A Review of Employee Retention Strategies: Implication for Future Research

Employee turnover is a global phenomenon that could be attributed to both work related and personal factors internal and external to an organization. This paper highlights key employee retention strategies and their implications. The paper highlights proactive measures as the primary strategy to employee retention which focus on employees’ intentions and subsequently the behavior of turnover. As a result, factors that promoted employees’ job satisfaction, organisational commitment and suitable work conditions are fundamental elements to staff retention.

and attachment to their work and the community. People naturally like to stay in workplaces where they feel a sense of community and are a part of the decision-making process. These conditions foster high morale and positive relationships, which contribute to job satisfaction and influence employees to remain in the organisation (Gagné & Howard, 2016).
Working conditions constitute both the working environment and the domain of terms and conditions of employment. Conditions of work play a key role in the life of an organisation and employees' satisfaction with their job. Factors related to the work environment of academics, such as the atmosphere of the academic institution, morale, sense of community, and interpersonal relationships, serve as useful predictors of job satisfaction (Kinman, 2016). Employees who perceive that they have high-quality conditions of employment have fewer intentions of leaving. Arnoux-Nicolas et al. (2016) revealed that adverse working conditions had a significant positive impact on turnover intentions. On average, the overall work environment positively and significantly determines staff turnover. Simon and Johnson (2015) posit that schools that want to retain their best, talented teachers should improve the teaching environment because a poor working environment causes teacher turnover. According to Yimer et al. (2017), mechanisms such as improving the physical work environment (offices, chairs, computers, internet and toilets), valuing and recognising deserving academic staff both socially and materially, providing feedback, and good management and leadership should be implemented to avoid high turnover rates. Improving the physical work environment constitutes an important staff-retention mechanism in institutions.
Since turnover intention precedes actual turnover behaviour, the best way to curb turnover is for management to understand the reasons that precipitate the intentions to quit (Hur & Hawley, 2019). Management must resort to proactive measures to prevent actual turnover if it becomes aware of the reasons that have ignited turnover intention. Management can deal with turnover if it understands the processes in individuals that cause them to consider turnover (Posthuma et al., 2013). Indeed, all measures to improve job satisfaction and staff retention relate to the adoption of sound HR practices such as selection and recruitment, financial incentives for employee retention, opportunities for career development and advancement, promotion for retention, flexible work arrangements and staff health and well-being. This is consistent with Kundu and Gahlawat's (2015) study, which indicated that the potential of sound HR practices to create job satisfaction and embedment lies in the adoption of socially responsible HR practices. Socially responsible practices comprise all HRM practices that promote the humanisation of work. Examples include ensuring equity in HRM opportunities, increasing employee participation in organisational activities and processes, creating programs that balance work and leisure, and ensuring compliance with all relatedlabour laws. The authors further argued that when employees perceive that their organisations have adopted and implement such practices, employee job satisfaction, organisational commitment and the desire not to quit increase. Hassan et al. (2013) investigated the effect of training on employee retention and found that participation in career progression and training opportunities directly affects employee retention. This finding is consistent with that of Villegas and Villegas (2006), who found that training has a direct influence on employee retention. Employees require the right working framework and employment to stay and work with their organisations. According to Tettey (2006), teacher satisfaction and retention are influenced by management policies of the school. Teachers who are employed in a setting in which they wield greater influence over school policies and have autonomy in their personal classroom are more satisfied and are more likely to remain at the post. Management should attempt to improve the working conditions of their organisations in order to retain core employees (Msengeti & Obwogi, 2015). HR managers can also retain the best staff by managing job-based shocks that precipitate turnover through vocational counselling, training and career progression. These strategies can lessen the effects of career-based shocks and alleviate shock-related turnover intentions among workers. Mohsin et al. (2015) also recommended that management should concentrate on providing personal development and building employee confidence through training and recognition in order to reduce turnover rates in industries. Similarly, management should hold regular reviews and informal discussions with their employees about employees' interests, job performance, and career progression opportunities. This will improve management's effort to create loyalty among its employees and hence reduce employee turnover intentions.
