Managing Retention at Irontown

The customer service department of Irontown is in trouble. The department has lost 120 employees over the recent past to resignations. The massive departures have adversely affected the ability of the department to deliver on its mandate thereby undermining the ability of the organization to achieve its objectives. Being a highly demanding occupation, the organization has been forced to deal with several issues relating to the employee work environment with little success. The situation is even more complicated by the fact that the firm seeks to reduce operating costs of the department as possible. Adopting upgrading internal communication systems and increased employee management can be useful in addressing the issue of high employee turnover at Irontown.

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Root Causes of the High Employee Turnover

Inadequate training of employees is a significant factor in the case of Irontown. Employees are usually interested in performing well in their jobs to build a sense of pride in their capabilities and advance their careers. However, when they lack requisite skills, they may feel frustrated due to the inability to deliver on the job expectations (Khan, Khan & Khan, 2011). As per the case study, trainees have not been given consistent training due to lack of clear guidelines to the CSR2s on what specific areas that trainees should learn. This can result in performance gaps because learning depends on the discretion of the CSR2. As a result, the method leaves trainees inadequately equipped hence the high number listing 'job not as expected' as the reason for their departure. As noted by Martinelli (2018), insufficient training to employees is likely to make them feel unappreciated, making them contemplate exit as seen in mass resignations at Irontown incapable.

Closely related to employee training is poor employee management, including an inadequate workforce. When employees are poorly supervised or overstretched, they are likely to develop work-related stress which can, in turn, motivate to consider leaving their current organization (Chiang, Back, & Canter, 2005). The poor management of shifts to have played a role in the creating stress in the employees of Irontown. In the exit interviews, 46 percent of ex-employees mentioned stress as the reason for the decision to resign from the organization. The level of stress is aggravated by insufficient staffing which threatens employees with work overload and burnouts. Employees' turnover majorly results from dissatisfaction with the current job rather than the motivation of seeking job opportunities outside the organization (Hinkin & Tracey, 2000). As a consequence, Martinelli (2018) observes that increased level of work-related stress is likely to make workers unhappy with their positions. If employees are unhappy, chances are higher than they would search for opportunities elsewhere.

An inadequate support system is also another issue affecting Irontown. CSRs require efficient communication systems to high-quality service. In the case study, it has been highlighted that the trainees could not reach the CSR2s when needed for assistance. Such experience may be frustrating because it hinders the trainees' ability to resolve customer issues. The fact that 14 percent of ex-employees listed this challenge as their reason for departure indicates that it is a major issue in the organization.

Proposed Solutions

Revisions of training guidelines for trainees can be a beneficial strategy for addressing the current human resource issues at Irontown CS department. Training of employees equips them with the requisite skills necessary for them to do their jobs effectively. It the case study the training guidelines for the trainees must be uniform and clear guidelines issued to the CSR2s on what is to be learned by the trainees and the actual outcomes of the learning experience of the trainees. According to Truitt (2011), training provides the capacity to bridge the poor fit between the employee and the job result, mitigating the frustrations experienced when skills are inadequate. As a result, it improves the performance of employees on the job.

Upgrade of the CRM software can be an effective solution the ineffectiveness of the department's communication channels. An upgrade of the system can foster efficiency in transferring calls to the relevant representatives for quicker resolution of the customer's complaints. For instance, problems of delayed responses from senior customer service officers are likely to be minimized.

How the Proposed Solutions will reduce Staffing Costs while Improving Productivity

If CRS2s are trained and required to escalate the same to the trainees by following a well-defined curriculum, consistency in what the trainees learn would be guaranteed. Such an arrangement would provide the workers with relevant information required to perform their jobs competently. Having competency at the job reduces the motivation to leave the organization. High employee retention means that no money is incurred in recruiting new employees. The cost of replacing an employee averages $ 4000 annually (Dude, Freeman & Reich, 2010). Accordingly, Irontown is likely to save such equivalent if employee retention is encouraged. At the same time, competent employees are likely to be more effective than ill-trained employees (Khan et al., 2011). Enhanced effectiveness leads to increased output. Training of trainers can also increase their skills on people management. Building of such capacity would address issues such as poor management of shifts.

Upgrade of the communication systems is critical to effective communication - the slow system that the CSRs use undermines their ability to handle customer issues promptly. Upgrading the communication systems would not only reduce frustrations of the CSRs but also enhance the quality of customer service. As a consequence, Irontown would benefit by saving on employee turnover costs as well as the cost of mending bad reputation caused by failure to address customer complaints.

On the whole, inadequate employee training and lack of job satisfaction are the major causes of employee turnover at Irontown. The highlighted issues can be adequately addressed by providing clear guidelines on what CSR2s teach trainees and how they do it. Upgrade of the current communication systems can also help Irontown's customer service department deal with the current crisis. These measures would reduce stress and foster motivation among the workers, resulting in increased morale and retention rate.

References

Chiang, C., Back, K., & Canter, D. D. (2005). The impact of employee training on job satisfaction and intention to stay in the hotel industry. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 4(2), 99-118. doi:10.1300/j171v04n02_06

Hinkin, T. R., & Tracey, J. B. (2000). The cost of turnover: Putting a price on the learning curve. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 41(3), 14-21. doi:10.1177/001088040004100313

Khan, R. G., Khan, F. A., & Khan, M. A. (2011). Impact of training and development on organizational performance. Global Journal of Management and Business Research , 11(7), 1-7.

Martinelli, K. (2018, September 14). What are the consequences of a lack of training? Retrieved from https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/lack-of-training-in-the-workplace/

Truitt, D. L. (2011). The effect of training and development on employee attitude as it relates to training and work proficiency. SAGE Open, 1(3), 215824401143333.

Dube, A., Freeman, E., & Reich, M. (2010). Employee replacement costs.

UC Berkeley: Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. Retrieved from: http://

escholarship.org/uc/item/7kc29981