m7_a3_traresjordan_k

Running Head: Final Submission M7A3

M7A3 Final Submission

Kimberly Trares-Jordan

Argosy University

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Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Literary Review 4

Understanding Employee Perceptions and Needs 5

Training and Development 7

Career Development 11

Methodology 15

Purpose of the research 15

Research questions and hypotheses 16

Definition of terms 17

Description of research sample 18

Consent, privacy and confidentiality 18

Research Design 19

Institutional Review Board Proposal 22

Letter of Consent for Research Participation 27

References 28

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Introduction

How does; training, continuing education opportunity and professional

development practices influence employee satisfaction and thus retention rates? Do these

factors positively correlate with employee satisfaction and in turn positively correlate

with higher retention rates?

Assessing these variables and their relationship to employee satisfaction and retention

will help determine which are more significantly correlated and thus more likely to

improve satisfaction and retention rates.

Employee retention is a major problem for corporations. In a downturned

economy, it is especially important to identify effective ways to attract and retain the

right employees for the right positions. Low retention rates cause organizations to lose

money on recruitment and new hire training practices as well as loss of productivity

during periods of vacancy. Some estimates report that it costs upwards of twice an

employees salary to find and train a replacement, (The Wall Street Journal, US Edition).

Training, continuing education opportunity and professional development

practices offer a potential win-win situation for both employees and employers.

Employees that are offered a variety of tasks, opportunity for personal and professional

growth and have a clear idea of how they fit within the organization as a whole, both in

the short and long term, tend to be more satisfied and stay longer with their employers,

3


(Aguinis, 2008). This fosters a culture in which employees may feel challenged and

engaged in their work and see opportunities for advancement. In turn, employers have

the ability to invest in and grow their human resources thus, retention rates are improved and

mutual-loyalty may be maximized.

Literary Review

Recruiting and training quality talent are the first steps in retention. How do employers

retain quality individuals in key positions and retain top performers for advancement within their

organization? What are the key factors that contribute to employee satisfaction and retention?

What aspects of training are most important to consider in relation to employee satisfaction?

Decades of research have investigated various aspects of employee performance, productivity,

satisfaction and retention. However, little research has been conducted specifically on the level

of satisfaction with on the job training and how it specifically correlates to employee satisfaction

and retention.

Shift in the global economy have had ripple effects in many areas of life. In recent years,

there has been a shift among employees toward a direction of self-guided career advancement

activities. There is more emphasis on the individual’s necessity to be in charge of ones career

destiny and outcomes as employees face employment and economic conditions that require

greater adaptability and often present a higher level of uncertainty and instability than in past

decades. Employees have begun to take more active roles in their career development and

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advancement rather than leaving their career destiny up to their employers primarily, (Baruch,

2006). The new global economy necessitates ongoing learning and training for employee growth

and is also required for continued employability, (Schmidt, 2007).

In contrast, employers are often faced with the need to downsize, streamline and

restructure their organizations. Recruiting and maintaining quality talent is of utmost

importance. Replacing employees is costly in terms of finding, interviewing, training and on

boarding, not to mention the potential loss of productivity during the process due to lack of

human resources to complete organizational goals and meet expectations. Retaining vs.

recruiting is a key component to organizational success and growth in lean times. How then do

we identify the key components that contribute to employee satisfaction and thus retention?

Understanding Employee Perceptions and Needs:

In, Stay Interviews: The Leader’s Role In Engaging and Retaining Talent, Beverly Kay

and Sharon Jordan-Evansk (2011), propose the necessity to ask and maintain an open dialogue

with employee’s to get direct, honest feedback about what is important to them in their positions.

By understanding what is important instead of guessing what is important, employers can focus

on controlling what they can control and take the steps within their power to address the

concerns and desires of their employees. Asking facilitates the feelings of being cared about,

valued and important, (Kaye, B and Jordan-Evans, S., 2011). In their research, they have asked

over 17,000 people across every industry and level, why they choose to stay in an organization.

