The relationship between organisational commitment and intention to resign in a large employer in the telecommunications industry

Abstract

The researcher decided to replicate an existing study by Rahman, Naqvi and Ramay (2008) titled “Measuring Turnover Intention: A Study of IT Professionals in Pakistan”. The study was applied to new situations in order to determine generalisability to different subjects, age groups, races, locations, cultures or any such variables. The replicated study builds on the original study, by making it relevant today and applying it to a large business within the South African Telecommunications industry. Reducing employee turnover is both strategic and very important in ensuring that an organisation remains profitable. Therefore the main objective of this study is to analyse and verify whether job satisfaction, organisational commitment and perceived alternative job opportunities are correlated with turnover intention. Employee turnover has become a serious management problem for the participating company due to the financial and moral impact on its degree of competitiveness and sustainability prospects. Today, organisations are finding it difficult to retain employees. Many skilled professionals are leaving, which results in the loss of knowledge systems and discontinuity for the Telecommunications industry. Thus, employee turnover demands management’s attention to do whatever it can to retain skilled employees. A quantitative research design using a survey was employed in the study. A survey is defined as “a method for gathering information from a sample of individuals” (Scheuren, 2004: 9). A sample was chosen from a population of employees who are working for the participating company, within the Telecommunications industry. The population is N = 401 (unit of analysis), which is the number of people employed at the participating company, where the researcher is currently employed. The General Job Satisfaction Survey (JDS) developed by Hackman and Oldman (Cook & Rice, 2003: 37) was used to measure both JS and PAJO. Hypothesis 1 addressed the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PPMCC) between job satisfaction and turnover intention was r = 0.812 with a p-value = 0.714*, indicating that the correlation is positive but not significant. The Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (revised) (OCQ) developed by Meyer and Allen (2005: 73) was used to measure employee commitment. Hypothesis 2 addressed the relationship between organisational commitment and turnover intention. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between organisational commitment and turnover intention was r = 0.572 with a p-value = 0.065*, indicating a positive but not significant correlation. Hypothesis 3 addressed the relationship between perceived alternative job opportunities and turnover intentions. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between perceived alternative employment opportunities and turnover intention was r = 0.953 with a p-value = 0.081*, indicating a positive but not significant correlation. It can be concluded that the correlation between the dependent variable and independent variables in the replicated study was positive but not significant which is consistent with the original study conducted by Rahman et al. (2008). The results reveal that in order for the participating organisation to be competitive in the 21st century a firm grip needs to be taken on reducing turnover intentions. Even though the correlation between the variables was not significant it supports previous studies that have found a significant correlation between job satisfaction, organisational commitment, perceived alternative job opportunity and its association with turnover intention. The replicated study will be presented to the participating organisation in an attempt to add value. The audience are managing executives and heads of departments, who are people that can make a difference within their respective divisions. When there is buy-in from top management, this will ensure that the need and urgency for retaining critical skills is filtered down to the lower levels. It will benefit the participating organisation that has a philosophy of wanting to continuously improve. It is recommended to the management of the participating company to pursue a retention strategy highlighting commitment and job satisfaction to obtain a committed and satisfied workforce through application of suitable human resource policies. These include training, career planning and advancement opportunities, employee participation and compensation plans to reduce employee turnover intention (Rahman et al., 2008: 79). By building a company’s business model around job satisfaction, organisational commitment and perceived alternative job opportunities, morale can be increased and commitment can be strengthened. When employees are satisfied they do not have the need to look for work elsewhere, which will contribute to a successful and competitive organisation.