Satisfaction with retention factors in relation to job embeddedness of public school teachers

Orientation: The major challenge that organisations face in the contemporary competitive environment is to retain talented and productive employees. To ensure that the education system functions optimally, there is a need for strategic human resource management (HRM) practices to be implemented to assist in retaining qualified and experienced teachers.Research purpose: The purposes of this study were to establish the relationship between retention factors and job embeddedness, and to establish whether retention factors positively and significantly predict job embeddedness.Motivation for the study: There is a high turnover among teachers, with many teachers leaving the profession during their early years of teaching. An empirical investigation of the relationship between retention factors and job embeddedness and the outcomes of utilising retention factors and job embeddedness to facilitate the retention of employees is critical.Research approach/design and method: A non-experimental, quantitative survey was conducted on 278 teachers working in the Tshwane Municipality public schools.Main findings: A Pearson’s correlational analysis revealed positive and significant relationships between retention factors and job embeddedness, while multiple regression analyses revealed that retention factors positively and significantly predict job embeddedness.Practical/managerial implications: The results from this study afford concrete implications for employers in search of effective employee retention strategies. The main practical contribution of this study is the way in which it demonstrated that retention factors relate to and predict job embeddedness.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the employee retention theory by proposing that employees who are provided with desired retention factors are more likely to be embedded in their jobs and community.