CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

The definitive aim of every human endeavour is to achieve the ultimate in one’s chosen career.

Most often than not, employees move from one job to another in a bid to get the necessary

experience, job satisfaction and ultimately rise to the pinnacle of their chosen careers. Indeed, it

has not been easy for employers to hold on to most of their prized employees, due to

competition, organizational culture and philosophy. However, career development has been

identified as one of the strategic tools which can be used to retain most employees.

Many organizations strive to make optimal use of the skills and time of their employees and as a

reciprocal gesture they help sharpen the skills of their employees. This is normally done through

in-service training, employee assessment and promotion, mentoring, workshops, study leave and

deliberate succession planning. Such career development programmes ensures the loyalty and

retention of most employees.

Indeed, every employee would like to be given the right atmosphere at the workplace to rise

through the ranks and achieve the ultimate. In fact, once the right atmosphere has been created

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for career development, employees are encouraged to give off their best to their mother

organizations.

Again, as employees work hard, productivity automatically increases for the organization to

realize its corporate goals and stay in the competitive market. Consequently, a win-win situation

is created which is of mutual benefit to the organization and the employee because employees

are retained and the cost of recruiting and training new ones is cut down considerably.

1.1 Background to the Study

The survival of an organisation in this dynamic and competitive environment depends on how it

capitalises on its human resources. Indeed, organisations are realizing that the main source of

competitive advantage in this global economy is to develop their human resources and provide

them with new knowledge, skills and abilities (Poole & Jenkins, 1997; Low, 1998; O’Connell,

1999; Streumer et al, 1999; Harrison, 2000; Gardiner et al, 2001; Harrison & Kessels, 2004). In-

vesting in human capital by providing knowledge, skills and abilities has found expression in

systematic development and strategic implementation of employees career planning and progres-

sion.

The movement of professionals between jobs has been an intriguing phenomenon partly due to

the changing composition of the workforce and partly the advancement of technology. This

occurrence is not limited to the workforce in developed countries only; it is a common thing in

developing countries in Africa and for that matter Ghana. Many employers put out mouth

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watering packages to lure the best professionals out there due to the stiff competition for such

professionals. For this reason, many corporate organizations have devised internal mechanisms

to retain most of their best brains. In fact, one of such tools is career development opportunity.

According to Gutteridge (1986), a high-profile career-development network is related directly to

employee retention. This is so because, it ensures that employees are given a voice in their own

career planning. Indeed, employers who actively partner with their employees to align career

development with company objectives are experiencing higher retention rates. This according to

Cheryl (1989) creates happier, more productive workers and positive bottom-line results for the

organization.

Career development according to Gutteridge (1986) refers to "the outcomes of actions on career

plans as viewed from both individual and organizational perspectives". The outcome desired by

organizations is achieving the best match between people and jobs. Individuals' desired outcomes

range from status to job flexibility to monetary rewards, depending upon the situation

(Gutteridge 1986). Clearly, career development is an important component of human resource

management in organizations.

External and internal factors influence the need for career development. Among these factors,

Slavenski and Buckner (1988) list the following: (i) The need to identify and forecast personnel

needs, (ii) Social and demographic trends, (iii) The changing nature of work, (iv) Changing types

of jobs, (v) Equity and a multicultural work force, (vi)Worker productivity, (vii) Technological

change and decreasing advancement opportunities and (viii) Organizational philosophies.

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Employers are motivated to establish career development programmess because such programs

are seen as an effective response to various personnel problems (Cheryl 1989). Indeed, top

managers prefer to promote existing employees and to ensure a good fit between the work and

the worker, and because employees have expressed interest in career development as a benefit

(Gutteridge 1986). Above all, "most organizations adopt career development programmess in

response to pragmatic human resource concerns and because they believe it will help ensure a

continued supply of qualified, talented personnel" (Gutteridge 1986).

1.2 Statement of Problem

The private sector has been touted by the various governments of Ghana in recent times as the

engine of growth. This has led to the initiation of investor friendly policies which have brought

many investors setting up businesses in Ghana especially in the banking industry. And indeed,

many of such corporate businesses have employed well qualified Ghanaians who are manning

various positions.

In fact, every organization has its own vision and mission which guide its operations. Such

philosophies may stimulate employees to give off their best by putting in much effort. These

philosophies are also aimed at creating job securities and satisfaction for locally employed

expertise. Indeed, for an employee to become devoted to an organization's plan, the individual

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needs to understand what the company wants to accomplish and what he or she has to offer now

and wants to achieve in the future (Gutteridge 1986).

Despite the laudable objectives that banks aim to achieve, the practice over the years has been

the reneging on most of the corporate policies especially those that deal with career development

of employees thus encouraging the movement of professionals across jobs at the least

opportunity. Indeed, employees are extremely crucial to the organization since their value to the

organization is essentially intangible and not easily replicated (Meaghan et al. 2002).This calls

for innovative thinking and policy formulation and implementation with regard to career

development opportunities if The Trust Bank is to retain its experienced staff.

The problem with many of the newly emerging banks is that workers sometimes had to go to

work even on national holidays, and what is more, chances are hardly created for further

education and personal advancement of employees. Employers most often than not accuse

employees of concentrating more on their academic pursuits at the expense of the work for

which they were employed. On the other hand, employees feel that employers should be more

understanding and provide encouragement, career coaching, guidance and counseling. This

situation has created a standoff between employers and employees and as a consequence an

avenue for employees to move between jobs. Further, it appears the integration of employee

needs and that of the organization have not been fashioned out well.

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Indeed, the paradigm had shifted to the position where career development is now viewed as the

shared responsibility of employee and employer. A question one may want to ask is whether

these situations are true and practiced in organizations such as The Trust Bank.

It is my belief that this research will contribute to knowledge on the study of career development

in terms of its use as a tool for the retention of staff, which ultimately will culminate in better

management of multinational organizations.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

It must be recognized that opportunity for career development creates a niche for an organization

in terms of employee satisfaction and retention. The researcher therefore intends to find out how

opportunity for career development creates satisfaction and retention of employees I intend to

achieve this over-arching aim by examining the following specific objectives:

To find out the extent to which employees of The Trust Bank are involved in career

planning and availing themselves of such opportunities.

To examine the relationship between creation of career development opportunities and

retention of employees.

Identify ways to use career development opportunities as a retention tool.

To identify challenges faced by employees in their attempts to add value to themselves

and advance their careers

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1.4 Research Questions

The questions this research seeks to answer are:

To what extent are employees of The Trust Bank an integral part of career planning and

availing themselves of such opportunities?

What is the relationship between creation of career development opportunities and

retention of employees?

What ways can one use career development opportunities as a retention tool?

What challenges do employees face in their attempts to add value to themselves and

advance their careers?

