Human Resource Management Practices and Employee Turnover: Perceptions from the Workforce
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16498104Abstract
This study explores hotel employees' views on the influence of human resource management (HRM) practices on their decisions to remain in or leave their jobs. The research involved conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 individuals who had worked in various hotels located in Macau, China. A thematic analysis was used to interpret the interview data and extract key themes. The findings show that while employees generally value HR practices that address their personal and professional needs, they consider how these practices are executed by HR personnel to be even more important. Additionally, cultivating an organisational culture that encourages employees to feel a sense of ownership strongly impacts their retention. The study emphasises the essential role HR departments play in hotel settings, indicating that staff expect HR teams to be actively involved, not only in providing fair development opportunities but also in fostering a supportive and motivating work environment. This is especially vital in Integrated Resorts, where collaboration among large, diverse teams is necessary to fulfil guest expectations. The study recommends that HR departments focus on addressing employee concerns, facilitating healthy workplace relationships, and involving employees’ family members in organisational activities and facility use. Such initiatives can enhance employee engagement. Additionally, managers are encouraged to listen carefully to employee feedback and resolve issues at their roots, sending a clear message that management genuinely values and supports its workforce. While earlier studies have explored the connection between HRM practices and employees' intentions to leave, they have primarily used quantitative approaches and have seldom focused on the hotel sector. This research offers a distinct contribution by employing qualitative methods to gain deeper insights into how hotel employees perceive the impact of HRM practices on their decisions to stay or leave their jobs.
Keywords:
Turnover intention, Macau, Hotel employees, Human resource management practices.
References
AlBattat, A. R. S., & Som, A. P. M. (2013). Employee dissatisfaction and turnover crises in the Malaysian hospitality industry. International Journal of Business and Management, 8(5), 62-71.
Alvesson, M., & Ashcraft, K. L. (2012). Interviews. In G. Symon & C. Cassell (Eds.), Qualitative organizational research: Core methods and current challenges (pp. 239-257). Sage.
Batt, R., & Colvin, A. J. (2011). An employment systems approach to turnover: Human resources practices, quits, dismissals, and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 54(4), 695-717.
Blomme, R. J., Van Rheede, A., & Tromp, D. M. (2010). Work-family conflict as a cause for turnover intentions in the hospitality industry. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 10(4), 269-285.
Bryant, P. C., & Allen, D. G. (2013). Compensation, benefits, and employee turnover: HR strategies for retaining top talent. Compensation & Benefits Review, 45(3), 171-175.
Chalkiti, K., & Sigala, M. (2010). Staff turnover in the Greek tourism industry: A comparison between insular and peninsular regions. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 22(3), 335-359.
Chew, J. C. L. (2004). The influence of human resource management practices on the retention of core employees of Australian organisations: An empirical study (PhD thesis). Murdoch University, Australia.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2017). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage Publications.
Davidson, M. C., Timo, N., & Wang, Y. (2010). How much does labour turnover cost? A case study of Australian four-and five-star hotels. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 22(4), 451-466.
Davidson, M., Guilding, C., & Timo, N. (2006). Employment, flexibility, and labour market practices of domestic and MNC chain luxury hotels in Australia: Where has accountability gone? International Journal of Hospitality Management, 25(2), 193-210.
Dhamija, S. K., & Chahal, P. (2013). Turnover in the Indian hotel industry: A study of employees' opinions. Indian Journal of Applied Hospitality and Tourism Research, 5, 48-54.
DSEC. (2017). Hotels and similar establishments survey, Macau. Available at: www.dsec.gov.mo/e/hot.aspx (accessed March 5, 2019).
DSEC. (2018). Survey on manpower needs and wages – Gaming industry. Available at: www.dsec.gov.mo/Statistic.aspx?NodeGuid=6289ca07-25cc-450b-8499-4e34765c1769 (accessed March 5, 2019).
Dysvik, A., & Kuvaas, B. (2010). Exploring the relative and combined influence of mastery-approach goals and work intrinsic motivation on employee turnover intention. Personnel Review, 39(5), 622-638.
Edwards, R., & Holland, J. (2013). What is qualitative interviewing? Bloomsbury Academic.
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1-4.
Farber, N. K. (2006). Conducting qualitative research: A practical guide for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 9(5), 367-375.
Foddy, W. (1994). Constructing questions for interviews and questionnaires: Theory and practice in social research. Cambridge University Press.
