ABSTRACT
The study, titled “Assessing the
Determinants of Employee Retention Among Service Providers in Fast Food
Establishments in Umuahia Metropolis,” investigates the key factors that
influence employee retention within the fast food industry in Umuahia
Metropolis, Abia State. The fast food sector is characterized by high employee
turnover, which poses significant challenges to businesses, especially in
maintaining skilled and experienced staff. The study seeks to understand the
impact of various determinants on employee retention, including career
development opportunities, compensation packages, ergonomic factors, job
satisfaction, and brand image. The study's primary objective is to assess how
these factors contribute to employee retention among service providers in fast
food companies. The specific objectives include examining the influence of
career development opportunities, compensation packages, ergonomic factors, job
satisfaction, and brand image on the retention of employees in the fast food
industry in Umuahia Metropolis. A survey research design was adopted, utilizing
a structured questionnaire titled “Determinants of Employee Retention Among
Service Providers in Fast Food Establishments in Umuahia Metropolis” (DERASPQ)
to collect data from employees working in nine registered fast food
establishments. The population of the study was 135, with all employees from
these establishments included in the sample, using a convenience sampling
technique. The data collection involved administering the questionnaires with
the help of trained research assistants. Descriptive statistics such as mean,
percentage, and standard deviation were used for demographic analysis, while
multiple regression analysis on SPSS version 25 was applied to assess the
relationship between the determinants and employee retention. The findings
revealed that career development opportunities, compensation packages, and job
satisfaction significantly affect employee retention among service providers in
fast food establishments. Conversely, ergonomic factors and brand image were
found to have no significant impact on retention. These results underscore the
importance of factors like career growth and fair compensation in ensuring
long-term employee commitment and satisfaction in the fast food industry. The
study concludes that for businesses in Umuahia Metropolis, the focus should be
on enhancing career development programs, offering competitive compensation
packages, and improving job satisfaction to reduce turnover. Recommendations
include designing effective compensation plans, creating a conducive work
environment with ergonomic considerations, and understanding employee needs and
desires to enhance job satisfaction. Additionally, businesses should
strategically address brand image to improve retention rates. This study
contributes valuable insights for human resource management in the fast food
sector, providing practical strategies to retain skilled employees and minimize
turnover.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title
Page………………………………………………………………………………i
Certification……………………………………………………………………………ii
Declaration……………………………………………………………………………..iii
Dedication
…………………………………………………………………………….iv
Acknowledgements
……………………………………………………………………v
Table
of Contents……………………………………………………………………...vi
List
of tables…………………………………………………………………………..ix
List
of figures…………………………………………………………………………x
Abstract
……………………………………………………………………………..xi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
of the study………………………………………………………………1
1.2 Statement of
problem.….……………………………………………………………..4
1.3 Objectives
of the study………………………………………………………………..5
1.4 Research
questions…………………………………………………………………….6
1.5 Research
Hypotheses………………………………………………………………….6
1.6 Significance
of the study………………………………………………………………8
1.7 Scope
of the study……………………………………………………………………..9
CHAPTER 2: REVIEWED OF
RELATED LITERATURE
2.1
Conceptual Literature……………...…………………………………………………10
2.1.2
Concept of Employee Retention…………………………………………………...10
2.1.3
Evaluation of Employee Retention………………………………………………...15
2.1.4
Employee Turnover………………………………………………………………..16
2.1.5 Implication of Employee Turnover………………………………………………...20
2.1.6
Dimensions of Employee Retention……………………………………………….21
2.1.7
Employee Retention Strategy…………………………………………………...…21
2.1.8
Benefits of Employee Retention…………………………………………………...22
2.1.9
Challenges of Employee Retention………………………………………………..23
2.2. Theoretical Literature……………………………………………………………….25
2.2.1
Job Embeddedness Theory………………………………………………………....25
2.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs…………………………………25
2.2.3 Herzberg’s
Theory………………………………………………………………….26
2.3 Empirical Literature
Review………………………………………………………….26
2.4
Summary of Literature Review………………………………………………………30
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1
Research design……………………………………………………………………...31
3.2 Area of study…………………………………………………………………………31
3.3 Population for the study……………………………………………………………...32
3.4
Sample and sampling technique…………………..………………………………….32
3.5 Instrument for data collection…………………..……………………………………32
3.4 Sample and sampling technique……………….……………………………………32
3.5 Instrument for data collection…………………………………………..…………..32
3.6
Validation of instrument……………………………………………………………33
3.7
Reliability of the Instrument……………………………………………………….33
3.8
Data Collection Technique…………………………………………………………33
3.9
Data Analysis Technique……………………………………………………………33
CHAPTER 4: DATA
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
1.1
Questionnaire Administration…………………………………………………..35
1.2
Demographic
Characteristics of the Respondents………………………………36
1.3
Inferential Statistics
and Hypotheses Testing…………………………………...44
1.4
Discussion
Findings…………………………………………………………….50
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY OF
FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1
Summary of Findings……………………………………………………………….53
5.2
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..53
5.3
Recommendations……………………………………………………………………53
References…………………………………………………………………………….56
Appendices
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background
of the Study
Generally,
fast food can be described as foods that are prepared and served in shortest
time. Hence, Fast food companies deliver same menu and standardized quality to
minimize the period for the buyer to get product detail (Jekanowski, Binkley
and Eales, 2001). Fast food is categorized to be a frequent choice, convenient for
customers, delicious, and have a sensible price. Globally, it is the fastest
emerging food category in the world (Xiao, Yang, and Iqbal, 2018), generated almost USD 495.0
billion in 2014 (Food and Beverage Magazine, 2019) and more than USD 539.63
Billion in 2016 (Zion Market Research, 2019). The fast food industry is
expected to earn a value of USD 690.80 Billion in 2022 (Zion Market Research,
2019) and USD 843.4 Billion by 2026 (Straits Research, 2019). Middle East and
Africa is expected to record rapid development during the outlook period,
2019–2026, owing to expansion of business and tourism activities by key players
in the region (Straits Research, 2019).