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They hear the top 10 responses consistently: 1) Exciting work and challenge, 2) career growth,

learning and development, 3) working with great people, 4) fair pay, 5) supportive

management/good boss, 6) being recognized, valued and respected, 7) benefits, 8) meaningful

work and making a difference, 9) pride in the organization, its mission and its product, 10) great

work environment and culture. Furthermore, they report that a recent study by the Opinion

Research Corporation found that 80% of respondents said they would consider leaving their jobs

for other opportunities. Management often avoids such conversations with employees because

they fear that demands will be made that they will not be able to meet or that they will put ideas

into the minds of their employees that lead to them considering other options or making changes

outside of their team/organizations, (Kaye, B and Jordan-Evans, S., 2011). A clear take away

from their research is that if employers do not take the time for stay interviews, they will need to

make the time for exit interviews.

Open dialogue must be a join venture. Individuals must take an active vs. a passive role

in their career development and goals. There must exist a partnership between employee and

employer. This begins with fostering an organizational culture of trust and transparency in

which employees feel empowered to express their needs and goals and employers are committed

to hearing and being receptive these needs and goals. Employees in turn must be receptive and

aligned to organizational goals and objectives. By aligning personal and organizational goals a

synergy may take place creating a mutually beneficial professional relationship.

Leigh Branham, (2012) identified four fundamental needs of employees that need to be

met, which were distilled from the many reasons for leaving that were reported and extracted

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primarily from archival exit interview data. The 4 fundamental needs of employees are: 1) The

need for trust: expectation the management will deliver on promises, have open honest

communication, invest in you and treat you fairly. 2) The need to have hope: that you will be

able to grow professional, utilize and develop skills, have the ability to advance which will lead

to higher earnings. 3) The need to feel worthy and respected: that if you work hard you will

receive recognition, reward, respect and be seen as an asset rather than a liability. 4) The need to

feel competent as you gain mastery: you will be matched to a position that enables you to utilize

talents and presents challenge, allows you to receive opportunities, prepare for future

responsibilities and roles and to receive performance feedback on a regular basis. The 10 most

common reasons reported for employees choosing to leave were: poor management, lack of

career growth and advancement opportunity, poor communications, pay, lack of recognition,

poor senior leadership, lack of training, excessive workload, lack of tools and resources and lack

of teamwork.

Training and Development:

In the 2011 Employee Satisfaction and Engagement Survey, conducted by the Society for

Human Resource Management, (SHRM) many important insights regarding U.S. Employee

satisfaction and engagement were obtained: The top 5 aspects of job satisfaction, which were

most important to employees from 2002-2011 included:

Job Security (63%) Opportunities to use skills/abilities (62%) Organizations financial stability (55%) Relationship with immediate supervisor (55%)

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Running Head: Final Submission M7A3 Compensation/pay (54%) Benefits (53%) The work itself (53%) Communication between employees and senior management (53%)

Survey results regarding, Career Development specifically show: 62% of employees desire the opportunity to use skills and abilities 42% desire career advancement opportunities 49% place importance on the Organizations commitment to professional development 50% desire job specific training 46% desire career development opportunities

The SHRM survey, indicates that Organizations may benefit from taking advantage of existing

talent, i.e. nurturing and developing existing employees by partnering with them and identifying

career advancement opportunities, (SHRM, 2011).

Of particular relevance for the proposed study, are the results for: opportunities to use

skills/abilities (62%), desire career advancement opportunities (42%), importance of

organizations commitment to professional development (49%), desire job specific training (50%)

and desire career development opportunities (46%).

In a study conducted by Sahinidis, A. and Bouris, J., (2007), the relationship between

perceived employee training effectiveness and job satisfaction, motivation and commitment was

investigated. They found a significant correlation between the employee’s perceived training

effectiveness and their commitment, job satisfaction and motivation. The practical implications

of their findings indicate that not only are training programs valuable, but they must be perceived

as relevant and effective by the employee. Training which facilitates the employee’s feelings of

commitment by the employers in their personal growth will be seen as opportunity and may lead

to higher levels of motivation and commitment, (Sahinidis, A. and Bouris, J., 2007). Sahinidis,

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A. and Bouris, J., (2007), define training as “the planned intervention that is designed to enhance

the determinants of individual job performance”. Training is identified as a way to reduce

anxiety and frustration brought on by work demands they are unfamiliar with and where skills

are lacking in order to effectively handle demands, (Chen et al, 2004). It was further proposed

that you might assume that if an employee perceives an improvement in his/her knowledge and

skills there will also be an increase in their performance. New competencies and skills will

enable the employee to complete tasks, which will result in overall organizational performance,

