Browsing by Author "Kapa, Mzoxolo Wilberforce"

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    Assessing employee turnover of young professionals in the wastewater sector : the East Rand Water Care case study
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-12) Kapa, Mzoxolo Wilberforce; Ndevu, Zwelinzima; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa, as a water-scarce country is faced with shortage of water managers and engineers. The situation is due to employee turnover caused by competition; employee migration to cite a few reasons. The shortage results in poor wastewater works’ management; the contamination of secondary sources of water like dams and rivers. Other results of the shortage are the deterioration of community health, water infrastructure and the work overload experienced by the overstretched managers still in the system. The reduction of the reasons for employee turnover in the wastewater sector would ensure the dignity and rights of citizens are restored and respected respectively and the environment properly maintained. The retention of Plant managers in charge of the Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) in the country, and more specifically in the East Rand Water Care, a subsidiary of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM), cannot be postponed any further as it is imperative to avoid further losses of key employees. The study sought to assess the reasons for the high turnover of young Plant managers within the East Rand Water Care; to highlight the negative effects of the problem; to review the organization’s existing policies meant to curtail the problem and to propose measures to curb the challenge. A vital distinction to clarify is that the research looks at voluntary turnover, not involuntary turnover. The case study, content and secondary data analyses were the designs used to conduct the research with the East Rand Water Care as the organization to be studied in order to discover the degree to which the wastewater sector utilises employee retention strategies to control employee turnover. Secondary qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods, and primary data in the form of structured interviews, were used to gather data which were interpreted to inform the research results. A total of seven, inclusive of personal and organizational, reasons were found to be behind the voluntary employee turnover rate. Professional perceptions were found not to be among the reasons for employee turnover within the organization. The most common reasons for employee turnover, the research found were: • Low identification with the wastewater environment; • Economic reasons; • Poaching; • Lack of higher incentives; • Communication and • Family. • The most unique reason found, concerned the health risks associated with the wastewater industry. Weakened knowledge capture, re-use and management; financial costs and high absenteeism were some of the negative effects caused by the turnover of young Plant managers. Most importantly, the poor achievement in Green Drop assessments is another negative effect brought about employee turnover. Green Drop assessments are an annual initiative of the Department of Water and Sanitation that assess the quality of the final effluent of municipal wastewater and award certificates for those wastewater works that achieve the expected levels of high quality. The research also found that all the policies meant to assist internal organizational employee retention were not succeeding in achieving the retention of Plant managers. The reason for their failure was that they were not primarily meant for employee retention. The results provide an indication that there is a need for a concerted effort by the organization to put in place measures that would lessen the quits of valuable employees like: • Retention policy development and implementation which should be applied and monitored to ensure the compliance with the government plan of a healthy environment. If the retention of such employees is not prioritized, the municipal obligation of providing a healthy environment to the citizens by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality through its subsidiary would be compromised.