1Talent Retention and Organizational Performance A Competitiv.docx

1Talent Retention and Organizational Performance: A
Competitive Positioning 2016 24 1
Talent Retention and Organizational
Performance: A Competitive
Positioning in Nigerian Banking Sector
Samson Ibidunni1, Omotayo Osibanjo1, Anthonia Adeniji1,
Odunayo Paul Salau1*, Hezekiah Falola1
Received 08 February 2015; accepted after revision 07 May
2015
Abstract
The study examined how best an organization can retain and
manage talented employees to ensure survival and growth
in the banking industry. The descriptive research design was
adopted. The survey sample size was one hundred and eighty
five (185) and was analysed as a whole. Self-administered
questionnaire was adopted in order to obtain adequate and
valid data for the study and the responses obtained were sub-
jected to some analyses with the use of Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) AMOS 21, with the adoption of Struc-
tural Equation Modelling (SEM) to obtain correlation between
observed variables and also regression between the dependent
and independent constructs of the study. However, the results
from the survey indicate that pay has positive significant impli-
cations on employees’ commitment and involvement. This sug-
gests that decision makers should incorporate these variables
(salary, bonus, incentives, reward, and profit sharing) into their
employment relation strategies and policies which ultimately
lead to increase the level of commitment and involvement

among the employees.
Keywords
retention, motivation, survival, pay, commitment, involvement
1 Introduction
Nowadays organizations realize that people, intellectual
capital, and talent are ever more critical to organizational
success. Most organisations have become poachers of talent,
instead of developers of talent. As soon as organization identi-
fies a talent, it becomes imperative to stimulate talent develop-
ment and management that increases competitive advantage.
Continue success of any organisation is dependent on the
employees’ contribution and commitment (Baum and Kokkro-
nikal, 2005). The talent it possesses in the form of its employ-
ees skills and comptencies, leading to organisational capability
(Boudreau and Ramstad, 2005), has become the key to suc-
cess in todays highly competitive business environment (Lock-
wood, 2006). Stockley (2013), defines talent retention as the
mindful, thoughtful approach embark on to fascinate, improve,
attract and retain people with the skills and abilities to meet
current and future contingencies of the organizations. Talent
retention is concerned with staffing, identification of skills and
abilities, retention, supervision and management, development
of employees to increase performance. Thus, talent retention
as a wider concept focuses on how best an organization can
entice, preserve, attract, improve, manage, retain and maintain
necessary talent (D’Annunzio-Green, 2008).
Boudreau and Ramstad (2005) establish that a larger percent-
age (73%) of the executives in United States of America come
to an understanding on the significant relationship between tal-
ent retention and business strategy in achieving organizational
success. This implies that for organization to achieve opera-
tional excellence, there is need to integrate talent retention with

organizational/business strategy. Researchers Rose and Kumar,
(2006); Lawler, (2005); Farley, (2005); Ordonez de Pablos,
(2004) posited that organizational success and distinctive
advan-
tage becomes realistic and inevitable if only the human
resources
are seen as assets to be encouraged, satisfied and motivated for
higher performance. In addition, organisations in full swing
have begun on the inside to bull’s eye, develop, improve, man-
age and retain talented employees using standards/benchmarks
that will help to meet future organizational contingencies and
strategic capabilities (Huang, 2001). In other words, succession
1 Department of Business Management,
Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
* Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected]
24(1), pp. 1-13, 2016
DOI: 10.3311/PPso.7958
Creative Commons Attribution b
research article
PPPeriodica Polytechnica
Social and Management
Sciences
http://dx.doi.org/10.3311/PPso.7958
2 Period. Polytech. Soc. Man. Sci. S. Ibidunni et al.
management methods are being adopted to promote proactive
organisational positioning and development to certify that
within

an organisation, the right personnel are available at the right
time
to perform the right functions and achieve the right objective
(Rothwell, 2002). Talent retention ensures that organizations
have right people with the necessary abilities and skills to acti-
vate and actualize business strategies. In fact, talent retention
focuses on identifying skills, recognizing abilities, managing
people and retaining them for effective actualization of the
busi-
ness strategy that organization used (Ballestores, 2010).
Studies (Sharma, Agarwal and Ganjiwale, 2011; Ringo, Schw-
eyer, DeMarco, Jones and Lesser, 2008; Bhamagar, 2008; Glen,
2007; Powell and Lubitsh, 2007; Tajadin and Moali, 2006;
Schw-
eyer, 2004; Huang, 2001) on talent acquisition, talent attraction,
talent paradigm, succession management, fostering talent oppor-
tunity, talent engagement, talent development and management
are no longer a new topic in the field of strategic human
resource
management programmes and philosophies but in spite of the
attention and resources paid to the practice, organizations still
fail to identify some of the major reasons which highlight why
employees who perform well in organisations leave. In other
words, limited studies have been carried out regarding the
effects
of talent retention on organizational performance and
competitive
positioning. Evidently, a gap exists in the literature regarding
tal-
ent retention and corporate survival in the Nigerian public
service
context, which this survey tends to fill. Hence, this study exam-
ined how best an organization can retain and manage
employees’
talent to reduce absenteeism, intention to leave, labour turnover,

incessant level of industrial accidents and dissatisfaction in
order
to ensure the survival and growth of the banking industry.
2 Significance of the Study
The study seeks to benefit the banking sector and employers
in general in various ways. These include, realisation of the rea-
sons for failure to attract and retain talented staff. Ultimately,
corrective actions are taken after some of the policies that con-
tribute to low morale of staff are abolished, hence improve their
services which eventually lead to improved organisational per-
formance. The findings of the study are of benefit to employee;
not just the banking sector, also those in other sectors in that
they will understand how much better to work with employers
to meet their individual expectations. Finally, the study is of
great benefit to academics and researchers who would like to
pursue the subject and further the research.
3 Literature Review
Talent retention is not a fancy word of identifying and devel-
oping employees. It is an act whereby an organisation sets aside
certain factors to attract, retain and develop employees and
direct their abilities in performing activities that are useful to
the
organisation. Schweyer (2004), see talent retention as
attracting,
identifying, recruiting, developing, motivating, promoting and
retaining people that have a strong potential to succeed within
an organisation. Also, Creelman (2004), sees talent retention as
the process of inviting, attracting, engaging and retaining tal-
ented personnel. However, talent retention is all about the vari-
ous means by which organisation brings in employee, retains
and develops them. Furthermore, it can be seen that even though

organisations have got so many employees, there are some that
are regarded as talented employees. Most organisations would
do their best to retain the talented employees because of the
benefits they will bring to the organisation. If organizations are
truly willing to win the war for talent, then they need, in par-
ticular, to keep finding, nurturing and developing extraordinary
people, they must develop a capacity and new approaches to
talent management (Powell and Lubitsh, 2007).
In the book The War for Talent published in 2000, the McK-
insey and Company authors argue that companies are now real-
izing that strategic talent retention mechanism is one of the
important factors for sustainable competitive edge and it is as
least as important to make managers responsible for increas-
ing their talent pool as it is to hold them accountable for their
budget. In increasing numbers they are making the link between
talent management and organization performance and making
the building of talent a priority. Accordingly, savvy managers
are putting extra premium on quality of their workforce. For
that purpose they are going extra mileage to develop them. In
order to effectively recruit and retain scarce labour, organiza-
tions need to appreciate and perpetually treasure their valued
employees (Ashton and morton, 2005). Thus, talent retention
refers to ensuring that these people are identified or recruited,
developed, and motivated, in such a way that their outstanding
contribution can be fully achieved. Today, talent retention as a
broader concept, is known in order to attract, retain, and
develop
talents (D’Annunzio-Green, 2008), and it is important for two
reasons. First, talent management will ensure that organization
can successfully attract and maintain necessary talent. The sec-
ond reason is talent management should be done in a field that
employees are working within (Hughes and Rog, 2008).
3.1 Talent Retention and Organisational Performance
We are in a world where industrialization and commerciali-

zation is the order of the day; and every organisation is in the
quest for promoting efficiency and effectiveness that could lead
to organisational performance. In competitive market place,
talent retention is a primary driver for organisational success.
Talent is the primary driver of any successful company. It has
become increasingly obvious to most business owners and
executive teams, rather than being constrained by capital, com-
panies are typically most constrained by talent. Corporations
have learned that, depending on what your business strategy is
and what challenges you may face at any given time you need
the right talent to execute that strategy or deal with the chal-
lenge, (Gebelein, 2006). Talent retention strategy tries to ensure
that existing talented, worthy, and committed people are con-
tributing in achieving the existing and future needs of organisa-
tion, and this procedure is the talent pool. (Harathova 2009).
Organisations wrestle constantly with revolving trends, acceler-
ating demand and technological changes and at the same time,
they must strive to implement trends towards service and infor-
mation age society (Kane, 2000). Due to the complex business
environment, the main challenge facing many business organi-
sations is the management of talented and critical employees. It
has been noticed that the way in which people are managed and
developed at work had been the primary factors in achieving
improvement in any organisational performance (Matchington
and Wilkinson, 1997). Accenture (2001), describe people in an
organisation as the most important asset in the organisation.
Society has now become knowledge based where clearly human
capital is considered a key resource and indispensable to the
survival of business. Increasingly, organisations are competing