The emerging HRM literature recommends that staff retention should begin at recruitment and selection, job descriptions and orientation programs to serve as the foundations for developing effective and suitable retention strategies (Pregnolato et al., 2017). The selection and recruitment of staff is always a critical factor in the cycle of managing human resources. The attraction and retention of effective teachers require management to select and recruit able people into the profession, and also to provide incentives, professional growth and support for ongoing performance. According to Alatawi (2017), the process of employee recruitment and selection should be scientific, with the overarching aim of minimising employee turnover. A substantial body of literature indicates that staff selection and recruitment play a role in their turnover intentions or the ability of the organisation to retain them (Hom et al., 2017). Fair processes of selecting and recruiting employees exert a significant effect on their retention. Yang et al. (2012) also indicated that inappropriate recruitment and selection processes can degenerate into turnover. They argued that managing executives' failure to select suitable middle-level managers can cause inappropriate job placement and poor management of company staff. Therefore, the executives who select and recruit staff must have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the overall operations of the organisation. For instance, they must understand the organisational culture, compensation policies and systems, requirements for positions, and required skills of employees in order to avoid selecting and recruiting unsuitable employees. Arguably, good employee recruitment programs can improve employee commitment, productivity and the quality of work performance within the organisation. Sutanto and Kurniawan (2016) demonstrated that staff recruitment methods significantly improve labour relations through employee retention. Ongori (2007) examined employee turnover and showed that turnover among employees was due to management's poor selection and recruitment processes.
Organisational injustice can cause turnover. Both distributive and procedural justice are inversely related to employee turnover. For instance, it has been found that distributive justice has a significant influence on employee turnover and retention intentions. Fairness and justice motivate employees to stay with organisations (Elanain, 2010). Moreover, Cohen-Charash & Spector (2001) found procedural justice was negatively related to actual turnover. Employees who perceive a sense of fairness in decision making are loyal to the organisation, which decreases turnover intentions and behaviour. Additionally, workers desire an inducement system that is perceived as both fair and commensurate with their contributions and expectations (Long & Perumal, 2014). Employees who are poorly treated by their supervisors may consider leaving the organisation. Perceived fairness associated with outcomes, processes and procedures, and interpersonal relationships can influence the decision of employees to either remain with or quit their working relationship with the employer (Hausknecht et al., 2008). Consequently, Lewis (2015) argues that managers should strive to treat employees fairly to reduce turnover rates in organisations.
Other management practices such as open lines of communication and decentralising decision making can also reduce employees' propensity to leave.
Previous studies note the overriding role and influence of organisational leadership in promoting employee job satisfaction, organisational commitment and reduced turnover intentions among academic staff (Lorber et al., 2018). Apparently, the style of managerial leadership plays an important role in employee retention. For instance, a cross-sectional survey conducted by Ng'ethe (2014) found that providing training to academic staff did not influence their intention to stay. However, the presence of a favourable leadership style influenced them to stay. The findings further suggest that without a favourable leadership style, staff training, remuneration and promotions no longer determined academic staff intentions of either quitting or staying with institutions. Organisational leadership, which also represents the relationships with others, is a strong predictor of labour turnover (Sun & Wang, 2017). A poor work climate developed by the organisation's leadership may dampen or devastate employee attitudes and drive their turnover intentions. Organisational climate can influence the linkage between the intention to search for alternative employment opportunities and actual search behaviour among employees. A good work environment positively correlates with employee retention. It also contributes to employees' sense of satisfaction and makes them feel happy and active in performing organisational tasks, allowing them to work freely without a sense of difficulty and frustration (Gangwani et al., 2016).
Although Alvesson (2000) argued that the best antidote to turnover problems is to develop organisational loyalty, other scholars contend that inducing a high level of organisational commitment and loyalty among employees is a challenging and difficult task. However, practices such as providing opportunities for career growth, providing organisational support, ensuring employees' voices are heard and developing their trust in management can be used to build organisational commitment. Giauque et al. (2011) reported a study among knowledgeable workers in Swiss companies. They found that developing the organisational reputation, ensuring procedural justice (sense of fairness in decision making), and providing good support for employees were the only factors that contributed to organisational commitment. In contrast, the authors found that employee involvement in decision making, satisfaction with pay, and skill development did not influence organisational commitment.
