INVESTIGATION OF CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
IN THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Turnover is understood as the rotation of workers around the labor market: between firms, jobs and occupations, and between the states of employment and unemployment (Abbasi & Hollman, 2000). There are few industries or employment sectors in which employee turnover is not regarded as a major cause for concern and a source of economic and operational inefficiencies. Abbasi and Hollman (2000) claim that excessive turnover often engenders far-reaching consequences and, when carried to extreme lengths, may jeopardize the objectives of an organization. There may be a "brain drain" that negatively affects innovation, causes major delays in service delivery, and places excessive burdens on remaining staff. For some departments and agencies of government entities, the loss of key employees may negatively impact the quality, innovation, and safety of services that are delivered (Hacker, 1996).
The problem is especially acute in government agencies or organizations with a strong public safety and security mission component (Abbasi & Hollman, 2000). The human relations department in any such agency, including correctional institutions, must provide personnel services and incentive programs capable of inducing the best workers to stay. The job of the human relations (HR) department is to keep agencies staffed with the skills, inclination, temperament, and willingness to provide high quality service to all stakeholders. Consequently, governmental units are becoming increasingly concerned about recruiting and retaining loyal and dedicated workers, reducing turnover, and increasing the duration of employment (Abbasi & Hollman, 2000).
The problem is of special significance in the context of the California Department of Corrections. California has, in recent years, experienced continued growth of inmate populations, prompting the ...