for the best talented employees (Porter and Porter, 2001).
According to the study by Accenture (2001), 80 percent of
global businesses believe that ‘people issues’ are more
important
today than they were three years ago and 68 percent believe that
retaining talent is more important than acquiring ‘ new blood’.
That recognition and the extraordinary efforts some companies
are making to attract and retain top talent represent fundamen-
tal shifts in employer-employee relationships. Essentially, more
organisations are now realising that talent management is a stra-
tegic issues and represent a competitive advantage. As manage-
ment of talent with high degree of skills is acknowledged by
organisations as vital for the achievement of business growth
and
the building of organisational competencies. Some organisations
strive to be the Employer of Choice (EOC). Their objective is
to attain a prime-over which out performs their competitors in
the area of attraction, development and retention of people with
business- required aptitude, often acquired through innovative
and compelling human resource programmes (Clarke, 2001).
Over the years, the way in which people are retained, managed
and developed at work has come to be recognised as one of
the primary factors in achieving improvement in any organisa-
tional performance (Matchington and Wilkinson, 1997). This is
reflected in the fact that “people are the most important asset”
(Accenture, 2001). Society has now become knowledge based
where clearly human capital is considered a key resource and
indispensable asset to the survival of business.
3.2 Talent Retention, Employees Satisfaction and
Employees’ Commitment
Retention, employee satisfaction and employee commit-
ment issues are evolving as the most perilous workforce man-
agement challenges of the immediate future, motivated by

employee allegiance, loyalty, corporate re-engineering efforts
and constant competitive pressure for key talent. The concept
of talent has become an inevitable requirement for competitive
positioning. Talent has been widely used by scholars to mean
the aptitude, skill, ability and proficiency that an individual
possesses and integrates in performing a duty. Talent is used
largely to explain individuals’ abilities, capacities and achieve-
ments. Since talents are aptitude or gift, it therefore becomes
imperative for organizations who aim to achieve competitive
advantage to retain competent and proficient staff and mem-
bers of management who are talented in the discharge of their
duties. Hence, Jourbert (2007) posits that talent is a person’
aptitude to recurrently motivate and stimulate excitements in
others. Glen (2007), states that talent is the product of abil-
ity (competence, education, training and experience), cou-
pled with employees’ retention (engagement, development,
challenge and wellness) and satisfaction. The concept of job
satisfaction has been established in diverse ways by scholars
using different connotations. Rose and Kumar (2006) sees
job satisfaction as “a delightful or optimistic emotional state
resulting from the assessment of one’s ability or job experi-
ences”. Reza, Mehdi and Mojgan (2014) defined it as simply
how gratified or comfortable an individual is with his or her
job; whether he or she likes the job or not. Sempane, Rieger
and Roodt (2002) cited that “Job satisfaction is a logical way of
evaluating the value and enthusiasm employees place on their
job. Robbins (2003) sees job satisfaction as a pleasing process
that gives positive arousal to one’s job or job experience. Job
satisfaction is viewed as psychological responses that explain
employees’ stimulation to work, working condition, prolonged
existence, organizational outcome and commitment (Spec-
tor, 2003). Luthans (1998) adapted the theory of human needs
by Herzberg (1966) and identified the following as the most
renowned features of a job. These are: the work conditions,
policies and administrative practices, salary and benefits, job

security, recognition, achievement, growth, responsibility and
job challenge itself, compensation, promotional opportunities,
supervision and coworkers. Winnie Mujah, et. al., (2011) per-
ceived that in the study of organizational behaviour, job satis-
faction is one of the most important areas of talent retention
and employees’ commitment at workplace.
Commitment is the devotion, allegiance, dedication and
keenness to a particular organization, cause, or belief, and a
readiness to get involved (Osibanjo, Salau and Falola, 2014).
Individuals who are dedicated and committed to an organization
or effort really believe that it is essential, they demonstrate it
and
stick with it. Thus, the more individuals are dedicated and com-
mitted to their organization, the greater the strength, drive and
chances of getting the job done successfully. In today’s blustery
workplace, a steady workforce becomes a significant competi-
tive advantage. If an organization has unstable workforce situ-
ations, it therefore becomes imperative for such organization to
invest largely in employing, engaging, orienting, training and
supervision. Bottom line, talent retention may be the “break-
point issue” which ultimately compel organizations to invest in
a rigorous study of the contemporary workforce, with the intent
of acquiring “intuition” into the promoters of employee loyalty,
satisfaction and commitment (Reza, et. al., 2014).
3.3 Modelling Relationship between the Practice
of Human Resource Management and Talent
Management Paradigm
Organisation develops effective Human Resource policies

that genuinely reflect their beliefs and principles; and the rela-
tionships between management and employees, or they may
merely devise policies that deal with current problems or
requirements. These practices include: training and develop-
ment, performance management, remunerations system, occu-
pational health and safety, industrial relations, human resource
information system (Oakland and Oakland, 2001). Further-
more, human resource management is repeatedly being viewed
as a strategic staff enterprise aligned with organisational perfor-
mance, equal employment opportunity and affirmation action
policies designed and implemented by personnel officers have
contributed greatly to the diversity of the workforce; staffing
techniques have become more creative, (Hayes and Kearney
2001; Oakland and Oakland 2001). As changes have remained
a constant phenomenon in the practice of HRM, many of the
assumptions on which HRM operates have been severely chal-
lenged in the last two decades due to series of inexonorable
reforms in talent development (Lesperance, 2001). Heinen and
O’Neil (2004) argue that talent management can be the best
way to create a long term competitive advantage. A sustainable
competitive advantage stems from the valuable company spe-
cific resources that cannot be imitated or substituted by com-
petitors. Ordonez de Pablos (2004), further argues that human
capital, rational capital and structural capital can all be sources
of long term competitive advantage but the most significant
evidence favours human capital. An international researcher
Wyatt (2003) found that the more robust a company approach to
building internal leadership, the greater the financial returns in
critical financial measures such as shareholders returns, growth
in net income, growth in market share and return in sales. In
contemplating the future prospects of HRM, it is worthwhile
to examine the paradigm of HR policies in terms of their rel-
evance to the contemporary workforce especially in the areas
of acquisition and retention of top talent who can add value
to the organisation and increase the organisations competitive
advantage. This relationship is reflected in Fig. 1 below.

Talent has been used broadly to describe individuals’ skills,
aptitude and achievements. Jourbert (2007), states that talent is
a person’ ability to repeatedly inspire, arouse and manage emo-
tions in others. According to the researchers understanding,
talent management can be defined as the strategic integrated
approach to managing a career from attracting, retaining and
developing to transitioning the organisation human retention.
Vermuelen (2007), states however that talent management is
contextualised, the main emphasis is on retention, develop-
ment and motivation of talent to optimise organisational per-
formance, especially with regard to senior management perfor-
mance. High performing organisation will have the following
practices in place for recruiting talent, developing talent, meas-
uring talent and mentoring talent:
Recruiting Talent
Athley and Burnside (2007) state that the rising demand for
capable performers as compared to the short supply of such
persons has brought about controversial issue. People work for
more than just money and employees offer their best when they
feel that they are making a meaningful contribution towards a
vision that is backed by a clear strategy; traditional recruitment
and retention strategies that are not sufficient. Furthermore,
Davidson (2004), suggests that the following principles guide
the recruitment of talented personnel. They are namely:
• Be open minded and source talent from diverse fields,
• Be honest and acknowledge the cynicism and challenge
inherent in the position,
• Avoid common pitfalls, such as: racing into recruitment,
delegating recruitment, failing to look for talent abroad,
failing to provide proper job or personal specification,
pulling together an inadequate briefing or information

lack, insufficient incentive in drawing up the advertise-
ment and treating people like a commodity,
• Recruit people with the ability to build capacity in others,
value style, bravado and even outrageousness, do not be
seduced by own confidence, but engage staff in process
and dare to be brave and bold in selecting really good
people – hire those who are brighter and more talented.
In recruiting talented people who can add value to the sys-
tem, one should realise that the drive to move around is much
more evident. The position is the challenge and the position
should allow the individual to showcase his or her talent.
Fig. 1 Talent Management and Paradigm
(Source: Sharma, P. Agarwal, B. Ganjiwale, K. (2011) “Talent
paradigm in organisation.” Journal of Human Resource
Management. 22 (8). pp. 23-26.)
Once their talent is no longer evident in the position, or it is
not being developed to adapt to changes in the position, the
individual talent will leave the organisation. The recruitment
strategy should be identifying what would make talent people
interested in the position and determining how they will then
want to be treated in the position.
Developing Talent
Management development commences with the identifica-
tion of the most appropriate individual development require-
ments, leading to the development of the persons input to team