1.5 Conceptual Framework for Organizational Career Development

The career development process in many organizations is multi-faceted and untying this

sufficiently to provide a way of understanding employee motivation and retention is a difficult

task. The challenge here lies in developing a method which will put together this multi-faceted

phenomenon. One way of doing so is by integrating the key dimensions of the career

development process. The conceptual framework of career development depicted in Figure 1

highlights that there are drivers for career development in an organisation which have both

negative and positive effects. However, if management/employees put in place appropriate

interventions and manage career development effectively, organisation will benefit in terms of

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reducing employee turnover, increase in job satisfaction, minimise employees stress, increase of

employee morale, promote good employees relations, attract employees, increase profitability

and enhance organisation competitiveness.

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework for Organizational Career Development

Author’s conceptual framework

There is need for managing career development in organisation effectively. For this reason,

management can help employees chart career path by providing opportunities for lateral growth

when opportunities for upward advancement do not exist. For instance banks with international

divisions can encourage employees to take assignment abroad to expand their horizons (Sneel

and Bohander, 2007). This will lead to the employee giving off his best for the success of the

organization.8

Positive

Strategies to

manage

career

developmentOutcomes

Negative

Drivers of

career

development

Effects

According to Ference et al. (1977) principal careers of employees that are common in

organisations are “learners” or “comers”. For them, these individuals have high potential for

advancement, but presently perform below standard. They also identified “Stars” as those

employees who presently do outstanding work and are viewed as having high potential for self

continued. Ference et al. (1977) further identified Solid citizens – these are employees whose

present performance are rated as satisfactory to outstanding, but are seen as having little chance

for future advancement and finally they also recognized deadwood employees – these individuals

have little advancement and their performance have fallen to an unsatisfactorily level. It is

therefore, the prerogative for management to understand and assess employees critically at each

stage of their career and develop appropriate interventions to avoid career exodus of qualified

staff for the company to get the best out them.

Similarly there is the need for mentoring of employees, recognizing the type of career problems

employees are experiencing and developing various strategies to minimize them at the

embryonic stage. In addition, management could incorporate intrinsic job rewards to enrich the

job. Furthermore, another strategy could be to encourage cross functional movement, periodical

rotation and downward movement. In addition, impartial performance appraisal will minimize

career problems and there could be open communication in the sense that employees could know

their career pathways and how management is trying to assist them to reach the pinnacle. For

instance the affected employees will be advised that their solid performance is still needed and

they will continue to be rewarded fairly (Applebaum, 1994).

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Once management creates an environment whereby employees are allowed to further their

careers, this will enable employees to have the necessary knowledge and versatile skills, so that

they would position themselves for opportunities in the organization. On the other hand, where

such opportunities do not exist, employees could be forced to leave the organization and seek

better opportunities elsewhere.

Finally, the model in figure 1 could position management to identify the symptoms of career

problems like employees coming late to work, leaving early, absenteeism and changes in

personality such as irritability and hypersensitivity to criticism. This will enable management to

develop strategies on how to manage career development effectively in organisation. This model

is supposed to be a heuristic tool for asking questions and the basis upon which the study is

grounded.

1.6. Rationale of the Study

This study empirically examines the potential of opportunity for career development as a tool for

retention of employees in the banking industry. This will be done by investigating the chain of

events in retention from opportunity creation for career development to challenges faced by

employees to advance their careers. The link between this construct will be tested to determine if

the results are consistent with previous claims about opportunities that impact retention.

Indeed, an opportunity for career development holds the key to overcoming the movement of

professional between jobs in Ghana. Not only this but also, employees will be motivated to give

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off their best if the opportunity exists for them to add value to themselves. These could be

achieved if the bottlenecks associated with creation of career development are reduced to the

barest minimum if not totally eliminated.

It is against this backdrop and movement of skilled personnel between jobs that this study

attempts to find out the relationship between employee satisfaction with career opportunities and

retention. The underlying reasons for studying the staff of The Trust Bank are in two folds. The

first reason is the stiff competition by the various banks to retain their experienced staff¸ and the

second reason concerns the fight for a small pool of customers by the various banks These, it is

hoped would help establish the framework for policy direction to maintain the staff and

customers of The Trust Bank and others in Ghana or elsewhere.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The continuous existence of any organization depends to a greater extent on the mix of human

resource of the organization and the corporate philosophy of that organization. The scope of this

study is limited to employees of The Trust Bank in Accra/Tema Metropolis. This comes against

the backdrop that Accra hosts the headquarters of The Trust Bank in Ghana and most of the

employees of the organization are based in Accra/Tema Metropolis.

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1.8. Limitations of the Study

Major constraints encountered in the course of conducting the research was finance. The cost

involved in printing all the relevant documents and the transportation for gathering the needed

data was enormous. However, the researcher was able to get the needed finance for the

completion of this work.

Time was also a limiting factor since more time was needed to go round in administering

questionnaires and conducting interviews and at the same time keeping up with the heavy

schedule of the office. Despite the time constraint, the researcher stuck to the time frame

allocated for each stage of the dissertation hence completing the work on time.

Indeed, the study is limited only to the branches of The Trust Bank in the Accra/Tema

Metropolis for the sake of time and cost constraints. However, the implications of the study will

generally hold for all service companies in Ghana and the developing world. .

The study is also limited by the number of questionnaires for the respondents (30) from a sample

frame of 150. The respondents that was covered, however, represented the entire study

population and thus reduce biases to a minimum

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1.9. Structure of the Study

This dissertation is organized into five chapters. Chapter one is introductory and deals with the

background to the study, problem statement, rationale of the study, objectives of the study,

research questions, conceptual framework, the scope as well as the limitations of the study.

Chapter two looks at review of relevant literature on opportunities for career development,

historical overview of career development, ways to use career development as a tool retain

employees and challenges faced by employees in their bid to upgrade themselves.

Chapter three covers the background of the study organization and the study methodology.

Chapter four was devoted for presentation and discussion of results.

Chapter five concludes the work with a summary of the findings, conclusion and

recommendations.

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CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Introduction

Review of related literature in any research work helps the researcher to collect, analyze and

synthesize previous information on the phenomenon under discussion. This helps to identify

missing ideas or links and the kinds of additional data required. This chapter takes a look at the

various variables that may influence career development as a tool for staff retention from the

perspective of some writers and researchers. It starts with historical overview of career

development, employees’ involvement in career planning, creation of career opportunities and

retention of employees, ways to use career opportunities as retention tool and finally ends with

challenges faced by employees in advancing their careers.

2.2 Historical Overview of Career Development

The use of the term career development as descriptive of both the factors and the processes

influencing individual career behaviour and as synonymous with intervention in career behavior

(e.g., the practice of career development) is relatively recent (Herr 2001). Indeed, the term career

development describe both the total constellation of psychological, sociological, educational,

physical, economic, and chance factors that combine to shape individual career behavior over the

life span (Sears, 1982) and the interventions or practices that are used "to enhance a person's

career development or to enable that person to make more effective career decisions" (Spokane,

1991). Thus, inherent in the current usage of the term career development are conceptual

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categories: one that explains the development of career behaviour across the life span and the

other that describes how career behaviour is changed by particular interventions.

Indeed, the term career was rarely used before the 1960s and the term development was rarely

used before the 1950s. When the two terms were combined, they tended until the late 1960s to be

described as vocational development or vocational psychology, not career development (Herr

2001). The fact cannot be denied that the seeds of the future exist in the past and in the present.

