Separation (Tenure And Turnover)

 

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Tenure has to do with the security of employment whilst turnover is the departure from employment. This note says what each concept means and how being at the opposite ends, nonetheless are treated together. 

2.0 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this note, you should be able to:

· define tenure and turnover

· identify various types of tenure

· list various reasons and types of turnover

· recognize the methods of controlling turnover. 

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Definition and Scope

3.1.1 Tenure Tenure is defined as the job characteristic that spells out the conditions and length of time that an employee holds all else being equal. The scope of tenure is decided by a number of types of appointment that are available in a particular service.

Trainee/Pupil:“When a candidate for employment requires additional professional experience before he can be regarded as fully qualified for appointment to a specific post, he maybe appointed as a trainee or pupil for a normal service for two years in the post. In this respect the tenure of the employee is two years and the employee is bound by a condition for an additional professional qualification.

Probation: Except where transfers are involved, all new entrants to the service are on probation for the first two years within this period, their performances are under observation and appraisal reports are being submitted on them. If their performances are judged unsatisfactory there could be a discharge which is turnover at the end of the second year.

Contract Appointment: This is an appointment for a given and stated period of time. It does not attract pension. Except it is extended, contract appointments end on the period stated in the appointment.

Pensionable Appointments: These are full-term appointments which employees have, which enable them to have a career. 

3.1.2 Turnover

 Turnover is defined as the movement into and out of an organization by the workforce. Turnover is the voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization. There is this relationship between tenure and turnover. Tenure has consistently be found to be negatively related to turnover and has been suggested as one of the single best predictors of turnover. 

3.1.3 The Significance of Turnover

Turnover is an index of stability of the workforce in an organization and that an excessive movement is undesirable and expensive. Where an employee leaves an organization the following costs are incurred:

- Hiring Cost, involving time and facilities for recruitments, interviewing examining and replacement.

 - Training costs, involving the time of the supervisor, personnel department and trainee. - The pay of a learner is in excess of what is produced.

- Accident rate of new employees are always higher.

 - Loss of production between separation of the old employee and the replacement the new.

- Production equipment is not of being fully utilized during the turnover interval and the training period.

- Scrape and wastes rates climb when new employees are involved.

 - Overtime pay may result from an exercise number of separations causing trouble in meeting contract delivery dates. The turnover rate should provide a guide to: - Trouble areas in the organization

- The relation of the various types of separation to:

 (a) Types of employment

(b) Salary Classes

(c) Length of Service

(d) Performance

 - Compatibility of employment condition in the several establishments or in the headquarters as compared to the field service.

- Detects in the whole employment process, but particularly in the policies affecting recruitment, selection, placement and compensation. 

3.1.3 The Control of Turnover

The problem of controlling turnover maybe divided into two parts: First determining the causes of the various types of separation Second, adjusting and developing the personnel programme in the light of the identified causes. One of the methods for determining, the causes of turnover is the exit interview. This is the process of interviewing any employee to find out his reason for leaving, the organization.

Exit interview is a means for smoothing out misunderstanding and preventing avoidable separations. For if the reason for departure is known, steps can be taken to prevent it. Also if the reason for departure is known even if it is too late to do something about the departing employee, that reason can be worked on so that it ceases to be a reason for the departure of other employees in future.

 The second phase in the process of controlling turnover consists in making adjustment in employment conditions and policies which have been suggested by the analysis of the reasons of the turnover. Such adjustments will vary as the numbers of reasons for departures from organizations vary. Employment dissatisfaction may stem from:

- Failure to fit the man to the jobs which implies unsatisfactory recruitment, selection and placement procedures.

- Undesirable employment condition.

But nevertheless each cause should be properly examined inorder to prevent excessive turnover.

 4.0 CONCLUSION

Turnover and tenure are critical aspects of personnel management. Tenure relates to the conditions of employment while turnover is the exit from an organization. If the conditions of employment are conducive there would be a low rate of labor turnover, but if it is in the contrary, labor turnover rate would be very high. 

5.0 SUMMARY

This note has explained the various aspects of tenure and turnover. It has given the definition of the concepts and listed and explained the various types of employment, the various reasons for turnover and given methods for the control of the turnover.



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