CHAPTER 4:

DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

4.0 Introduction

This chapter focuses on the analysis of data and presentation of data collected from the data
collection process. The aim is to provide answers to the main agenda of this research which is
to investigate the causes of labour turnover and develop a framework for employee retention
and the specific research objectives and questions.

4.1Research Objectives revisited

 To determine the factors that cause high labour turnover within Axis Solutions.
 To assess the relationship between high labour turnover and productivity in business
operations.
 To identify executable strategies that can be used to address the impact of labour turnover
on productivity in an organisation.

Thus this means that the data collection and analysis was done in a good attempt to answer
the above research questions which in turn answers the u come up with a framework as a
solution to the problems causing labour turnover so as to improve employee retention.

4.2Demographic Diversity of the Questionnaire respondents

4.2.1 Questionnaire response rate

The survey was targeted to a population of 200 people and the sample size was 50 and all of
them participated through answering the questionnaire administered to them thus showing a
100% response rate.

Table 1; Response rate

Questionnaire Sent Questionnaire Response rate

Answered
Total 50 50 100%

Table 1

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

The table aboveTable 1 shows that all the questionnaires sent were answered. According to
Johnson (2012), he states that 51% response rate validates a research hence a 100% response
rate proves this research valid.

4.2.3 Gender Distribution

Table 2: Gender

Gender Frequency Percentage Cumulative

Percentage
Male 36 72 72
Female 14 18 100
Total 50 100

Table 2

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

The table aboveTable 2 shows the gender distribution from the research study, there were 36
males constituting and 14 females who participated in this research study. Constituting 72%
and 18% respectively. According to Kola Oyediran (2018) including gender of respondents in
a survey enables the researcher to provide targeted intervention especially when the gender
contribute to the research outcome. Female respondents were less than male respondents in
the research as there are generally fewer female workers in the information technology
industry but however this gender imbalance didn’t have any effect on the overall finding
because gender was not a significant variable in the study.

4.2.4 Age Distribution

Table 3: Age

Age Frequency Percentage Cumulative

percentage
18-25 17 34 34
26-35 15 30 64
36-45 10 20 84
46-55 5 10 94
55+ 3 6 100
Total 200 100

Table 3

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

The table aboveTable 3 shows that age distribution from this research was distributed as
follows: 18-25 age group 34% , 26-35 age group 30% , 36-45 age group has 20% , 46-55 has
10% and the 55 and above has 3%. According to Phillip Cleave (2020) surveying the age
demographic of the people can provide a lot of valuable details during analysis of their
feedback to show how different age groups are satisfied with different aspects of their work
and the work environment.

4.2.5 Employment sector

Table 4: Employment Sector

Department Frequency Percentage Cumulative

Percentage
Technician 12 24 24
Sales and Marketing 10 20 44
Finance and administration 9 18 62
Developers 9 18 80
Health department 7 14 94
Head of Departments 3 6 100
Total 50 100

Table 4

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

24% of the respondents were from the Technical side, 20% from sales and marketing, and
18% from the Finance and administration as well as from the developers, 14% from the
health department and lastly 6% from the head of departments. The inclusion of every
department is essential so as to get accurate results from each department’s perspective,
which means that there won’t be any bias in terms of preferential treatment of one department
by the other by management.

4.3 Data Presentation and Analysis

4.3.0 The research was based on the following questions:

 What are the factors that lead to labour turnover?

 What is the relationship between labour turnover and productivity?

 What strategies can be used to address the impact of labour turnover on productivity at
Axis Solutions and improve employee retention?

The researcher assessed to find out the factors that are contributing to job dissatisfaction at
Axis Solutions which is leading to employees quitting work as well as finding the
relationship that exist between labour turnover and productivity. In overall the research came
up with an employee retention framework that addressed the inefficiencies in the organisation
that caused labour turnover.

The researcher picked each and every possible contributor to job dissatisfaction that could
have been the cause of labour turnover and collected data using relevant questions using a
questionnaire and analysed the results individually to come up with explanation to the
problem at hand and devise solutions to improve employee retention, this is presented and
analysed below using descriptive analysis.