Career development in the twenty-first century can be traced far into antiquity (Dumont &

Carson, 1995; Williamson, 1965).

Career development started in the United States as Vocational Guidance. It was directly

associated with major shifts from a national economy that was primarily based in agriculture to

an economy that was, as part of the industrial revolution that was spilling over from Europe to

the United States, increasingly based in manufacturing and industrial processes ( Herr 2001). As

the latter occurred, urbanization and occupational diversity increased, as did concerns about

strengthening vocational education and responding to the needs for information about how

persons could identify and access emerging jobs (Dumont & Carson 1995). Indeed, as

urbanization, migration and industrialization increased, so did vocational guidance in the United

States.

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Brewer (1942) identified four conditions that were seen as major influences on the growth of

vocational guidance: division of labor, the growth of technology, the extension of vocational

education, and the spread of modern forms of democracy. According to Chartrand (1991) the

name Vocational Guidance was changed to the Career Development in 1985, suggesting that

earlier views of the process of career development as the object of career interventions became

instead synonymous with the practice of career development.

The decades that follow witnessed a consolidation of what is known about career

behaviour and how it can be used to guide planned programmes of career interventions. In this

sense, the practice of career development rests upon a legacy of concepts and practices that were

developed and refined throughout the twentieth century (Herr, 1999; Savickas, 1999).

Thus far, the history of the practice of career development is a record of conceptual growth and

practical effects that is very positive in its contributions to individual purpose and productivity

and to the economic health of a nation.

2.3 Employees Involvement in Career Planning

Career development, according to Gutteridge (1986) refers to "the outcomes of actions on career

plans as viewed from both individual and organizational perspectives." The outcomes desired by

organizations include achieving the best match between people and jobs. Individuals' desired

outcomes range from status to job flexibility to monetary rewards, depending upon the situation.

16

Indeed, Gutteridge opines that, career development is just one component of human resource

management in organizations.

Dressler (2005) on the other hand opines that career development is the lifelong series of

activities that contributes to a person’s career exploration, establishment, success and fulfillment.

Career development can also be conceptualized as an experience by the individual and for that

reason not necessarily bounded by the organization (Torrington, Hall and Taylor (2005).

Career development is viewed as a dynamic process that integrates the aspirations and

competence of the employee to the needs of the organization. The responsibility of career

development is therefore on the individual with the organization playing a facilitating and

supporting role to benefit the organization.

March and Simon (1958) suggested that feelings of disequilibrium arising out of their current

situation arouse people to seek clarification, search for alternatives, and make decisions. Such

feelings according to them are often the result of organizational actions that provide information

concerning a work context and their place in it. When faced with uncertainty, individuals seek

clarification and then make choices that are based on their perception of how well a newly

perceived organizational reality matches their personal needs and self-image (March & Simon,

1958). Failure to perceive an acceptable match causes individuals to begin a search for more

palatable alternatives either inside or outside an organization.

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To support and motivate diverse workforce, employee involvement in career planning is

important for the retention of employees. According to Cheryl (1989) “a high-profile career-

development network is related directly to employee retention. It helps ensure that employees are

given a voice in their own career planning.” To concur, Slavenski and Buckner (1988) observed

that, career development is now viewed as the shared responsibility of employee and employer.

Employers are implementing career development in order to match work and workers for

optimal productivity (Slavenski and Buckner 1988).

Slavenski and Buckner (1988) divide the career development process into three distinct phases:

(1) staffing and orientation, (2) evaluation, and (3) development.

According to Slavenski and Buckner (1988) the staffing and orientation phase is composed of

providing career information to the job candidate (whether internal or external) and using

selection techniques to match potential workers with the right job. They argue further that the

type of career information provided may include knowledge of jobs within the organization and

possible career paths for the employee. They conclude this phase by saying that, selection

techniques that are used to match employee and employment opportunity include assessment

center exercises and job posting systems even for positions that are to be filled internally (a form

of self-selection).

Two key tasks emphasized by Slavenski and Buckner in the evaluating phase are performance

review and succession planning. They argue that, the purpose of performance review, from a

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career development perspective, is to provide feedback to employees on their skills and

knowledge, both to increase job satisfaction and to help them prepare for their next job. For

them, succession planning, at the initiative of the employer, links information from and about

individual employees to the human resource needs of the organization.

During the developing phase, Slavenski and Bucker posit that more visible career development

strategies are employed. They said tools used during this phase include career discussions

between employee and supervisor, career resource centers, self-assessment and career

counseling, in-service training and career planning workshops.

From the model of Slavenski and Buckner, employees form an integral part of any career

development system. Magner et al (1996) point out that, employees feel comfortable to stay

longer in positions where they are involved in some level of the decision-making process. That

is, employees should fully understand issues that affect their working atmosphere (Magner et al.

(1996). But in the absence of openness in sharing information and getting employees involved in

the decision making process, the chances of continuity of employees are minimal. Costly et al.

(1987) point out that a high labour turnover may mean poor personnel policies, poor recruitment

policies, poor supervisory practices, poor grievance procedures, or lack of motivation.

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All the factors enumerated by Costly et al. (1987) contribute to high employee exodus in the

sense that if there is no proper management practices and policies on personnel matters, that is,

employees are not recruited scientifically, promotions of employees are not based on spelt out

policies and no grievance procedures in place, employees can decide to quit at any time.

Labov (1997) on the other hand observes that organizations with strong communication systems

where there is constant flow of information from top-to-down and vice versa there are lower

turnover of staff.

Managing employees’ career progression is the responsibility of both individuals and their em-

ployers (Aryee & Debrah, 1992 & 1993; Aryee, Debrah & Yue, 1993; Haywood, 1993). How-

ever, employers or employing firms have certain responsibilities to provide opportunities to em-

ployees in the career development process. In this sense, employers may provide training, men-

toring and/or job postings and may provide advice or assistance on career decision making, such

as advice or counselling regarding the firms’ human resource strategies (Abdullah and Ku-

mar2008).

2.4 Creation of Career Development and Retention of Employees

Managing career development according to Abdullah and Kumar (2008) is a tool by which orga-

nizations can endeavour to increase employees’ productivity and improve employees’ attitudes

toward work. In addition, career development is an accepted human resource development strat-

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egy, and is known to be a more systematic method of reducing performance problems for both

employees and managers (Gilley et al, 2002). Indeed, it has been reported that one of the key

purposes of human resource development is to provide training to enhance future capabilities,

known as career development, rather than to improve current abilities and skills (Marsick &

Watkins, 1994; Desimone et al, 2002; Gilley, Eggland & Gilley, 2002). Moreover, career devel-

opment has been suggested to focus on change and employees’ transitions towards enhancement

(Osipow & Fitzgerald, 1996; Iles, 1996; Harrison, 2000).

Noe (1986) argued that as well as increasing employees’ motivation and morale and reducing

performance problems, systematically planning and developing employees’ career progression

can reduce the inappropriate use of resources allocated for training and development. On this ba-

sis, Gilley et al. (2002) suggested that employees’ career enhancement can be developed through

job posting systems, mentoring programmes, and also sending employees to career development

seminars and workshops.

