Qualitative examination of employee turnover and retention strategies in international tourist hotels in Taiwan

International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012) 837–848

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International Journal of Hospitality Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman

Qualitative examination of employee turnover and retention strategies in international tourist hotels in Taiwan Jen-Te Yang a,∗ , Chin-Sheng Wan b , Yi-Jui Fu c a b c

Department of Hotel Management, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, P.O. Box 608, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, ROC Department of Hospitality Management, Southern Taiwan University, Taiwan, ROC Graduate Institute of Travel and Tourism Management, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Taiwan, ROC

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Keywords: Employee turnover Hospitality management Knowledge Retention strategies

a b s t r a c t In past decades, high employee turnover has been an important issue for many hoteliers and a focus of academic interest. Although hoteliers often use retention techniques to retain capable employees, the turnover rate remains high. The purpose of this study was to explore determinants of managementlevel employee turnover and to identify existing practices in human resource retention strategies. In this study, interviews with Taiwan hotel workers revealed that more than 80% of respondents had resigned from a job to pursue career advancement while 70% had experienced recruitment propositions from other hotels. Another factor of turnover may be that relating to differences between expectations and reality. This study indicates that managers need to understand more fully the needs of subordinates when providing career advice, and relevant training programs should be introduced to enhance career opportunities. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction While manager turnover can promote efficient hotel operations, encourage organizational activities, inspire new management methods or introduce new technologies, high turnover rates are associated with increased recruiting and training costs for the company. In a dynamic and competitive hospitality environment, employee turnover rate ranges between 60% and 300% (Lee and Way, 2010; Moncarz et al., 2009). This may occur due to seasonal fluctuations, a low-skilled labor market, and part-time staff in hospitality settings. High turnover rates not only affect staff morale but also lead to the loss of productive workers while reducing efficiency. Therefore, employee turnover is an important issue in human resource management (HRM) (Alonso and O’Neill, 2009; Dickerson, 2009; Cho et al., 2006). Many studies (e.g., Cho et al., 2009; Pizam and Thornburg, 2000) have focused on turnover rates and costs in the hotel industry. Robbins (1995) has pointed out that the overall costs associated with employee turnover range from 1.2 to 2 times higher than the annual salary of the former employee, with an average cost of 1.5 times higher. Thus, the loss caused by the turnover of an employee can be significant. High turnover rate is already considered an important issue in the hotel industry (Kim et al., 2010; Carbery et al.,

∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 935 927 138; fax: +886 72383553. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J.-T. Yang), [email protected] (C.-S. Wan), [email protected] (Y.-J. Fu). 0278-4319/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2011.10.001

2003). This phenomenon may be an inherent aspect of hospitality culture (Kim et al., 2010). This issue warrants increased attention by the hotel industry in order to ensure high quality personnel. If the hotel industry wants to be highly competitive, it must rely on the effective management of employees and reduce turnover rates. Such actions can help a hotel maintain a high level of service, allowing it to remain competitive (Argote, 1999; Argote et al., 1990). Research into employee turnover issues in the hospitality industry has been empirically conducted in several nations; for example, Australia (Deery, 2008; Robinson and Barron, 2007), Greece (Chalkiti and Sigala, 2010), Hong Kong (Chiang and Birtch, 2008), New Zealand (Poulston, 2008), South Korea (Kim et al., 2010), Taiwan (Yang, 2010b; Tsai et al., 2009; Wong and Lin, 2007), Turkey (Karatepe and Uludag, 2008), the UK (Martin et al., 2006), and the USA (Cho et al., 2009, 2006; Moncarz et al., 2009). Most of these studies imply that turnover is inevitable and difficult to manage by the organizations involved. Similarly, a review of the HRM practices of the Taiwan hotel industry indicates that a lack of qualified personnel and high turnover rates are significant problems for the industry (Yang, 2008, 2010b; Tsai et al., 2009). Examining these rates further, this study explored actual reasons for manager turnover. An extensive body of literature pertaining to strategies for employee retention shows that motivated compensation policies and well-established training and development programs minimize turnover (e.g., Cho et al., 2006; Davidson et al., 2006). However, many studies indicate that the turnover rate remains a

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huge operational challenge, with some countries, such as South Korea, increasing in its rates (Kim et al., 2010). What retention strategies do companies develop and implement to retain talented staff? The existing hospitality and tourism literature mentions retention policies and strategies that are both intrinsic and extrinsic (e.g., Lee and Way, 2010; Yang, 2008; Davidson et al., 2006; Lam et al., 2002); nevertheless employee turnover still remains high. This might imply that human resource managers have developed policies without considering employee expectations. This is a rather disparaging view. If a human resource manager cannot identify actual reasons for employee turnover, an effective retention policy can never be made. Current literature (such as Chiang and Jang, 2008; Kim et al., 2009; Chalkiti and Carson, 2010) provides some recommendations to help solve high turnover. This study strongly agrees with those studies that point to solutions that work. With a consideration of the real expectations of employees, retention policies can be made more effective. This study, therefore, aims to contribute to the existing literature on this issue. In order to investigate turnover of hotel managers in-depth, the current study examined managers with previous turnover experiences who obtained managerial positions in other hotels. We specifically wanted to understand the factors that made them change workplaces, and to assess their motivations for quitting as well as their former employers’ efforts to retain them. The main purposes of this study were to understand the motivating factors behind hotel managers’ decisions to leave and to examine specific retention strategies to reduce turnover rates as utilized by the Taiwanese hotel industry, particularly in international tourist hotels.

2. Literature review Mobley’s (1977) definition for employee turnover involves an employee engaged in a certain position in a company who leaves that position after a certain period. He also points out that staff turnover behavior involves a complete termination of the employee–employer relationship. Wanous (1979) classifies turnover into two categories: voluntary turnover and involuntary turnover. The former involves staff who voluntarily ask to end the employer–employee relationship due to factors such as salary, benefits and work environment. Involuntary turnover involves staff who do not leave voluntarily; the most common example of this is when an employee is fired or given severance pay. Voluntary turnover can lead to a loss of human capital and relational capital for the company, as well as a loss of employee expertise. Employee turnover has been empirically studied in three domains: causes and consequences of employee turnover, and workplace retention strategies. This study focuses on causes and retention strategies. Consequences have been studied by a number of researchers (e.g., Chalkiti and Carson, 2010; Alonso and O’Neill, 2009; Argote, 1999). With respect to costs of employee turnover, the turnover can directly degrade organizational performance as a whole. For example, Darr et al. (1995) reveal in an empirical study that in 36 US pizza stores, turnover led to poor production and knowledge depreciation. Argote (1999) emphasizes that turnover might result in a dysfunctional organizational climate, particularly with regard to reduced employee morale at the workgroup level and poor customer service due to new personnel not being familiar with operations (Alonso and O’Neill, 2009; Dickerson, 2009). Chalkiti and Carson (2010) claim that turnover has a deleterious effect on the concentration of remaining employees. “Structure holes” reflecting formal and informal organizational structure occur when employees are not able to obtain access to organizational resources (Chalkiti and Carson, 2010; Burt, 1997).

