An investigation into the causes of high turnover of Salespeople at Nissan Dealerships in South Africa

Abstract

Several studies have been conducted to identify factors that contribute to the job satisfaction of employees. One of the reasons for the interest in job satisfaction is that it has been found by many researchers such as Jayaraman and Mohideen (2017) and Sunder et al. (2017) to have a strong negative correlation with employee turnover. For organisations to remain competitive, it is critical that employee turnover is maintained at optimal levels. This study set out to establish the drivers of job satisfaction amongst motor vehicle Salespeople in the South African motor industry sector, an area not currently covered by any of the job satisfaction studies. The aim was to establish how each of the work-related factors affected the job satisfaction of Salespeople as well as recommend Employee Value Propositions that will advance job satisfaction, thus assist in maintaining optimal turnover. The study was a cross-sectional study of Salespeople stationed at various Nissan dealerships around South Africa. A survey instrument consisting of self-administered questions adapted from past studies was randomly distributed to current Salespeople, of which 55% (N=204) responded by taking part in the online survey. We performed statistical analysis using Pearson Correlations and Regression analysis techniques. Using Herzberg’s two-factor theory, we grouped the work factors into motivators and hygiene factors. From the analysis, we identified four factors that contribute significantly to the job satisfaction of motor vehicle Salespeople at Nissan. Ranked in order of their impact, Recognition had the strongest effect on Job Satisfaction (β=.274), followed by Remuneration (β=.228), then Supervision (β=.193), and lastly the Work Environment (β=.144). If these factors were not addressed, job satisfaction would be low, leading to an increase in turnover. The results demonstrate that indeed the motivator and hygiene factors do influence job satisfaction of Salespeople and helped identify those factors that can be used to create a new Employee Value Proposition that would focus on improving job satisfaction