(Sahinidis, A. and Bouris, J., 2007). Their research hypotheses were as follows:

H1: There is a positive relationship between employee perceived training effectiveness and job

satisfaction. H2: There is a positive relationship between employee perceived training

effectiveness and motivation. H3: There is a positive relationship between employee perceived

training effectiveness and employee commitment. The results of their study supported all three

hypotheses, showing strong significant relationships between training effectiveness and job

satisfaction and motivation. It is important to note that the presence of training alone is not

enough. The perceived level of training effectiveness is crucial to the level of satisfaction.

This begs the question, what variables impact the perceived level of effectiveness? Depending

on the position, required skills and desired outcomes, it would be helpful to do pilot research to

determine what variables contribute to training effectiveness within industries/positions prior to

fully implementing training methods.

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Steven Schmidt, 2007, investigated, The Relationship Between Satisfaction with

Workplace Training and Overall Job Satisfaction. A significant result was found between job

training satisfaction and overall job satisfaction. Schmidt referenced, Landy (1985) and his

definition of job training as, “a set of planned activities on the part of an organization to increase

the job knowledge and skills or to modify the attitudes and social behavior of its members in

ways consistent with the goals of the organization and the requirements of the job”, (p.306). Job

satisfaction is defined as “how people feel about their jobs and different aspects of their jobs. It

is the extent to which people like or dislike their jobs”, (Spector, 1997, p.2). Schmidt

synthesized the definitions of (Spector, 1997) and (Landy, 1985) to create the term, job training

satisfaction, defined as how people feel about aspects of the job training they receive. Job

training satisfaction is the extent to which people like or dislike the set of planned activities

organized to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to effectively perform a given

task or job, (Schmidt, 2007). The study found a high correlation between job training

satisfaction and overall job satisfaction among employees in customer contact positions.

Schmidt also found that when in training it was important to the employees that the

methodology, i.e. delivery is in a form that they believed was helpful to their learning. The most

preferred methods included: instructor-led training, one-on-one training and job shadowing,

(Schmidt, 2007). Methods involving instructors or a coach were preferred significantly to

solitary methods such a self directed study, computer-based training and video based training,

(Schmidt, 2007).

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The preferred method of training in this study may be impacted by the nature of the work

of the employees. In essence, individuals in customer service and technical positions by nature,

enjoy personal interaction and thus is may follow that they would prefer training via

instructor/coach vs. solitary methods. Ultimately each organization needs to identify the

preferred methods of training by their employees, which will facilitate the highest level of

training satisfaction and thus job satisfaction, (Schmidt, 2007).

The findings in the Schmidt study (2007) are consistent with the Sahinidis, A. and

Bouris, J., (2007) study in that similarly, the level of training satisfaction is related to the

perceived level of effectiveness and relevance. The Schmidt study does identify the issue of

personality profiles within specific positions and the implications on preferred training

delivery/methodology. Identifying the personality traits within positions will provide insight into

the level of desire for ongoing training, preferred method of delivery, as well as a correlation

between personality characteristics and satisfaction.

Career Development:

Barnett, B., & Bradley, L (2007), researched how organizational support for career

development (OSCD), impacts career satisfaction. By determining if there is a benefit to the

organization by investing and participating in OSCD, they may determine how to design career

development practices that will help achieve desired outcomes. They proposed that employees

are more likely to take steps toward achieving their goals when they have access to resources and

support relevant to their goals. The variables considered were: career satisfaction; OSCD,

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proactive personality and career management behaviors. Subjective career success is defined as

an individual’s evaluation of their career progress, accomplishments and anticipated outcomes,

relative to their own goals and aspirations, (Seibert and Kraimer, 2001). They found that OSCD,

proactive personality and career management behaviors positively related to career satisfaction

and career management behaviors mediated the relationship between proactive personality and

career satisfaction, (Barnett, B. & Bradley, L., 2007). Career satisfaction is measured frequently

using the career satisfaction scale developed by Greenhaus et. al. (1990). The hypotheses of the

study included: H1: OSCD will be positively related to career satisfaction. H2: Career

management behaviors will be positively related to career satisfaction. H3: Career management

behaviors will mediate the relationship between OSCD and career satisfaction.