2.1. Causes of employee turnover Investigation into the major factors that cause employees to leave can be roughly divided into five HRM categories: inappropriate recruiting processes (Lo and Lam, 2002; Pizam and Thornburg, 2000), inappropriate work placement (Lo and Lam, 2002), dissatisfaction with salary, benefits and job opportunities (Cho et al., 2006; Lo and Lam, 2002), inappropriate management of company staff (Kim et al., 2010; Cho et al., 2006; Lo and Lam, 2002), and job stress and burnout (Chalkiti and Sigala, 2010; O’Neill and Xiao, 2010; Shani and Pizam, 2009). Essentially, inappropriate recruiting processes can lead to the other four turnover factors. When a company’s senior executives fail to select appropriate mid-level managers, it can lead to inappropriate work placement and poor management of company staff. Therefore, the executives responsible for recruiting must have a comprehensive understanding of the company’s overall operations such as compensation policies, corporate culture, position requirements and employee skills to avoid selection of inappropriate individuals. Executives must also avoid placing capable employees in inappropriate positions, which can result in turnover due to dissatisfaction over salary, benefits or general job opportunities. The inappropriate employment of staff (i.e., employment of poor quality staff) can also affect the morale of the whole team, causing a generalized decrease in staff output and even the subsequent loss of other qualified staff due to dissatisfaction (Lo and Lam, 2002; Argote, 1999; Darr et al., 1995). Chalkiti and Carson (2010) found four main causes of hotel turnover in Australia’s Northern Territory. First, individual concerns might include career movement and maintaining a close relationship with relatives and friends. Second, organizational conflicts appeared between management and company owners, between superiors and subordinates, and between employees. Third, the nature of hotel operations (such as low salary and fringe benefits, long working hours, worker burnout, etc.) resulted in employee turnover. Lastly, the geographical remoteness and isolation of the Northern Territory negatively affected individual emotional conditions. A comparative study of employee turnover in the tourism industry between Insular and Peninsular regions in Greece indicates that the level of unemployment rates, the variety of tourism offerings, the seasonal nature of tourism, individual attitudes towards tourism-related employment, and career advancement all affect the degree of employee turnover (Chalkiti and Sigala, 2010). Hotel industry employees need intelligence, job knowledge, and time management skills. However, if the employee lacks the motivation to work in the hotel industry, that employee cannot continue his career (Wong et al., 1999). In this scenario, based on the Chinese hotel industry (Sun et al., 2007; Wong et al., 1999), potential factors affecting turnover among hotel and restaurant employees can be divided into two categories: hotel workplace and work environment, and personal needs and self-satisfaction. Hotel workplace and work environment involve opportunities for promotion, salary and benefits, job stability, working hours, work pressures, education and training, and leadership. Personal needs and selfsatisfaction involve personal characteristics (i.e., job characteristics need to match individual interests), staff career development and planning (e.g., continued education and promotion), family factors, and job satisfaction. The logic behind this is embedded in the context of organizational behavior. A considerable body of empirical research (e.g., Karatepe and Aleshinloye, 2009; Karatepe and Uludag, 2008; Shani and Pizam, 2009) shows that job satisfaction suffers given unsatisfactory workplace conditions and individual psychological and emotional problems. For instance, Silva (2006) found that job stress and work overload increased employee intention to

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leave in combination with personality traits that correlate to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Subsequent research by Shani and Pizam (2009) showed that job stress, work-related depression, anxiety, job insecurity, and burnout accelerated individual job dissatisfaction. In addition, O’Neill and Xiao (2010) showed that personality traits and organizational climate were antecedents of individual burnout. This syndrome of emotional exhaustion causes job performance to deteriorate and raises turnover. Robinson and Barron (2007) developed a framework for demonstrating that organizational culture and climate affect individual job satisfaction and commitment to the organization, all of which can impact individual intention to leave. In this vein, Yang (2010b) empirically demonstrated that role stress, burnout, organizational socialization and work autonomy could affect job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intention. Karatepe and Uludag (2008) and Karatepe and Sokmen (2006) imply that workfamily conflict could have a harmful impact on job satisfaction and performance and accelerate turnover. Jung et al. (2010) empirically demonstrated that person-organization fit eliminates employee turnover intention and suggests that, during employee selection, individual characteristics should be matched with the nature of the organizational setting. In addition, perceived organizational support and individual commitment to an organization result positively in an elimination of employee turnover intention in the American hospitality industry (Cho et al., 2009; Silva, 2006) and the Taiwanese hotel setting (Yang, 2010b). Pizam and Thornburg (2000) empirically showed that individual dissatisfaction with compensation policies, unmet job expectations, work-family conflict and poor interpersonal relations with colleagues affect employee turnover. With respect to the consequences of employee turnover, subsequent costs could be incurred, including personnel replacement expenses (e.g., recruitment, selection and training) and expenditures to avoid potential harm to guest services while hiring and training new staff. In addition to these costs, employee knowledge could become organizational assets to competitors. This dysfunctional effect could aggravate organizational performance and competitiveness. In the context of Chinese employee turnover issues in the hospitality industry, Sun et al. (2007) and Wong et al. (1999) identified work climate, personal needs and self-satisfaction as factors that need to be taken into account. This study attempted to specifically identify causes of employee turnover in the case of international tourist hotels in Taiwan, leading to the following question: Research question 1: What factors were considered by employees when they decided to leave and change workplaces? 2.2. Retention strategies While there have been many studies pertaining to the vexing issue of hospitality industry turnover (e.g., Alonso and O’Neill, 2009; Deery, 2008), many hoteliers perceive the problem as part of the nature of hospitality operations; therefore, creating an employee retention plan is not attractive. However, other hoteliers have undertaken the development of solid retention strategies, such as HRM strategies, internal marketing strategies, and knowledge retention strategies. The former two strategies serve to enhance employee job satisfaction while the third strategy could reduce the loss of organizational knowledge due to employee turnover. 2.2.1. HRM strategies HRM strategies include intrinsic rewards (Kim et al., 2009; Silva, 2006), training and career development (Chalkiti and Carson, 2010; Deery, 2008; Poulston, 2008; Davidson et al., 2006; Pizam

