Erling Rasmussen

Labour turnover and retention in New Zealand: The causes and consequences of leaving and staying with employers

This study represents the most comprehensive survey to date of labour turnover and employee loyalty in New Zealand. The widely held view that the New Zealand worker has become more mobile in the contemporary labour market is shown to be somewhat simplistic. Instead, the picture is one of increasing employment stability as people get older and as they become better paid, lending support to the idea that there are identifiable developmental stages affecting the careers of both men and women. In terms of the reasons for employee turnover, the study demonstrates that motivation for job change is multidimensional: no one factor will explain it. While interesting work is the strongest attractor and retainer in the labour market, the results also show that there is a strong employee expectation that management should make personnel decisions based on merit, demonstrate that extrinsic rewards (such as pay, promotion and security) play a role in both employee retention and turnover, lend support to the idea that there is growing concern with work-life balance, and underline the retention value of good relationships with co-workers and supervisors. The results demonstrate that employee turnover is not riskless for individuals: some benefit a lot (for example, in finding worthwhile promotion), while others do badly out of it. The study offers suggestions for improving retention in firms with dysfunctional employee turnover.

Nurse turnover in New Zealand: costs and relationships with staffing practises and patient outcomes

AIMS To determine the rates and costs of nurse turnover, the relationships with staffing practises, and the impacts on outcomes for nurses and patients. BACKGROUND In the context of nursing shortages, information on the rates and costs of nursing turnover can improve nursing staff management and quality of care. METHODS Quantitative and qualitative data were collected prospectively for 12 months. A re-analysis of these data used descriptive statistics and correlational analysis techniques. RESULTS The cost per registered nurse turnover represents half an average salary. The highest costs were related to temporary cover, followed by productivity loss. Both are associated with adverse patient events. Flexible management of nursing resources (staffing below budgeted levels and reliance on temporary cover), and a reliance on new graduates and international recruitment to replace nurses who left, contributed to turnover and costs. CONCLUSIONS Nurse turnover is embedded in staffing levels and practises, with costs attributable to both. A culture of turnover was found that is inconsistent with nursing as a knowledge workforce. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Nurse managers did not challenge flexible staffing practices and high turnover rates. Information on turnover and costs is needed to develop strategies that retain nurses as knowledge-based workers.

Has the Strategic Role and Professional Status of Human Resource Management peaked in New Zealand

The rise of human resource management (HRM) has been associated with a quest for more strategic influence and higher managerial status. Findings from the 2004 New Zealand Cranet Survey are used to evaluate these normative assumptions. There are indications of a growing awareness of ‘people issues’ and an increase in the influence of HRM practitioners on strategic decision-making and an improvement in their professional status. Formalized references to people and people management have been high and stable over time. However, formalized HRM strategies are less prevalent and there are still many organizations that do not have an HRM department. Furthermore, there has been no increase in the proportion of senior HR managers who have a place among the organization’s senior executives.

“Freedom of choice” and “flexibility” in the retail sector?

The Employment Contracts Act 1991 radically transformed the system of employment relations in New Zealand. Proponents of the Act claim that it gives employers and employees “freedom of choice” and the ability to arrive at “flexible” working arrangements which are mutually beneficial. But how much “freedom of choice” do employees in the secondary labour market have, and to what extent are the “flexible” agreements mutually beneficial? This paper reports on research carried out in the retail sector. It finds that retail workers have little freedom of choice, and flexibility is all one way. The paper also raises questions about research in the secondary labour market. Given the concerns of so many about issues of equity under the Employment Contracts Act, why has there been so little research in this area?

New Zealand Employment Relations: Between Individualism and Social Democracy

ABSTRACT This article details how New Zealand public policy changes have fostered employment relations arrangements which are dominated by workplace bargaining, individual employment agreements and atypical employment patterns. Against this background, there is an emphasis on the paradoxical results of public policy changes: so-called ‘deregulation’ facilitated an increase in the number of regulations in the 1990s and the recent support for collectivism in the Employment Relations Act 2000 has resulted, so far, in a decrease in the coverage of collective employment agreements. Labour market dynamics have overlaid public policy changes and there has been a growing importance of employee-driven flexibility, individualised career patterns and work-life issues. These changes and their positive and negative effects are illustrated by our case-study research of call centres. Overall, current New Zealand employment relations present a contradictory picture: there have been recent improvements in collective and individual employment rights and in labour market outcomes, but the hangover from the ‘neo-liberal experiment’ and its reductions in employment conditions still have a considerable impact.