and organizational development. Nel, Van Dyk, Hassbroack,
Schultz, Sono and Werner (2004), consider skills develop-
ment as an organisational development intervention with the
purpose of strategically focusing the individual towards future
organisational demands. Furthermore, developing talent is an
important managerial function, since the continuous improve-
ment of all organizational systems and products is dependent
on it. Regarding the factors necessitating skills development,
Long (2004) states that a balance should be created between
developing individual talent and adding value to the organi-
sation. Furthermore, true talent management calls for an inte-
grated approach to human resource management, since talent is
found in all human resource management activities (McCauley
and Wakefield, 2006). When talent is successfully recruited,
whether from inside or outside, the human resource manage-
ment function should be implemented in such a way as to retain
this talent, develop it and use it to the advantage of both the
individual and the organisation.
Measuring Talent
Jourbert (2007), states that the measuring of talent is based on
the following potency factors, namely confidence, skills expres-
sion, virtue expression, physical wellness, mental wellness,
relationship wellness, spiritual wellness and personal leverage.
High performance organisations are characterised as living their
vision, implementing strategic and business plans, writing and
evaluating scorecards, setting benchmarks and enforce ranking.
A culture of achievement stems from strong values and beliefs.
A culture of achievement supports tools of motivation and
meas-
urement of individual, group and organisational performance.
Jourbert (2007) asserts that motivation will drive performance
towards the key performance areas of talent management,
namely crating, cultivation, leveraging, caring and coaching.
Motivation will control the quality of talent management.

Mentoring Talent
Groves (2007) suggests that employees with mentors experi-
ence a variety of positive organisational outcomes; comprising
increased job performance, greater job satisfaction, and organi-
sational commitment, personal learning and reduced turnover
intentions. Conger and Fulmer (2003) assets that harmonizing
leadership development with succession planning (through
mentorship) increases the ideal development and placement
of leadership talent. Also, successful mentoring relationships
help in the transfer of psycho-social benefits, such as accept-
ance, encouragement and coaching, as well as career facilita-
tion benefits. Both formal and informal mentoring relationships
should be cheered between managers and talented high poten-
tial employees. The ultimate goal, according to Groves (2007)
is the creation of a mentor network. This means the creation of
multi-talented mentor pool from which high potential employ-
ees can draw encouragement and advice. The benefits from
successful mentoring include ensuring flexibility in key senior
management succession. Bhamagar (2008) state that mentor-
ing is a popular activity for pipeline talent development. This
implies that mentoring is not just a tool of transferring essential
job related skills, attitude and behaviours, but high potential
talented individuals are placed in a mentoring relationship in
an effort to developing the management pipeline and thereby
creating a sustainable pool of talented mangers from which the
public service might be able to recruit. Furthermore, mentoring
should be used to arm the protégé with necessary abilities to
cope with new demands and allow them opportunity to demon-
strate their newly acquired skills. Mentoring is seen as a non-
formal training vehicle for enhancing potential and attracting
scarce skill to the public service.
4 Theoretical Framework

Okumbe (1998) argued that theories of motivation can be
classified as either content theories or process theories. Content
theories focus on factors within a person, such as needs, goals
and motives that energise, direct, sustain and stop behaviour.
Maslow Hierarchy of Needs assume that there are five human
needs (ranging from physiological requirements at the bottom
to self-actualisation at the top). Each of the lower needs has
to be fully satisfied before the next need becomes a motivat-
ing force. Maslow (1954) was of the opinion that a business
can provide for these basic needs by a fair wage, a meal and
rest facilities. Safety needs include job security, safe working
conditions and pension schemes, introducing teamwork and
perhaps providing social facilities like a club or sports pitch
could meet social needs. Self-esteem needs involve how others
see us at work and can be provided for by rewarding staff with
status symbols like cars, offices and new job titles. Allowing
staff to gain qualification at work can boost self-esteem too,
self-actualisation entails achieving your full potential. A busi-
ness must ensure that promotion is possible and that there are
opportunities to use initiative. Maslow suggested that the needs
of human beings are arranged in a hierarchical order of impor-
tance as depicted in Fig. 2.
By implications, this theory provides useful insights for
mangers and organisations. One of the advice is for manag-
ers to find ways of motivating employees by formulating
certain policies and practice aimed at satisfying the needs of
the employees even as we all know that human beings have
an unending list of needs to meet. Another implication was for
organisation to implement support programs and focus groups

to help employees deal with stress; which results from work,
especially during more challenging times and have responsibil-
ity to create a proper climate in which employees can develop to
their fullest potential. Failure to provide such a climate would
theoretically increase employee frustration; and could result in
poorer performance, lower job satisfaction and increased inten-
tion to withdrawal from the organisation.
4.1 Fredrick Herzberg’s Two Factors Theory
A similar famous theory of motivation was developed by
Herzberg (1966); and it is called the two factors theory of moti-
vation. He theorised that there are set of factors which if absent,
cause dissatisfaction. They are related to job context, job envi-
ronment and extrinsic to the job itself (hygiene or maintenance
factors). The other set of factors, if present stimulate the indi-
vidual to superior effort and performance (motivators or growth
factors). The two factor theory does not deny the importance of
the hygiene factors, but stresses their importance to maintain a
healthy work environment. If absent, even strong growth factors
would not compensate for their lack. The Herzberg theory has
two unique features. In the first place, it stresses that some job
factors lead to satisfaction (motivation). Secondly the other fac-
tors can only prevent dissatisfaction (hygiene), but cannot lead
to job satisfaction. Herzberg proposed the following theoretical
relationship between motivation needs and hygiene needs; (i)
when motivator needs are met, workers will be satisfied. When
these needs are not met workers will not be satisfied and (ii)
when hygiene needs are met workers will not be satisfied, when
these needs are not met, workers will be dissatisfied. Hence
Herzberg proposed the following ways in which a high level of
motivation could be promoted: (i) Good quality training – the
more a person can do, the more that person can be motivated,
(ii) Job enlargement: making a person capable of performing
more responsibilities, (iii) job enrichment: this is creating more

meaningful work and (iv) focus on quality of communication
rather quantity: communication should be direct whenever pos-
sible. However, hygiene factors or dis-satisfiers are potential
dissatisfiers and their presence is necessary to avoid dissatisfac-
tion among employees. They involve the job context, that is,
they are external to the job and relate to the job environment,
while motivational factors or growth factors or satisfiers are
related to the content of the job, that is, are inherent to the job
and not the surrounding environment.
5 Factors Influencing Talent Retention
Talent retention has been considered as the fundamental tool
that triggers organisational growth survival and performance.
A lot of work has been put into various researches across the
globe on issues concerning talent management as compa-
nies are beginning to see every day the importance of human
resource in an organisation as the cost of recruiting, training
and developing is increasing every year due to globalisation
and vast economic change and also hunt for talent. Hence, the
following are the major factors that influence the effectiveness
of talent retention in any establishment or organization:
1. Pay: Pay induces the hard work in human elements and
self- worth among employees. The concept of pay struc-
ture has become the cornerstone for attracting, encourag-
ing and retaining efficient employees in the organization.
Every worker receives a pay or reward in exchange for
the work they do (Hennessey and Amabile, 2005). So for
organization to survive and be productive, the employees
must be attracted, rewarded and retained (Burgess Simon
and Ratto Marisa, 2003; Cheng and Ho, 2001; Bartlett,
2001). The survival of every organization depends on
how best they can motivate and retain their workers’
efforts through payment of commensurate salary. How-
ever, the interrelation between the workers efforts and

take home should not be over looked. No organisation
can hope to progress without greater motivation and com-
mitment from the existing and potential employees. In the
early 80s/90s, fringe benefits were used by organisations
to make workers perform better at work apart from wages
and salaries which are paramount. Such benefits include;
pension benefits, sick pay, medical facilities, subsidised
meals, transport services/allowances, official cars, etc.
Recently, these benefits are seen as extra costs by most
organisations. Nowadays, organisations tend to have
reduced these benefits with the objective of cost reduction
on the part of the employers to maximum profit at all cost.
Consequently, this may be one of the indices workers are
not motivated to put in their best which in turn often lead
to intention to leave, absenteeism, lower commitment,
etc. Akintoye (2000) sees salary as a controlling factor
Fig. 2 Maslow hierarchy of needs
(Source: Adapted from Maslow (1954) Motivation and
personality.
New York: Harper and Row.)
towards job satisfaction. Lawler (1973) opined that pay is
one of the greatest motivating factors. Bartlett (2001) and
Cornelius (2001) are also of the opinion that organizations
with a motivating pay may create a center of attention and
keep hold of a qualified personnel and thereby recruiting
costs. When workers are well paid, they become reluctant
to change jobs (Nelson and Quick, 2005).

