Essay on New Employee Onboardng: Enhancing Hilton's Program to Reduce Employee Turnover

Introduction

The onboarding of new employees in an organisation encompasses the integration of new employees with its culture, tools, and information necessary to transform them into productive team members. Onboarding programs have been thought to have a direct implication on whether an employee stays or leaves the organisation. As a result, it is essential to examine the role of onboarding in employee turnover reduction and therefore enhance Hilton's onboarding program. In the present literature review, the role of onboarding in employee turnover reduction is investigated. It is hypothesized that an appropriately designed onboarding program can reduce the rates of employee turnover. The following literature review seeks to illustrate and support the hypothesis.

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Causes of Employee Turnover

In the study research by Thomas (2015), the causes and implications of employee turnover in the construction sector are examined. Employee turnover had emerged as a critical issue, and therefore the author sought to examine factors behind the turnover and its resulting implications. Ultimately, the author suggests potential strategies that can be implemented in the reduction of employee turnover. Thomas (2015) outlines the seven leading causes of employee turnover. These include perceived alternative employment prospects, fringe benefits, pay satisfaction, unionization, career satisfaction, co-workers' influence, and job satisfaction. The rationale of the study was the significant effects of these factors on both the employees and the overall organisation. The significant causes of employee turnover are reported to be pay satisfaction, alternative employment prospects, and various benefits obtained from the organisation (Thomas 2015). Perceived alternative employment prospects are described as the perception of the availability of job prospects, and often related to external surroundings such as market conditions. The benefits provided by organisations such as fringe benefits, career development, and promotions can impact whether an employee stays and leaves their job. Pay satisfaction is another major factor that influences employee turnover. Pay can either be the direct monetary payment or the prospects of future economic benefits.

Verma and Chaurasia (2016) researched the factors that influence employee turnover in small scale enterprises. The rationale for the research was to study employee turnover of these enterprises using the quality of work life. Also, it sought to determine the dependent and independent direct and indirect variables that influence employee turnover. The study involved the use of beta values to determine the most influential factors in employee turnover. The fulfilment of working in an organisation in addition to work stress, is the most significant factor affecting employee turnover. Other factors included fringe and welfare benefits, involvement in the decision making process, fair compensation, job security, and appreciation by the company's top management. The outcomes of the study are similar to the results of the analysis conducted by Thomas (2015).

Khan (2014) also performed a study to determine the correlation between different factors and employee turnover and based it on overseas Pakistanis foundation. The researcher identified variables such as retirement benefits, financial crisis, and job security and sought to correlate them to the concept of employee turnover in the organisations. The outcome of the regression analysis indicated that retirement benefits, financial crises, job security, and task importance had a negative correlation with employee turnover. The indication was that these factors tend to reduce in the situation that employees experience high turnover intentions. The turnover reduces if employees perceive that the organisation has a consideration of their retirement benefits and job security. The study by Thomas (2015), Verma and Chaurasia (2016), and Khan (2014) underline common factors that affect employee turnovers, such as job satisfaction, fringe benefits, and promotions.

The Role of Onboarding in Turnover Reduction

The three examined articles in the previous section have established various factors that cause employee turnover, and their improvement can improve the stay of employees on the job. These factors include job satisfaction, pay satisfaction, fridge benefits, involvement in decision making, and retirement benefits, among others. Gupta et al. (2017) conduct a study to determine the correlation between onboarding experience and employee turnover intention. The authors sought to identify differences among industries in the correlation between onboarding and employee turnover intention. In particular, the emphasis was on the role of psychological factors, which included locus of control and self-efficacy. The research was completed from the paradigm of social resource theory. The authors explain that turnover and turnover intentions of new employees have been an issue for organisations. It is established that fulfillment with social resources, as illustrated by onboarding experience, determines the turnover intentions of new employees. An employee's locus is vital for their effectiveness of using social resources from onboarding experience. It is was determined that employees with an increased level of internal and external locus of control show an increased onboarding experience. Organisations must understand the psychological resources possessed by their new employees to enable the development of onboarding processes specific to those employees (Gupta et al., 2017). It is prudent to indicate that such information would be critical to hospitality enterprises such as Hilton. However, there has been a trend noticed in this industry in which new employees satisfied with onboarding experience recorded high turnover intention. The factor contributing to this trend is the emphasis of organisations on tasks instead of alignment of the roles of new employees with organisational success and brand value.

