The role of biodata in staff selection and retention of front line service employees: The case of a car rental company in Germany

Scholz, Christiane (2017) The role of biodata in staff selection and retention of front line service employees: The case of a car rental company in Germany. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

A tight labour market can increase employee turnover. Under these conditions, retention strategies become more important. A first simple and low-cost method is to change the selection strategy by focusing on hiring individuals who are more prone to remain than others. Biographical data of applicants can indicate this. The study tests different theoretical concepts and hypotheses related to retention, such as past behaviour, which can predict future behaviour and habitual commitment, motivation to work for the current employer or job embeddedness. Collating and keying data from the rich source of 105 applications for front line service workers of a car rental company in Germany, a new dataset with variables like employment source, employment status, re-application, duration of last position, and number of job changes, occupational experience, length of work experience, and work experience in certain types of industry, is generated. Regression analyses reveal that new hires from retail, trade, and repair industry are significantly less likely to leave voluntarily than new hires from other industries. This result may have less to do with the fit of a new hire to the job than resulting from external labour market conditions, as employees are paid better in car rental organisations than in most retail, trade and repair organisations. Results also hint to a higher retention rate for new hires referred by current employees which would suggest that job embeddedness through personal links at work can increase retention. Biodata can be used as a selection tool for organisations when hiring front line service workers to prevent turnover. However, particularly given the few significant results, it should not be the only measure.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Employee Retention H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management
Depositing User:	Caoimhe Ní Mhaicín
Date Deposited:	13 Nov 2017 15:57
Last Modified:	13 Nov 2017 15:57
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/2805

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