Turnover at Walgreens
Case Synopsis
A. Case scenario This case is about hiring and employee retention processes centered on new college graduates that, instead of offering ideal and permanent career pathways to these recent graduates and new employees, turn out to become for them a platform or a launch-pad from which they hunt for their dream careers after a couple of years. Despite the costs associated with and the high turnover trend caused by it, this practice continued over time and became increasingly unsustainable, with a rise in job insecurity, and subsequently a reduction in job satisfaction and organizational commitment that come with it. Initiatives from human resource management and the many changes in strategy attempted by senior management were not sufficient to reverse the employee job satisfaction and turnover negative trend.
B. Context of the case The subject organization has each of its corporate department divided in sections headed by leaders, with each of them dealing with all aspects of operations conducted by the organization, a structure adopted in order to enhance efficiently and performance. The only concern therefore for management will be to pay close attention to time management and deadlines departments will have to meet. This situation led to an intense competition and rivalry among departments and sections because of workloads that keep increasing. A situation that was exacerbated by the hiring department to center its strategy on college graduates and new employees who mostly, once the 90 days probation period passed, used the organization to gain the necessary experiences to get better job; leaving the organization with cut in its workforce, employees that are more concerned about their next best job when they leave rather than building team cohesion and camaraderie, and high turnover rate.
The root cause of the issue facing the organization can be traced to an irrational organizational structure based on a weak communication channel and a
A. Case scenario This case is about hiring and employee retention processes centered on new college graduates that, instead of offering ideal and permanent career pathways to these recent graduates and new employees, turn out to become for them a platform or a launch-pad from which they hunt for their dream careers after a couple of years. Despite the costs associated with and the high turnover trend caused by it, this practice continued over time and became increasingly unsustainable, with a rise in job insecurity, and subsequently a reduction in job satisfaction and organizational commitment that come with it. Initiatives from human resource management and the many changes in strategy attempted by senior management were not sufficient to reverse the employee job satisfaction and turnover negative trend.
B. Context of the case The subject organization has each of its corporate department divided in sections headed by leaders, with each of them dealing with all aspects of operations conducted by the organization, a structure adopted in order to enhance efficiently and performance. The only concern therefore for management will be to pay close attention to time management and deadlines departments will have to meet. This situation led to an intense competition and rivalry among departments and sections because of workloads that keep increasing. A situation that was exacerbated by the hiring department to center its strategy on college graduates and new employees who mostly, once the 90 days probation period passed, used the organization to gain the necessary experiences to get better job; leaving the organization with cut in its workforce, employees that are more concerned about their next best job when they leave rather than building team cohesion and camaraderie, and high turnover rate.
The root cause of the issue facing the organization can be traced to an irrational organizational structure based on a weak communication channel and a
References: Browne, M.N., & Keeley, S.M. (2012). Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking Cascio, W.F. (2013). Selected material from Managing Human Resources: Productivity, Quality of Work Life, Profits (9th ed.) custom published for University of Maryland University College Colquitt, J.A., Lepine, J.A., & Wesson, M.J. (2013). Organizational Behavior: Improving Performance and Commitment in the Workplace (3rd ed.) Conrad, B. (2011). Stop Ignoring your Meeting Room. Firstline, 7(7), 28-29. Retrieved April 10, 2013, from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=3bb6bf7f-9c37-4c9d-8a41-a5b5b6888ea0%40sessionmgr114&hid=106. Kalleberg, A. L. (2008). The mismatched worker: When people don 't fit their jobs. Academy Of Management Perspectives, 22(1), p Rice, Matthew. (2011). Compensation and Talent Strategies That Minimize Turnover. Chief Learning Officer, 10(8), 32-33