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and Thornburg, 2000), compensation policies (Cho et al., 2009; Moncarz et al., 2009; Chiang and Birtch, 2008; Deery, 2008) and inter-departmental transfers (Chalkiti and Carson, 2010). In addition, Moncarz et al. (2009) emphasized that a selective hiring procedure is important to retain talented employees. Dickerson (2009) indicated that realistic job expectations would mitigate employee turnover caused by psychological issues for first-time workers in the hospitality industry. Sun et al. (2007) claimed that these human resource practices would definitely reduce the turnover of Chinese hotel employees. In addition to training and compensation, Cho et al. (2006) found that pre-employment tests and well-established grievance procedures could potentially mitigate employee turnover. Importantly, Chalkiti and Carson (2010) supplement the above tactics by promoting a facilitating and/or mentoring system where newcomers are assigned a facilitator and/or mentor during the assimilative stage of their employment with hotels. This could enable new employees to adapt to the work environment without uncertainty. Although employee turnover is a problematic issue, the management of employees should be similar to the treatment that management offers to customers. Research has shown that individual job satisfaction is an antecedent determinant of employee turnover. Recognizing this, many empirical studies link motivational theory to satisfaction. For example, Martin et al. (2006), applying Herzberg’s dual theory to employee retention, indicated that motivators such as career development and empowerment might be useful contributions to minimizing turnover. This study is consistent with the study conducted by Chiang and Jang (2008), which applied Vroom’s expectancy theory, showing that intrinsic motivators, such as career growth and employee recognition, have a positive effect on job performance and employee satisfaction. 2.2.2. Internal marketing strategies Price and Mueller’s study (1986) found that employee turnover can be affected by job satisfaction. Job satisfaction includes job routine, communication skills, centralized leadership, organizational fairness, promotion opportunities, and job load. In many studies, internal marketing was found to motivate employees and to increase their job satisfaction, reducing the turnover rate. George and Gronroos (1989) suggested that internal marketing strategies include (1) managerial support for the staff and encouragement of employees to practice market-oriented behaviors, (2) education and training to promote employee skills, (3) internal coordination and communication, (4) integration of human resources with marketing to keep and reward employees, and (5) external marketing communication, among other factors. Employee work needs are satisfied through education, training and motivation, which enable workers to share in the company’s business development objectives and contribute to upgrades and improvements in service quality. Such activities can help employees provide high quality service for customers. 2.2.3. Knowledge retention strategies From the perspective of knowledge management, empirical studies by Yang (2007, 2008) claim that, even if turnover rates cannot be reduced, implementing strategies such as knowledge sharing, organizational learning, and organizational socialization can effectively minimize the impact of employee turnover on overall organizational performance. In the collective sharing process, shared knowledge can be refined through communication and feedback. As organizational knowledge of daily operations is amended and retained through a continuous sharing-learning process, the organizational learning climate is nurtured. An ideal climate for fostering organizational learning would be organizational support at the workgroup level and leadership in mentoring and facilitating roles, along with positive individual attitudes to

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learning and sharing (Yang, 2010a). Such a workplace climate allows organizational members to feel free and willing to share during the entire working day. Chalkiti and Carson (2010) explored aspects of employee turnover and knowledge retention in the Northern Territory in Australia. Their research reinforces the fact that turnover might cause loss of individual knowledge (i.e., human assets) and interpersonal relationships among other stakeholders (i.e., social capital). Their study also points to an important message: since everyone brings their own experience to an organization, how the organization incorporates such experience into the business becomes crucial. The implication is that hotels should aim to attain and maintain a competitive market position. Product and service differentiation is created through employee retention and use of human assets and social capital. Chalkiti and Sigala (2010) include knowledge retention as a strategy that will lower the negative effect of turnover. This said, the practices of knowledge retention and sharing seem to be rather impractical for small businesses. Chalkiti and Sigala empirically reveal that knowledge retention strategies are more applicable to large-sized and chain organizations, not family-owned hotels. The Tourism Bureau of Taiwan (2010) reports that the number of international tourist hotels in the country has gradually increased over the past few years, and it is expected the number will continue to increase in the coming years. The growth in these hotel initiatives could lead to talent recruitment between hotels (e.g., acquiring talented employees from competing hotels). How hoteliers in Taiwan retain their talented employees will become crucial. The second aim of this study is to explore this issue in the context of Taiwanese international tourist hotels, leading to the following question: Research question 2: How do managers working in Taiwanese international tourist hotels retain their talented employees? 3. Research design The current study has two major objectives: (1) to understand the factors considered by employees when they decide to leave and change workplaces and (2) to analyze the strategies taken by the managers to reduce employee turnover. In order to investigate the mentalities of those who leave, and the reasons behind their decisions to change workplaces, in-depth interviews were used to collect data. A qualitative analysis was used to analyze and summarize the reasons for the turnover of hotel supervisory and managerial staff, as well as the corresponding strategies taken by the managers to keep their employees. In the early stages, this study applied the SAGE Qualitative Research Kit in order to manage the quality and appropriateness of the research. Research interests were developed on the basis of existing literature and individual experiences in the hotel profession, followed by the development of research questions. To explore individual perspectives on employee turnover, a symbolic interactionist and phenomenology approach was used (Flick, 2007a; Willis et al., 2007). The former approach assumes that “people act and interact on the basis of the meaning of objects and their interpretation” (Flick, 2007a, p. 120) while the latter approach is based on “careful description and analyses of consciousness, with a focus on the subject’s life world” (Flick, 2007a, p. 118). Willis et al. (2007) claim that symbolic interactionism constitutes an interpretive paradigm. In this study, the workplace itself is regarded as a symbol of “life”, i.e., it is a small world within a larger world. This study first applied symbolic interaction theory to gather personal insights. During the interview, participants were invited to reflect on their own experiences regarding the “employee turnover” situation in their interactions with employers. This

study then applied the phenomenology method: participants, in the course of data collection, were encouraged to recall their experiences and the way they felt during the turnover experience. In other words, participants focused on the situation in one interview and on their feelings in the second. The descriptions of these raw data were analyzed and illustrated in a coding diagram, revealing the underlying structure of the participants’ consciousness. In summary, data were collected by in-depth interviews and then analyzed by a narrative interpretation method with an application of Strauss’ grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin, 1998; Glaser and Strauss, 1967). With the application of such a theoretical approach, the data were analyzed without presumptions and open codes were applied in the data analysis. This bottom-up research enabled the development of a new hermeneutics and/or perception of theory and epistemology (Flick, 2007a). 3.1. Participants Research participants were selected by the purposive sampling method. The participants worked for international tourist hotels, including commercial hotels and resorts, at the time when the interviews took place. All of the participants voluntarily consented to and supported the study issues. They were invited through professional/industrial connections by one of the authors. Selection criteria for participants were preplanned, according to Patton (2002), Flick (2007a) and Kvale (2007), because sampling in qualitative research needs to be done on the basis of fundamental theory, study purpose, and research questions and issues. Following the research objectives, in-depth interview subjects were confirmed using the following criteria: (1) working in international tourist hotels, (2) holding a position at the supervisory and managerial level of an organizational hierarchy, and (3) having at least three years work experience in the hotel industry. This study focused on the employee turnover issue in international tourist hotels in Taiwan; specifically, international and local chain hotels. These hotels are perceived as having well-established human resource policies due to their business scale of operations (Yang, 2010b; Tsai et al., 2009; Wong and Lin, 2007). This allowed the authors to analyze and interpret the data demonstrating the relevance of the phenomena under investigation. This homogeneous sampling method was applied in accordance with that developed by Miles and Huberman (1994) and Flick (2007a). This theory-based interview research also incorporated a heterogeneous subject group by selecting a variety of employees involved in room operations, including back- and front-office staff. This allowed the authors to thoroughly compare the collected data and identify features of the phenomena more extensively. Since the researchers aimed to identify what retention strategies were implemented, a sample plan was constructed with supervisory and managerial staff members as research participants. These participants could provide practice strategies, given that they had participated in exit interviews for voluntary turnover employees (Flick, 2007a). In a qualitative study, a limited sample size may still adequately represent a research population. For this study the sufficient sample size was determined by data saturation (Francis et al., 2010; Guest et al., 2006; Glaser and Strauss, 1967). During data collection, saturation occurs when responses of the subsequent participants are the same as those of the previous participants. Of the 29 participants, 14 were female. Fifteen participants were at a managerial level and 12 were at a supervisory level in 18 international tourist hotels; two participants had left the hotel industry for other professions. Work experience for all participants ranged from 3 to 22 years. Basic information for the participants is listed in Table 1.