However,
traditional fast food meals include burger, falafel, fried chicken and
sugar-sweetened beverages among others. Meanwhile, International fast food
meals include pizza, burgers, beef, macaroni, chicken nuggets, pizza,
sugar-sweetened beverages etc. The major fast food franchising operators are
McDonald‘s, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Pizza Hut, Burger King, Domino‘s
Pizza, Hardee‘s and
Subway. This sector is well
recognized as one of the most
significant segments of
the World economy
and significantly contributes to employment (Jordanlens, 2016).
The story remains the same in Nigeria in terms of the contributions of
fast food sector, job creation and others. Many fast food companies operate in
Nigeria such as; Apples, Mr. Biggs, De-choice, Favorite, De-promises, Jovit and
Genesis among others. Some fast food companies in Nigeria are stand alone,
while others operate under franchise organization or operate under franchise
arrangement. Fast food operation is human based and involves very little or no
automation. This means that the importance of human capital in fast food
operation both in the front of the house and the back of the house cannot be
over-emphasized
Employees
are the most valuable assets of a fast food industry. Their significance to the
industry calls for not only the need to attract the best talents but also the
necessity to retain them for a long term (Sousa, 2019). In any organization,
employees stay as the most important asset as it is the human resource
function, which dictates the management and utilization efficiency of the other
organization’s assets (Dwomoh and Frempong, 2017). For achieving individual as
well as organizational goals, it is very much essential to retain talented
employees thus, the Human Resource manager must know how to attract and keep
good employees (Haider, 2015). Fast food companies therefore should examine the
value of assessment and feedback in talent engagement and retention, and to
look at developing employees via experience-based development initiatives
(Schultz and Duane, 2010).
Today,
employee retention has become an important strategic aspect for each and every
organization due to the increasing competition (Fernando and Gamage, 2019).
Retaining employees is not only about granting them with promotion and a
noticeable raise in their basic salary at the end of the year. However, it has
lot more dimensions that need to be catered timely (Yousuf and Siddiqui, 2019).
Thus, to manage and to retain top talent, it requires a constant balance
between the human desires and the strategic and financial needs of the business
(Sousa, 2019). Success and competitiveness of any organization is mainly
dependent on the talented, efficient and committed workforce (Swamy, Nagesh and
Nanjundeswaraswamy, 2019). Employee retention however remains one of the major
problems facing fast food companies facing the competitive environment (Silva,
Amorim and Dias, 2019).
Globally,
skilled workers’ retention has shown to be a major issue to managers in regards
to an employee turnover that's always increasing. According to Wynen and Beeck
(2014), in the United States, turnover among employees in various organizations
has been a constant concern for at least the past 20 years. The findings of the
study carried out by (Mahadi, 2020) indicates that top five countries with
highest voluntary employee turnover rate is Argentina (16.8%), Venezuela
(16.7%), Romania (16.5%), Indonesia (15.8%) and Philippines (15.5%). The top
five countries with lowest voluntary employee turnover rate are Slovenia
(1.6%), Finland (1.7%), Greece (2.3%), Puerto Rico (2.5%) and Italy (2.8%). In
Malaysia, employee turnover rate is on increasing trend from 13.2% in 2014 to
14.3% in 2015 with manufacturing business is the most affected industry by high
turnover rate among employee (Mahadi et al., 2020).
Across
the world, the consumer goods industry ranks second when it comes to sectors
with the highest rate of employee turnover (Sousa, 2019). Some of the reasons
advanced as the causes for this high turnover rate are the lack of
opportunities for advancement, dissatisfaction with the leadership of senior management
and the need for more challenging work. Skills and talent shortage are other
issues that the consumer goods industry faces right now in terms of recruitment
(Binuyo et al., 2019). It is predicted that in the next five to ten years the
industry will see a decrease in skilled people due to a large block of
long-standing employees retiring. Even though there are a lot of applicants,
most of them do not have the right experience or the needed skills to work in
the industry (Sousa, 2019).
