University of Twente Student Theses
Unraveling the positive relationship between employee engagement and turnover intentions: An exploration within two call centre departments of a Dutch telecom organisation.
Doeschotte, Nickey (2024) Unraveling the positive relationship between employee engagement and turnover intentions: An exploration within two call centre departments of a Dutch telecom organisation.
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| Abstract: | Academic research has consistently demonstrated a close negative association between employee engagement and turnover intentions, indicating that higher engagement typically results in lower turnover intentions, and vice versa. However, it has been observed that a positive relationship between employee engagement and turnover intentions could also sporadically occur in practice, but up until now, this relationship has not been scientifically explored. To bridge this gap, this research aimed to explore the underlying reasons of the positive relationship between employee engagement and turnover intentions in the call centre sector, focusing specifically on value-risk (high engagement-high turnover) and value-potential (low engagement-low turnover) scenarios. To investigate these scenarios, this research employed a qualitative case study approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with 16 call centre employees from two distinct departments within a Dutch telecommunications company. The study utilised thematic analysis alongside the Gioia methodology to uncover patterns and themes from the interview data, providing insights into the underlying reasons for employee engagement and turnover intentions and the interrelationships between both constructs. The data analysis revealed that workforce composition and organisational changes (i.e., integrations) are the key factors affecting this relationship. Specifically, the study found that call centre departments with a high proportion of student employees could display high turnover intentions despite high engagement levels. These students often view their jobs as temporary alongside their studies and aspire to secure positions better aligned with their academic studies, skills, interests, and career potential after graduation. Conversely, departments that have undergone an integration may demonstrate low engagement due to negative perceptions of the new organisational design, decreased organisational identification, and a weakened sense of community. However, despite low engagement levels, turnover intentions can remain low if there is a strong alignment between employees’ skills, interests, and the job requirements, and if employees perceive limited career opportunities elsewhere due to personal circumstances. By uncovering the underlying reasons for the positive relationship between employee engagement and turnover intentions, this study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence of scenarios where high engagement does not translate to low turnover. This study also offers practical strategies for managers to improve organisational performance by addressing these scenarios. For value-risk scenarios, the study recommends focusing on retaining high-potential employees for other roles within the organisation, while for value-potential scenarios, it suggests mitigating negative perceptions of the organisational design and fostering a stronger organisational identification and sense of community. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | Business Administration MSc (60644) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/101033 |
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