Kurnat-Thoma et al. (2017) examined employee turnover in hospitals and the intervention of an onboarding program. The study describes a turnover analysis and onboarding intervention to aid in the reduction of staff turnover. A 187-bed community hospital was dealing with increased and unsustainable rates of hospital and nursing turnover (Kurnat-Thoma et al., 2017). The research is critical since employee turnover is correlated to the performance of the organisation. It was identified that there is an increase in new employee turnover. The new onboarding programs sought to support employees and enhance the involvement of supervisors and directors. The ultimate focus was the improvement of the experience of new employees. The hospital developed and adopted a 10-element program that supported new employees and hence limited yearly hospital and registered nurses turnover (Kurnat-Thoma et al., 2017). One success factor was the provision of a standardized onboarding format to managers and supervisors. Another factor was the prioritization of the program by hospital administrators and leaders. It is reported that the program was successful in the short-term. After the sustenance of the program for a short time, the program focus was neglected. Instead of emphasizing the development and maintenance of long-lasting relationships between employees, it started to focus on the completion of the set task. Similar to the study by Gupta et al. (2017), this research revolved around the theme of employee turnover reduction through onboarding initiatives. It, therefore, means that onboarding can be used in the reduction of employee turnover. However, the organisations must preserve and adhere to the original aim of the onboarding program.

The literature review has established that some causes of employee turnover include job satisfaction and organisational leadership support. The study by Meyer and Bartels (2017) reinforces the theme presented by the articles presented by Gupta et al. (2017) and Kurnat-Thoma et al., (2017). The researchers analysed the results of using Bauer's model of onboarding levels. These levels include compliance, clarification, culture, and connection. The implications were on employee work attitudes such as organisational commitment, organisational support, job satisfaction, and perceived importance of onboarding. Bauer's model indicated increased ratings of perceived importance, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and expected organisational support. The participants in the study indicated a combination of these factors. The outcomes of the study show the essence of the onboarding intervention and the need to encompass the different elements as postulated by Bauer's model. It is, therefore, indicative of the need for onboarding employees in the reduction of employee turnover. Articles examined present evidence on the need for an onboarding program in the minimization of employees' turnover. The programs enhance relationships with the staff in the organisation. It, therefore, means that new and current employees have improved morale, commitment, and have job satisfaction, among others. It can, therefore, be concluded that organisations with increased employee dissatisfaction and turnover can implement an onboarding program that encompasses elements designed to the specific group.

References

Gupta, P. D., Bhattacharya, S., Sheorey, P., and Coelho, P., 2018. Relationship between onboarding experience and turnover intention: intervening role of locus of control and self-efficacy. Industrial and Commercial Training, 50 (2), 61-80.

Kurnat-Thoma, E., Ganger, M., Peterson, K., and Channell, L., 2017. Reducing Annual Hospital and Registered Nurse Staff Turnover-A 10-Element Onboarding Program Intervention. SAGE Open Nursing, 3, 1-13.

Meyer, A. M. and Bartels, L. K., 2017. The Impact of Onboarding Levels on Perceived Utility, Organizational Commitment, Organizational Support, and Job Satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Psychology [online], 17 (5), 10-27. Available from: http://www.na-businesspress.com/JOP/MeyerAM_17_5_.pdf [Accessed 5 Apr 2020].

Sajjad, A. K., 2014. The factors affecting employee turnover in an organization: The case of Overseas Pakistanis foundation. African Journal of Business Management, 8 (1), 25-34.

Thomas, J., 2015. Study on Causes and Effects of Employee Turnover in Construction Industry. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) [online], 4 (5), 3041-3044. Available from: https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v4i5/SUB155024.pdf [Accessed 5 Apr 2020].

Verma, D. S. and Chaurasia, R., 2016. A Study to Identify the Factors Affecting Employee Turnover in Small Scale Industries. International Journal of Engineering Sciences & Research Technology [online], 5 (7), 639-652. Available from: http://www.ijesrt.com/issues pdf file/Archive-2016/July-2016/70.pdf [Accessed 5 Apr 2020].