Creation of career advancement opportunities can be done through one-to-one mentoring

arrangement, matching a lower level employee with an executive many levels higher

(www.adserver1.harvestadstepot.com). In a mentoring programme designed for women by

Deutsche Bank, a mentee is given a chance to receive both the benefit of mentoring from a senior

executive and advice from peers at her career level. According to the programme, all mentees

meet, along with a managing director and a director, each from different business units, to

discuss professional-development opportunities. The programme has ensured that women had

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the chance to meet people who will help them advance in their careers and as a way to receive

some solid how-to advice about career development (www.adserver1.harvestadstepot.com).

According to Malone (1997) creation of career opportunities through empowerment of

employees could help to enhance the continuity of employees in organizations. He opines that

empowered employees, where managers supervise more people than in a traditional hierarchy

and delegate more decisions to their subordinates will enhance retention. He argues that,

managers act like coaches and help employees solve problems. Employees, he concludes, by

solving problems learns by intrinsic motivation. To concur, Keller and Dansereau (1995) said

that, superiors empowering subordinates by delegating responsibilities to them leads to

subordinates being more satisfied with their leaders and consider them to be fair and in turn to

perform up to the superior’s expectations. For them, all these make employees to be committed

to the organization and chances of quitting are minimal.

Zuber (2001) observes that organizational instability has been shown to have a high degree of

high turnover. He posits that, employees are more likely to stay when there is a predictable work

environment and vice versa for their career development. Alexander et al. (1994) supported

Zuber’s view when they found out that in situations where organizations are not stable

employees tend to quit and look for stable organisations because with stable organisations they

would be able to predict their career advancement.

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Again, enabling employees to acquire skills to increase their employability within and outside

the organization creates the avenue for them to stick with the mother organization for long

(Robertson and O’Malley Hammersley, 2000; Ulrich, 1998). This practice they argue creates the

trust and loyalty relationship between the employee and the organization.

2.5 Ways to Use Career Opportunities as a Retention Tool

There is a substantial body of theoretical literature that links organizational strategy, human

resource (HR) practices, and performance (Balkin and Gomez-Mejia, 1987; Hambrick and Snow,

1989; Lawler, 1986a). This literature typically suggests that human resource practices should be

selected which complement and support an organizational strategy. More specifically, the reward

system should be aligned to motivate employee performance that is consistent with the firm's

strategy, attract and retain people with the knowledge, skills and abilities required to realize the

firm's strategic goals, and create a supportive culture that enhances employee career development

(Galbraith, 1973; Kilmann, 1989; Nadler and Tushman, 1988)

The extent of an organization’s “collaborativeness” and its capacity for making knowledge and

ideas widely available to employees would make employees to stay in the organization

(Meaghan et al. 2002). They argued that sharing of information should be made at all levels of

management. For them this accessibility of information would lead to strong performance from

the employees and creating strong corporate culture. Meaghan et al. (2002) concluded that

information accessibility would make employees feel that they are appreciated for their effort

and chances of leaving the organization are minimal.

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Organization’s success in optimizing the performance of the employees by establishing essential

processes for getting work done, providing good working conditions, establishing accountability

and making good hiring choices would retain employees in their organization (Badawy et al

1998). The importance of gaining better understanding of the factors related to recruitment,

motivation and retention of employees is further underscored by rising personnel costs and high

rates of employee turnover, they argue (Badawy, 1988; Basta and Johnson, 1989; Garden, 1989;

Parden, 1981; Sherman, 1986). They concluded that, with increased competitiveness on

globalization, managers in many organizations are experiencing greater pressure from top

management to improve recruitment, selection, training, and retention of good employees and in

the long run would encourage employees to stay in organizations.

Commitment is a belief which reflects “the strength of a person’s attachment to an organization”

(Grusky, 1966). Researchers have suggested that reciprocity is a mechanism underlying

commitment (Angle & Perry, 1983; Scholl, 1981) and that employees will offer their

commitment to the organization in reciprocation for the organization having fulfilled its

psychological contract (Angle & Perry 1983; Robinson, Kraatz & Rousseau, 1994). By fulfilling

obligations relating to, for example, pay, job security, and career development, employers are

creating a need for employees to reciprocate, and this can take the form of attitudinal reciprocity

through enhanced commitment and consequently influence employees to stay with the

organization (Becker & Huselid, 1998; Cappelli, 2000; Furnham, 2002; Oakland & Oakland,

2001; Wagar, 2003).

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2.6 Challenges Faced by Employees in Advancing Their Careers

Employees the world over enter full employment at various stages of their life. Some enter with

minimal academic qualifications and later upgrade themselves while others especially the female

has family constraints whiles being a career woman.

There is certainly evidence that organisations tend to lack clear career path systems for employ-

ees’ career development (Budhwar et al, 2002; Heraty & Morley, 1994), and because of this defi-

ciency, career progression occurs largely as a result of individual employees’ perseverance,

rather than through career developmental training from within the company (Aryee & Debrah,

1992 & 1993; Aryee et al, 1993; Lloyd, 2002; Swanson & Holton III, 2001). On the contrary, it

has been argued that if organisations have clear career path systems, they are only used for con-

sultation and recruitment purposes (Budhwar et al, 2002), as they may not be sufficiently well

structured to assist employees’ career growth and advancement (Cho et al, 1999).

Family constraints, according to Chi-Ching (1992) can be perceived as a function of a female’s

commitment to and actual involvement in duties associated with parental, marital and

homemaker roles on one hand and the amount of support she receives from her spouse and other

relatives on the other. Combing these duties with the stress associated with a typical service work

pose a great challenge to women. Furthermore, when female managers return home to their

children and spouses who are also anticipating their full support and attention, the balance of

work and life may then become difficult to achieve (Brownell, 1998).

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Shinew and Arnold (1998) examined the gender inequality in public leisure service agencies and

results suggested that female middle managers were given fewer opportunities to be promoted to

upper management. Another often-cited barrier involves women’s limited access to

organizational and professional networks and to mentors. Because men occupied most senior

management positions, female managers lose out due to the lack of opportunities to socialize

with and to develop mentoring relationship with them (Chi-Ching, 1992).

Flanders (1994) used the phrase “glass ceiling” to sum up the frustrations of employees at every

level who could see where they wanted to advance to but found themselves blocked by an

invisible barrier. To cross this barrier, Brownell (1995) studied gender differences in personality

and career development among hotel general managers. The findings suggested that a profile

characterized by education, ambition, positive attitude, interpersonal skills and hard work

contributed to the career advancement and crossing of this barrier by employees especially the

female. However, to cross this educational barrier is always a challenge.

From the available literature, one wonders which mix of factors have more explanatory power in

influencing organizational retention? Is career development the tool to retaining staff? To date

this question has not been explored. This study therefore, aims to investigate how the scenarios

described in the literature play out.

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Methodology

Selection of toll points

The research will be conducted in three toll collection points on the motorway between Accra

and Tema. The choice of these three points as the focus of the study is based on the heavy traffic

that plies the motorway each day and the revenue it is expected to generate.

