Alternative work practices and quit rates: Methodological issues
and empirical evidence for Canada
by René Morissette and Julio Miguel Rosa
Business and Labour Market Analysis Division
Analytical Studies Branch research paper series, No. 199
Context
Over the last decade, several observers have contended that innovative
work practices – such as teamwork, job rotation and profit sharing – reduce employee turnover. Finding which work practices, if any, reduce
labour turnover is an issue is of growing importance, given the aging
workforce in Canada and in many OECD countries, and given the resulting
need for many businesses to retain key employees.
Objectives
This study asks the following question : Do innovative work practices
reduce employee turnover?
Findings
- workplaces with innovative work practices in the highly skilled
service sector – e.g. telecommunications, finance, insurance, professional,
scientific and technical services – generally had lower employee turnover
than others;
- in manufacturing, establishments which had innovative work practices
did not have lower labour turnover than others;
- in the low-skilled service sector (including, among other sectors,
retail trade, wholesale trade and consumer services), workplaces which
had innovative work practices retained a greater proportion of their
workforce compared with other establishments. However, the gap between
these two types of workplaces fell substantially after taking into
account the fact that many establishments with teamwork and profit
sharing also had a formal policy of sharing information with their
employees, which is generally associated with lower turnover.
Data source: Using the 1999-2000 Workplace and Employee
Survey, the study analyzes labour turnover in three sectors: manufacturing,
highly skilled services and low-skilled services.
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