Mita
(2014) defined employee retention as “a technique adopted by businesses to
maintain an effective workforce and at the same time meet operational
requirements Bidisha (2013) described it as “a process in which the employees
are encouraged to remain with the organization for the maximum period of time
or until the completion of the project. According to Workforce Planning for
Wisconsin State Government (2015), employee retention is “a systematic effort
to create and foster an environment that encourages employees to remain
employed by having policies and practices in place that address their diverse
needs. The purpose of this research is to assess the determinants of employee
retention in fast food companies as there is not much research work done
particularly in this industry as it relates to determining employee retention
in Umuahia, Abia State.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
This researcher is worried that
operators of fast food companies in Umuahia metropolis might be ignorant of the
factors that could influence employee retention in the industry. Employee retention is vital as it brings
implications for organizational competitiveness in an increasingly global
landscape (Hassan et al., 2013). Retaining key employee is a vital source of
competitive advantage for any organization (Al Mamun et al., 2017). However,
Mahadi et al (2020) posits that the average global voluntary employee turnover
rate remains at 9.1%.
According to Leong (2020) 86% of
employers across the world experience difficulty in attracting new employees
while 58% of organizations indicate that they experience difficulty retaining
their employees. A study by Aguenza and Som (2018) indicates that 48.4% of the
employee leave due to work/challenge, 42.6% career growth/learning, 41.8%
relationships/working with great employees, 31.8% fair pay and 25.1% supportive
management/great boss. As such, in a globalized environment, retention and
engagement of high prospective employees remains a huge challenge to fast food
industries especially in times of high turnover rates (Aguenza et al., 2018)
and fast food companies in Umuahia are not insulated from this challenge. A
causal observation will reveal that as new fast food companies emerge in
Umuahia, employees of existing fast food brands tends to join the new brands,
and the trend continues. This researcher is worried that this is a dangerous
trend, any organization that records high employee turnover is bound to be
unstable and may not being competitive.
On the empirical perspective, several
employee retention researches have been undertaken in various organizations and
in different parts of the world. Sultana, Islam and Hasan (2017) for
Instance examined the issues
influencing employees’ retention and documented that salary; job security and
leadership were the main factors that determine employee retention. In Kenya,
Nyanjom (2013) studied the employee retention determinants in the state
corporations and documented that training and career development, performance
appraisal, commitment and compensation enhanced workers retention but the study
focused on Parastatals. Ng’ethe, (2012)
explored the retention of academic staff determinants in public universities
and revealed that leadership style and promotion influence staff retention but
the study was based on public academic institutions. From the reviewed studies,
it is evident that most studies on employee retention have been undertaken in
different contexts with very few focusing on fast food companies. Furthermore,
the studies used different methodologies and different variables to those being
examined by this study hence empirical and methodological literature gaps. This
study is therefore undertaken to assess the determinants of employee retention
among service providers in fast food companies in Umuahia Metropolis.
1.3
Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is
to assess the determinants of employee retention among service providers in
fast food companies in Umuahia metropolis. The specific objectives are:
i.
To assess how career
development opportunities, affect employee retention among service providers in
fast food companies in Umuahia metropolis.
ii.
To determine how
compensation packages, affect employee retention among service providers in
fast food in companies Umuahia metropolis.
iii.
To ascertain how
ergonomic factors influence employee retention among service providers in fast
food companies in Umuahia metropolis.
iv.
To investigate the extent
to which job satisfaction factors affect employee retention among service
providers in fast food companies in Umuahia metropolis.
v.
To determine how brand
image affects employee retention among service providers in fast food companies
in Umuahia metropolis.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were
developed in line with the specific objectives of the study.
i.
How do career development
opportunities affect employee retention among service providers in fast food
companies in Umuahia metropolis?
ii.
Do compensation packages
affect employee retention among service providers in fast food companies in Umuahia
metropolis?
iii.
To what extent do
ergonomic factors influence employee retention among service providers in fast
food companies in Umuahia Metropolis?
iv.
To what extent do job
satisfaction factors influence employee retention among service providers in
fast food companies in Umuahia metropolis?
v.
To what extent does brand
image affect employee retention among service providers in fast food companies
in Umuahia metropolis?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following research hypotheses are
formulated for the study.
H01: Career development opportunities do not
significantly affect employee retention among service providers in fast food
companies in Umuahia metropolis.
H02: Compensation packages do not significantly impact
employee retention among service providers in fast food companies in Umuahia
metropolis.
H03: Ergonomic factors do not significantly
influence employee retention among service
providers in fast food companies in Umuahia Metropolis.
H04: Job satisfaction has no significant effect on employee retention
among service providers in fast food companies in Umuahia metropolis.
H05: Brand image has no significant impact on employee
retention among service providers in fast food in Umuahia metropolis
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