3.3 The case study approach

The case study method was selected as it appears to be more appropriate because of the

contemporary and fluid nature of the phenomenon. This method allows for the use of multiple

sources of evidence. Employee career development which the study seeks to address in the

banking industry is a contemporary phenomenon within real life context and an understanding of

the issues requires careful and critical inquiry or examination in order to make decisions that take

into consideration the special and peculiar circumstances surrounding the issue. Even though the

use of a case study method is often limited to an area, it could be used to make generalisation

when the data collected has a wide scope and is highly representative of the study population.

3.4 The study population

The population for the research comprised of all the 150 staff of the 16 branches of The Trust

Bank in the Accra/Tema Metropolis including the staff of the headquarters. The Accra/Tema

Metropolis was chosen since it represented the largest concentration of the number of branches

of the bank and by implication a large swathe of employees. A list of the branches in the

27

Accra/Tema Metropolis was obtained from the head office which also included contact details of

the branch managers and their assistants.

3.5 Sample

Sample size determination was guided by cost and time consideration. Given the number of the

staff of The Trust Bank, purposive and quota sampling methods were adopted in the collection of

data from 20 respondents to answer questions to supplement secondary data. The branch

managers, their assistants and the human resource managers of each branch were purposively

selected. Further, 10 other staffs were randomly selected from the branches. In all, 30

questionnaires were administered and filled by the respondents mentioned above. Respondents

were contacted and they were willing and available to participate in the study hence the use of

purposive method was apparent.

3.6 Research instrument

The empirical research component of the study consisted of the completion of semi-structured

questionnaires through personal interviews. The questionnaire consisted of a structured format

and incorporated with three types of questions, namely: closed-ended and open-ended questions

and five point Likert-type statements to test respondent’s ideal application of career development

management principles. The reason for applying a five point Likert scale to the study is because

the satisfaction levels of bank staff on career development practices can be measured more

successfully through the use of five point Likert type statements (Malhotra 2007).

28

3.7 Data gathering

Two types of data was collected for the study – primary and secondary data. In the collection of

primary data, a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from the

respondents. This was done with the help of two research assistants over a one week period.

Also, in-depth interviews were held with the top management staff at the headquarters of The

Trust Bank to solicit their views on the process of formulating career opportunities, opportunities

available and the synergy between opportunities for employees to develop their careers and

retention at their place of work. The items on the questionnaire were compiled from each section

and sub-section of the literature.

Secondary data was obtained through extensive review of written documents, which included

but not limited to articles in newspapers, textbooks, articles on the internet and publications.

3.8 Data analysis

Data collected from the field and secondary sources were hand coded and analysed using both

qualitative and quantitative techniques. The statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)

was used to generate frequency distribution tables and means for responses for the items.

Percentages were then computed for decisions to be made. Statistical methods such as charts,

graphs, means and others were used to illustrate certain trends and patterns that were observed

from the data.

The study used proportions generated from simple cross-tabulations as one of the techniques of

29

analysis. Bivariate analysis was also carried out by way of cross-tabulation to examine the

influences of selected relevant variables. The analyses were made with either a 95% i.e., p = 0.05

or 99% level of confidence i.e., p 0.01 and the research questions were analysed within the

general framework of the survey findings.

3.9 Validity and Reliability

The two main issues of validity are the representativeness of the sample and the reactive

arrangements in the research procedure. In order to ensure that this study can be reliable, care

was taken to select the sample using a sampling method that assures representation.

Indeed, the questionnaire was first pre-tested on respondents chosen from other banks within the

Accra Metropolis by a convenient sampling method. This was done to evaluate the validity and

reliability of the instrument to be used. It was also to serve as a means of identifying and solving

unforeseen problems in the administration of the questionnaires. As a result of the pre-test, few

of the original items were reworded while some were completely deleted.

On the extent to which the research findings can be generalized to larger populations, the

representativeness of the sample was ensured through the 20% sample chosen and the telephone

calls to 10% of the respondents to clarify the responses they had given.

30

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents an analysis of the data collected from the field. It starts with a bio-data of

the respondents, employee involvement in career planning and availing themselves of such

opportunities, the relationship between creation of career development opportunities and

retention of employees, ways to use career development opportunities as a retention tool and

identify challenges faced by employees in their attempts to add value to themselves and advance

their careers.

31

4.2 Bio-data of Respondents

Sex was included because it was the assumption of the researcher that there should be a balance

between both sexes who are the employees of The Trust Bank. According to the survey, more

than half (53.3%) of respondents are males while the females make up 46.7%. This result shows

a high percentage of males working at the top echelon of The Trust Bank. The study explore

further to find out the age range of employees of The Trust Bank and the results show that the

modal age of employees of the bank is 35 years. Clearly, The Trust Bank has a significant

number of its top employees being relatively young. The relatively youthful population of Te

Trust Bank positions the bank to make maximum use of the youthful exuberance associated with

workers who fall into this age category if the question of career development of the bank is

properly managed. Table 4.2.1 depicts the results.

Table 4.2.1 Sex of Respondents

Sex Frequency Percent

Male 16 53.3

Female 14 46.7

Total 30 100.0

The study probed further to find out the educational qualification of the respondents since this is

an important variable in human resource base of any organization. From the study, 3.3% of

respondents have GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ level certificate while 76.7% have first degree. Indeed, 20%

of respondents have masters degree. Clearly, the human resource base of The Trust Bank is solid

in terms of relevant education. Figure 4.2.1 illustrates the results.

32

Figure 4.2.1 Educational Level of Respondents

The 30 respondents from The Trust Bank are divided into three main departments of the

organization. 60% of the respondents are in the operations department while 33.3% are in

business line. Indeed, a paltry 6.7% are in finance and control department of the bank.

Specifically, there are three managers, two deputy managers, three assistant managers, one senior

officer, six officers and fifteen sub-officers. This is a well distributed workforce knitted into

three main departments. In terms of the number of years each employee has spent with the

organization, 86.3% of the respondents have been working for more than seven years while

14.7% has been with the organization for the past six years. Looking at the results, it implies that

most of the employees have not been with the bank for long. Table 4.2.2 depicts the results.

Table 4.2.2 Departments at the top echelon of The Trust Bank

Departments Frequency Percent

operations 18 60.0

finance and control 2 6.7

33

business line 10 33.3

Total 30 100.0

4.3 Employee Involvement in Career Planning

The study sought to find out the extent to which employment conditions in The Trust Bank

encourage career prospects as involvement of employees as a key element and motivator

retention. The result is a mixed bag for career prospects in The Trust Bank as 13.3%% rated

career prospects as either poor or below average while 26.7% each rated career prospects in The

Trust Bank as average. Indeed, 46.7% claimed career prospects are good while 13.3% declined

to answer the test item. Judging by the results it is not clear whether The Trust Bank has a clear

policy for career development of employees which in turn will encourage them to stay. On

personal development, half (50%) rated their chances as good while 10% and 20% of

respondents rated personal development as below average and average respectively. On the other

hand, while a paltry 6.7% rated their chances as excellent a significant 13.3% again declined to

answer the test item. From the results chances of personal development at The Trust Bank is a

mixed bag. By this result, employees may be inclined to leave at the least opportunity.

