turnover proposal

7/27/2019 Turnover Proposal

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Proposed title

Employees turnover and seasonal fluctuations in

warehousesAn investigation into Sainsburys

distribution centre Waltham Point

BY

AHMED SHAH

LJMU Student ID: 518885

Kaplan ID: C0332380


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Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction.....................................................................31.1 Background and Scope............................................4

2.0 Literature Review............................................................52.1 Aims, Objectives and Research Questions..............7

3.0

Proposed Methodology...................................................83.1 Research Philosophy..............................................93.2 Research Approach................................................93.3 Data Collecting and Tool.........................................93.4 Sainsbury Distribution Centre Waltham Point.......103.5 Data Analytical Tool.............................................113.6 Ethics...................................................................113.7 Limitations...........................................................113.8 Time Line: Gantt Chart.........................................12

4.0 Conclusions.................................................................13References..................................................................14


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1.0 Introduction

Rider (2008) emphasizing on training to the warehouse staff categorically stated that the

turnover rate is high; especially during certain seasons; wherein the logistics within the

distribution centres of superstores is at stake the author also argues that the average cost

incurred in the process of hiring recruiting and training is more than sixty percent of the

individual salary. In spite of this fact most of the companies hardly take this in to account

emphasising on training; Rider (2008) further states that dont just train employees how to

perform certain task. Instead, teach them why the task is important. He also concluded in

his studies that for reduction of employees turnover training is imperative. As such the

author argues that the HR within the warehouse needs to incorporate effective strategies in

reducing employee turnover.

With the reputation of being one of the oldest food retailers in the United Kingdom,

Sainsburys Supermarkets chain has more than 500 supermarket stores along with 300

convenience stores. Sainsburys was launched in 1869. Today the largest of the companys

stores, holds 30,000 food products in addition to other non-food goods and services. In

addition, the company facilitates online-shopping and home-delivery services.

Manhattan in its corporate brochure (2009) reported that Sainsbury made a decision on

consolidating its DC network. The decision was taken after thoroughly reviewing the

distribution infrastructure of Sainsbury. Following the decision, the construction of four new

fulfilment centres began. One of the centres was based at Hams Hall near Midlands, the

other at Stoke (Staffs), and two other centres at Waltham Point and Rye Park in North

London. Each of these centres occupied approximately 600,000 square feet. To facilitate this

project, Sainsburys shut down few of its RDCs. This Manhattan project of the company

incorporated latest technology equipments at the newly started fulfilment centres, they

include: automated equipment and warehouse control systems (WCS). It took duration of

six months to complete the construction of the centres and they were launched with totally

new kind of infrastructure, people, operations and technology. The project, in fact, was

highly sophisticated and new of its kind ever undertaken by Sainsbury.


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1.1 BACKGROUND AND SCOPE (Statement of the Problem)

From the above stated discussion the researcher attempts to emphasise two important

factors:

1) Warehouse Management in general and empirical studies on Sainsbury in particular;

2) The impact of employee turnover in general and the same impact of turnover in a

warehouse setup that is perceived as mostly seasonal in nature (Min, 2007).

As such further investigation into the background of the stated area of study is done by the

researcher such that an appropriate topic for discussion is derived based on which an

empirical research can be carried out.

Emphasizing on the employee turnover issue, Min (2007) opined that job security is a majorconcern while it comes to recruitment of warehousing staff and their subsequent retaining.

The author notified that monetary incentives are of little importance when it comes to

retaining employees or the employee turnover issue for that matter. The scholar reasoned

that the major setbacks affecting job security in the logistics area are: presumption that the

jobs in logistics are temporary and are subject to alterations in view of the increasing

merger & acquisition activity, and the high amount of risk perceived in this area. Moreover,

the employees are wishing for better working conditions and better work-life coordination

as well as for healthy relationships between personnel of all cadres.

