New Employees' Turnover Intentions and Organizational Commitment in the Hong Kong Hotel Industry

Abstract

New employee turnover has long been a concern of those who investigate human resources issues. According to Hong Kong hotel statistics, the average annual turnover rate of employees with less than 1 year of service was between 44% and 66% for the period between 1985 and 1999. Excessive employee turnover is costly. It also dampens employee morale and affects the service quality for hotel guests. The objectives of this study are to investigate the impact of job and social factors on new employees'organizational commitment and intentions to leave. The authors collected 249 self-administered questionnaires, the results of which showed that subjective norm and training are related to turnover intention, whereas subjective norm, mentorship, and the job itself are related to organizational commitment. Training, family-gathering functions, selection of quality mentors, and job enrichment are possible solutions to retain committed newcomers and reduce turnover rates.