The study also tried to gauge the remuneration package of the staff of The Trust Bank since this

plays a larger role in the motivation of staff. From the survey, 23.3% rated the remuneration

system of The Trust Bank as either below average or average while more than half (53.3%) said

the remuneration system is very good. A measly 6.7% claimed the remuneration system

excellent. A significant 16.7% declined to comment on this test item. This result demonstrates

that the remuneration system in The Trust Bank is not the best. Table 4.3.1 depicts the results.

34

Table 4.3.1 Remuneration System in The Trust Bank

Level of remuneration Frequency Percent

below average 1 3.3

average 6 20.0

good 16 53.3

excellent 2 6.7

Missing 5 16.7

Total 30 100

The study probed further to find out the level of human resource policies of The Trust Bank.

According to the ratings, 54.2% of respondents said human resource policies of The Trust Bank

are either poor or average while 45.8% rated human resource policies as good. Respondents were

further asked to rate the overall employment conditions of The Trust Bank. From the results,

33.3% of respondents rated overall employment conditions as average while 63.3% rated the

overall employment conditions as good. Indeed, a measly 3.4% rated employment conditions at

The Trust Bank as excellent. It also emerged that employees’ participation in the many of the

decisions taken on their behalf is low. This appears to contrast the position of Magner et al

(1996) that employees feel comfortable to stay longer in positions where they are involved in

some level of the decision-making process. Human resource policies of The Trust Bank needs a

critical look in terms of employee involvement and participation in the decision making process.

Figure 4.3.1 captures the pictorial impression of the overall assessment of employment

conditions at The Trust Bank.

Figure 4.3.1 Overall Employment Conditions of The Trust Bank

35

4.4 Career Development Opportunities and Retention of Employees

It has been suggested by Gilley et al. (2002) that methods such as job posting systems, mentoring

programs, career development seminars and workshops can be used in enhancing and developing

employees’ career paths. However, it appears from the current data that career development

programmes such as mentoring (mean=1.9310), seminars and workshops (mean=1.7931), career

counselling (1.3448) are rarely implemented in The Trust Bank. This position has been

corroborated by the in-depth interview quotations such as:

“As far as I can remember, since I joined The Trust Bank, I haven’t had any opportunity to

attend that kind of training (career development seminars or workshops). I have gone to other

types of training, such as teambuilding, motivation and stress management programmes, but

nothing related to career development. Among those who have undergone the programme 66.7%

rated the programme as good while 33.3% rated it as poor. This result indicates a two-thirds

majority support for such programmes which was rated as good. It is therefore incumbent on The

36

Trust Bank to focus on career development of its employees if it wants to maintain a competitive

edge in the banking industry. Table 4.4.1 captures the mean, standard deviation and variances of

career development variables.

Table 4.4.1 Career Development Opportunities at The Trust Bank N Mean Std. Deviation VarianceOne-to-one mentoring programme for employees

29 1.9310 .25788 .067

Career counselling done in TTB

29 1.3448 1.07822 1.163

In-service training conducted in TTB

26 3.8846 1.45126 2.106

Career planning workshop by the kind courtesy of TTB

29 1.7931 .41225 .170

Valid N (listwise) 23

Empowerment of employees has also been identified as one of the career development tools that

could be used to retain employees. Respondents were asked to rate the empowerment of

employees through delegation of authority in The Trust Bank. The survey revealed that, 63.3%

of respondents said delegation at The Trust Bank is good while 26.7% rated delegation as very

good. Indeed, 6.7% of respondents rated the delegation process as bad while a paltry 3.3% said

the delegation process is excellent. In fact, this result shows that The Trust Bank has a high level

of delegation of authority at its workplace. Figure 4.4.1 illustrates the responses.

Figure 4.4.1 Empowerment of Employees through Delegation

37

Another test item that enhances the career development process of employees is their upgrading

through study leave for further education. Respondents were therefore asked if they have ever

been granted study leave for further studies. An overwhelming 80% of the respondents

responded in the negative while 20% said yes. When they were asked to explain this anomaly,

respondents claimed they have not requested for it because there is no clear cut career

development policy. This is a sad commentary given the fact that employees continuously need

to upgrade their skills to able to cope with the ever changing technology of the workplace. This

practice can create disloyalty between the organization and employees.

The career development process it has been argued should be aligned to the organization's

strategic goals in order to motivate employees, attract and retain people with the knowledge,

skills and abilities required to realize the organization’s long term aspiration. Respondents were

also asked whether there has ever been a career discussion between them and their immediate

38

supervisors. From the results, 62.1% of the respondents said no while 37.9% responded in the

affirmative. A follow up test item sought to find out from the respondents how they feel about

such a situation. 70% of the respondents intoned that career discussion should be a compulsory

organizational platform for employees to discuss their future aspirations while 30% of

respondents were unhappy.

Self assessment and career counselling are other career development strategies used to encourage

and retain employees in any organization. The study tried to find out how this is done in The

Trust Bank and from the results, 89.7% reported that self assessment and career counselling are

rarely done on one-on-one basis with the supervisor or operations manager while 3.4% said these

things are done half yearly on individual basis and later discussions held with superiors. Indeed,

6.9% of the respondents claimed self assessment and career counselling in The Trust Bank is

done yearly.

Closely related to this test item is the issue of in-service training. All the respondents said they

have in one way or the other undergone in-service training at The Trust Bank. According to the

results, 43.3% said in-service training is held very often in The Trust Bank while 33.3% reported

that such training sessions are held quarterly. On the other hand, 13.4% and 10% said such

trainings are held half yearly and rarely respectively. This is a positive development since all the

respondents will sharpen their skills and keep in tune with the operations of the organization and

find out how far they have come with their skills development which could enhance their careers.

Further, the study tried to find out if respondents have ever benefited from any career planning

workshop organized by The Trust Bank. The survey shows that 79.3% of respondents said no

39

such workshop was organized for them while 20.7% responded in the affirmative. The study

probed further to find out from those who attended the career planning workshop what bearing it

has on their work. 75% of the respondents said their work has been enhanced because they are

motivated by such workshops. Those who said they have never attended such workshops

reported that the absence of career planning makes their contribution to organizational goals very

difficult. The results garnered points to the importance of career planning workshops. It is

therefore incumbent on The Trust Bank to institute such workshops.

Career development combined with job security and adequate remuneration has been discovered

by this study as key variables that can enhance retention of employees. The study asked

employees what they could give back to The Trust Bank if these three key variables are ensured

in the organization. From the results, 85.2% reported that they will give their very best and stay

longer with the bank while 7.4% each responded that they will stay as long as their services are

needed at the bank and always ensure excellent customer service respectively. This is another

pointer for The Trust Bank to combine career development with other variables if it wants to

retain its skilled employees and stay ahead of competition all the time.