2. Promotion: Numerous studies like Caruth and Hum-
phreys, 2008; McDonald Ruth, Harrison Stephen, Check-
land Kath, Campbell Stephen and Roland Martin, 2007;
Cook and Crossman, (2004) pointed that employees get
motivated to work when they get incessant promotions as
at when due and job security in their work place. Some
also argued that factors such as promotion, training and
career development, appreciation and improved work
place environment give employees greater opportuni-
ties and this will either directly or indirectly influence
their satisfaction on the job. When high performances
are recorded for employees, it must be supported with a
basis for recognition and promotions. The study carried
out by Coşkun and Dulkadiroğlu (2009) also indicated
that non-financial incentives are given much importance
than financial incentives. Their studies pointed out that
such factors improve employees in the areas of promo-
tion and appreciation and improving work place oppor-
tunities which have significant and important effects on
job satisfaction statistically. However, when they are
promoted as at when due, they become highly motivated
and continue to make outstanding results possible in the
organization (Salau, et al., 2014; Bolman 2008; Stueart,
2007; vonDran, 2005). To buttress this fact, Bolman
(2008) observed that when management disregards the
significant role of promotional system, the realization
and achievement of the corporate objectives become elu-
sive. To achieve competitive advantage and distinctive
positioning, workers should be given fair opportunity for
promotion, training and privilege to participate in deci-
sion makings in their organization.
3. Physical Working Conditions: The study carried out by
Skalli et al. (2007); Gazioglu and Tansel (2006); Sousa-
Poza and Sousa-Poza (2000); and Clark (1997) argued
that employees satisfaction is determined by work-

ing hours and the physical work environment. Macfie,
(2002) opined that it was symptomic of management
efforts to create a work environment where everyone was
highly motivated and felt valued. He added that if staff
looked after their health, they would be better in their
own lives and in the business. If people felt better about
the way they managed their lives, they would be more
creative and productive at work. In other words, it was
in the interest of the management for people to see their
lives as integrated. Mayo Hawthorne’s studies on human
relations as the prime motivator (Mayo, 1933) realised
that physical surroundings, interpersonal relationship
and informal work groups affected output, communica-
tion, group norms and values are directly related, worker
participation, type of supervision, morale and satisfac-
tion were all important. As organisations have sought to
become more egalitarian, the trends have been toward
reducing the space dedicated to specific employees, less-
ening or eliminating space allocations based on hierarchi-
cal positions and making more space available in which
groups or terms can meet (Robbins, 2003). Furthermore,
Robbins (2003) said the arrangement of one’s workplace
is important primarily because it significantly influence
social interaction. The researcher (Mayo) agrees with
Reza, et. al., (2014) because the organisational struc-
ture affects the employee’s behaviour, attitude to work
and the output the employee can produce at a particular
period of time.
4. Relationship with others/superiors: Employees’ effective
labour management relations has also been seen as a stra-
tegic determination to facilitate industrial harmony, affec-
tion, recognition, friendliness, freedom that are crucial
for efficient performance capable of enhancing organiza-
tional effectiveness (Lawal, 2005). Some studies added

that mutual relationship and understanding between
employers and employees tend to be highly motivated
and this thereby help in reducing their intention to leave
or absent from work (Balogun and Obasan, 2007; Nelson
and Quick, 2005; Rothwell and Kazanas, 2004). McDon-
ald, Harrison, Checkland, Campbell and Roland (2007)
pointed that a poor relationship with a line manager can
be the push factor behind an individual’s decision to quit
their job and leave the organization. Also, lack of train-
ing, development and career opportunities are major rea-
sons for employees’ intention to leave an organization for
another. Even when people stay for a year or more, it is
often the case that their decision to leave sooner rather
later is taken in the first week of employment. Studies by
Greenberg and Baron (2003) also indicated that the rela-
tionship with superiors and other colleagues are impor-
tant factors that help in influencing the satisfaction and
retention level of an employee.
5. Recognition: It is observed that a conducive environment
gives room for higher performance, productivity and
commitment, as well as recognition and flexitime which
creates avenues for their enrichment and self-develop-
ment (Muchinsky, 2006). In Nigerian banking sectors,
employees are given fair participation in decision mak-
ing and a feedback on their level of performance with a
realistic period and support in improving their perfor-
mance through adequate training and developmental
programmes. When high performances are recorded for
employees, it must be supported with a basis for recog-
nition and promotions (Salau, et.al, 2014).

Research Hypotheses
From the aforementioned review of literature, three hypoth-
eses were propounded as follows:
Ho1: Pay, promotion and work environment are not likely to
influence employees’ commitment and involvement;
Ho2: Relationship with superiors and recognition are likely
not to have a significant relationship with workers
involvement and satisfaction;
Ho3: That employee’s commitment, involvement and sat-
isfaction has not in any way contributed to competitive
positioning.
Fig. 3 Proposed Conceptual Framework
Source: Model was developed by the researchers (2014)
The model contains the following variables: Observed,
endogenous variables comprises employees’ commitment,
employees’ involvement and satisfaction. While the Observed,
exogenous variables include pay, promotion, work environ-
ment, relationship with superior and recognition. The observed
endogenous and observed exogenous variables are connected
in the model to establish whether specific paths are significant.
6 Methodology
The study was conducted in Ikeja metropolis, the capital of
Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria, where headquarters of many
banks are situated. The descriptive research design was adopted.
The questionnaire was randomly distributed to staff and man-
agement of the selected banks in Ikeja. The survey sample size
was one hundred and eighty five (185) which was arrived at by

the use of Yari’s formula and was analysed as a whole. For each
of the observed variable, summated scores were calculated on
a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores corresponding to
higher motivation to perform better and with the likelihood
of being retained or remain with the organization for a long
period of time. Self-administered questionnaire was adopted as
instrument in order to obtain adequate and valid data for the
study. The questionnaire was structured to show the independ-
ent view of each randomly selected individual in order to deter-
mine whether or not there was a strong relationship between
talent management and organisational performance. The data
used for this study was obtained from both primary and sec-
ondary sources. The primary data was gathered using question-
naire structured on the basis of the research hypotheses, which
was presented to respondents to express their views, opinions,
and observations. Essentially, the secondary data was used to
develop a proper conceptual and theoretical framework for
this study. The responses obtained were subjected to analyses
with the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
AMOS 21, and the adoption of Structural Equation Modeling
(SEM) to obtain correlation between observed variables and
also regression between the dependent and independent con-
structs of the study. The rationale behind the use of SEM is
because it helps to combine measurement model or confirma-
tory factor analysis (CFA) and structural model into a simulta-
neous statistical test.
6.1 Results and Discussion
The demographic characteristics in table 1 below, show that
80 (43.2%) of the total respondents represent female popula-
tion and 105 males representing 56.8% and therefore, there
were more male respondents than the female respondents in
this survey. This may be due to the nature of the job. The age
variable shows that 54(29.2%) of the respondents were within

the age group of 21-30 years. The vast majority of respond-
ents fell between the age bracket of 31-40 years representing
104(56.2%) of population. 19(10.3%) were within the age
bracket of 41-50, and 8(4.3%) respondents fell between the
age of 50 and above. It was therefore evident that 104(56.2%)
of the studied respondents were categorised within the age of
31-40years, which is an indication that the respondents were
active members of the organisation. The Table also indicates 96
of the respondents were single (51.9%). It also shows that 89
of the respondents were married (48.1%), which indicates that
were more single respondents than the married respondents in
the survey. The Table shows that 9.7% of the respondent had
SSCE qualification/OND, 65.9% of the respondents were hav-
ing HND/BSc, whereas 20.0% of the respondents were having
MSc/MBA while 4.3% of the respondents were having other
type of qualification. It’s evidently indicated that most respond-
ents were having HND/BSc which implies that they are edu-
cated and qualified to provide reasonable answers to the ques-
tions. Regarding the years of work experience; 57.3% of the
respondents had worked between 1 and 5 years; while 30.8%
has put in between 6-10 years; 11.9% has spent 11 years and
above. This implies that most of the respondents have spent 1-5
years in the industry. This is an indication that talent retention
in this industry is very low. This could be as a result of incon-
sistent payment of salary, non-payment of fringe benefits, low
career development, biased promotional system, etc.
As presented in Table 2 below, the strength of correlations
that exists between observed variables can be classified within
low and strong. The null hypothesis is the hypothesized model