In the current competitive business environment, retaining employees enables organisational success. Rhoades and Eisenberger (2002) concluded that if employees are supported, they will work towards organisation goals. They categorised organisational support under three principles: reciprocity, meeting employees' social needs, and fair performance appraisal. The reciprocity principle implies that organisations should provide the necessary support to enhance employees' performance. The second principle is ensuring the social needs of employees are met, thus appreciating their various roles. The third principle involves fairly assessing employees' performance for the purposes of reward and promotion so that they have faith in the process. If all these principles are applied in an organisation, it can positively influence productivity and encourage employees to give their best (Demircan & Yildiz, 2009). Badu and Asumeng (2013) observed a positive relationship between the perception of organisational justice and the behaviour of employees. The study notes that the behaviour of employees is based on their perception of interactional justice rather than distributive and procedural justice. Private-sector employees had higher levels of employee engagement and organisational commitment than those of public-sector employees. Scholars generally agree that organisational commitment increases with organisational support (Agyemang & Ofei, 2013). It also reinforces the feeling of responsibility of employees towards the organisation in question. Geurts et al. (1999) revealed that perceived inequity in the employment relationship has a significant association with both employee absenteeism and turnover intentions. The study further showed that employee feelings of resentment are positively related to poor organisational commitment, which is also positively associated with turnover intentions. This evidence suggests when employees perceive that there is organisational inequity in terms of their contributions and rewards, they develop a feeling of resentment and later resort to absenteeism and turnover. Therefore, providing fair treatment to employees increases organisational commitment and reduces turnover. Other studies also found a positive relationship between employees' intentions to stay at work and recognition for competent or satisfactory performance. For instance, Asegid et al. (2014) showed nurses whose work achievements were recognised had greater intentions to stay longer. Similarly, Yimer et al. (2017) found that lack of recognition for achievements affected academic staff turnover. Morale is high among employees when they are valued, rewarded and recognised. Lesenyeho et al. (2018) found recognition increases organisational commitment and reduces turnover intentions among employees. The nexus among monetary compensation, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and intention to stay has been empirically established (Banerjee & Nayak, 2018). The main objectives of pay level in the compensation system are related to both controlling the cost of labour and attracting, motivating and retaining employees. The merit pay system is effective for motivating and retaining workers. Chiu et al. (2002) showed that a review of the compensation system and a suitable remuneration package for individual employees who are dissatisfied and willing to quit can help retain them. Yang et al. (2012) showed that managers resorted to salary adjustment as a measure to retain workers in international tourist hotels in Taiwan. When employees are satisfied, they make significant contributions towards improving the quality of services. Financial incentives are often considered the most common method of retaining qualified and experienced employees. Providing cash bonuses or holiday pay can boost morale and help increase organisational commitment and retention. Kiazad et al. (2015) support this notion by asserting that all job motivation-enhancing tactics boost employee motivation to stay and contribute to organisational performance. Similarly, a study by Banerjee and Nayak (2018) revealed that multinational enterprises offer higher salaries to prevent turnover and also promote cooperation between workers and the employer.
Generally, the compensation literature provides considerable support for the argument that paying higher wages can potentially prevent turnover (Banerjee & Nayak, 2018). Selesho and Naile (2014) demonstrated that retention of academic staff by Vaal University was influenced by management's capacity to pay academic staff the requisite market-related salaries. However, academic leadership and the work environment also contributed to staff satisfaction and retention in the organisation. These researchers found that academic staff who received stagnant salaries for their contribution to teaching abandoned their profession, which has seriously affected the quality of teaching and administration in the institution. The literature notes that money can retain some employees for specific purposes but cannot solely be used as an effective and sustainable reward system and motivator to retain employees (Dibble, 1999). Winterton (2004) suggested that labour retention strategies should target decreasing employee mobility through providing financial incentives. Yimer et al. (2017) posit that employees must be given adequate financial compensation to minimise their intentions to leave the organisational set-up because poor wages contribute to employee turnover. Other empirical evidence highlights that the morale and loyalty of hardworking and deserving staff increase when they are offered adequate and prompt payment of wages, allowances and other reward packages (Asamoah & Eugene, 2016).