4.3.1 Career development

Question 4: My manager is supportive of my career development

Value label Value Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly agree 5 13 26
Agree 4 18 36
Neutral 3 6 12
Disagree 2 9 18
Strongly disagree 1 4 8
Total 50 100
Mode 4
Median 4
Table 5

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

The table 5 shows that 26% of the respondents strongly agree that their superior or manager
is supportive of their career, 36% agree to this statement, 12% are neutral on this issue, 18%
disagree that their manager is supportive of their career. 8% strongly disagree that their
manager are supportive of their career.

The mode for this responses is 4, representing the agree class hence this shows that most
respondents agree that their managers are supportive of their career. However the results
show that there is a handful of employees who disagree and strongly disagree accumulating
to 26% that feel that the organisation through the manager is not being supportive of career
development and individual improvement at the workplace, this could be one of the reasons
why there is labour turnover due to demotivation and lack of career growth which is in
conjunction with Global Talent Monitor’s report (2018).

Most of the strongly disagreeing responses were from the Developers which means there is
probably lack of career advancement opportunities in the software development sector and
with how dynamic the technical world is it takes a little time for an employee’s skillset to
become obsolete in terms of relevant thus career advancement opportunities are needed so as
to keep the employees up to date with new ways of writing script and knowledge broadening
pertaining to their line of work.

Herzberg listed career development as a satisfier at an organisation and the absence of the
satisfier does not cause dissatisfaction but rather withholds satisfaction in the sense that an
employee does not feel like an asset but rather a resource which would push them to seek
placements where their performance and value is realised leading to turnover. International
Information Technology certification of employees is very ideal these days so as to develop
and improve relevance of technical employees in the global business industry, mentoring and
coaching is a very usable tool in software development career aiding as managers can coach
individuals or groups in new and dynamic ways in which the technical world is evolving,
Sara Bean (2015).
4.3.2 Employee recognition and appraisal

Question 6: I am happy with the recognition I receive at work

Value label Value Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly agree 5 8 16
Agree 4 10 20
Neutral 3 14 28
Disagree 2 13 26
Strongly disagree 1 5 10
Total 50 100
Mode 3
Median 3
Table 6

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

As shown in the table 6. The mode and median of the respondents to employee recognition at
Axis Solutions is 3 meaning its neutral. Respondents who strongly agree to be happy with the
recognition they get stand at 16% while those who agree stand at 20%, those who are neutral
to the question at 28%, those who disagree to receiving enough recognition stand at 26%
meanwhile those who strongly disagree are 10%.

This data shows that employee recognition and the appraisal systems at Axis Solutions stand
at fair to bad as the bottom values accrued more than the top values. This means that the
rewards structure and appraisal systems have to be revised and put in place in such a way that
they motivate employees rather than demotivate them which leads to turnover. The statistics
showing that there is more frequency from values 1-3 only shows that employees are not
satisfied with the level of recognition they are receiving at the workplace and the rewards
structure is not motivating them meaning they are not happy with the compensation they are
receiving which in turn results in half-hearted work being done which results in lower
productivity levels at the organisation.

Compensation is often the smallest contributing factor in retaining employees (Allen, Bryant
and Vardaman 2010). Compensation is a satisfier not a motivator according to Herzberg and
as much as it is not a motivator being absent or unfairly distributed it eventually leads to
employee dissatisfaction. An employee seeks a comfortable work environment in which he or
she feels appreciated and if not appreciated this could become driver for labour turnover as
once an employee feels unnoticed and unappreciated they tend to disassociate themselves and
eventually pull out of the organisation.

4.3.3: Work life balance

Question 7: I have sufficient time to enjoy activities outside of work

Value label Value Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly agree 5 10 20
Agree 4 6 12
Neutral 3 10 20
Disagree 2 15 30
Strongly disagree 1 9 18
Total 50 100
Mode 2
Median 3
Table 7

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

The table 7 depicts that respondents who strongly agree to have sufficient time to enjoy
activities outside work stand at 20% while those who agree stand at 12%, those who are
neutral at 20%, those who disagree at 30% meanwhile those who strongly disagree at 18%.