The results identified a reciprocal benefit from investing in career development. In essence,

organizations may benefit by investing in OSCD to increase career satisfaction and employees

may experience greater career satisfaction by utilizing career management resources/OSCD.

Employees’ experience of career success may be influenced by employer’s support of career

development, (Barnett, B. & Bradley, L., 2007).

As with (Schmidt 2007) and (Sahinidis, A. and Bouris, J., 2007), the Barnett & Bradley,

(2007) study identifies personality characteristics that may impact results of training and

professional development activities and outcomes. The proposed study, consisting solely of

admissions representatives within a single organization may also yield clues as to personality

traits that are conducive to the position at large and impact perceptions of training and

professional development. Studying employees so closely involved with the training and

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development of the individuals they serve may offer interesting insight into the ways that they

utilize their own professional training and development opportunities.

In, Career Development – Increase the Strength of your Workforce, a study conducted by

Right Management, outlines key reasons that employers need to implement career development

practices and the value of including these practices into organizational strategy, including:

ongoing development of employee skills and competencies which benefit the organization and

increase employee engagement which is related to productivity, performance and overall

retention. Career development can be utilitized as a competitive instrument, which will facilitate

attaining and exceeding goals. The study included over 28,000 employees from 10 major

industries across 15 countries. Participants were comprised primarily (91%) of employees from

private corporations, with 50+ employees. They found that in order to be most effective,

employee career goals and organization goals must be aligned. Proper alignment was found to:

allow employees to develop skills that facilitate organizational success, as well as increase levels

of engagement, which positively effect productivity, retention and performance. Findings also

show that having career development plans allows employees to select positions, which allow

them to utilize their skills and talents and to be more adaptable under circumstances of

organizational change. They further identified the Top 8 Employer Career Development

Needs/Wants as:

1) retention, 2) higher engagement scores, 3) deliver on strategy, 4) employees growing in place,

5) positive career behaviors, 6) ready to mobilize workforce, 7) career as attraction strategy, 8)

enable IDP. Recommendations to employers included: having senior leaders make career

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development a priority, better training for managers and the skills to support career development

activities, better self-assessment tools for employees, utilization of a combined; individual and

group coaching sessions approach. Ultimately, maximizing employee performance via career

development will facilitate the development of employee skills that will lead to meeting and

exceeding strategic goals.

This study illustrates the need for partnership between employers and employees in order

to cultivate a mutually beneficial relationship. Employees must be engaged in the process and

identify personal goals and have the ability to identify opportunities and make choices about

growth opportunities that are consistent with their personal goals as well as aligned to the needs

of the organizational goals at large.

There is an evident common thread amongst these prior research findings, which

indicates that there is a correlation between employee’s satisfaction with training as well as

employee satisfaction with career development practices and opportunities and the overall level

of satisfaction within their careers. Consistently it has been shown that employees desire the

ability to learn and grow, have opportunities to be promoted and advance or laterally move to

positions that best suit their skills, abilities and interests, and feel valued in their positions. It is

also clear that training alone is not enough. The timing, quality, content, mode of delivery and

perceived level of relevance and usefulness are important factors to consider when designing

training that will maximize employee skills, growth and engagement. Through the review

process, it has become evident that personality differences between industries and positions may

also ultimately effect the overall satisfaction of training, career development and overall

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satisfaction. Conducting personality profiles and inventories may be helpful in designing and

implementing training and professional development practices.

The proper implementation of training and career development practices requires

planning, time and training of management in the proper utilization of these valuable tools.

Organizations need to recognize the return on investment they will see as a result of improved

employee satisfaction, increased skills sets, ability to adapt to changes and the ability to utilize

and retain valued employees within the organization over time. Increasing skills, abilities and

opportunities will create a mutually beneficial relationship between employers and employees.

Skilled and satisfied employees will feel challenged and valued, while employers will benefit

from increased retention and savings on recruitment, retraining and improved productivity and

organizational success.

