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Scale Items for Employee Retention Questionnaire

Responses are obtained on a 5-point likert-type scale where 1 = Strongly Agree, 2 = Agree, 3
= Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Disagree.
Employee Retention Questionnaire Items
1.
2.
3.
4.

I think a lot about leaving organisation


I am actively searching for an alternative to the organisation
As soon as it is possible, I will leave the organisation
If I had another job offer that paid the same as the one I have, Id leave here in a
minutes.

Source
Mobley, W., Horner, S., & Hollingsworth, A. (1978). An evaluation of precursors of hospital
employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 63(4), 408-414
Employee retention (explained variance 49.13%, =.91)
1. Im planning on working for another company within a period of three years.
2. Within this company my work gives me satisfaction.
3. If I wanted to do another job or function, I would look first at the possibilities within
this company.
4. I see a future for myself within this company.
5. It doesnt matter if Im working for this company or another, as long as I have work.
6. If it were up to me, I will definitely be working for this company for the next five
years.
7. If I could start over again, I would choose to work for another company.
8. If I received an attractive job offer from another company, I would take the job.
9. The work Im doing is very important to me.
10. I love working for this company.
11. I have checked out a job in another company previously.
The questionnaire on employee retention was constructed based on the literature and
previous research on the motivation of employees with regard to their jobs. Egan et al.
(2004) investigated the effects of the learning climate within the organisation and job
satisfaction on employees intentions to stay within the information technology (IT)
sector. To measure intention to stay, the researchers used three items: I intend to change
job within this firm in the foreseeable future, I intend to seek IT related work at another
firm in the foreseeable future, and I intend to seek work in a profession other than IT in
the foreseeable future. These items were adjusted for this study. Participants were also
asked if they would like to keep on working for their current employer and if they would
look within the company when they wanted to change jobs or functions. Another point of
interest was whether employees believed that they had future prospects within the
company and if they were motivated in their job. The items were based on the
operationalization used in previous research (e.g., Arnold 2005; Hytter 2007; Kassim
2006; Lindsey and Kleiner 2005; Stone and Liyanearachchi 2006; Whitt 2006). For

example, items included: I foresee a future for myself within this company or It
doesnt matter if I work for this company or another, as long as I have work. In total, 12
items were formulated to measure employee retention intentions
Source
Egan, T. M., Yang, B., & Bartlett, K. R. (2004). The effects of organizational learning culture
and job satisfaction on motivation to transfer learning and turnover intention. Human
Resource Development Quarterly, 15(3), 279301
Arnold, E. (2005). Managing human resources to improve employee retention. The Health
Care Manager, 24(2), 132140.
Hytter, A. (2007). Retention strategies in France and Sweden. The Irish Journal of
Management, 28(1), 5979
Kassim, N. M. (2006). Telecommunication industry in Malaysia: demographic effects on
costumer expectations, performance, satisfaction and retention. Asia Pacific Business
Review, 12(4), 437463
Stone, M., & Liyanearachchi, D. (2006). Managing retention, who does it well? Journal of
Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 14, 90103.
Lindsey, G., & Kleiner, B. (2005). Nurse residency program: an effective tool for recruitment
and retention. Journal of Health Care Finance, 31(3), 2532.
Turnover Intention (Cammann et al, 1979)
Strongly Disagree (1) - Strongly Agree (5)
(1) I will likely actively look for a new job in the next year,
(2) I often think about quitting
(3) I probably look for a new job in the next year.
Source
Cammann, C., Fichman, M., Jenkins, D. and Klesh, J. 1979. The Michigan Organizational
Assessment Questionnaire. Unpublished Maniscript, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
Michigan.

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