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Table 1 Respondent profile (n = 29). No

Current hotel types

Current position

Seniority in the hotel industry

No

Current hotel types

Current position

Seniority in the hotel industry

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Resort hotel Resort hotel Resort hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel High speed railway Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel

EAM FOM GM DOR AFOM RM Train crew EH LM EH Shift leader Bell caption Shift leader Personnel manager CM

22 17 9 10 9 13.5 7.5 11 19.5 22.5 3 5 4 11 17

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Resort hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Resort hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Commercial hotel Health consultancy

DOR Shift leader AFOM FOM EFM EAM FOM Sr. sales manager Revenue director FOM Shift leader Duty manager Supervisor Consultant

10.5 4 8 11 10 19.5 16 16 10 18.5 3 15.5 3.5 5.5

Note: CM (concierge manager); DOR (director of rooms); EAM (executive assistant manager); EFM (executive floor manager); EH (executive housekeeper); FOM (front office manager); GM (general manager); LM (laundry manager); RM (resident manager).

3.2. Interview designs The interview guide was prepared based on the research objectives and issues, and an interview plan was the major research tool in the study. Research questions were developed on the basis of the previous literature and real-world operational practices. Openended interview questions were formulated, based on the research questions. The researcher asked interview questions with a view to analyzing the respondents’ behavior from various angles and to understand the real reasons for leaving a position. Prior to conducting the actual interviews, preliminary interviews were performed with two managers who had previously worked in international tourist hotels. The early draft interview questions were: From entering the hotel industry to the present time (or from your past work experience in international tourist hotels), (1) What, in your opinion, has caused the employee turnover rate to remain at a high level in tourist hotels in Taiwan, even though employers have attempted to implement retention policies? and (2) What retention policies has your company implemented? Subsequently, the interview outline was revised based on suggestions from the managers. The following questions were prepared as a general guideline for interviews: (1) Could you describe your motivation during the process of leaving your previous job? (2) What were the reasons that made you finally decide to leave the hotel you worked for? (3) What are the measures that your hotel has developed to reduce the turnover of employees who show outstanding performance? (4) Why does the employee turnover rate still remain at a high level in tourist hotels in Taiwan, even though they have attempted to develop and implement a number of retention policies? After obtaining consent from the respondents, each interview was recorded to facilitate data organization. Each interview lasted approximately an hour. By means of the interviews, using the researchers’ expertise in interview methodologies, we sought to examine issues in-depth, with a view to interpreting unspoken messages derived from each conversation. During the interviews, participants were encouraged to talk about any phenomena, including experiences and stories, associated with the study field. Research quality checks were performed twice during each interview by using similar questions as respondent validations. In the early stage of the interviews, participants were informed that the study focused on the context of their previous work experience in international tourist hotels. The participants were also directed to identify previous employment at hotels prior to their descriptions of, and self-reflections on, the study topics. If the

respondents did not know how to answer an interview question in the beginning, the researcher guided the respondents to recall the major motives for their turnover behavior. If respondents did not follow the discussion path, the researchers led them back to the topics (Siegle, 2002). To remove bias, the researchers simply reworded questions as opposed to providing suggestions for input. After each interview, transcripts were produced and then emailed to the participants for validation, i.e., member (participant) quality checks (Flick, 2007a). The data transcripts were processed straightaway and analyzed with analytical qualitative research software. 3.3. Data processing and analysis Interviews were tape-recorded and verbatim transcripts were produced and then imported to the NVivo 7 software program, developed by QSR International. Grounded theory (Kim et al., 2009; Strauss and Corbin, 1998) was applied in the course of qualitative data analysis and interpretation. Prior to importing the transcripts into NVivo, the accuracy of the transcripts was confirmed by a transcription checking technique (Gibbs, 2007). A coding process contained two stages: open coding (free-node) (Gibbs, 2007) and axial coding. A line-by-line coding approach of the free-node was performed in NVivo. In order to ensure the transparency and credibility of the research, members’ consensus (Flick, 2007b) was performed: after coding individually, the authors discussed deviant codes, with all codes defined and described. Transcription checking and members’ consensus were pursued to validate the research and enhance the research quality. For axial coding, codes were categorized and constructed into a hierarchy, i.e., parent–children relationships (Gibbs, 2007). Each branch highlights a major theme. Fig. 1 displays the code hierarchy for axial coding. 4. Findings The main purpose of this study was to explore, for Taiwanese international tourist hotels, reasons why employees quit and how managers tried to control high employee turnover. The quality of the study was ensured through presentation of participant comments; the first part of each node in this section presents results of an analysis of interview transcripts. A code hierarchy is illustrated in Fig. 1. The two general nodes are: causes of employee turnover and retention strategies. Subsequent to the results of each node, this section also “enfolds the literature” (Mehmetoglu and Altinay,

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Fig. 1. A code hierarchy.

2006), which compares the present results with those of previous studies. 4.1. Causes of employee turnover An analysis of the interview data shows that the reasons for employees leaving jobs can be grouped around five factors: company factors; salary and benefits; individual emotional conditions; hospitality industry work style and responsibilities; and work content. Voluntary turnover mainly involves employees who voluntarily submit a resignation and terminate the employer–employee relationship. One of the respondents (Respondent 29) had worked at Taiwan international tourist hotels for five and a half years; she left the hotel industry to work for a health-consultancy company. Her major reason for leaving was the unfavorable work characteristics of the hotel industry: 24-h shifts, salaries that were inversely proportional to educational investment (this respondent had studied abroad), and limited possibilities for future professional development. Another interviewed manager (Respondent 7) found a job with Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation after having worked in the hotel industry for seven and a half years. His main reason for leaving was the stress that ensued from working with hotel guests. The hotel’s philosophy was that customer service was “above everything else”, leading to unreasonable guest requests. Another reason this manager left was that High Speed Rail offered a generous salary and benefits package. A third manager (Respondent 15) left the hotel industry after having worked for eight years in the industry, due to a desire to work more standard working hours. Seven months later, however, he returned to an international tourist hotel because he liked the face-to-face interaction of the hotel industry.