Methodology

Purpose of the research

Employee retention is a major problem for corporations. In a downturned economy, it is

especially important to identify effective ways to attract and retain the right employees for the

right positions. Employees have begun to take more active roles in their career development and

advancement rather than leaving their career destiny up to their employers primarily, (Baruch,

15


2006). Low retention rates cause organizations to lose money on recruitment and new hire

training practices as well as loss of productivity during periods of vacancy. Some estimates

report that it costs upwards of twice an employee’s salary to find and train a replacement, (The

Wall Street Journal, US Edition).

The purpose of the proposed study is to better understand the relationship between

employee training protocols; (i.e. timing, quality, content and relevancy to position) and career

development practices; (employee and management activities, specifically geared toward future

career goals and professional tracking which are unrelated to the employees current position, in

admissions) in relation to job satisfaction and retention. The SHRM survey, indicates that

Organizations may benefit from taking advantage of existing talent, i.e. nurturing and developing

existing employees by partnering with them and identifying career advancement opportunities,

(SHRM, 2011). Training, continuing education opportunity and professional development

practices offer a potential win-win situation for both employees and employers. Employees that

are offered a variety of tasks, opportunity for personal and professional growth and have a clear

idea of how they fit within the organization as a whole, both in the short and long term, tend to

be more satisfied and stay longer with their employers, (Aguinis, 2008). This fosters a culture in

which employees may feel challenged and engaged in their work and see opportunities for

advancement. In turn, employers have the ability to invest in and grow their human resources

thus, retention rates are improved and mutual-loyalty may be maximized.

The study will focus on the admissions departments across 28 campuses in 17 states

within a single private post-secondary education institution, currently experiencing high turnover

16


rates, i.e. low retention within admissions. By gaining a deeper understanding of how training

protocols and career development practices influence employee satisfaction and retention,

protocols and practices may be modified and implemented in order to maximize satisfaction and

retention. Increased satisfaction and retention will in turn minimize losses from recruitment and

training of replacement staff.

Research questions and hypotheses:

Does training, professional development practices including continuing education

opportunity, contribute to overall satisfaction and retention?

The following hypotheses are set forth:

H1 Training will positively impact employee satisfaction, when it is completed early, (with new

hires) and is ongoing.

HO: Training will have no impact on employee satisfaction

H2 Professional development activities will positively impact employee satisfaction,

HO: Professional development will have no impact on employee satisfaction.

H3 Increased Employee satisfaction will positively correlate with retention rates.

Decreased Employee satisfaction will negatively correlate with retention.

HO: Employee satisfaction will have no correlation to retention.

Definition of terms

Training: is defined as the level and intervals in which training is provided/mandated as part of

in-role job competency building.

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Professional Development Practices: are defined as deliberate activities that are centered:

around the alignment of employee’s personal/professional goals with larger organizational goals.

In essence, professional development is equivalent to the professional mapping, of employees

with consideration of their professional aspirations and goals as they relate to the organization

and beyond. Professional Development practices will also include: Continuing Education

Opportunity: defined as the availability of continuing education (either via Corporate

University training that is not necessarily directly relevant to a currently held position, or

ongoing continuing education in pursuit of a higher-level degree). Tuition reimbursement is

included in this definition as a benefit to employee’s that choose to participate.

Employee Satisfaction: is defined as the level of reported satisfaction with regard to current

employment as measured via survey completion. Satisfaction-surveys will measure multiple

aspects of overall work environment, practices and culture.

Retention Rate: is defined as the percentage of employees that choose to remain with the

company, either within their current position or within an alternative position, within the

company, within a set timeframe, (to be determined).

Description of the research sample

The study participants will be randomly sampled from the population of admissions

representatives across 28 campuses in 17 States, within a single private post-secondary education

institution. The study sample will consist of 125 participants from the overall population of

18


approximately 250 admissions employees. This is a high sample number to account for the

potential of some participants to be unable to complete the study due to sick time or other

extraneous factors. Random sampling will capture feedback from employees of, varying levels

of experience and employment history within the institution as well as varying demographics,

(age, race and gender).