By the standing of the data it shows that almost half of the sample size disagrees to the notion
that they have sufficient time to enjoy other activities outside work which means there is no
work life balance at the organisation as work s stifling up their schedules to the extent of
diminishing their social life. Work-Life Balance (WLB) is defined by Kirchmeyer (2000) as
the achievement of fulfilling experiences in the different aspects of life that require various
resources, like energy, time and commitment and these resources are spread across all the
domains. In this case imbalance results in an employee substituting work for pleasure
forcefully through absenteeism and worse quitting work as the marginal utility of work
begins to decline at an increasing rate. The stats show that there is need for work life balance
at the organisation so as to keep the balance between work life and social life or personal life
at par so that the other does not diminish the other which results in employee turnover if it
goes unnoticed Kirchmeyer (2000) , According to analysis the employees work on weekends
which includes Saturdays and the Finance department also work on Sundays thus diminishing
their social and personal life resulting in an imbalance between the work life and the
individual personal life which in turn causes dissatisfaction with the job.

4.3.4: Work design and workload

Question: I feel like my workload is manageable

Value label Value Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly agree 5 12 24
Agree 4 10 20
Neutral 3 13 26
Disagree 2 7 14
Strongly disagree 1 8 16
Total 50 100
Mode 3
Median 3
Table 8

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

Table 8 shows that the respondents who strongly agree to their workload being manageable
stand at 24%, those who agree stand at 20%, those who are neutral at 26%, those who
disagree at 14% and those who strongly disagree at 16% also.

According to the statistics presented in the table it can be concluded that most employees
actually agree that their work load is manageable as the mean value is 3 thus neutral and the
upper values have higher frequency than the lower values, According to further enquiring of
the employees who disagreed the researcher deduced that employees who disagreed to their
workload being manageable felt that it was not necessarily because of the job design and the
workload itself but the workload became unmanageable because of labour turnover in which
workgroups became stressed with the work leaving employees left for them to cover
meanwhile the human resources department recruited, selected and inducted the new
employee into the organisation.

Answering the research question for the relation for labour turnover and productivity this
then causes for a negative relation between labour turnover and productivity as the
operational team with turnover suffered the stress and the impacts of the turnover. This might
not have impacted the organisation at large in the short run because the current employees
would cover up the operational gap but in the long run it becomes unsustainable which is
evident in the research.

Also the constant recruitment and induction of new employees’ results in time wastage in the
sense that it will require employees to pause their operations so as to teach the new blood
how to do things at the organisation and help them learn processes and functions which also
reduces productivity. This then confirms the existence of a negative relationship between
labour turnover and productivity as labour turnover increases thus problems and issues
arising with it resulting in lower levels of productivity.

4.3.5: Motivation in tassk or job orientation

Question: The work that I do is intellectually stimulating

Value label Value Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly agree 5 10 20
Agree 4 4 8
Neutral 3 9 18
Disagree 2 14 28
Strongly disagree 1 12 24
Total 50 100
Mode 2
Median 2

Table 9

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

According to the table 9 it can be deduced that the mean towards the question is 2 with 28%
of the respondents disagreeing that their work is intellectually stimulating mean while the
median is also 2, the respondents who strongly agree standing at 20%, those who agree at
8%, those who are neutral at 18% and those who strongly disagree at 24%.

This could be because of poor job orientation and enrichment mechanisms at the organisation
as well as monotonous tasks without proper motivational systems in place. This cause a need
for organisational development interventions at the individual and group level in terms of
task orientation, team building focused on improving job commitment and motivation so as to
improve job satisfaction and discourage turnover according to Harrisons model of
organisational diagnosis R. Harrison (1970). In accordance with Herzberg (1966), motivating
job orientation and work structures serves as a satisfier in the workplace and their absence
results in lack of motivation to work as satisfiers contribute to work or job satisfaction even
though their absent does not cause dissatisfaction and therefore causing need for interventions
so as to improve job challenges and reduce work autonomy through job enrichment and job
rotation.