The interview data revealed that most of the 29 respondents did not set out the real reasons for quitting to their supervisors when they changed their jobs. They said they left their jobs for reasons such as “a career change” or “family or physical reasons”, with the former accounting for 87% of explanations. All of the respondents believed that junior staff had the least company loyalty, and the highest likelihood of changing jobs. The current study investigates the real reasons why each respondent left his or her former companies. Therefore, before each interview, all of the respondents were assured that their personal information would be kept confidential. 4.1.1. Company factors Company factors can be further divided into five sub-factors: management style, company sub-culture, working environment, company decision-making, and the owner’s financial status. 4.1.1.1. Management style. This study shows that the motivations for turnover among many respondents were: unfair management, inability to get along with colleagues, frequent changes in operational policy, lack of independence, inhumane or overly militarized management, gender discrimination, poor organizational capacity, long and meaningless meetings, deliberate attempts to make things difficult for the staff, and negative feedback and unconstructive criticism. All of the above can cause frustration for employees at work. Eighteen of the interviewed respondents were inefficient at work because of some of the aforementioned leadership styles; they had less motivation at work and their turnover intention also increased. Three respondents mentioned that inappropriate managerial conduct affected staff turnover. Such conduct included sexual harassment, backstabbing, swearing at people, and even verbal abuse.

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4.1.1.2. Company sub-culture. Company sub-culture can be further divided into company (staff) factions, infighting, and unfriendly competition. Fourteen respondents mentioned that company factions caused them to resign. Based on the interview data, it was found that when a company’s investors (owners) were involved in the operation of the hotel, it was very likely that the departmental manager had to choose sides, either with the investor or with other managers of the hotel. Factions in a hotel can be divided into intradepartmental, interdepartmental, and those involving unions. The working atmosphere in a department with infighting and favoritism also caused problems for six of the respondents who left their companies. Respondent 12 pointed out that friction was generated through contact between departments during working hours, and with time, an infighting situation developed. Five respondents mentioned that the department responsible for room sales was often the unit with the most obvious infighting, due to pressures associated with operational performance. 4.1.1.3. Working environment. This study shows that the atmosphere generated by the manager had influence on staff turnover, which can be classified into the four factors: lack of teamwork, hierarchical management, trust issues between departments, and unfair management. First, Respondent 19 pointed out that the hierarchical structure of the hotel caused each department to work on its own, without any teamwork. Since the hotel lacked a spirit of teamwork, it led to poor communication between departments and caused friction. Second, Respondent 6 strongly opposed hierarchical management because there were too many constraints in such a system where the manger did not have enough authority. Every business activity had to be reported to a higher authority, often leading to poor customer service and even complaints from customers. All of this led to increased work pressures. Third, Respondent 4 once worked in an environment with a monitoring system. Because of the location of the monitoring system and the attitude of the manager, he strongly felt that the manger lacked trust in the staff. Respondent 2 pointed out that discounts authorized by the company were often used in order to serve the guests. However, the company always asked the staff to provide all kinds of proof to prevent private usage of the discount before authorizing it, and over time, the staff felt a sense of powerlessness. Fourth, managers should create a healthy work environment and a fair system (i.e., for rewards and penalties), providing the staff with positive competition in order to promote their skills. However, when the staff finds unfair treatment inside the department, it causes conflicts between employees. 4.1.1.4. Company decision-making. Strategic foci are usually modified by top executives. If the staff cannot agree with such changes, it might cause turnover intention. For example, changes in the working environment occurred when hotels had to adjust their services, often targeting specific guests and their needs. Such adjustments directly affect employees. Respondent 12 stated that the hotel changed its target guests from “individual European and American” to “tour groups from mainland China”. His workload gradually became overly burdensome; when work pressures increased significantly, he felt a desire to leave 4.1.1.5. Owner’s financial status. Five respondents resigned because they simply did not get paid due to the company’s financial difficulty. These respondents tried to use all available channels to obtain information regarding potential new companies and their financial status during their job search processes.

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4.1.2. Compensation and promotion channels The data analysis shows that this node contains three children nodes: higher paid positions, bonuses and incentives and career promotion system. First, all of the respondents wanted to resign because other hotels offered higher paid positions. Two of the respondents mentioned that a clear policy of rewards and penalties was very important. Second, Respondent 21 mentioned that when a company’s performance is not adequate, employees understand that there may not be any bonuses. However, when operations are improving, employees expect to receive bonuses for their hard work. Third, all of the respondents emphasized that limited opportunities for promotion and continuing education are negative. Self-growth was important for the respondents. Respondent 1 said, I originally expected to be promoted to a managerial position in 2 to 3 years, as I performed well in my employee evaluations each year. But when I did not get promoted even after 5 years, it made me feel like there was as no future development opportunities for me. If a new company provides more opportunities to move up, I definitely will choose a higher ranked position to seek self-realization. In contrast, five respondents chose to resign because they did not like being promoted or being placed in a different role. Respondent 16 was moved into a night shift manager from a lobby manager; since he was not used to night work, he started looking for another job within two months of starting his new unwanted position. Respondent 20 refused the hotel’s promotional opportunities because he did not want to participate in an executive training program. If he joined the two-year training program, he would have been sent to a foreign country to study within the next two years. By the end of the training, he would be sent abroad to work as well. Since he did not want to work abroad, he resigned. 4.1.3. Personal emotion According to the interview data, it was found that individual emotions played a role in a desire to leave a hotel. Employee disappointment over work content, environment, or atmosphere resulted mainly from frustrations due to work, a sense of powerlessness, and work pressures. Seven respondents emphasized that they were absolutely competent for their jobs. However, company systems, regulations, practices, and hierarchical organizational structures made them feel that their work was inefficient. Two of the respondents tried to modify the causes of inefficiencies, but because of managerial indifference, they gradually felt powerless at work. Many company decisions regarding management systems are made before they are fully discussed with the employees. Even before employees and related resources are fully prepared, employees are often asked to implement new policies. This causes physical burdens and creates increased complexities for the employees. Under such circumstances, there is friction between organizations and individuals, while employees’ work pressures also increase. For employees who have frequent interactions with the customers, sudden policy changes will cause previously unforeseen interferences. Eight respondents felt frustration over their working environment, which included financial structures, company systems, manager leadership, teamwork atmosphere, collaboration between managers and employees, and camaraderie among colleagues. These eight respondents mentioned that frustration does not automatically lead to turnover intentions initially; no employee would want to leave just because of a single event or suggestion that was ignored by the management. Normally it was after six months to a year of accumulated frustration that led the respondents to develop intentions of leaving.