Consent, Privacy and Confidentiality of the information and the participants in the study

Informed consent shall be obtained from each study participant, prior to the start of the

research. Privacy and confidentiality of the information and the participants will be held in strict

confidence. This is vital to the study and will increase the likelihood that participants will feel

free to respond openly and honestly to surveys and requests for feedback. Employees will also

be informed that the data collected and the results of the study will be utilized to help implement

positive changes within the organization to improve employee satisfaction and overall retention.

Employees are more likely to provide honest feedback when they believe that the information

will be used for developmental change and improvement, (Aguinis, 2008, p.180).

Research design

The proposed study will be a correlational, field-research study utilizing a within-subject

design. Data will be collected without manipulation of variables. Three separate surveys will be

utilized in data collection. The surveys shall be constructed and modified by utilizing existing

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surveys such as the Career Satisfaction Survey developed by Greenhaus et. Al. (1990) and the

Job Satisfaction Survey created by Spector, (1985). All surveys responses will be answered on a

scale of 1-6 with 1 representing the strongest disagreement and 6 strongest, agreement, (Spector,

1985).

Participants shall receive thorough instruction on how to access and complete their

surveys via a video explanation prepared by the researcher as well as written instructions

presented prior to each survey in order to maintain consistency in explanation and improve

internal validity. All participants shall adhere to the same timeline of completion. The total

length of the study shall be 3 weeks. One survey shall be administered per week. All surveys

will be administered electronically and accessed via an online study portal. The data shall be

compiled and analyzed electronically as well to reduce error in data transcription. The order of

survey administration shall be randomly assigned to participants, however each participant shall

complete each survey. This randomization of the order of survey administration will increase

internal validity by reducing carryover effects of the other surveys.

A survey assessing various aspects of training protocols will be constructed to measure:

timing/frequency, content, quality, mode of delivery (i.e. via: direct management training, online

corporate-university, direct mentoring and self guided study) and relevancy of training

materials/content in relation to the role of admissions representatives, within the position.

A separate survey will be constructed to assess professional development activities.

Professional development activities are defined as: activities engaged in by management and

employee, which solely focus on career tracking and development for the employee outside of

20


the current admissions position. Career development activities may include: continuing

education (higher degree incentives), collaborative projects with outside departments, special

projects unrelated to current position which are relevant to the department or organization as a

whole, employee feedback and management collaboration with regard to career tracking/path for

future employment opportunities, growth and advancement.

Additionally, an employee satisfaction survey will be constructed, addressing various

aspects of the position, (i.e. training, professional development, culture, environment and

work/home balance). The additional variables within the satisfaction survey may provide

valuable feedback as to other aspects of the admissions position, that contribute to overall

employee satisfaction.

Archival data from exit interviews will be utilized to determine reasons for leaving

provided by past employees to gain insight into variables effecting retention. Employees will

also be provided an opportunity for narrative feedback concerning each separate survey topic at

the completion of the study. Narrative feedback will not be included in the statistical analysis,

but will be considered as a part of the summation and future research recommendations.

The proposed study, consisting solely of admissions representatives within a single

organization may also yield clues as to personality traits that are conducive to the position at

large and impact perceptions of training and professional development. Studying employees so

closely involved with the training and development of the individuals they serve may offer

21


interesting insight into the ways that they utilize their own professional training and development

opportunities. Future research may benefit from conducting personality profiles in addition to

the survey feedback to identify traits that may be significantly correlated with satisfaction.

The collected data shall be analyzed using a Regression Analysis, which is a method for

using one or more independent variables or predictors to predict a single dependent variable or

outcome. The relations among the variables are used to develop a prediction model, (Lomax. R,

2013).

Future research may also benefit from including data from the employer perspective as to

the structure of training, level of involvement with and commitment to employee development as

well as impression of employee satisfaction. This feedback would be helpful in identifying gaps

between employer and employee perspectives. By narrowing the gaps in perspective the

organization and employees may benefit from a higher degree of alignment and thus overall

satisfaction and productivity.

22


Institutional Review Board Proposal

Purpose of the research

The purpose of the proposed study is to better understand the relationship between

employee training protocols; (i.e. timing, quality, content and relevancy to position) and

career development practices; (employee and management activities, specifically geared

toward future career goals and professional tracking which are unrelated to the employees

current position, in admissions) in relation to job satisfaction and retention. The study will

focus on the admissions departments across 28 campuses in 17 states within a private post-

secondary education institution, currently experiencing high turnover rates, i.e. low retention

within admissions.