The emerging HRM literature supports the link between job satisfaction, career growth and development, and organisational commitment (Selesho & Naile, 2014). According to Villegas-Reimers (2003), employees feel that the organisation has an interest in retaining them and that is why it is investing in their training and career development. Providing career development opportunities in turn improves employees' commitment and decreases their intention to leave. This correspond with the findings of Mapelu and Jumah (2013), who noted that employee development has a significant effect on their intention to leave. These researchers concluded that an increase in training opportunities for employee development would decrease turnover rates among employees. In consonance with the basic tenet and theoretical exposition of the social exchange theory, satisfying the training needs of employees will generate a state of fulfilment and meaning and employees will reciprocate by showing a greater degree of engagement. When employees are highly engaged, their propensity for leaving the organisation will be reduced. Other researchers have also found that organisations that invest in employees' career development provide opportunities for employees to develop personal and professional skills, which subsequently develops a sense of obligation and organisational commitment among employees (Scott et al., 2017). Employee training satisfaction creates organisational commitment that collectively reduces employee's intentions to leave. According to Lang et al. (2016), the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention is mediated by employee training and development. As such, promoting work satisfaction and training can be viewed by management as the most important factors for reducing employees' desire to leave. Benson (2006) argued that employability policies are geared towards retaining committed employees when there is no guarantee of job security. Employees who believe that there are opportunities for career growth and advancement in the future are more likely to stay even in the midst of complete dissatisfaction with their present job circumstances. Management needs to identify and clearly communicate career paths for employees as a strategy to retain them (Bryant & Allen, 2013). Organisations can promote employee retention by providing training and signing staff development agreements (Winterton, 2004). This agreement requires succession planning, career paths and a staff development plan for employees who attend professional development programs. Employees are now highly aware of their career path and development and hence their career growth. The failure of organisations to satisfy these personal career needs can cause management to lose valued employees (Menezes et al., 2018). However, providing training and development opportunities to employees does not necessarily increase employees' level of organisational commitment since there can be nonalignment between employees' perceptions about their job and the development opportunities offered (Cao et al., 2013). For example, training employees in firm-specific skills reduces turnover more than providing generic training skills for employees. Employees often receive a portion of productivity gains that accrue from firm-specific training, which further strengthens the bond between the employee and the employer. Workers trained in firm-specific skills have restricted movement compared to workers trained in transferable generic skills. Also, job-specific training limits alternative employment opportunities for trained employees. It is well documented in the literature that training and development increases employee loyalty, retention and commitment (Bryant & Allen, 2013). According to Hosie et al. (2013), training and development opportunities can reduce staff turnover intentions as employees in organisations where opportunities for staff career growth and advancement are provided are less likely to quit. Benson (2006) found that employee participation in development programs had various outcomes regarding their commitment and turnover intentions. The author argued that employees who undertook on-the-job training and gained specific skills had more commitment and less propensity to leave the organisation than those employees who participated in tuition-reimbursement programs. Mapelu and Jumah (2013) contend that training is a tool that can be used to build and develop a committed labour force. Boreham et al. (2016) indicated that workplace transformations affect the social well-being of employees, their organisational commitment, and turnover intentions. Hence improving group cohesion and socialisation techniques can serve as an employee retention strategy. Management can also improve the career satisfaction of employees by developing a supportive organisational culture as well as recognising individual employee differences. This motivates the workforce and increases organisational commitment. Developing a sound and supportive organisational culture may help reduce the turnover intention among employees (Joo & Park, 2010). Russell (2017) suggests that communication can be used as a tool to increase cohesion and promote socialisation.