Francis, J. J., Johnston, M., Robertson, C., Glidewell, L., Entwistle, V., Eccles, M. P., & Grimshaw, J. M. (2010). What is an adequate sample size? Operationalising data saturation for theory-based interview studies. Psychology and Health, 25(10), 1229-1245.
Guchait, P., & Cho, S. (2010). The impact of human resource management practices on intention to leave of employees in the service industry in India: The mediating role of organizational commitment. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(8), 1228-1247.
Haines, V. Y. III, Jalette, P., & Larose, K. (2010). The influence of human resource management practices on employee voluntary turnover rates in the Canadian non-governmental sector. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 63(2), 228-246.
Hancock, J. I., Allen, D. G., Bosco, F. A., McDaniel, K. R., & Pierce, C. A. (2013). Meta-analytic review of employee turnover as a predictor of firm performance. Journal of Management, 39(3), 573-603.
Helena, L. K. I. (2014). Understanding employee turnover in multi-cultural high demand situations – The hotel service industry in Macau. Available at: www.usj.edu.mo/thesis/understanding-employee-turnover-multi-cultural-high-demand-situations-hotel-service-industry-macau/ (accessed August 13, 2018).
Henderson, J. C. (2016). Integrated resorts and tourism: A Singapore perspective. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 5(2), 191-208.
Hom, P. W., & Kinicki, A. J. (2001). Toward a greater understanding of how dissatisfaction drives employee turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 44(5), 975-987.
Hong, E. N. C., Hao, L. Z., Kumar, R., Ramendran, C., & Kadiresan, V. (2012). The effectiveness of human resource management practices on employee retention in institute of higher learning: A regression analysis. International Journal of Business Research and Management, 3(2), 60-79.
Huang, Y., Fong, L., & Law, R. (2016). Concerns of integrated resort customers: Content analysis of reviews on TripAdvisor. Available at: https://agrilifecdn.tamu.edu/ertr/files/2016/01/ENTER2016_submission_8.pdf (accessed August 13, 2019).
Ieong, C. Y., & Lam, D. (2016). Role of internal marketing on employees’ perceived job performance in an Asian integrated resort. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 25(5), 589-612.
Iqbal, A. (2010). Employee turnover: Causes, consequences, and retention strategies in Saudi organizations. The Business Review, Cambridge, 16(2), 275-281.
Jaiswal, D., & Dhar, R. L. (2017). Impact of human resource practices on employee creativity in the hotel industry: The impact of job autonomy. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 16(1), 1-21.
Kalemci Tuzun, I., & Kalemci, R. A. (2012). Organizational and supervisory support in relation to employee turnover intentions. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 27(5), 518-534.
Kensbock, S., Jennings, G., Bailey, J., & Patiar, A. (2013). The lowest rung: Women room attendants’ perceptions of five-star hotels’ operational hierarchies. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 35, 360-368.
Kim, N. (2014). Employee turnover intention among newcomers in the travel industry. International Journal of Tourism Research, 16(1), 56-64.
Kim, S. (2012). The impact of human resource management on state government IT employee turnover intentions. Public Personnel Management, 41(2), 257-279.
King, B., & Tang, C. M. F. (2018). Employee preferences for industry retention strategies: The case of Macau’s “golden nest eggs.” International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/15256480.2018.1429343
Koys, D. J. (2001). The effects of employee satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and turnover on organizational effectiveness: A unit‐level, longitudinal study. Personnel Psychology, 54(1), 101-114.
Lee, C.-C., Huang, S.-H., & Zhao, C. Y. (2012). A study on factors affecting turnover intention of hotel employees. Asian Economic and Financial Review, 2(7), 866-875.
Lei, L. (2011). The challenges of the labor shortage in Macau’s hotel industry. Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/1152 (accessed August 8, 2018).
Li, S., Rees, C. J., & Branine, M. (2019). Employees’ perceptions of human resource management practices and employee outcomes. Employee Relations, 41(6), 1419-1433.
Mack, N., Woodsong, C., Macqueen, K. M., Guest, G., & Namey, E. (2005). Qualitative research methods: A data collector’s field guide. Family Health International.
Mahmood, A., Akhtar, M. N., Talat, U., Shuai, C., & Hyatt, J. C. (2019). Specific HR practices and employee commitment: The mediating role of job satisfaction. Employee Relations, 41(3), 420-435.
Marshall, B., Cardon, P., Poddar, A., & Fontenot, R. (2013). Does sample size matter in qualitative research? A review of qualitative interviews in IS research. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 54(1), 11-22.
Martin, M. J. (2011). Influence of human resource practices on employee intention to quit (Doctoral dissertation). Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Siazga Research Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
