CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Ingersoll, (2001) elaborated the teachers’ turnover with an organizational perspective, considering teachers’ movement from individual school. He has established that the characteristics of individual teacher lead to differing turnover states, teachers inclined to leave schools where there are administrative effectiveness problems, deficiency of resources and lack of satisfaction. These individuals perhaps leaving teaching forever or they may be moving to another school where their needs are fulfilled. In both the cases, turnover is a serious failure for the school organization. Ronfeldt and his colleagues (2011) have derived that teachers’ turnover not only lessens the achievement level of students, but it also disorders the entire organization of the school. Ingersoll and Smith (2003) have revealed the facts that teachers’ turnover is equally divided into two categories: 1) attrition; and 2) migration. Sta turnover has both negative and positive attributes hence is a normal organization functioning. Flippo (1984) observes that staff turnover is the movement into and out of an organization by the workforce. High sta turnover rates may be dysfunctional to the organization (Armstrong 2004). Loss of competent sta increase pressure in the remaining employees leading to serious operational diiculties (Dessler 2004). The sta turnover inherent costs form a greater chunk of a business total operation costs. Mungumi (2002) enumerated costs and consequences of high sta turnover rates as loss of competent human resource, hiring costs involving time and facilities for recruitment, interviewing and examining a replacement, scrap and waste rates which climb when new employees are involved, overtime pay resulting from excessive number of separations causing trouble in meeting contract delivery dates and training costs involving time of supervisors, personnel department and trainees. High accident rates by new employees, lack of utilization of production equipment during hiring interval and training period, loss of production in the interval between separation of the old employees and replacement, administration cost of adding and replacing from payroll, decreased commitment in the remaining employees and loss of competent sta with outstanding capabilities. Cascio (1982) observes that high levels of turnover skyrockets costs and new sta take time in a desperate bid to leam and cope up with the organization culture, systems and processes. Quantitative measurements of sta turnover rates must take precedence. Rate according to this study is an index that shows ratio of left staff divided by the average employees within a specific period of time. The United Kingdom chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (C1PD, 2004) expounds on the merits of both quantitative and qualitative information that otherwise enable an organization gain an in-depth understanding of sta turnover. The significance of sta turnover rate analysis is to provide a graphical illustration of turbulence within the organization (Dessler 2008). In determining the rate of sta turnover various methods are adopted. Stability index which is an indication about the extent to which experienced employees are retained is one of the methods. Arise in stability index indicates the organization’s retention of experienced sta. A lower index shows loss of experienced competent sta, Wastage and survival rate measurement method which is a relationship between number of leavers against length of service and survival rate that represents the number of people who stay in service against length of service providing a measure of retention. Length of service analysis which is basically the time period each employee has served an organization or employer is also another turnover rate measurement. Cohort analysis method of staff turnover measurement method which is the leaving rates of a group of employees who join the organization at the same time. It helps to understand staff turnover associated costs of recruitment, induction and training.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The main objectives of Private schools is making profit, and they can only achieve that when they add more value to student achievement per unit cost of student’s investment. Management of these schools should strive to minimize costs as much as possible to enhance profitability. Sta turnover forms a greater chunk of an organization’s operational costs (Armstrong, 2004). (CIPD, 2004) notes that there are direct costs involving training and development, opportunity cost of time spent by managers in training and development as well as attendant loss of performance. High sta turnover is costly, therefore one of the main preoccupations of the management of organization is to ensure effective maintenance of staff through instituting periodic quantitative and qualitative measures to monitor the gravity of sta turnover. Sta turnover rate of between 10-15% is acceptable (Armstrong, 2004). An organization needs to know the causes and rates of turnover so as to determine the appropriate steps to reduce the rate. Invariably almost all private schools are confronted with the tremendous challenge of identifying, recruiting and retaining high caliber sta. These trends have engendered a more strategic approach to human resource management across the higher education sector. According to Nyakundi (2010), employees in organizations and learning institutions like to feel that someone cares about their work and appreciates it which in turn motivates them to work more effectively, therefore this research aimed at investigating the factors that influence employee’s turnovers in private schools, using The Ambassador Schools, Otta as a case study.