ABSTRACT
The issue of unacceptable rates of labour turnover within the hospitality industry is a subject much considered by researchers, and features in every report or study conducted into the hospitality workforce characteristics or major challenges for the sector, not just in the UK but worldwide (see Lucas, 2004: 32-34). A government report into the industry in the UK (DfEE, 2000) points to the labour shortages and skill shortages across certain jobs within the sector, noting that, ‘Best practice employers were able to keep turnover of full-time employees down to around half the industry norm of 48%.’ In its 2003 report on UK industry levels of labour turnover, the CIPD considered that, ‘highest levels (commonly in excess of 50%) are found in retailing, hotels and restaurants, (and) call centres’. These levels should be compared with a national UK average of 16% labour turnover per annum. There has been a significant amount of research into the causes and impacts of high levels of labour turnover, much of the discussion debating the advantages as well as the disadvantages or dysfunctionality of such levels. It is
important to note that there can be some advantages of a healthy level of labour turnover, such as skills development, labour market regeneration and the ‘fresh blood’ argument. The causes of this turnover can be many in type, exemplified by pay and conditions, lack of job satisfaction, lack of commitment, lack of training and career development, work-related stress and the plain inevitability of high turnover due to the transient nature of many hospitality workers. Management, and their style and competencies, are not exempt from blame, although managers are certainly increasingly aware of the potential costs and service quality problems associated with high turnover (Rowley and Purcell, 2001). There is also evidence that rates of turnover vary between different sectors in the industry (Deery, 2002).