Figure 4.4.2 Career Development, Job Security and Adequate Remuneration

40

4.5 Challenges Facing Employees in Advancing their Careers

Employees in their bid to advance their careers have faced several challenges which have made

them to leave their place of work for another. A test item to this effect has tried to find out if

employees of The Trust Bank have ever left the organization. The result is amazing, 96.7% of

the respondents said employees have left and continue to leave the organization while 3.3% of

the respondents said no. The study probed further to find out the reasons that underpin such

movements. Half (50%) of the respondents intoned that poor grievance procedures was the main

reason while 38.5% said the departure is due to poor personnel policies. 3.8% each reported that

poor recruitment policies, poor supervisory practices and change in the ways things are done are

the other reasons respectively.

Table 4.5.1 Challenges why employees leave The Trust Bank

41

Challenges Frequency Percent

poor personnel policies 11 38.5

poor recruitment policies 1 3.8

poor supervisory practices 1 3.8

poor grievance procedures 15 50.0

those who leave want change 1 3.8

Total 29 100.0

Access to information in any job environment is important for continuous and consistent work

and the ultimate success of any organization. The study tried to find out the flow of from top –to-

down and vice versa. According to the results, 55.2% of the respondents intoned that the flow of

communication is good while 20.7% claimed the flow of information flow was poor. Further,

17.2%, 6.8% and 3.4% observed that communication flow very good, excellent and very poor

respectively. Indeed, those who the flow of information was good and very good posit among

others that, their work is made easier, raises their level of commitment to the organization and

encourages them to continue to work in The Trust Bank. Clearly, this results show that when the

flow of communication amongst employees is good they may be able to air their grievances and

be encouraged to stay with their mother organizations.

The study also tried to find out if family obligations have anything to do with employees’ ability

to advance their careers. Fifteen respondents answered this test item and from the results

garnered 66.7% of the respondents said family obligations have not inhibited their ability to

advance their careers while 26.7% claimed family responsibilities combined with work schedule

have made their limited such that there was no time to study. A paltry 6.7% posited that the

42

nature of their work had made it such that they have to forgo all their family obligations. Further,

the study also revealed that women are always given the opportunity to advance their careers at

The Trust Bank. Indeed, an overwhelming 96.3% of the respondents supported this claim while a

measly 3.7% said no.

Employees are always faced with the challenge of progressing from a lower level on the job

ladder to a higher level. Employees of The Trust Bank were asked to state the level on the

organizational ladder they would like to progress to. From the study, 22.7% stated that they

would like to progress to the position of the general manager while 45.5% aimed at progressing

to managing director. The rest of the respondents were not decided as to what level they want to

progress to. A follow up test item was aimed at finding out factors that prevented them from

achieving these heights. From the results, a whopping 76.9% cited lack of career opportunities as

the main factor militating against their ability to progress to their various chosen levels. On the

other hand, 7.7% each said time needed for studies is not on their side; promotion policies and

have not acquired the necessary qualification and experience respectively. Indeed, the non-

availability of avenues for career development is a factor in the large turn-over of many

employees.

4.6 Correlations

The Pearson and Spearman correlations were used in an effort to identify relationships between

some of the variables. Some significant correlations were found as a result of this procedure, and

those which were determined to be significant were positive with mixed strength while one was

negative with high strength

43

Table 4.6.1 Career Development Variables and Organizational PracticesVariables Significance

level/Number of resp.Pearson

CorrelationSpearman

Correlation

career prospects/ personality development

.028 (N=26) .432(*) .426(*)

personality development/ department .049 (N=26) .390(*) ----

personality development/ empowerment of employees through delegation

.025 (N=26) .439(*) ----

empowerment of employees through delegation/ HR management policies

.023 (N=30) .476(*) ----

the overall employment conditions of TTB/ career counselling

.018(N=48) .435(*) .371(*)

overall employment conditions of TTB/prevention from achieving individual goals

.027 (N=30) ---- .550(*)

one-to-one mentoring programme/rating of the programme

.000 (N=29) -1.000(**) -1.000(**)

empowerment of employees through delegation/ department

.004(N=30) .514(**) .527(**)

empowerment of employees through delegation/rating of the programme

.000(N=30) 1.000(**) 1.000(**)

study leave to upgrade oneself/current status

.000(N=30) .671(**) .636(**)

Career discussion with supervisor/ attended career planning workshop

.011(N=28) .471(*) .471(*)

Prevention from achieving individual goal/department

.038(N=16) .526(*) .573(*)

Prevention from achieving individual goal/ the overall employment conditions of TTB

.027(N=16) ---- .550(*)

communication flow from top-to-down and vice versa/ department

.007(N=29) .491(**) .490(**)

Prevention from achieving individual goal/ main causes of resignation in TTB

.040(N=16) -.519(*) -.516(*)

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

44

The correlation coefficient of 0.432 for Pearson and 0.426 for Spearman respectively confirm

that there is a relationship between career prospects and personal development of the staff of the

bank. In fact, this relationship is positive though low. The value of 0.4 for Pearson and Spearman

show the strength of association between the two variables. As expected, the two test results are

statistically significant at 5% level of significance, which implies that the correlation coefficients

are reliable. This therefore confirms the fact that employment conditions of The Trust Bank have

a positive bearing on personal development which could encourage employee loyalty and

retention. However, this relationship appears weak in The Trust Bank. There is ample evidence

therefore to conclude that career prospects of individual employees and personal development

should be critically looked at in The Trust Bank.

Other proxy variables that show ways to use career development opportunities as a retention tool

are one-to-one mentoring programme, empowerment of employees through delegation, study

leave among others. These variables were juxtaposed on how employees view their

implementation at The Trust Bank. It is clear that the correlation coefficient of 1.000 for Pearson

and Spearman is just perfect in the negative direction. This result is statistically significant at 1%

meaning the correlation coefficient is reliable. This result means that though employees value the

programme, it is not practiced in The Trust Bank. This demonstrates that employees have a high

likelihood to leave the organization at the least opportunity. To retain employees, The Trust

Bank should quickly address these issues. It must however be mentioned that empowerment of

employees through delegation received favourable ratings from the employees because it is being

practiced very well.

45

One variable of significance to this study is the causes of employee resignation and departure

from the bank. Reasons for the resignation and departure of highly qualified employees from the

bank have created a negative perception in the minds of the employees of the bank as far as

retention is concerned. Indeed, the Pearson coefficient of -0.519 and the Spearman coefficient of

-0.516 show an average negative relationship between The Trust Bank practices and the

perception of how these practices are preventing employees from achieving their personal goals.

In fact, for a bank that aspires to be the best in all that it surveys, a second look needs to be taken

at the practices of the bank if it wants to retain its competent staff. Other variables of statistical

significance are illustrated in the table 4.6.1.

46

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the concluding part of the study. It starts with the summary of findings,

followed by the conclusions drawn and finally ends up with recommendations for policy

guidance for organizations interested in career development of their employees.

5.2 Summary of Findings

The movement of professionals between jobs has been an intriguing phenomenon partly due to

the changing composition of the workforce and partly the advancement of technology. Indeed,

many corporate organizations have used career development as a tool for staff retention. This

research tried to find out the relationship between organizational career development and

retention of employees. This was done through a purposive sampling of 30 respondents of The

Trust Bank. A semi-structured questionnaire was used as the main technique for data collection.

