Retention enablers and impeders of senior female employees within a South African financial services organisation

Abstract

Retention is one of the critical concerns at the forefront of organisations. A comprehensive retention strategy should result in decreased employee turnover rates, consequently reducing company costs and increasing both revenue and profitability, while simultaneously ensuring increased work morale and employee productivity. The current study explores objective and subjective factors that enable or impede the retention of women within a South African financial services organisation. Here, a qualitative approach was assumed to obtain semi-structured interview data from senior female employees within the chosen organisation. The qualitative Atlas.ti data analysis program assisted in inductively eliciting three higher-order themes: (1) senior female employees’ employment experiences within the organisation; (2) the objective and subjective factors that enable the retention of senior female employees; and (3) the objective and subjective factors that impede the retention of senior female employees. Organisations may utilise this knowledge and understanding of the impeding and enabling factors that influence the retention of senior female employees as a means to contribute to organisational practices pertaining to the retention of valuable female staff members, particularly within a South African financial industry context.

Personeelbehoud is een van die aangeleenthede wat vir organisasies van deurslaggewende belang is. ʼn Omvattende behoudstrategie behoort aanleiding te gee tot verlaagde personeelwisselingsyfers en ʼn gevolglike verlaging in maatskappykoste en hoër inkomste sowel as winsgewendheid, terwyl verhoogde werkmoraal en werknemerproduktiwiteit gelyktydig verseker word. In hierdie studie is objektiewe en subjektiewe faktore bestudeer wat die behoud van vroue in ʼn Suid-Afrikaanse finansiëledienste-organisasie bevorder of belemmer. ʼn Kwalitatiewe benadering is hier gevolg om deur middel van halfgestruktureerde onderhoude, data van senior vroulike werknemers in die gekose organisasie te bekom. Die kwalitatiewe Atlas.ti data-ontledingsprogram is ingespan om induktief drie hoërorde-temas te onthul: (1) senior vroulike werknemers se ervarings in diens van die organisasie; (2) die objektiewe en subjektiewe faktore wat die behoud van senior vroulike werknemers bevorder; en (3) die objektiewe en subjektiewe faktore wat die behoud van senior vroulike werknemers belemmer. Organisasies kan hierdie kennis en begrip van die belemmerende en die instaatstellende faktore wat die behoud van senior vroulike werknemers in hul organisasies beïnvloed, aanwend om ʼn bydrae te lewer tot organisasiepraktyke wat met die behoud van gewaardeerde personeellede verband hou, veral in die konteks van die Suid-Afrikaanse finansiële bedryf.

Ukugcinwa kwabasebenzi kungenye yezinto ezibalulekile ezihlala zihamba phambili ezinhlanganweni. Isu elibanzi lokugcinwa kufanele liphumele ekwehleni kwezilinganiso zenzuzo yezisebenzi, okuye kwanciphisa izindleko zenkampani futhi kukhuphule kokubili imali engenayo kanye nenzuzo ngesikhathi esifanayo kuqinisekiswa ukukhushulwa kokuziphatha komsebenzi kanye nokukhiqiza kwabasebenzi. Izinto ezihlosiwe nezibalulekile zihlolisisiwe kulolu cwaningo ezivumela noma ezithiya ukugcinwa kwabesifazane enhlanganweni yezinsizakalo zezezimali eNingizimu Afrika. Lapha, kwacatshangelwa indlela esezingeni eliphezulu yokuthola idatha yenhlolokhono engahlelekile kubasebenzi besifazane abakhulu ngaphakathi kwenhlangano ekhethiwe. Uhlelo olusezingeni eliphezulu lokuhlaziya idatha ye-Atlasti lusize ekufuneni indlela ephumelelayo enezindikimba ezintathu ezisezingeni eliphezulu: (1) ulwazi lokuqashwa kwabasebenzi besifazane asebekhulile ngaphakathi kwenhlangano; (2) inhloso kanye nezici ezizimele ezivumela ukuthi kugcinwe abasebenzi besifazane abadala; kanye (3) nenhloso kanye nezici ezizimele ezithiya ukugcinwa kwabasebenzi besifazane abadala. Izinhlangano zingasebenzisa lolu lwazi nokuqonda kwezinto ezithiyayo nezivumelayo ezinomthelela ekugcinweni kwabasebenzi besifazane abadala enhlanganweni yabo njengendlela yokwenza umnikelo ezinkambisweni zenhlangano eziphathelene nokugcinwa kwabasebenzi besifazane ababalulekile, ikakhulukazi umongo wemboni ngaphakathi kwezezimali zaseNingizimu Afrika.