By gaining a deeper understanding of how training protocols and career development

practices influence employee satisfaction and retention, protocols and practices may be

modified and implemented in order to maximize satisfaction and retention. Increased

satisfaction and retention will in turn minimize losses from recruitment and training of

replacement staff.

Rationale and relevant background of the research

Decades of research have been conducted concerning employee training, professional

development, satisfaction, engagement, retention and the factors that comprise each of these

areas.

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A significant relationship between job training satisfaction and overall job satisfaction has

been found, (Schmidt, S., 2007).

More recently, as outlined in the 2011 Employee Satisfaction and Engagement Survey,

conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, (SHRM) many important insights

regarding U.S. Employee satisfaction and engagement were obtained:

The top 5 aspects of job satisfaction, which were most important to employees from 2002-2011 included:

Job Security (63%) Opportunities to use skills/abilities (62%) Organizations financial stability (55%) Relationship with immediate supervisor (55%) Compensation/pay (54%) Benefits (53%) The work itself (53%) Communication between employees and senior management (53%)

Survey results regarding, Career Development specifically show: 62% of employees desire the opportunity to use skills and abilities 42% desire career advancement opportunities 49% place importance on the Organizations commitment to professional development 50% desire job specific training 46% desire career development opportunities

The SHRM survey, indicates that Organizations may benefit from taking advantage of

existing talent, i.e. nurturing and developing existing employees by partnering with them and

identifying career advancement opportunities, (SHRM, 2011).

Description of the research sample

The study participants will be randomly sampled from the population of admissions

representatives across 28 campuses in 17 States, within a single private post-secondary

education institution. The study sample will consist of 125 participants from the overall

24


population of approximately 250 admissions employees. Random sampling will capture

feedback from employees of, varying levels of experience and employment history within the

institution as well as varying demographics.

Research design

The proposed study will be a correlational, field-research study. A survey assessing various

aspects of training protocols will be constructed to measure: timing/frequency, content, quality,

mode of delivery (i.e. via: direct management training, online corporate-university, direct

mentoring and self guided study) and relevancy of training materials/content in relation to the

role of admissions representatives, within the position. Employees will also be provided an area

for narrative feedback concerning training.

A separate survey will be constructed to assess professional development activities.

Professional development activities are defined as: activities engaged in by management and

employee, which solely focus on career tracking and development for the employee outside of

the current admissions position. Career development activities may include: continuing

education (higher degree incentives), collaborative projects with outside departments, special

projects unrelated to current position which are relevant to the department or organization as a

whole, employee feedback and management collaboration with regard to career tracking/path for

future employment opportunities, growth and advancement. Employees will be provided an area

for narrative feedback concerning professional development.

Additionally, an employee satisfaction survey will be constructed, addressing various

aspects of the position, (i.e. training, professional development, culture, environment and

25


work/home balance). The additional variables within the satisfaction survey may provide

valuable feedback as to other aspects of the admissions position, that contribute to overall

employee satisfaction.

Archival data from exit interviews will be utilized to determine reasons for leaving

provided by past employees to gain insight into variables effecting retention.

Offers and incentives for participants in the study

Incentive for participation in the study will include a $25 gift certificate (of the

employees’ choice) from a selection of 5 local eateries, upon full completion of all required

surveys.

Risks to the participants, including if there is deception

There are no evident risks to the participants as this is a field research, correlational study in

which data is being collected on current practices, procedures, employee satisfaction and archival

data from employees, no longer employed with the organization. Employee participation and

feedback will be confidential and anonymous to the Organization.

Privacy and confidentiality of the information and the participants in the study

Privacy and confidentiality of the information and the participants will be held in strict

confidence. This is vital to the study and will increase the likelihood that participants will feel

free to respond openly and honestly to surveys and requests for feedback. Employees will also

be informed that the data collected and the results of the study will be utilized to help implement

26


positive changes within the organization to improve employee satisfaction and overall retention.