The absence of open communication between management and employees can potentially create unhealthy tension, stress and fear among the organisational membership. Studies have shown that organisations that deploy motivational activities such as socialisation activities, organisational mentorship, and opportunities for personal growth and career development, as well as creating a conducive work environment, can minimise employee turnover (Long & Perumal, 2014). Winterton (2004) argues that job satisfaction among employees' results from several factors that affect their quality of work-life balance as employees seek out for job satisfiers. Similarly, prior literature argues that employees' intentions to leave or remain are strongly influenced by their job satisfaction (Li et al., 2016). Finster (2013) indicates that leadership quality can also influence employees' motivation and commitment. The author found that leadership styles in schools play a core role in teachers' intent to stay. Similarly, Bryant and Allen (2013) observed that people do not leave their companies but leave their bosses. The authors argued that employees quit because of the leadership, supervision and employer-employee relationship as well as the conditions that surround their employment. Drawing from social psychology literature through the lens of leadermember exchange theory, some argue that some leaders have extensive trust in their members and often interact with their subordinates as part of their "in-group" while holding a more transactional relationship with the "outgroup" (Jain et al., 2019). Positive leader-member relationships reduce employee turnover and hence contribute to the retention of workers within the organisation (Kim & Min Park, 2014). Positive relationships increase positive job attitudes and employees' sense of belonging, trust and commitment, which can decrease the likelihood of employee turnover. De Lourdes Machado-Taylor et al. (2016) showed that institutional leadership can play a vital part in promoting job satisfaction among employees. Institutional leadership can help identify the factors that contribute to low job satisfaction and dissatisfaction and subsequently use the information to devise techniques to improve satisfaction. Management must seek to understand the sources and causal processes of employee turnover so that they can work towards retaining employees. Ahmad and Rainyee (2014) concluded that the use of sound management strategies and promoting a good match between employees and the organisation will ensure that employees develop job commitment and satisfaction, which in turn will improve their retention attitudes. Pietersen and Oni (2014) suggest improving the quality of monitoring and supervision, which they posit plays a key role in reducing job dissatisfaction and employee turnover. Houston et al. (2006) raised concerns about the fairness and transparency of work allocation processes and suggest that providing fair treatment to employees increases organisational commitment and reduces turnover. Mitchell et al. (2001) found that changes in family situations (e.g. relocation of a spouse), a desire to learn a new skill or vocation, an unexpected job offer, observing a coworker being ill-treated, the denial of a promotion, and the demand to do tasks against one's belief system were the external shocks that often caused turnover intentions among employees. Gialuisi and Coetzer (2013) demonstrated that retention of key employees can be improved by promoting a flat management structure, a democratic working environment, and varying the duties and responsibilities of employees.
All forms of communication activities within an organisation create opportunities for advancing employee voice. Successful organisations are those that have developed effective mechanisms to advance open communication and employee voice. Employee voice supports the building of trust, loyalty, and commitment. Communication ensures the flow of information, policies and resources. It also serves as the bloodstream of the organisation and provides the means through which groups of people and individual employees within the business environment meet and interact (Femi, 2014). Employees who lack clear information on their task performance likely face a high degree of frustration and job stress. Ngozi and Ifeoma (2015) found that effective communication reduces organisational conflict and misunderstandings and hence ensures the overall performance of the staff. Nwagbara et al. (2013) showed that the near absence of effective communication led to turnover intentions among employees. These researchers noted that effective communication promotes fruitful relationships among organisational members. Collegiality and mutual communication remain an important conduit for advancing cohesion and solidarity, thereby contributing to lowering turnover intentions (Nwagbara et al., 2013). Communication not only motivates employees but also helps build trust and organisational commitment and reduces a sense of job insecurity among employees. Femi (2014) has recommended that management should develop an effective communication system with employees in order to improve employee commitment and productivity. Information flow can strongly influence employees' perceptions and evaluations of the employment situation. Fraser and Ryan (2012) argued that high turnover rates among academics can be attributed to conflicting views between academics and senior managers, absence of career paths and lack of promotion. According to Finster (2013), building collegiality among employers and employees can improve group cohesion and staff retention. The author recommends the creation of professional learning communities, which involve collaboration and teamwork among teachers that is aimed at improving the instructional practices of teachers. Teachers value working collaboratively with their colleagues and would like to form part of such cooperative, supportive and productive work teams (Simon & Johnson, 2015). Msengeti and Obwogi (2015) generally found the work environment has a significant positive influence on staff retention. An employee sense of attachment, as well as fit with their job and the entire community, leads to the intent to stay. They concluded that fit, links, and sacrifices are the main drivers of employees staying with their organisations. Organisations seek to retain their workers by employing measures that promote employee organisational satisfaction, commitment and engagement. According to Memon et al. (2018), highly engaged employees have fewer intentions of leaving their jobs. These authors found that promoting employees' level of engagement decreases the rate of voluntary turnover. Highly engaged employees tend to have a high-quality relationship with their employers, which helps to develop more positive attitudes and a stronger emotional attachment to the organisation. Work prestige is frequently cited as a key reason why employees stay at their workplaces. Lewis (2015) found that the absence of recognition and appreciation were the most important factors cited as reasons for a high turnover rate. Their findings highlight the need to institute intrinsic reward schemes such as "employee of the month" to acknowledge contributions to the organisation.