Patterns and motivations of successful women pursuing their careers in New Zealand call centres

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the experience of women working in New Zealand call centres after finding contrary evidence in the international research which suggests call centre work does not offer career opportunities for its mainly female workforce. The research seeks to explore the career progress of women in a selection of call centres to determine whether the New Zealand employment relations context contributed to outcomes different to those reported in the international research.Design/methodology/approach – Case study methodology and six different call centre types were used to find 32 women who had experienced career progress. Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were held with the women and senior management representatives at each organisation. Analysis of interview transcripts identified common themes and patterns across the case studies. Insights were gained from survey responses from 60 entry‐level workers, many of whom were return‐to‐work mothers, new immigrants or stud...

Temporary Agency Work and Precarious Employment: A Review of the Current Situation in Australia and New Zealand

This paper reviews three key issues associated with temporary agency work (referred to as agency work herewith) by drawing on Australian and New Zealand trends and experiences. First, the authors contend that it is surprising, in light of its high flexibility, that agency work constitutes a relatively small proportion of total employment in both countries. This article presents several reasons which can provide an explanation for employers? relatively limited use of agency employment. These reasons also show that agency work must be seen as part of the wider expansion of atypical employment arrangements. Second, the paradoxical mix of glamour and precariousness often associated with agency work is discussed. While labour flexibility is often associated with insecurity and precariousness, there are also advantageous forms of agency employment for all parties concerned. Consequently, this article provides an overview of recent research findings. It is evident from the research literature on agency work that there is either an emphasis on its precarious nature or on the individual preferences and choices of the temps themselves. In many countries, extensive regulatory arrangements exist that govern both the agency sector and the agency employment contract. This is not the case, however, in Australia and New Zealand and the effects of this unregulated approach are discussed as is the possibility of regulatory interventions that could be introduced at a future date.

Addressing the productivity challenge? Government-sponsored partnership programs in Australia and New Zealand

In this article we investigate the role of soft regulation in the implementation of government industrial relations policy. Specifically, we examine two government programs to foster workplace reform through partnership; the Best Practice Program in Australia from 1991 to 1996, and government interventions from 1999 culminating in the creation of the Partnership Resource Centre (PRC) in 2005 in New Zealand. We conclude that both Programs have been successful in generating change in directly participating organisations. Despite identifying several factors which are likely to help embed a partnership approach, the evidence in our cases suggest that changes are difficult to sustain, or to diffuse to other workplaces. We conclude that in Australia and New Zealand soft regulation may have become the only acceptable model for government to promote workplace partnership.

Developments in comparative employment relations in Australia and New Zealand: reflections on ‘Accord and Discord’

ABSTRACT This article reflects on the recent literature comparing employment relations in Australia and New Zealand. It begins by returning to the ‘Accord and Discord’ article by Bray and Walsh, published in this journal in 1995, and the wave of comparative analysis that surrounded it. Developments since then, in both the real world of Australian and New Zealand employment relations and theoretical debate, are reviewed. They suggest two trends in comparative analysis. First, there is a need to go beyond institutionalist analysis in exploring the similarities and differences between the two countries. Second, it is possible that trends in Australian and New Zealand employment relations should be located in wider trajectories towards neoliberalism. Both trends offer great potential for future research.

The battle over employers’ demand for “more flexibility”: Attitudes of New Zealand employers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to place empirical research on New Zealand employers’ attitudes to collective bargaining and legislative change within the context of the long running debate of flexibility. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey design using a self-administered postal questionnaire, covering private sector employers with ten or more staff and including employers within all 17 standard industry classification. To explore particular issues, an additional in-depth interviews were conducted of 25 employers participating in the survey. Findings It is found that employers support overwhelmingly recent legislative changes though there are variations across industries and firm sizes. There is also considerable variation in terms of which legislative changes are applied in the workplace. Despite fewer constraints on employer-determined flexibility, there was a rather puzzling finding that most employers still think that employment legislation is even balanced or favouring employees. Originality/value Cross-sectional survey findings of New Zealand employer attitudes to legislative changes are few and provide valuable data for policy makers, unions, employers and employment relations researchers. The paper also contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of pressures to increase employer-determined flexibility in many western countries.