In continuation the studies of Stuff (2010), based on the latest IRS research reports,

revealed that the voluntary resignation rate among the employees was around 8.6 per cent

in the year 2009, (http://www.xperthr.co.uk). The above statistical finding was gathered

from the opinions of 256 employers employing around 700,000 workers. Min (2007)

reasoned that incentives and pay hikes have not made any progress towards resolving the

workers shortage problems in the logistics industry.

How far these statistics reported in websites stand true in literature and official records is

what the proposed study also intends to investigate. The above stated discussions stand as

focal view that resulted in deriving the topic:

Employees turnover and seasonal fluctuations in warehouses An investigation into

Sainsburys distribution centre Waltham Point.


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2.0 Literature Review

An initial investigation into the literature revealed that the subject of Employee turnover is one of

the popular areas of investigation for academicians as it is an influencing factor as far as the labour

productivity and organisational performance are concerned. Beilock and Capelle (1990) through

their studies on truck driver turnover reported that experienced truck drivers exhibited lesser

turnover than inexperienced drivers. The authors reasoned that given their years of experience in

driving, the experienced drivers should be given more compensation than the junior drivers and

therefore, the former are more prone to risks in situations such as job changes and other alterations.

In another study in the similar area of logistics literature, Richard et al. (1995) made a unique

observation that the attitude and response of the dispatcher towards the truck driver also influences

the turnover issue. In furtherance, scholars Keller and Ozment (1999a, b) and Keller (2002) made

similar observations on the dispatchers attitude extending support to the above statement.

However, according to Rodriguez and Grifn (1990), LeMayet al., (1993), Taylor (1994), Keller (2002),

and Min (2002), compensation plays a major role in the recruitment and retention of truck drivers.

Other studies, such as those of LeMayet al., (1993); Taylor, (1994); Keller (2002); Min (2002),

indicated that other factors that affect driver turnover as job previews that depict the realistic

picture of the organisation, the size of the organisation, haul length and the time drivers are allowed

to spend with their families.

This is evident to state that the experience of an employee can be a factor for employee turnover;

thus the researcher intends to investigate into the factors that influence employee turnover; this

would be the first objective of the proposed research. Studies specifically emphasizing on factors

influencing employee turnover are very few in number. However, the academic contribution the

researcher intends to make will be in line with previous contributions to employee turnover in the

logistics industry. One can see from Beilock and Capelles (1990) studies that the demographic

elements like age and educational background of the truck driver also influence the turnover

rate.Fugure-1 illustrates the above observation.


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Figure 1: Key variables impacting Employee turnover

Source: Beilock and Capelle (1990)

As shown in Figure 1, there exists a correlation between demographic variables such as gender, age,

qualifications and the turnover rate. In addition, the figure also depicts the correlation between

occupational characteristics (such as skill, experience, tenure and status), the individual

characteristics (such as compensation, rewards, and promotions), the organisational characteristics

(such as its size, industry, popularity, working conditions, and job requirements)and the turnover

rate.

Emphasizing on the perception of the employees and HR staff of a warehouse, the studies of

Ashforth and Saks (1996) concluded that the organisational culture also plays an important role in

employee turnover. The scholars observed that the socialising nature of the organisational culture

has a long standing effect on the newly recruited employees. In this connection, given a healthy

organisational culture and environment, the newly recruited staffs will develop more commitment

towards the organisation. Here, Barber (1998) commented that the environment should be family

type and friendly and that it is the responsibility of the HR dept to ensure such a friendly atmosphere

is created for the workforce. In extension to the above observations, the WERC Sheet (2002)

reported that the warehouse employees can be influenced to stay with the organisation

permanently by socialising activities.

The researcher is of the opinion that the above information should have already motivated

warehousing employers to promote friendly environment and healthy working conditions as well as

increased socialisation via personal communication with staffs. In such situation the perception of

both the employees and the managers who guide them becomes important. Thus the researcher

also propose to assess and evaluate how individual perception of employees and the factors that

influence them personally and socially for employee turnover.


