Abstract:
Voluntary employee turnover is damaging to the sustainability of child protective
services (CPS) organizations, as 60% of social workers who contemplated leaving their
organizations quit during the year of consideration. The purpose of this exploratory case
study was to examine the strategies CPS leaders used to reduce voluntary employee
turnover and motivate employees. The conceptual framework for this study included the
motivational hygiene theory and the behavior engineering model. The target population
consisted of 9 CPS leaders from a large metropolitan area in Southern California who had
specific knowledge of voluntary employee turnover. Data collection involved face-to face semistructured interviews, company memoranda, and statistical data reports. The
data analysis process included inductive coding of specific word and phrases, word
frequency searches, and organizing the data for theme interpretation. Based on the
analysis of the data, 4 themes emerged: supportive leadership, effectual communication,
teamwork, and training. These themes revealed that these were the necessary ingredients
to reduce employee turnover. The findings from this study may contribute to positive
social change through improved employee wellbeing from trusting relationships and open
communication with managers understanding the factors that contribute to employee
motivation, job satisfaction, and reduced employee turnover. Social change also extends
from improved collaborative relationships between CPS, community-based
organizations, and clientele to build supportive teams that can reduce the incidence of
child abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