Implications for Employee Retention
Overall, various organisational inducements have diverse implications for employee retention. They promote employee job satisfaction, organisational commitment and, in turn, retention. Many factors promote retention: mentally challenging work that an employee can undertake effectively; individual involvement in the job; work that is not physically tiring; reasonable, fair and insightful incentives for task results; and adequate working conditions (Locke 1976). These factors foster workforce retention: high worker self-esteem, organisational encouragement to achieve job values (e.g. enjoyable and interesting work, opportunities for increased pay and promotion), other core values aligned with their personal values, and reducing position uncertainty and conflict (Das & Baruah, 2013). Teacher satisfaction and commitment can be attributed to administrative support, which directly predicts job satisfaction among teachers (Tickle et al., 2011). Support from administration and teacher job attitudes (job satisfaction, pay satisfaction and organisational commitment) are strongly associated. This suggests that institutions that provide administrative support to their teaching staff promote teacher job satisfaction and overall organisational commitment. For example, supervisory support yields a positive impact on both employees' organisational commitment and their career satisfaction. Employees with affective commitment to their organisation have reduced turnover intentions. For Kang and Kim (2014), the link between supervisory support and intent to quit was mediated by organisational commitment.
Effective communication can lead to job satisfaction, commitment and reduced turnover. Emphasised that management should communicate with staff precisely regarding institutional policies on promotion and training (Ng'ethe, 2014). Open communication can be enhanced when line managers provide regular feedback and clarify their expectations to employees. Moreover, open, easeful communication can reduce conflict between employees, and improve both employee relations and their performance. Prior studies have found that pay level and pay satisfaction are relatively weak determinants of employee turnover (Kuo et al., 2014). Employees are not satisfied with good salaries alone; other nonfinancial reward systems had more effect on management's effort to retain employees. In addition, employees crave individual satisfaction and a sense of purpose in their work. Nevertheless, financial compensations remain effective in retaining employees (Kim & Min Park, 2014). Pay systems may produce negative outcomes due to increased conflicts among workers and pursuits of personal employees' goals to the detriment of organisational objectives. Group-based contingent pay systems may breed free riders who are low or nonperformers but earn an equivalent reward to their hardworking colleagues in the organisation. Apart from financial incentives, employees expect timely recognition for their contributions to the organisation.

Conclusion
This paper examined major factors accounting for turnover intentions and behaviors, it remained clear that managements' focus on these factors could help moderate employee turnover. For this purpose, various empirical stances were considered to arrive at a managerial framework to retaining employees and implications for further research. There is no best strategy to employee, it is imperative for employers to retain their employees to reduce organizational costs. The literature suggests forms of retention strategies that promoted job satisfaction, organizational commitment and among others. Consequently, there exists some level of isomorphism in the turnover and retention literature. For an organizational action towards attracting and retaining staff, satisfaction and commitment should therefore remain central to keeping staff. This calls for active involvement of management in providing support and ensuring effective and open communication systems. Employees' perception of equity, recognition and appreciation by their employers contribute to the major non-compensational factors that retain employees. Although there exists a large body of literature on the concept, causes, effects and recommendations for turnover and retention, there is the continuous dynamism in the relations between employees and employers which beckons the need for further research.