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2.1 Aims, Objectives and Research Question

The proposed research aims to investigate what causes employee turnover in general and how

seasonal fluctuations impact the productivity and services in a warehouse. To further evaluate the

results empirically the researcher furthers with a case study investigating into the warehouse of

Sainsburys distribution centre at Waltham Point, North London.

The objectives of the proposed research include:

To identify the factors that influence employee turnover. To assess how seasonal fluctuations of employee turnover impact the warehouse

services.

To evaluate the perception of warehouse staff in relation to employee turnover. To assess employees perception of factors influencing employee turnover

The principle research question of the proposed dissertation is

What are the factors that influence employee turnover?

The above question will be investigated in terms of the factors identified by the Staff, Employees

and the employers.

With the stated aim, objectives and research question the researcher proposes a methodological

structure for the proposed dissertation.


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3.0 Proposed Methodology

Eminent scholar, Saunders et al., (2010) emphasised that the first essential step in research is to

devise a research model consisting of the detailed methodology to conduct the study. Therefore, the

study proposal that initiated to investigate in to the impact of seasonal fluctuations on employee

turnover has already instigated to further the research by adopting a case study. Research design as

suggested by the present and the previous academicians is the initial step in the process of the

study. White (2005) made an important observation here, along with the generalised focus; the

research should necessarily be in an organised and systematic fashion. The scholar explained that if

such an organised gathering of data is achieved it would make it simpler for the researcher to deal

with the later stages, i.e. while analysing and explaining various phenomena. However, to conduct

the current dissertation, the research did not make any special effort in designing a research

methodology; the researchers task was simplified from the suggestions of Saunders (2010) research

onion which gives an ideal model to conduct the proposed research (figure2).

Figure 2: Research Onion

Saunders et al(2007, p.132)

As indicated in the figure, case study (a separate introduction to the case in also discussed) was

chosen as the research strategy within the research onion model, Now, we move on to discuss the

research philosophies, research approaches and the data collecting systems in the following

sections.


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3.1 Research philosophy

For the proposed research assuming people who work for the case study organisation are the

samples, requiring interpretation of human behavioural attributes as indicted in the previous

sections; thus, it becomes imperative for the researcher to adopt the interpretivist research

philosophy which is by nature a qualitative approach observed by White (2005). Gathering of

statistical information is not of much significance for the current research; therefore, quantitative

(positivist) approach is not being used by the researcher. The researcher went with the opinion of

Crossan (2003) who felt that quantitative approach is of minimal use for interpretation of human

behaviour.

Conducting the proposed research; with the stated philosophy of interprevitism the researcher

further to state that the approaches that will be appropriate for the proposed research.

3.2 Research approach

Saunders et al(2007) is of the opinion that inductive approach alone is sufficient because data

analysis and derivation of themes are incorporated in it. Furthermore, as the researcher deemed it

fit to apply thematic analysis as the data analytical tool, it becomes imperative for the researcher to

choose the inductive approach. The deductive approach, according to Fisher (2007), involves making

conclusions using logical and scientific principles which could not be of much importance and not of

any practical utility as far as study on evaluating the behaviour of employee turnover is concerned.

However, within the interview schedule prepared to collect the primary data the researcher has also

incorporated a few close ended questions asking the participants to choose an appropriate option

for the given statements. The statements would be derived from the research aims, objectives and

questions. The options as selected by the participants would be measured in figures giving percentile

for each of the option. As this method is termed as questionnaire by Saunders et al., (2007) though

the evaluation of the results is not statistical in nature but the results are quantified; thus the

approach of quantitative is also justified

3.3 Data Collection and Tool

According to Kumar (2005), primary data is the information personally gathered by the researcher

using any of the interactive methods. The scholar goes on to define secondary data as the

information gathered from previous academic contribution related to current research area. The

chosen research area, i.e. the area of management studies has wide scope of study and extends

across versatile parameters; therefore, the secondary information gathered plays a key role in the

attainment of research aims. On the other hand, as human behaviour is being explored, the

gathering of primary data is equally important in context of the current study.