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4.1.4. Nature of the hotel industry In the hotel industry in Taiwanese international tourist hotels, most respondents believed that variability in working hours was a major cause of staff turnover. Junior employees at hotels, unlike those in other industries with relatively regular working hours, have 24-h shifts. As a result of the variability in the number of hours, many employees experience deterioration in their physical condition. For example, Respondent 19 reported health problems as a result of working six years on long shifts. For middle- and higherranked managers, most hotels provide an accountability system. However, accountability systems seem to have changed; for example, Respondent 5 mentioned that “the meaning of accountability in the three hotels I worked for is to compare ‘who stays longer’ among the colleagues; only after the supervisor leaves can the staff also leave.” 4.1.5. Work content The findings indicate that hotel work content can be further summarized as a lack of challenge, too much information processing, too many long and meaningless meetings, and monotony in the daily work. Seven of those surveyed believed that for career development, especially after a long time with the same locally managed hotel, a transfer to an international chain hotel in Taiwan or to a different type of hotel was warranted. 4.1.5.1. A lack of challenge. Eight respondents mentioned that when individual ability cannot be displayed at work or if the work itself is not challenging, turnover intention will be created. 4.1.5.2. Too much information processing. Three mangers mentioned that their reasons for resigning involved the amount of paper-work they had to process at work. Respondent 24 left her second hotel because she had few written reports to prepare each day, so she moved to another international chain hotel where she was asked to prepare more reports. While Respondent 22 resigned because too many reports needed to be processed, Respondent 6 mentioned that even routine emails and letters contained too many terms and abbreviations, making it very difficult for new managers. 4.1.5.3. Monotony of daily work. The reason that nine respondents resigned was the monotony of the daily work. These respondents also suggested that after learning the skills needed for the same position, one should ideally examine the potential of welcoming new challenges in a new environment. As Respondent 5 pointed out, repeatedly doing the same tasks for an extended period of time will lead to indifference in the workplace. Any other opportunity will lead an employee to “give it a try,” especially if this opportunity involves new work. 4.1.5.4. Change in philosophy of business operations. Because of the prevalence of social customs as well as promotions due to government policies (e.g., a promotion of domestic travel), four respondents reported having to change their work styles in order better align themselves with changing trends (i.e., changing from a business hotel to a resort hotel, and vice versa). Furthermore, in the past three years, the overall recovery in Taiwan’s tourism industry attracted many investors interested in starting construction of new hotels. Six respondents, given this three-year investment boom, reported that they were very interested in the rare opportunity to participate in the planning stages of a hotel. They wanted to test whether they were competent enough to plan and manage a new property, which led to turnover intentions. 4.1.6. Enfolding the literature on causes of turnover This study investigated the motivations behind hotel professionals’ resigning from their workplaces. The analysis confirms

some past research (Kim et al., 2010; Tsai et al., 2009; Chiang and Birtch, 2008). However, there are differences with regard to the previous findings. The causes of turnover in the Taiwanese setting focus on two perspectives: the nature of the hospitality environment and organizational behavior. From the perspective of the nature of the work environment and job patterns in the hotel industry, the current study in the Taiwanese setting echoes concepts suggested by Cho et al. (2006), Yang (2008), Chalkiti and Carson (2010), and Kim et al. (2010). These concepts consider factors determining employee turnover, such as salaries and fringe benefits, working hours, workload, work pressure, training and development, leadership, career plans, and family factors. Specifically, this study reveals that hotels need to pay attention to unfair promotions, salaries and benefits, monotony and unchallenging work routines, indifference to the emotional and health needs of their employees, and lack of future development systems. In addition, a number of respondents pointed out that training and development programs did not match their expectations. This means that discussions with employees regarding career advancement need to be performed to ensure employee needs are being met. From the perspective of individual and organizational behavior, this qualitative study supports many quantitative empirical research studies, which claim that organizational culture (Hu et al., 2009; Robinson and Barron, 2007), job characteristics (Pizam and Thornburg, 2000), and person-organization fit (Jung et al., 2010) affect employee departure for another company. In addition, this study indicates that personal emotions (e.g., job stress and work overload) and work-family conflicts were crucial concerns that could trigger resignation from the hotel profession, confirming Karatepe and Uludag (2008), Karatepe and Aleshinloye (2009), Chalkiti and Carson (2010). This is also in accordance with Wong and Lin’s (2007) research in the Chinese setting, which empirically shows that this conflict could result from job demands, job control and lack of organizational support at the supervisory level. In the dynamic hospitality environment, how managers interact and support their subordinates is important. Most respondents pointed out they did not reveal their real reasons for leaving when they submitted their resignations. Apart from the turnover factors mentioned above, this study supplements the existing literature by identifying managerial misconduct, corporate subculture (e.g., factions, infighting and unfriendly competition between employees), frequently changing systems and policies, poorly planned company changes targeting new hotel guests, future development plans set without employee buy-in, and developing new properties as factors for turnover. These factors indicate that hoteliers need leadership skills and that human resource managers need to encourage employees to compete positively to create a collaborative work environment. Moreover, analytical results reveal that, in cases where actual reasons for employee turnover were sensitive and personal (such as unfair treatment and managerial misbehavior), employees usually gave false reasons. Possible explanations for this finding include: employees respect each other and would like to maintain friendships for their future career; saving an employer’s image by not appearing critical; and fear of a negative reference given to potential new employers. These explanations have not been tested, but provide the basis for future research.

4.2. Retention strategies This study investigated retention strategy implementations aimed at solving employee turnover problems in Taiwanese international tourist hotels. It was found that there were two different kinds of manager reactions to employee turnover: inadequate