in which the parameters were set up for the hypothesized
model, indicating whether a path should exist or not between
variables. Thus, where p-value (0.001) is less than the signifi-
cance level (0.05), the null-hypothesis should be rejected. The
covariance between employees commitment and pay is posi-
tive and estimated to be r=.505 (p<0.001). In addition, employ-
ees commitment as a variable covaries positively with work
environment at (r=.273, p<0.001); and negatively with promo-
tion (r=-.032, p<0.05). Thus, relationship between employees
involvement and promotion is positive and estimated to be
r=.386 (p<0.001); relationships (r=.505, p<0.001); and work
environment (r=.382, p<0.001). Similarly, there was a posi-
tive relationship between satisfaction and other variables such
as relationship with superiors (r=.261, p<0.001); recognition
(r=.300, p<0.001). Expectedly, the covariance between com-
petitive positioning and other variables such as employees
commitment (r = .035, p<0.05); employees involvement (r
=.225, p<0.05); and satisfaction (.226, p<0.001) is positive.
However, in opposite direction, employees involvement nega-
tively covaries with pay (r=-.061, p<0.001), which is an evi-
dent of variables that might constitute negative behaviour or
attitude towards employees’ retention.
6.2 Model Testing
Results obtained from the test of proposed hypotheses, which
were analysed with Structural Equation Model (SEM) indi-
cated that the model could fit the dataset utilized for the survey.
Bentler and Wu (2002) and Kaplan (2000) argued that differ-
ent indicators of goodness-of-fit are usually adopted in various
research concepts. In structural equation modelling, the fit indi-
ces establish whether, overall, the model is acceptable. Many of
the fit indices are derived from the chi-square value. Conceptu-
ally, the chi-square value, in this context, represents the differ-
ence between the observed covariance matrix and the predicted

or model covariance matrix. The fit indices can be classified
into
several classes. A model is regarded as acceptable if:
• The Normed Fit Index (NFI) exceeds .90 (Byrne, 1994)
or .95 (Schumacker and Lomax, 2004)
• The Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) exceeds .90 (Byrne, 1994)
• The Incremental Fit Index (IFI) exceeds .90 (Hipp and
Bollen, 2003)
• The Comparative Fit Index (CFI) exceeds .93 (Byrne,
1994)
Table 1 Respondents’ Demographic Characteristics
Percentage (N=185)
Gender:
Male 56.8
Female 43.2
Age:
21 – 30 years 29.2
31 – 40 years 56.2
41 – 50 years 10.3
50 years & above 4.3
Marital Status:
Single 51.9

Married 48.1
Educational
Qualification:
SSCE/OND 9.7
B.Sc/HND/BA 65.9
M.Sc/MBA/MA 20.0
Others 4.3
Work Experience
(Overall):
0 – 5 years 57.3
6 – 10 years 30.8
11 – 15 years 9.7
Above 15 years 2.2
Source: Field Survey, 2014
Table 2 Covariance among Exogenous Variables
Estimate S.E. C.R. P Hypotheses
emp_commitment <---> Pay .505 .081 6.263 *** H0 Reject
emp_commitment <---> promotion -.032 .055 -.577 .564 H0
Accept
emp_involvement <---> Pay -.061 .116 -.531 .595 H0 Accept

emp_involvement <---> work_env .382 .115 3.313 *** H0
Reject
emp_commitment <---> work_env .273 .077 3.521 *** H0
Reject
emp_involvement <---> relationship_superior .505 .091 5.516
*** H0 Reject
satisfaction <---> relationship_superior .261 .067 3.914 *** H0
Reject
satisfaction <---> recognition .300 .078 3.833 *** H0 Reject
comp_positioning <---> emp_involvement .225 .069 3.269 .001
H0 Reject
comp_positioning <---> Satisfaction .226 .114 1.976 .048 H0
Reject
comp_positioning <---> emp_commitment .035 .115 .302 .762
H0 Reject
• RMS is less than .08 (Browne and Cudeck, 1993)--and
ideally less than .05 (Stieger, 1990). Alternatively, the
upper confidence interval of the RMS should not exceed
.08 (Hu and Bentler, 1998; Kline, 1998; Ullman, 2001).
As cited in Hooper et al (2008), the NFI equals the difference

between the chi-square of the null model and the chi square of
target model, divided by the chi-square of the null model. The
CFI compares the fit of a target model to the fit of an independ-
ent model. To compute the IFI, first the difference between the
chi square of the independence model--in which variables are
uncorrelated--and the chi-square of the target model is calcu-
lated. Next, the difference between the chi-square of the target
model and the df for the target model is calculated. The ratio
of these values represents the IFI. The Root Mean Square Error
of Approximation (RMSEA) that is referred to RMS repre-
sents the square root of the average or mean of the covariance
residuals, the differences between corresponding elements of
the observed and predicted covariance matrix.
Further, the higher the number of the indices of indicators,
the acceptable of a good fit such as Normed Fit Index (NFI)
= .921; Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = .942; Incremental Fit
Index (IFI) = .945; Chi-square/Degree of Freedom (CMIN/
DF) = 3.191; Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation
(RMSEA) = 0.09, (Bentler and Bonnet 1980). Furthermore,
minimum benchmark was obtained in the model with Chi-
Square = 41.477; d/f = 13; P = .000. The CMIN/df value of
3.191 was accepted based on the benchmark that accepts value
limit of less than 5 (Schumake and Lomax, 2004).
As shown in Fig. 4 below, the path coefficient scores (regres-
sion weights) of the observed constructs explain the regression
between the studied variables. The regression weight between
pay and such variables as employees commitment with .48
(p<0.001) and employees involvement with 0.31, are significant
which indicate that when pay (salary, bonus, incentives, reward,
profit sharing) goes up by 1 (standard deviation), employees
commitment and involvement goes up by 0.48 and 0.31 (stand-
ard deviations). In other words, the regression weight for pay
in the prediction of employees’ commitment and involvement is
significantly different from zero at the 0.001 level. The implica-

tion is that increase in pay influences employees’ commitment
and involvement. This aligns with the work of Aluko (2007)
who
sees pay (salary, bonus, fringe benefits, etc) as a major
stimulat-
ing factor in determining the degree (high or low) of employee
commitment in organizations. Though, the result is not far from
expectation going by the philosophy (principles) guiding the
relationship between demand and supply of labour in which
wages play a major role. Katz, in Sinclair, et al. (2005) affirmed
that money serves as a way of creating responsiveness,
attention,
retention and encouragement towards higher performance. In
addition, Akintoye (2000) in his study revealed that money is an
indispensable factor to encourage, attract, and retain employees.
The effect of promotion on employee commitment is posi-
tive with the regression weight of .293 (p<0.001). When pro-
motion goes up by 1 (standard deviation), employee commit-
ment goes up by 0.293 standard deviations. The regression
weight for promotion in the prediction of employee commit-
ment is significantly different from zero at the 0.001 level. As
one would have expected, which aligns with the obtained result,
promotion tends to serve as a motivating factor for employees
to remain committed on their jobs for a long period of time.
This could be accepted because when employees look forward
for their promotion and they get it as at when due, it facilitates
their commitment for higher performance. However, when pro-
motion is not steady and prejudiced, employees could be unsta-
ble and look forward for a place where promotion exercise
has become a culture either on yearly basis or otherwise. This
conforms with the work of Crossman and Abou Zaki (2003)
who sees promotion as an important apparatus in influencing
the performance, attitude, behaviours, and determine the level
of passion, commitment, involvement and strength invested on
the job. Aristovnik and Jaklič (2013) also added that promotion

is seen as an aspect of the job that induces employees to per-
form willingly and with a high sense of fulfilment when they
are given at the right time.
It is important to note that work environment has a strong
relationship with variables such as employees’ involvement and
job satisfaction. The effect of work environment on employees
involvement is positive with coefficient value of .023 (p<0.05)
and job satisfaction with coefficient value of .01 (p<0.05). Evi-
dently, when worth of work environment goes up by 1, employ-
ees’ involvement and job satisfaction go up by 0.23 and 0.01
respectively. In other words, the regression weight for work
environment in the prediction of employees’ involvement and
job
satisfaction is significantly different from zero at the 0.001
level.
Based on the analysis, it is evident that relationship with
superiors has a strong relationship with variables such as
employees’ involvement and job satisfaction. The effect of
relationship with superiors on employees involvement is posi-
tive with coefficient value of .41 (p<0.05) and job satisfaction
with coefficient value of .36 (p<0.05). Evidently, when rela-
tionship with superiors goes up by 1, employees’ involve-
ment and job satisfaction goes up by 0.41 and 0.36. In other
words, the regression weight for relationship with superiors
in the prediction of employees’ involvement and job satisfac-
tion are significantly different from zero at the 0.001 level. The
regression weight between recognition and job satisfaction is
.33 (p<0.001). Evidently, when recognition goes up by 1, job
satisfaction goes up by 0.33. In other words, the regression
weight for recognition in the prediction of job satisfaction is
significantly different from zero at the 0.001 level. Expectedly,
and as argued in the literature, recognition is strongly associ-
ated with job satisfaction, which is perceived to be one of the
essential factors in studying employee attitude, motivation,