This was interlaced with in-depth interview and the results revealed that there is a mixed result as

far as career development and staff retention in The Trust Bank. Some of the practices of the

bank on career development have found favour with the employees while others have not.

47

The study also revealed that employees are willing to stay once there is guarantee that they can

progress and rise through the ranks to achieve their potentials whilst in the employment of The

Trust Bank

To ascertain the place of career development as tool for staff retention, related literature was

reviewed and the data analyse for conclusion and recommendations.

5.3 Conclusions

The information gathered by this study pointed to how career development can help an

organization to retain its staff and get the best out them, especially when the needed attention is

given to latent needs. Indeed, the low attention given to career development has seen continuous

turn-over of the staff in the bank. To give expression to the importance of career development

most of the employees are willing to stay with the organization and give offs their best if avenues

for career development are created and are accessible.

Again, career planning workshops, career discussions and one-to-one mentoring were not used

properly in lieu of tested strategies and techniques of career development at the bank. This has

actually led to a situation of near frustration by most of the workers who normally walk

mechanically through the emotions of work without a source of motivation. Indeed, study leave

and in-service training are also not frequent leading some of the workers to express their

indignation at the situation.

48

5.4 Recommendations.

Evidence gathered by the study from the field points to the important place occupied by career

development but not being clearly practiced in The Trust Bank. The researcher would therefore

like to make the following recommendations:

To start with, there is the need for The Trust Bank to begin to realise that keeping employees out

of mainstream decision making could affect its corporate goal and operations. There is the need

therefore for The Trust Bank to constantly engage employees in the career planning process as

this will ensure their loyalty and giving off their best.

Again, there appears to be no clear-cut corporate policy by The Trust Bank to create avenues for

employees to upgrade themselves and chart a pathway to their career paths. As a matter of

urgency, The Trust Bank could make maximum use of the many training programmes in the

British Council and GIMPA on career development strategies. Again, the organization needs to

create a clear cut policy of career development if it wants to survive in the competitive market. It

is a known fact that other banks are always ready to pounce on the well-trained staffs of The

Trust Bank if it cannot create career opportunities for its employees to progress.

49

To retain its staff against competition by other service providers in the banking industry, The

Trust Bank could use career development tools such as mentor-mentee strategy, assessment

centre exercises and succession planning as a start to the career development process.

Finally, clear cut job details should be made part of the recruitment process for new employees

and the issue of delegation and information flow should also be encouraged the more so that

employees will feel being part of the bank and work for its success.

50

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APPENDIX

GHANA INSTITUTE MANAGEMENT AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

This questionnaire is designed to seek information for a study on the topic “Organizational Career Development and Staff Retention: A Case of The Trust Bank” Your honest opinions would be appreciated and used for the purpose of this study only. You are assured of confidentiality.A. Demographic Characteristics of RespondentsA1. Sex

1. Male2. Female

A2. Age1. 20 – 29 2. 30 – 393. 40 – 494. 50 – 595. 60 and above

A3. Highest educational qualification1. Basic2. GCE ‘O’/’A’ Level3. Diploma4. First degree5. Masters degree6. Professional/others, specify……………………………………..

A4. Department1. Operations2. Finance3. Engineering/IT4. Materials and Transport5. Customer Service6. Human Resource

A5. Current status1. Manager2. Finance Director3. Senior Officer4. Junior Officer

B. Employees Involvement in Career Planning

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B1. What career opportunities are there for employees of The Trust Bank?1. succession planning2. performance review3. providing career information to the job candidate4. assessment center exercises and job posting systems5. further study with pay6. fast track program, 7. individual career counseling, 8. Career testing, coaching or mentoring and career planning workshops.

B2. Were you involved in the planning of any of these opportunities?1. yes2. no

B3. If yes, at what stage were you involved in the planning?1. Staffing and orientation2. Evaluation, 3. Initial development of career goals4. The entire process5. Asked to submit input

B4. Will you feel comfortable to continue to work here if you are involved in the decision making process?1. Yes2. No

B5. Please explain your answer in B4…………………………………………………………………………………………

C. Creation of Career Opportunities and Retention of Employees

What is the extent to which employment conditions in The Trust Bank encourage ethical behaviour leading to career prospects, personal development, remuneration and human resource management?

poor Below average average good excellentC1.Career prospectsC2. Personal developmentC3. RemunerationC4. HRM policies

C5. How will you rate the overall employment conditions of The Trust Bank?1. poor2. below average3. average4. good

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5. excellentC4. Has The Trust Bank ever arranged one-to-one mentoring programme for employees?

1. yes2. no

C7. If yes, how do you rate the programme?1. poor2. below average3. average4. good5. excellent

C8. Has The Trust Bank ever organized matching a lower level employee with an executive many levels higher within or outside the organization for work oriented or personal development?

1. yes2. no

C9. How will you rate empowerment of employees through delegation in The Trust Bank?1. Very bad2. Bad3. Good4. Very good5. Excellent C10. Have you ever been granted study leave to upgrade yourself academically?1. Yes2. NoIf yes or no explain how you feel?

D Ways to Use Career Opportunities as a Retention Tool

D1. Has there ever been career discussions between employee and supervisor?1. yes2. no

D2. If yes or no how do you feel about such a situation?………………………………………………………………………………….

D3. How is self-assessment and career counseling done in The Trust Bank?………………………………………………………………………………….

D4. How often is in-service training conducted in The Trust Bank?1. Rarely2. Quarterly3. Half yearly4. Once a year5. very often

D5. Have you ever attended career planning workshop by the courtesy of The Trust Bank?

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1. yes2. no

D6. Please explain how you feel?……………………………………………………………………………………..

D7.Do you have easy access to information in the course your work at The Trust Bank?1. yes2. no

D8. If yes how do you feel?1. Appreciated for my efforts2. Makes me to work easily3. Raises my level of commitment to organization’s goal 4. Encourages me to continue to work at The Trust Bank

D9. How do you feel about the processes for getting work done, work conditions and accountability at The Trust Bank?………………………………………………………………………………..

. D10. What will you give back to The Trust Bank if there is job security, career development and adequate remuneration?……………………………………………………………………………….E. Challenges Faced by Employees in Advancing Their Careers

E1. Has any staff ever left The Trust Bank?1. yes2. no

E2. If yes, please state reasons for his/her leaving?1. poor personnel policies,2. poor recruitment policies 3. poor supervisory practices 4. poor grievance procedures, 5. Lack of motivation.

E3. How do you rate the communication flow from top-to-down and vice versa?1. very poor2. poor3. good4. very good5. excellent

E4. How has family obligations inhibited your ability to advance your career?……………………………………………………………………………E5. Are women given the opportunity to socialize and develop network of friends within and outside The Trust Bank?

1. yes2. no

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E6. Which level will you like to progress to in this organization?…………………………………………………………………………………E7. What prevented you from achieving this goal?………………………………………………………………………………..

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