With respect to primary data, scholars, Ryan and Bernard (2000) notified that in qualitative analysis

one can gather information in two ways: 1) through interviews incorporating open-ended questions,

and 2) gathering information in an organised fashion from the participants.


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As already stated, the proposed study aims at deriving themes and this requires the researcher to

personally interact with the respondents through semi-structured interviews with the help of open-

ended questions and the interviews should essentially be conducted in-depth as according to Beebe

(2006).

3.4 Data analytical tool

According to Hollaway and Trodes (2003), the process of thematic analysis involves transformation

of the gathered information into text and then the researcher reads and re-reads the text to identify

themes emerging out of the information. The next step, as illustrated by Kumar (2005) is to re-

organise the themes and to identify key implications and other influential information useful in the

light of the research aims.

As discussed above the researcher is of the opinion that there are various indicators and variables

and factors influencing employee turnover. These could be anything that is explained in length by

various empirical studies. Thus there is a need to further concise the content of literature such that

related factors can be discussed with the data gathered by the researcher and evolve themes and

codes to qualitatively evaluate the results. As such the researcher proposed to apply the qualitative

thematic analysis tool to evaluate the data.

3.5 Ethics

Bartunek and Louis (1996), emphasised on strict ethical adherence and regulations be followed

while dealing with sensitive issues like gathering human expressions and feelings, etc. As the current

research aims at gathering of such sensitive information, it is therefore very much necessary to stick

on to the ethics through ethical considerations. The participants in the study will be given fullfreedom to exercise their will to withdraw from the process at any stage of the study. Participation is

fully their choice and they can do so at their own discretion. In addition, their prior consent for

participation would also be obtained.

3.6 Limitations

It is the researcher who chose the methods, philosophies, and strategies for conducting the study.

The present research that investigates in to the factors that influence the employee turnover needs

to interpret the human behaviour and perception in particular and so the philosophy of

Interprevitism is justified. The decisions of the researcher were purely based on his convenience;

therefore, discrepancies are inevitable at some places. The researcher feels that the chosen

qualitative approach is itself a major drawback in the study; quantitative analysis should have been

incorporated in some areas to produce statistical information this however is done using MS-excel

data charts rather than SSPS method which is mostly suggested by various researchers. Moreover,

the numbers of samples gathered not exceed fifty, is another limitation that cannot be generalized

to specific area in other or similar circumstances; as most of the expression are individual and tend

to change with changing behaviour and circumstances. Thematic analysis could also be another

major challenge for the researcher wherein balancing of emotions becomes crucial and often

difficult.


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3.7 Time line: Gantt chart

Weeks

Tasks

August 3rd and 4th week

September 1st& 2nd Week

September 3rd & 4th WeekOctober 1st& 2nd Week

October 3rd & 4thWeek November 1st

Week

Topic

Aims & Objectives

Ethical Approval

Secondary Data (Literature )

Primary Data (Interview)

First three Chapters

Data Findings and Analysis

Conclusion

First Draft Copy

Final Dissertation


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4.0 Conclusions

Many organisations irrespective of their size and area of functioning of experiencing the issues of

employee turnover there were many factors influencing turnover issues one of the major as

identified in the proposal is job security and monitory incentives. These issues become more crucial

during certain seasons. Though organisations were emphasising on regular pay hikes the issues of

turnover still did not seem to be a taking a reduction rate. However, the proposal identified that the

active involvement of HR within the framework of organisational rules and objectives and further

considering employees behaviour and attitude; can resolve most of these issues through training.

Based on the literary evidences and the conclusions from empirical studies the researcher proposes

to conduct a full length research investigating in to find the relationship between seasonal

fluctuations and employees turnover and to further conduct empirical studies within the context of

the warehouse at Sainsburys.


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