4.3.6: Learning opportunities and feedback

Question: I am comfortable talking with the manager about challenges I face at work

Value label Value Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly agree 5 6 12
Agree 4 9 18
Neutral 3 10 18
Disagree 2 14 30
Strongly disagree 1 11 22
Total 50 100
Mode 2
Median 3

Table 10

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

According to the table 10 above the percentages of the research sample that strongly agrees
that they are comfortable consulting their manager about the challenges they face stand at
12and those who agree at 18 while the neutral ones at 20, those who disagree to the notion at
28 and finally those who strongly disagree at 22%.
The statistics suggest that there is no free communication between the superiors ad their
subordinates meaning that their ideas also and their thoughts on the operational processes are
not aired which could have improved organisational efficiency as well as facilitate an open
communication and feedback environment that in turn would motivate employees as their
ideas and notions in the organisations are heard thus reducing job dissatisfaction from a task
oriented organisational structure. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs the social stage
includes love, belonging, work relations and professional association and these bring about
employee satisfaction through work relations and morale improvement in the work-social
life, disruption of this stage then results in dissatisfaction and employees fall down on the
hierarchy, this could be because there is no platform or opportunity for employee suggestion
hearing or employees are generally afraid to stand up and seek for themselves which is a
destructive and not a constructive organisational culture. This could be solved by fostering
work relations by establishing work events and activities like braai weekends or grouped
lunch breaks so as to encourage open communication outside the formal setup which would
help foster the same communication in a formal setup.

4.3.7: Mental safety and wellness

Question: I don’t feel stressed at work

Value label Value Frequency Percentage (%)

Strongly agree 5 13 26
Agree 4 6 12
Neutral 3 12 24
Disagree 2 14 28
Strongly disagree 1 5 10
Total 50 100
Mode 2
Median 3

Table 11

Source: Own research calculations (2022)

Table 11 above shows that the percentages of the research sample that strongly agrees that
they don’t feel stressed at work stand at 26 and those who agree at 12 while the neutral ones
at 24, those who disagree to the notion at 28 and finally those who strongly disagree at 20%.

This put forwards the thought that there are mental and stress management issues to be
addressed at the organisation to keep the human functions mind in a conducive operational
state. This means finding the cause of stress at the workplace, according to the research the
research found out that the workload of the organisation increases as the organisation reaches
year end and at the beginning of the year as clients are seeking for their Tax clearance
certificates from Zimra which can only be issued after their fiscal devices are actively
connected with the Zimra servers to show that indeed they have been fiscalising or remitting
tax transactions to Zimra thus the workload seems to stress the employees at those times.

This stress if not managed causes job dissatisfaction as the employees psychological state
have to be well in order for them to work properly which is in accordance with Maslows
hierarchy of needs where mental and physical safety is at the bottom and forms the basis of
individual needs thus motivational functions towards how they will work and the disturbance
of the hierarchy forces employees to revert back down to basic needs so that they are fulfilled
first. Organisational intervention methods like guidance and counselling and analysing the
task orientation so as to make sure an average individual can handle the demands that comes
with their job design and if the human function can’t handle the surge in customer traffic new
temporary recruitments be done so as to reduce stressing the limited human function for
example temporary data capturers.

4 .9 Overall Analysis

In overall analysis, the factors deduced from the research found to be of significance to
causing labour turnover problems at Axis Solutions basing on the research findings are lack
of career development, feedback and communication between supervisor and subordinates,
Poor administration of rewards, heavy workloads that result in psychological stress in the
workplace, lack of career growth opportunities and poor job orientation and lack of work-life
balance which results in an undesirable working environment which in turn leads to labour
turnovers that are being experienced at Axis Solutions.

Designing an employee retention framework would then need to take into account all these
factors and address each of them in the framework and come up with organisational
interventions where appropriate that address the organisational inefficiencies that cause
labour turnover, this includes job enrichment to address poor job structures and employment
of balance score cards as a performance and rewards measure to address poor rewards
structure as well as other individual intervention methods like training groups so as to
improve individual skill sets and career aspects.

4.10 Chapter Summary

This fourth chapter covered areas to do with presentation of data collected and analysis of the
data. Data was collected on design of an employee retention framework for Axis Solutions
using a questionnaire which was done online via email, WhatsApp, also physical
administration of the questionnaire. The chapter also covered data collection of other
variables on labour turnover like the relation between labour turnover and organisational
productivity and employee retention methods or solutions to address labour turnover.