outcomes and expectations (Osibanjo, Abiodun, and Kehinde,
2012; Mujah, et. al., 2011). Therefore, the implication is, for
employees to be fulfilled with their jobs, recognition can be
adopted as a strategy.
The regression weight between variables such as employ-
ees commitment, employees involvement and job satisfaction
have a strong and stable relationship with competitive posi-
tioning. Evidently, when employees’ commitment, employees’
involvement and job satisfaction goes up by 1, competitive
positioning goes up by 0.03; 0.30 and 0.18. In other words,
the regression weight for employees’ commitment, employees’
involvement and job satisfaction in the prediction of competi-
tive positioning is significantly different from zero at the 0.001
level. However, it is important to note that observed variable
promotion has negative association with employees’ commit-
ment. The effect of promotion on employees’ commitment is
negative as shown in Fig. 4 with coefficient of -.05 (p<0.001).
In other words, when promotion goes up by 1 standard devia-
tion, employees’ commitment goes down by 0.051 standard
deviations. One would have expected positive strong relation-
ship between promotion and employees’ commitment, on the
contrary, as obtained from the result, it is evident that promo-
tion tends to reduce employees’ commitment, which implies
that the more the promotion the less satisfaction derive from
the job. Similarly, result of work environment and employ-
ees commitment, which one would have expected to be strong
and positive shows that when work environment goes up by
1 standard deviation, employees’ commitment goes down by
0.35 standard deviations. By implication, work environment

do not make positive contribution to employees’ commitment.
This suggests that work environment reduces employees’
commitment. Therefore, the more conducive environment is
available, the less committed employees will be to their jobs.
Fig. 4 Structural Model Output with Standardized Estimates
7 Managerial Implications and Conclusion
The paper examined the relationship between talent reten-
tion; organizational performance; and competitive positioning.
This study tends to assist government, managers and decision
makers in adopting the best strategy for motivating, satisfy-
ing and retaining talent among the existing employees. How-
ever, the results from the survey indicated that pay has posi-
tive significant implications on employees’ commitment and
employees’ involvement. This suggests that decision makers
should re-strategies, review and incorporate these variables
(salary, bonus, incentives, reward, and profit sharing) into their
employment relations strategies and policies in order to increase
employees’ level of commitment and involvement, thereby
having them on the job for a long period of time. In similar
vein, promotion has positive impacts on employees’ commit-
ment. Therefore, promotion should be considered as a stimulat-
ing factor in making employees satisfied and committed to their
jobs, which lead to talent retention. Not only that, it was also
evident that work environment has a strong relationship with
variables such as employees’ involvement and job satisfac-
tion. It is evident that relationship with superiors has a strong
influence with variables such as employees’ involvement and
job satisfaction. Recognition also has a significant relationship
with job satisfaction. Unexpectedly, it is important to note that
observed variables such promotion has negative association
with employees’ commitment. In the same vein, work environ-

ment do not make positive contribution to employees’ commit-
ment, which suggest that work environment reduces employ-
ees’ commitment. Therefore, the more conducive environment
is encouraged the less commitment employees will put in their
job. Hence, based on the implications above, the retention of
employees and survival of every organization is a dependent
factor on the observed variables (pay, recognition, relationship
with others, promotion, work environment, etc.). Competitive
positioning will surely be out of sight if the observed variables
are not seen as indispensable factors for employees’ commit-
ment, involvement and satisfaction.
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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further
reproduction prohibited without
permission.
1 Introduction 2 Significance of the Study3 Literature
Review3.1 Talent Retention and Organisational Performance3.2
Talent Retention, Employees Satisfaction and Employees’
Commitment3.3 Modelling Relationship between the Practice of
Human Resource Management and Talent Management P4
Theoretical Framework 4.1 Fredrick Herzberg’s Two Factors
Theory5 Factors Influencing Talent Retention 6
Methodology6.1 Results and Discussion6.2 Model Testing7
Managerial Implications and ConclusionReferences
Vulnerable work and strategies
for inclusion: an introduction
John Burgess
School of Management, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, and
Julia Connell
Graduate Research School, University of Technology Sydney,

Sydney, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce this special
issue volume on vulnerable work
and strategies for inclusion. Definitions, measurement, analysis
and policy responses to vulnerable
work and strategies for inclusion are addressed before the key
aspects of the nine papers included
in the special issue are summarised.
Design/methodology/approach – The topic of vulnerability at
work is explored, before the
distinguishing features of jobs that generate vulnerable
conditions and the characteristics of
vulnerable workers are identified.
Findings – Vulnerable work is insecure and irregular with few
protections accorded to the vulnerable
workers who are often characterised by their age, ethnic status,
gender and skill profiles. The
consequences include: poor job quality, low and irregular
incomes and personal/family hardship.
Vulnerability is widespread across the workforce, with workers
subject to work intensification,
employment insecurity and poor work-life balance.

Social implications – Vulnerable work and workers constitute a
growing and global phenomenon.
Consequently, governments and employers need to work
together on programmes, such as the ILO’s
decent work agenda, to ensure that basic human rights at work
are widely recognised and provision
to ongoing employment, safe working conditions and regular
hours are offered across a variety of
industries/sectors.
Originality/value – This volume examines the conceptual,
empirical and policy aspects of
vulnerability in employment. It documents the international
dimensions of vulnerability, the different
forms it takes, those groups that are at risk of vulnerable
employment and the underlying factors
that generate and support vulnerability.
Keywords Job quality, Vulnerability, Inclusion, Precariousness
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Vulnerable work is not new; what is new is that many workers,
occupations and sectors
seem to be susceptible to vulnerability at work. This situation
has occurred as a result
of workforce restructuring and structural change, public policies

such as downsizing
and contracting out, public sector activity and corporate
strategies that include:
restructuring, relocating, offshoring and “lean operations”,
particularly following the
global financial crisis (GFC) (Kirkpatick and Hoque, 2006;
Kalleberg, 2011; McDonnell
and Burgess, 2013; Thornley et al., 2010). Moreover,
vulnerability is not a condition
that is exclusive to particular job arrangements, such as
contingent employment,
or to particular groups in the workforce such as the young, the
disabled, the old and
migrant workers, as vulnerability now embraces all job
arrangements and groups
within the workforce.International Journal of Manpower
Vol. 36 No. 6, 2015
pp. 794-806
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-7720
DOI 10.1108/IJM-06-2015-0085
Received 7 June 2015
Revised 7 June 2015

Accepted 7 June 2015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-7720.htm
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the
editors and the editorial staff at IJM,
together with the referees and authors who made this volume
possible.
794
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36,6
Francis Green’s book on job quality subtitled The Paradox of
Job Quality in
the Affluent Economy (Green, 2006) suggests that national
economic progress
does not necessarily translate into improvements and well-being
for individuals,
especially through better jobs. Clark (2005) sought to assess

whether new jobs
created in Europe in the 1990s were of better quality than the
jobs that they replaced.
He suggests that, in terms of pay and working hours, European
job markets
performed well in the 1990s, but this came at a cost, resulting in
increased work
intensity, job insecurity, anxiety and pressure at work. In other
words, economic
progress was job generating, but many new jobs possessed more
inferior terms and
conditions than the jobs of the past or the jobs they replaced.
Hence, the assessment
of well-being requires an investigation that goes beyond job
creation, pay and hours
of work. This leads to consideration of a broad variety of
conditions associated
with work that cover a range of terms in the literature that are
associated with
degraded conditions of employment. These descriptive terms
include insecurity,
poor work, contingent jobs, bad jobs and precarious work
(Kalleberg, et al., 2000;
Kalleberg, 2011; Thornley et al., 2010).

In this volume we present studies that focus on vulnerable work,
vulnerable
workers and the consequences of vulnerability. A key intention
is to distinguish
between the features of jobs that generate vulnerable conditions,
including irregular
and insecure employment, dangerous working conditions and
unsociable working
hours; and the characteristics of workers in vulnerable jobs –
including factors
such as their age, gender, ethnicity, educational attainment and
disability. There is
a range of conceptual, analytical, empirical and policy
challenges associated with
vulnerable work which leads to a number of fundamental
questions such as: what is
vulnerable work? What makes jobs vulnerable? Who are the
vulnerable workers?
What are the conditions that generate vulnerable work? Is
vulnerability a transitional
condition in the labour market? What are the consequences of
vulnerability for
workers and how can public and organisational policy address
vulnerability and
reduce the adverse consequences associated with it?