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preparation of retention strategies and reactive strategies to keep employees who claimed that they were leaving. 4.2.1. Lack of provision of retention programs Five of the respondents stated that when they verbally presented their intent to resign to the managers, they were asked to provide (1) a reason for the resignation and (2) whether they had future career plans. Concurrently, some managers asked questions specific to their future career direction. If the intended career path was more international in nature, more progressive, or more challenging than the current job, the managers usually accepted the verbal resignation with blessing and encouragement. Two of the five respondents emphasized that when a mid-to-high level executive verbally communicated their intent to resign, they had generally already made a final decision to leave and had a predetermined future plan elsewhere. Therefore, management and the human resources department mainly retained them as a mere formality. 4.2.2. Management provision of employee retention programs All of the respondents mentioned that when employees submitted resignations, the executives listened more carefully to employee needs and attempted to satisfy demands. Eight respondents said that when they received resignations from employees with potential and records of good work performance, they talked to those employees to persuade them to stay. However, the managers did not keep employees unyieldingly. Some managers firmly believed in the positive aspects of letting employees leave for other hotels to learn new skills, which could lead to possible future collaborations. This also provided opportunities for growth for employees. When an employee with potential wanted to resign, the managers wanted to keep him/her. From the perspective of hotel managers, typical employee retention strategies in this study could be categorized into career development, compensation policy, and emotional campaign. 4.2.2.1. Career development. Managers provided four different programs to retain employees: opportunities for promotion in the near future, job enrichment, job enlargement, and offering of a crosstraining opportunity First, four respondents provided promotional opportunities according to the needs of employees. Nine respondents reported that they were informed of a future promotional opportunity should they decide to stay. Second, regarding job enrichment, Respondent 5 stated that his manager tried very hard to keep him and promised that he would learn more professional skills. Respondent 7 had a similar experience. His manager told him that “if you stay in our international hotel group, you will learn more solid service techniques.” Third, regarding job enlargement, seven respondents were promised that they would be given more work responsibilities. The interviews showed that most managers proposed a rotational system be used to increase workload. Four respondents reported that a “job rotation within the department” met the needs of employees seeking individual career development. In addition, seventeen respondents emphasized that “if the rotation provided fit their personal needs for career development, they would agree to stay and transfer to other departments.” Fourth, regarding cross training, the hotel to which Respondent 20 submitted a resignation immediately contacted the international group headquarters to enable her to attend internal training courses. Eleven other respondents mentioned that when they verbally indicated their intent to resign, their managers proposed short-term cross training courses in other departments; they later returned to their original departments.

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4.2.2.2. Compensation policy. Twenty-five respondents said that managers used salary adjustment to attempt to retain employees. However, 17 respondents did not consider salaries as their main motive for resignation. They stressed that the “future strategic direction of the company” and “personal career development” were the main considerations. Twenty-two respondents were convinced that salary increases were just superficial means of improving employee retention. Unless there was a promotion in rank, a salary for each position has a certain range in the labor market. Furthermore, they believed that a salary increase was not the best way to retain employees. Two of the respondents resigned because of weariness and pressure from the job. When the managers proposed either leave without pay or a long vacation as a way to retain the two employees, they both rejected both offers. 4.2.2.3. Emotional campaign. Two respondents mentioned that their managers tried emotional campaigns to retain employees. Respondent 2 was retained on three different occasions. He finally moved to a different department, but did not leave the hotel. Respondent 24 quoted the retention methods of his previous manager, who stated I am so good to you. I put a lot of effort into training you and gave you several cross training opportunities. Right now the hotel must rely on your training for revenue management. You should not be leaving this job at this moment. 4.2.3. Corporate retention strategies With respect to retention policies developed by HR managers, this study discovers that corporate retention strategies can be categorized into understanding employees’ career ambitions, arrangement of social activities, optimization of the working environment, and career planning and development. 4.2.3.1. Understanding employees’ career ambitions. Nine respondents stressed that every manager should understand the needs and career goals of their employees. Furthermore, they should help employees plan their future career paths. Some employees greatly value promotional growth and opportunities for professional education. Others may be driven by more material needs. Therefore, when providing a retention strategy, the manager must understand the career ambition and core values of each employee. The manager should also ensure that each employee is in the right position vis-àvis that employee’s particular personality and needs. It is important to allow employees to play to their strengths in the right positions. 4.2.3.2. Arrangement of social activities. The qualitative results show that social activities can be categorized into two types: a sharing forum and networking activities. First, increasing employees’ self-confidence can effectively decrease employee turnover. Periodically, managers can modify time shifts and encourage employees to share cases that happened at work on that particular day, such as customer complaints and case studies. Using these opportunities for discussion can increase employees’ professional knowledge base and enable managers to utilize feasible ways for on-site handling of difficult situations. Second, 27 respondents hosted periodic department parties or networking activities in order to enhance cohesion within the team. Via such parties, employees can further learn about work experiences from each other, through which they will be brought closer. Through such social networking, a pleasant atmosphere can be instilled in the workplace, which enhances cohesion in teamwork. 4.2.3.3. Optimization of the work environment. The HR manager will advocate active leadership and cultivate a feasible work environment for team cooperation. The establishment of an effective work

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environment is mainly done by the departmental manager. The findings indicated that top executives expected managers of all hierarchical levels to treat people fairly and reasonably. Managers should be consistent when they command employees. They must share both positive and negative aspects of work. They should not necessarily act as a manager who is too ‘high up’ for the juniorranking employees. Four respondents stated that managers fought to increase salaries and benefits for employees, while also helping employees in planning their career paths. At the same time, two managers expected employees in the team to provide proper feedback, namely “good work performance,” which made the managers feel that their sacrifices for the employees will be returned in the near future. Thirteen respondents believed that hotels must establish a mentoring and training system. Whenever an employee encounters a bottleneck situation in work or career, s/he will have a mentor to teach and provide help. This study shows that a mentoring system can also help alert managers to their employees’ potential intent to quit early on, which enables them to provide early prevention strategies. Furthermore, “building a collaborative team” will cultivate a friendly work environment and subsequently decrease employee turnover. Respondent 27 said that “through team work cohesion, employee resignation tendencies can be decreased.” 4.2.3.4. Career development. Results from this study indicate that 76% of the respondents believe that hotels generally provide career plans for the benefit of the company and not for the employee. When a company helps employees with career planning, it should focus on the employee’s strengths and weaknesses. The manager can then help the employee establish a set of personal career goals. The interview data clearly shows that only international hotel chain groups (such as Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Starwood Hotels and Resort, etc.) had a complete career planning system for their employees, which included job rotation systems, individual aptitude analyses, and long-term career training plans. Systematic career planning strategies require recognition from the top executives, which can then be implemented for employees with growth potential. Analytical results vis-à-vis career training showed that international tourist hotels in Taiwan utilized four different training methods: formal training courses, a mentoring system, a cadres reserve system, and job rotation within departments. Respondent 4 said that the HR departments of some hotels had built educational training centers. 4.2.4. Enfolding the literature on retention strategies This study found that reactive and proactive retention strategies were applied by managers in international tourist hotels in Taiwan. The study produced evidence of reactive strategies, such as compensation policies and training programs, while also showing proactive strategies such as career development. Studies by Chalkiti and Carson (2010), Kim et al. (2010), Lee and Way (2010) and Tsai et al. (2009) are reinforced, as this study found the majority of hotels incorporate career development, departmental rotation, job training, and adjustments in salaries and benefits as basic retention strategies. This study is also consistent with that of Chiang and Birtch (2008), who found that awareness of differences among employees’ career goals is important. In addition to the findings of Chiang and Birtch (2008), this study indicates that hoteliers should explore employees’ expectations in terms of work and motivate them individually. However, this study revealed that retention strategies did not always meet employees’ expectations in terms of their own career plans. There is a ‘disconnect’ between employee expectations and retention strategies, and it is necessary to bridge this gap. This would help to ensure that employee expectations are met, resulting in employee job satisfaction and reducing turnover.

