retention of their most valued employees while avoiding control methods that
would appeal primarily to average or low performers (Steel et al., 2002). In terms of job level
differences, many talent management programs emphasize developing and retaining the group of
employees who have potential to occupy the top leadership positions within the organization in
the near future. To this end, organizations can benefit from knowing whether retention reasons
differ based on job level, which might then call for different retention strategies depending on
where individuals reside within the organizational hierarchy.
In summary, little research has examined employees’ reasons for staying while testing
whether these factors differ based on job performance or job level. In this study, we develop a
content model of employee retention that is grounded in theory and past research (e.g., March &
Simon, 1958; Mobley, Griffeth, Hand, & Meglino, 1979; Porter & Steers, 1973; Price &
Mueller, 1981), and then test it with a sample of nearly 25,000 employees who were asked to
comment on why they stay with their employer. We also develop and test predictions grounded
in ease/desirability of movement (March & Simon, 1958) and psychological contract (Robinson,
Kraatz, & Rousseau, 1994) rationales to explain why high and low performers and those at
different job levels will be more or less likely to emphasize particular retention dimensions.
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