This introduction to the special issue volume goes some way
towards addressing a
number of these issues concerning conceptualisation, definition,
measurement, analysis
and policy responses concerning vulnerable work and inclusion
before outlining the
contents of the special issue.
What is meant by vulnerability at work?
In the literature there is no consensus as to what constitutes
vulnerable work. Usually
there are a set of documented conditions that encompass the
employment contract,
the conditions of work and the workplace, the location of work
in the labour regulation
system and the terms of employment, including pay and non-
wage conditions. Vives
et al. (2013) use a six dimensional construct to analyse
employment precariousness. The
workplace power relations dimensions comprise worker
vulnerability or defencelessness,
and powerlessness to exercise legal rights. Pollert (2008, p. 2)
also suggests that:

[…] the analytical approach to vulnerability must be based on
consideration of power
relations in the labour market and workplace: lack of union
representation in the context
of weak statutory employment rights is the first dimension of
vulnerability. This can be
narrowed to those who lack “skill” – a measure of weak labour
market power associated with
disposability. A proxy for weak bargaining power, in terms of
poor or absent collective
representation and weak labour market strength, is low pay.
Thus, a strong indication of
vulnerability is absence of union membership combined with
low pay.
795
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work and
strategies
Given this interpretation of vulnerability, Pollert (2008)
suggested that 40 per cent of

the UK workforce were considered to be vulnerable workers at
the time of writing;
whereas the International Labour Organisation (2008) estimates
that about half of all
the world’s workers are in vulnerable employment situations.
That is, they are exposed
to high risk of poverty, unregulated working conditions and a
lack of employment
security. Vulnerability is a set of conditions that affects worker
well-being and living
standards; it does not refer to one condition but is associated
with a set of arrangements
that are associated with precariousness, poor work and
insecurity in employment.
Vulnerability constitutes more than temporary jobs, fixed-term
contracts and seasonal
work. Indeed, it incorporates employment which is outside the
labour market in terms of
estimation, regulation and status. Day jobs, undocumented
work, especially for migrants
and unreported and unregulated work do not enter into the
official employment count
nor are such jobs subject to the entitlements and protections
associated with documented
work. All of these jobs possess different forms and degrees of

vulnerability and workers
in these jobs are vulnerable across a number of criteria
including: income; voice; lack of
training/career development; working hours; work-life balance;
career development,
protection and discrimination.
Linking Pollert’s assessment that vulnerability is a
manifestation of unequal
power (or lack of power) in the labour market, Saunders (2006,
p. v) commenting on
vulnerability in Canada sees the process of increased
vulnerability in the workforce
as a process of passing risk from employers and governments
onto individuals,
families and communities:
Employers, faced with the pressures of global competition (and
the opportunity to move
production anywhere) have shifted risk to employees, as more
work is temporary,
or part-time, or contracted out, than in the past, and the
demands on many regular
employees have intensified. Governments, in an effort to reduce
or eliminate fiscal deficits,

have shifted risk to individuals, cutting back on the availability
of social support.
All workers are affected in some fashion by these developments,
but many are left in
a vulnerable position, struggling to make ends meet or improve
their prospects. We are
wasting their potential. This not only weakens the social fabric,
but also hampers our
productivity and competitiveness as a nation.
Standing (2011) in his influential book on workforce
vulnerability used the term the
“precariat” to indicate a class of citizens who are on the edge of
the labour market
who find it difficult to sustain employment and acceptable
living standards. They are
workers who frequently find themselves outside of labour
protection and trade union
membership, and their hold on employment and attachment to
the labour market is often
sporadic and unpredictable. Standing (2011, p. 10) suggests that
the precariat lack seven
forms of protection that are associated with industrial
citizenship. These are: labour market
security – access to paid employment; employment security –

access to ongoing employment;
job security – access to income and career development; work
security – access to safe
working conditions and regular hours; skill reproduction
security – access to skill
development and ability to apply skills to the job; income
security – access to a
stable income that meets acceptable minimum living standards
and representation
security – rights to collective representation and organisation.
Some of these
conditions are absolute, for example, being able to join a trade
union and engage in
bargaining with an employer, whereas others are relative, for
example, having the
ability (or otherwise) to apply one’s skills to the job. However,
each of these forms of
insecurity is present across the globe, and many workers have to
manage more than
one of the seven factors, or in many cases, all of the above
forms of insecurity in the
796
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36,6
course of their daily jobs. Thus, vulnerability at work refers to a
condition where the
worker has to manage one or more forms of insecurity; it is not
sector or occupationally
specific, and according to Standing (2011) it is ubiquitous and
growing. Indeed, in this
volume, vulnerability is identified as a factor related to
irregular and undocumented
work (as might be expected) – see Theodore et al. – however,
with the growth of
outsourcing, downsizing and organisational restructuring,
vulnerability has also been
extended into all sectors and occupations.
Does vulnerability equate to having a bad job?
The precariat embraces the well-paid and those in full-time
employment; however,
they may lack collective rights, work under oppressive
conditions and work very
long and unpredictable hours. The European Foundation
(Constable et al., 2009)

divided jobs into four types according to their characteristics.
The four classifications
are: high paid/good jobs; well-balanced/good jobs; poorly
balanced jobs; and low-quality
jobs. Using set criteria and job characteristics the European
Foundation clusters jobs
into each of these four categories. The methodology involves a
three stage process
(Constable et al., 2009) and the criteria or conditions used to
assess jobs were:
earnings, intrinsic job quality, working time quality and job
prospects. The topic
of job prospects covers aspects of the job that contribute to a
person’s need for
employment. This indicator also incorporates job security,
career progression and
contract quality. Extrinsic job quality refers to workers having a
good physical
environment that is safe and lacks physical and posture-related
hazards. Intrinsic
job quality refers to the aspects of the job that concern the work
itself and its
environment. This incorporates the quality of the work,
including skill use and job
autonomy, the social environment of work and the intensity of

work. Working
time quality refers to the extent with which the job balances the
demands of work
and life outside paid employment.
The lowest job cluster, accounting for a fifth of all workers in
the European
Union (EU), is that of poor quality jobs. Such jobs possess a set
of conditions that,
relative to the other clusters, entail low earnings, poor job
prospects and low intrinsic
job quality. Such jobs are bad jobs relative to the “norm” and
involve inferior
employment. Analysis links the job conditions to objective
social and economic
outcomes finding that workers located in the bad jobs cluster
have the highest
incidence of work-related health problems, the least meaningful
work and the lowest
level of subjective well-being. As a result, the “bad” job
classification represents
the consequences of the various forms of work/worker
vulnerability and insecurity,
resulting in adverse material, health and social outcomes.
Within this cycle, those

in vulnerable work frequently find it difficult to escape from
bad jobs and their
consequences. For example, insecure labour markets and
employment conditions
forces many workers into taking on several insecure jobs at
once with short, unstable
and possibly unsociable working hours (Lee et al., 2008; Rogers
et al., 2009).
Although vulnerability encompasses bad jobs in terms of the
Eurofound analysis,
it goes beyond bad jobs encompassing conditions, both
objective and subjective,
that impact on job quality and well-being. These conditions may
be related to
factors outside of employing organisations and companies, such
as macroeconomic
conditions and increasing unemployment (such as in the
ongoing aftermath of the
GFC) (Rogers et al., 2009), or may be generated through
organisational programmes
linked to work rosters, restructuring, outsourcing, overtime
access, promotion and
employment contracts (Flecker and Meil, 2010).

797
Vulnerable
work and
strategies
Who are the vulnerable workers?
Vulnerable workers are located in jobs that possess vulnerable
conditions or they may
have personal characteristics that funnel them towards
vulnerable jobs. Vulnerable
employment is extensive and spreads beyond the official
workforce. It includes the
unemployed and those working in self-employment and in
dependent employment
arrangements, including ambiguous employment arrangements,
such as contractors
and agency workers. It also includes those on the fringes of the
official labour market
who are engaged in undeclared, informal and illegal work.
Vulnerability is not confined
to employees and those holding formal jobs. It includes the self-
employed, contractors

and day workers all of whom have unstable incomes and earn
below minimum wages
(Peck and Theodore, 1998). Saunders (2006) suggests that
vulnerability is found in
those jobs that include: the self-employed who are outside of
protective employment
conditions, those who are employed in unprotected jobs
(undeclared, illegal and
informal work) and those who are in contingent jobs (seasonal
and on temporary
contracts) who do not qualify for standard employment
protection and conditions.
This suggests that vulnerability is embodied in the conditions of
the job or the form
of labour market marginalisation. However, there are also
demographic and personal
conditions that result in high incidences of vulnerability (such
as migrant workers) – see
Cueto and Rodriguez who examine migrant self-employment in
Spain in this volume
and older workers – see Hennekam who presents research on
older workers in the
Netherlands also in this volume.
In terms of the characteristics of vulnerable workers, McGovern