A “one-size-fits-all” approach will not have the same motivational impact on employee retention and performance across the board. Given that there are differences in personality and individual behavior, managers should not over- or underestimate subordinates’ work values. Training and development programs need to meet employee expectations. This reinforces their job satisfaction and individual commitment to an organization and to the hospitality profession as a whole (O’Neill and Xiao, 2010; Silva, 2006). Thus, it is important for management to recognize which motivators result in employee job satisfaction. Satisfying employees might be one of the best HR strategies to ensure organizational effectiveness in the long haul. In order to attain employee satisfaction, customized retention tactics should be promoted through “heart-to-heart talks”, whereby superiors discuss job expectations with talented employees. This practice could be socially and informally established. With customized retention strategies, managers discuss career values with their employees as early as possible and monitor employees for intent to resign. By doing so, managers can reduce employee turnover in their hotels. This study suggests that, because most new employees have an insufficient understanding of the hotel industry (e.g., salaries, benefits, and work conditions), many leave within a year. During recruitment, the company should ascertain whether the applicant satisfies the basic requirements for working in the hotel industry via an aptitude test. During the training of new hires, the company should also educate employees in the specific duties needed for the position to avoid selecting the wrong candidates. This can also reduce cost involved with HRM (Louis, 1980; Lo and Lam, 2002). In the hospitality workplace, job characteristics consist of implied skills such as interpersonal relations, craft skills for chefs, and capabilities acquired and developed throughout employees’ lives (Powell and Watson, 2006). In order to avert the loss of organizational knowledge when employees leave, knowledge retention strategies could be used (Chalkiti and Carson, 2010; Chalkiti and Sigala, 2010; Yang, 2010a; Hu et al., 2009). When researching Australian employee turnover in the Northern Territory, Chalkiti and Carson (2010) reported that individual knowledge retention still needs improvement. In the setting of Taiwanese international tourist hotels, this study did not discover any evidence of this retention practice. A possible explanation for this is that management in the researched hotels emphasize HRM practices to retain their employees. In light of the current study, hoteliers in Taiwan might try to shift their focus from employee retention to knowledge retention. This paradigm shift might be applicable, as Chalkiti and Sigala’s (2010) research indicates that large-scale and chain hotels are more aware of retention strategies. Practices such as employee skills competitions, mentorship programs and organizational socialization (Chalkiti and Carson, 2010; Yang, 2010b) could be implemented to foster a supportive sharing and retaining climate in the workplace.

5. Conclusion This study involved interviews with supervisory and managerial staff members who had resigned from international tourist hotels. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the data and summarize the factors prompting the managers to resign, as well as the strategies HR managers use to keep their employees’ performance levels satisfactory. In the context of the inevitability of employee turnover, employee capabilities are part of organizational assets; consequently, the loss of these assets is exacerbated during turnover, reducing the value of organizational knowledge. In order to reduce employee turnover, it is worthwhile to reinforce the roles of HRM, organizational behavior, and knowledge retention.

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Organizational understanding of employee turnover causes can be achieved through organizational socialization tactics such as mentoring programs and using “heart-to-heart” talks. A key to reducing turnover is to assess employee expectations for the job, as well as the creation and implementation of customized retention strategies, as applicable. The contribution to the extant literature is the idea that the greater the extent employee expectations are matched with retention strategies, the greater will be employee satisfaction. The more knowledge sharing and retention strategies implemented by an organization, the less organizational knowledge will be lost when employee turnover takes place. This study extends the existing research focus on causes of employee turnover by identifying unmet employee expectations (in terms of training and career development programs), organizational subcultures (e.g., factions and infighting), changes in corporate visions, and market segments. Understanding employee career ambitions prior to preparing retention strategies is the first priority to be pursued by managers. Customized retention strategies ensure that employees are personally satisfied with their own career expectations. A more proactive approach to knowledge retention needs to be promoted in order to minimize the loss of organizational assets, including human knowledge and social capital.

6. Research implications This study reveals that operational department heads and HR managers should first understand employee expectations (i.e., career interest, aptitude and needs), then guide and assist employees in planning their desired career paths, rather than allowing companies to make unilateral career plans for their employees. By attending to the intrinsic motivations underlying employees’ expectations (e.g., job responsibilities, job challenges, sense of achievement) and the employees’ extrinsic motivations (e.g., a reasonable level of salary, promotion opportunities), employers can increase job satisfaction and strengthen employee commitment to the organization, thus reducing turnover. Having understood employee expectations, creating a personalorganizational fit is necessary. A one-to-one mentoring system could be designed. A mentor can interact with a mentee to understand expectations and attempt to satisfy them. Understanding and prioritizing values, i.e., value congruence, can confer social capital. This socialization would benefit the balance between work and family. The current study found that several participants shared their experiences in case management through formal and informal resource sharing with peers during shift changes or social activities. This resource sharing included discussion on the best methods of management and delivering services. Although the specific methods used varied, study of these cases could be used to encourage brainstorming, thereby increasing and extending staff members’ perspectives and approaches to problem-solving. Tackling a difficult employee turnover phenomenon, HR and operational managers need to consider designing knowledgemanagement mechanisms. Knowledge sharing enables employees to extend individual learning. Through knowledge transmission and feedback routes, organizational learning can gradually be reinforced. In a collaborative and beneficial work environment, this sharing scheme could be implemented by talented employees by: (1) being coached to become off- and on-the-job trainers within workgroups; (2) being invited to run mentorship programs; and (3) being involved in updating standard operational work procedures. The execution of training sessions and a revision of procedures, with accompanying digital recording technology, is an application of knowledge retention. This can mitigate potential knowledge depreciation if these employees resign from their organizations.

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7. Limitations and further studies In the present study, a number of apparent limitations need to be acknowledged. From a methodological stance, only a small sample number was used. This research did not make a quantitative study of the issue of employee turnover, but anecdotal evidence was given suggesting that the type of retention strategies needed should be related to the employee’s decision to stay or go. Further quantitative research is needed to investigate this matter. The generalizability of the study might be limited since interview participants only came from international tourist hotels in Taiwan. Research where interviewees are recruited from other conditions, cross-cultural settings and diverse hotel employee populations might indicate different responses. Further research might also explore, through longitudinal data, how well internal marketing tactics lower employee turnover and which knowledge sharing practices mitigate negative effects of turnover. This could be applied using both qualitative (e.g., participative observations) and quantitative methodologies. Future organizational behavior theoretical development could focus on a hierarchical linear model. This model would analyze the effects of an organization’s environment on individual employee behaviors. It could also validate more sophisticated theoretical models. Finally, this study only used qualitative methods to explore the turnover behaviors of executives in the hotel industry. Subsequent studies could extend the logistic regression approach to analyze the reasons for employee turnover and determine the critical factors that affect employee turnover in the hotel industry.

Acknowledgements This research was fully supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan R.O.C. under grant number NSC98-2815-C-328-002-H.

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