Employees are more likely to provide honest feedback when they believe that the information

will be used for developmental change and improvement, (Aguinis, 2008, p.180).

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Letter of Consent for Research Participation

The purpose of the Research Study conducted by Kimberly Trares-Jordan, Argosy

University MAIO Student, is to gain a deeper understanding of key factors that contribute to

employee satisfaction and retention. The information obtained from the study will be utilized to

make suggestions to “EdExCorp”, for improvements to positively impact employee satisfaction

and thus, retention.

For your full and complete,voluntary-participation in the study, you will receive a $25.00

gift card to a local eatery of your choice, from 5 local options, at the conclusion of your

participation.

You may choose to opt out of the study at anytime. However if you choose to opt of the

study, you will forfeit the $25.00 gift card.

There are no evident risks involved with participation. Your participation is voluntary.

Your privacy and confidentiality will be maintained in strict confidence. No personally

identifiable information will be shared with “EdExCorp”. Your openness and honesty are

appreciated and are crucial to the validity of the study.

Consent to Participate:I (print full name):_________________________________, have read the above and understand that my participation in the research study is voluntary. I may opt out of the study at anytime. I further understand that if I choose to opt out of the study, I will forfeit the study incentive of $25.00 gift card. I understand that the information that I provide as well as my personal identity will remain confidential and will be used solely for the purpose of the research study as outlined above.

Signed: _______________________________________ Date: ___________________

Witness: ______________________________________ Date: ___________________

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REFERENCES:

Aguinis. Performance Management, 2nd Edition., 2008. Argosy University. Web. 09 September 2013 <http://digitalbookshelf.argosy.edu/books/0558569080/id/pg181>.

Barnett, B.R., & Bradley, L. (2007). The impact of organizational support for career development on career satisfaction. Career Development International, 12(7), 617-636.doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620430710834396

Baruch, Y. (2006), “Career development in organizations and beyond: balancing traditional and contemporary viewpoints”, Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 16, pp. 125-38

Branham, L. (2012). The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Recognize the Subtle Signs and Act Before It's Too Late. New York: American Management Association.

Chen, T.Y., Chang, P.L. and Yen, C.W. (2004), “A study of career needs, career development programs, job satisfaction and the turnover intensity of R & D personnel”, Career Development International, Vol.9 No. 4 pp. 424-37

Greenhaus, J.H. Parasuraman, S.J. and Wormley, W.M. (1990), “Effects of race on organizational experiences, job performance evaluations and career outcomes”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol, 33, pp.64-86.

Kaye, B., & Jordan-Evans, S. (2011). STAY INTERVIEWS: THE LEASDER’S ROLE IN ENGAGING AND RETAINING TALENT. Leader to Leader, 2011(59), 8.Retrieved from Http://search.proquest.com/docview/853267260?accountid=34899

Landy, F.J. (1985). Psychology of Work Behavior. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.

Lomax, R., Correlational Research, 2012, education.comRetrieved from:http://www.education.com/reference/article/correlational-research/

Sahinidis, A.G., & Bouris, J. (2008). Employee perceived training effectiveness relationship to employee attitudes. Journal of European Industrial Training, 32(1), 63-76.doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090590810846575

Schmidt, S.W. (2007). The relationship between satisfaction with workplace training and overall job satisfaction. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 18(4), 481-498.doi:http://dx.dor.org/10.1002/hrdq.1216

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http://search.proquest.com/docview/853267260?accountid=34899

Running Head: Final Submission M7A3Seibert, S.E., Kraimer, M.L. (2001), “ The five-factor model of personality and career success:, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 58, pp. 1-21.

Spector, Paul, (1985), Job Satisfaction SurveyRetrieved from:http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~pspector/scales/jsspag.html

Spector, P. (1997). Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes and consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

The Wall Street Journal, US EditionRetrieved fromhttp://guides.wsj.com/management/recruiting-hiring-and-firing/how-to-reduce-employee-turnover/

2011 Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement, Gratification and Engagement at Work in a Sluggish Economy, Society for Human Resource ManagementRetrieved from:http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Documents/11-0618%20Job_Satisfaction_FNL.pdf

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http://shell.cas.usf.edu/~pspector/scales/jsspag.html