et al. (2004)
analysed “bad jobs” in Britain according to a range of criteria.
They found that bad
jobs were related to part time and temporary work and that the
workers were female
and more likely to be young (under 20 years) or old (over 60
years). The vulnerable
workers did not belong to a trade union; they had limited job
autonomy, worked in
small firms in the private sector and had limited formal
qualifications. Holman and
McClelland (2011) reviewed evidence for the EU, and also
reported that those workers
employed under vulnerable conditions were mostly women,
young and old workers,
and those in part time and temporary jobs. Pollert’s (2008)
survey of vulnerable
workers reinforced these findings, indicating high
representation from the young,
women, minority ethnic groups, private sector workers, small
businesses and those
working in the hospitality and retail sectors. Thus, there is a
recurring pattern of
vulnerability being associated with gender, age, ethnicity,
employment arrangements

and organisational characteristics. Vulnerable workers are
marginalised through
irregular and unprotected employment arrangements, working in
businesses with high
employee and business turnover. They also tend to be outside
formal forms of voice
and representation, have limited formal skills and training (or
recognised skills and
training in the case of migrants), limited experience (for youth)
and are stigmatised
by gender, age or disability.
The consequences of vulnerability?
The consequences of vulnerability are frequently associated
with issues related to
the duration of work and lack of control over aspects of work.
Some forms of
vulnerability can be addressed through effective regulation,
especially issues around
long working hours, shift patterns, discrimination in
employment and unpaid
working hours. However, as Pollert (2008) emphasises, the
issue is one of power
and the ability to change the objective and subjective conditions
of employment.

In terms of conditions associated with vulnerable work the ILO
(2012) “World of
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36,6
Work 2012” report focuses on the recovery of the labour market
after the GFC in
2008 by comparing data from Eurostat and the OECD
employment database for the
years 2007 and 2011. The data show that the employment
situation in Europe
continued to deteriorate and after a brief respite, following the
GFC, there has been
no apparent improvement occurring in the labour markets of
many countries. At a
macro level, forecast economic growth is insufficient to cover
the employment
deficit; labour market imbalances are becoming more structural
with increasing
levels of long-term unemployment and precarious employment

is becoming more
evident. The ILO (2012) report indicates that involuntary part-
time employment and
temporary employment has increased by two-thirds in more than
half the advanced
economies in the world. Women and youth are disproportionally
affected by these
trends with youth unemployment having increased in about 80
per cent of advanced
economies and in two-thirds of developing countries. The report
concluded that
increasing job instability is not only a human tragedy for
workers and their families,
but also a waste of productive capacity, with skill losses
resulting from increased job
rotation and long periods of unemployment (ILO, 2012).
Moreover, there is evidence
that a lack of decent work is related to other conditions
including poor health, family
break ups and to a heightened risk of social unrest (ILO, 2012).
The cycle of vulnerability
The papers in this volume discuss some of the different
dimensions and forms of
vulnerability, suggesting different organisational strategies and

policy approaches to
address vulnerability and work towards inclusion. The first
point to note is that many
of those who are engaged in vulnerable work are invisible. That
is, they are often
omitted from workforce counts since their employment is
irregular, informal or illegal
(see Theodore et al., 2015, on day labour). Also, vulnerability
encompasses an inability
to obtain a job or to keep a job for any period of time. Second,
many vulnerable workers
are excluded from forms of employment and social protection,
since their employment
does not qualify for protection (see day labour, the self-
employed, informal workers).
There are gaps in vulnerable workers entitlements and
representation across. In turn,
this leads to challenges for trade unions and NGOs that seek to
represent and protect
the most vulnerable, since formalisation or representation is
difficult for informal
and illegal workers, day labourers and the self-employed (see
Kirov and Hohnen, 2015).
For those workers who are outside the formal mechanisms of
representation and

protection, organisational HRM policies and internal labour
market arrangements
can result in workforce segregation and exclusion from
promotion, training, skill
development and wage increases (see Lengfeld and Ohlert,
2015; Sgobbi, 2015, on wage
inequalities). Also, there is the dilemma for those involved in
contingent employment
arrangements with regard to whether such work may lead to a
bridge to permanent
employment or result in a contingent work trap that they cannot
move out of (Burgess
et al., 2008). On this point, contingent and non-standard
employment arrangements
such as day labour, self-employment and agency work (all
discussed in this volume),
while offering labour market entry often evolves into ongoing
arrangements. This is
pertinent to workfare arrangements that are predicated on the
basis that employment
access, regardless of insecurity and contingency, is effective in
moving the unemployed
into regular employment (see Cochrane and McKeown, 2015).
Returning to Standing’s (2011) precariat, the conditions of the

precariat are linked
to the economic, social and regulatory arrangements that exist
within a particular
country. Post the GFC in many countries across the globe there
is still evidence
799
Vulnerable
work and
strategies
of recession and high rates of unemployment (Mcdonnell and
Burgess, 2013) with
increased labour market insecurity (ILO, 2012; Rogers et al.,
2009). Contingent
working arrangements with short term, irregular and
unpredictable working
provisions expand as a response to the challenging market
conditions (see Kirov
and Hohnen, 2015, on the outsourced services sector in Europe).
Contingent
arrangements, by their very nature, limit access to career and

skill development
(Trades Union Congress, 2008). Unemployment, irregular and
contingent work go
hand in hand and results in unpredictable and irregular income,
and this is a feature
of many forms of contingent work and forms of work that are
“on the edge” of
the labour market such as undeclared and illegal work that is
performed by
vulnerable groups such as migrants (Burgess and Connell,
2009). Those without jobs,
those in contingent jobs and those on the edges of the labour
market are also those
who are often excluded from the rights and entitlements
associated with regular
employment, including collective representation (Thornley et
al., 2010). Vulnerability
extends beyond precarious and contingent employment
arrangements with issues
such as increasing job insecurity, declining job autonomy, job
segmentation; irregular
and long working hours and poor work-life balance being found
in many standard
jobs (see the Le Fevre et al., 2015, on work intensification;
Lengfeld and Ohlert, 2015,

on wage inequalities within organisations).
In summary, we find that worker vulnerability relates to: the
conditions present in
the labour market; the underlying system of regulations
governing employment
arrangements, including the treatment of contingent
employment, job access and
sustainability of employment, the rules governing citizenship
and access to income
and welfare support mechanisms; and the objective and
subjective conditions of a job.
In many countries there are gaps in the system of rights,
conditions and representation,
especially associated with contingent employment (Rogers et
al., 2009). The conditions
are reinforcing, with an event such as the GFC leading to job
loss, increasing
unemployment, the rise of contingent employment
arrangements, pressure on public
welfare programmes and large legal and illegal migrant flows
where workers move
internationally in search of jobs, and in turn this leads to
community resistance to
immigration in host countries (Rogers et al., 2009). Such effects

result in a cycle of
contingency, where conditions reinforce vulnerability along the
different dimensions
that have been outlined here.
In terms of public policy, vulnerable employment is a challenge
at a number
of levels. First, vulnerability is associated with low and
irregular incomes,
as many vulnerable workers cannot sustain minimum living
standards. Second,
vulnerability may be associated with exclusion from the rights
and entitlements
normally associated with industrial citizenship; minimum pay,
collective rights,
safety at work and non-discrimination at work (Pollert, 2008).
Third, alongside
vulnerability are other consequences linked to family
relationships and community
engagement (Lewchuck et al., 2008). Fourth, vulnerability has
fiscal implications
for the state in terms of income tax collections and the
provision of social services
such as housing, education, income supplementation and health
services for those

with low and irregular incomes. Fifth, there are the social
implications of vulnerable
jobs where vulnerability is extended across the workforce with
regard to health
and well-being, turnover and work-life balance (Barrett and
Sargeant, 2011). Finally,
for organisations there is a need to consider the effects of
vulnerability within the
workforce in terms of recruitment, skill development, turnover
and organisational
commitment (Connell and Burgess, 2006).
800
IJM
36,6
Outline of the papers and structure of the volume
The nine papers in this special issue are organised according to
geographical location.
The themes of the special issue volume are examined in the
following order: the USA
and South Africa; Canada; Europe (11 countries); Germany;

Spain, Italy and the
Netherlands, then Australia and New Zealand. The papers cover
different aspects
of vulnerability including the conditions that support
vulnerability; the evidence
on vulnerability within industries, countries and across
countries; the conditions
associated with particular employment forms (such as day
labour); and the policies
that may support (or reduce) vulnerability.
The first paper by Theodore et al. focuses on the USA and
South Africa and
compares conditions in informal day labour markets in South
Africa and the USA
in order to gain a better understanding of the nature of worker
vulnerabilities in
these markets, as well as the economic conditions that have
contributed to the growth
of day labour. Drawing on data from the only two national
surveys of day labourers
that have been conducted in both countries, the authors
establish the extreme
vulnerability of such workers, pointing out that day labour work
is characterised

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