Satisfaction & turnover: Applying the Models to A real World Scenario
Scenario 1
Sara is a server at a casual dining Mexican restaurant, where she has worked there for three years. Since the holidays are close, the restaurant has recently started hiring more servers to keep up with the volume of customers that dine out during the holidays. Recently due to this over-hiring, Sara has gone from having five shifts to just three shifts and she even lost one of her shifts where she had a large section of tables. This made Sara upset with her manager because by losing her shifts she is losing money. As a result of Sara’s loss in shifts she has decided she will look for another job where she can make more money.
Sara is a server at a casual dining Mexican restaurant, where she has worked there for three years. Since the holidays are close, the restaurant has recently started hiring more servers to keep up with the volume of customers that dine out during the holidays. Recently due to this over-hiring, Sara has gone from having five shifts to just three shifts and she even lost one of her shifts where she had a large section of tables. This made Sara upset with her manager because by losing her shifts she is losing money. As a result of Sara’s loss in shifts she has decided she will look for another job where she can make more money.
what's the explanation for sara deciding to leave her job?
The scenario provided above, is a real life example of one of my former coworkers, who left the restauant I work at because they were overhiring and taking her shifts away. I have had the same job for five years so turnover was not something I could relate to but my coworkers reason to leave was one that seemed interesting. Therefore I have decided to look at her reason to leave and apply it to the two models presented in this section of the Wiki. As demonstrated in this scenario, it appears Sara has become dissatisfied with her job because her manager took away shifts so that new employees could start working. To help explain what has caused Sara to want to quit her job, each of the models have been applied to the scenario to further demonstrate their differences in explaining the turnover process. In addition the differences between these models justifies the impact job satisfaction has on employees decision to quit.
Mobley's Model
Based on Mobley’s Model (1977) Sara enters the first phase of evaluating her job where she then realizes she is dissatisfied because of her loss of income and trust with her manager. When she realizes her dissatisfaction with her current serving job she starts to think about leaving the restaurant. During this same shift when she finds out how many shifts she lost, she begins to evaluate what are better restaurants she could apply for. In addition she considers potential costs of leaving her current job such as, the probability other restaurants are still hiring or if other restaurants are over-hiring as well. When she recognizes these potential costs of leaving for a new restaurant she decides that it would be better to look first before quitting her job. She plans on looking for restaurants that are hiring tomorrow on her day off. Sara has now made a plan to actually go looking for another job as result of her unfair treatment at her current job. The next day she completes the search for new restaurants and finds a few that are hiring. She goes home and compares the various restaurants she spoke to that day. When she finds her main restaurant of interest she compares it to her current restaurant. During this evaluation she may find that her restaurant of interest has the same problem of over-hiring. But if the restaurant does not have the same problem, Sara would most likely decide to quit. If she decides from her evaluation she still wants to quit she will go in the next day and tell her manager. |
The Unfolding Model
If the Unfolding Model were to be applied to this scenario, the shock or trigger event would be Sara losing her shifts. This model would say that if Sara had predetermined script associated with quitting previous jobs or if she had a premeditated decision to quit, this situation would be the final straw that would lead to her quitting (Lee & Mitchell, 1994, Kulik et al., 2012). Another alternative regarding her decision to leave would be, the shock is what caused Sara to become dissatisfied and as a result she would quit (Path Two). This shock of losing shifts would cause her dissatisfaction and then “push” her to make the decision to leave. For path three to be applicable to this situation, another restaurant would have to offer a position before she searches for a new job and the attractiveness of this restaurant "pulls" her toward the decision to quit. The last paths that relate to this situation would be Paths 4A and 4B. When receiving this shock Sara would either quit on the spot as a result of her enragement about the situation (Path 4A) or she would conduct a job search first and then quit (Path 4B). The fourth path is very similar to what Mobley’s model suggests however the Unfolding Model focuses more on a triggering event that leads to quitting. |
what Should Sara's Manager do to keep her from leaving?
To prevent Sara from leaving the manager needs to focus on the satisfaction levels of her employees. She especially needs to focus on retaining servers who have been with company for a while because they have the higher skill levels necessary for the restaurant to run smooth during the busy holiday season. The senior staff is essential for the restaurant to maintain because they are the role models for the new employees. To help raise employee satisfaction levels the manager could begin by using a Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire on her employees before the holidays begin to gain a visual of where each employees’ satisfaction level stands (Britt & Jex, 2008).
Next, if Sara’s only dissatisfaction was with the pay, the manager could then apply techniques from Job Characteristics Theory to help raise satisfaction levels. One tactic could be giving Sara more autonomy or responsibility as a server (Britt & Jex, 2008). The manager could also make sure the three shifts she offers Sara are in the best serving sections, this way Sara will have the chance to still make money. This would also ensure that new employees were in the smaller, beginner sections. She could make Sara a mentor for new servers and give her responsibility that way since Sara has been with the company for a long time. Also, the manager could be a mentor to Sara and provide her strategies that Sara can use to increase tips (Britt & Jex, 2008). This mentoring could provide Sara the chance to improve her skills as a server and she will feel valued by the restaurant for them taking the time to coach her. There are various ways the managers could prevent Sara from leaving however, the manager should start by focusing on employees’ satisfaction levels so they don’t even consider leaving.
Next, if Sara’s only dissatisfaction was with the pay, the manager could then apply techniques from Job Characteristics Theory to help raise satisfaction levels. One tactic could be giving Sara more autonomy or responsibility as a server (Britt & Jex, 2008). The manager could also make sure the three shifts she offers Sara are in the best serving sections, this way Sara will have the chance to still make money. This would also ensure that new employees were in the smaller, beginner sections. She could make Sara a mentor for new servers and give her responsibility that way since Sara has been with the company for a long time. Also, the manager could be a mentor to Sara and provide her strategies that Sara can use to increase tips (Britt & Jex, 2008). This mentoring could provide Sara the chance to improve her skills as a server and she will feel valued by the restaurant for them taking the time to coach her. There are various ways the managers could prevent Sara from leaving however, the manager should start by focusing on employees’ satisfaction levels so they don’t even consider leaving.