Job-hopping amongst African Black senior management in South Africa

Abstract

Orientation: The study focuses on understanding labour turnover trends amongst African Black senior managers in South Africa. There is a perception that turnover amongst African Black senior managers is higher than average. There is also a perception that African Black senior managers are only motivated by financial rewards when considering job change.

Research purpose: The study focused on understanding why African Black senior managers have a propensity to change jobs and how organisations can resolve the trend.

Motivation for the study: To develop a better understanding of the push and pull factors for African Black senior managers in organisations.

Research design, approach and method: The research was conducted in two phases, namely as part of a qualitative study and a quantitative study: Creswell (2003) refers to this approach as triangulation. The target population was African Black senior managers on the database of a large Human Resources Consultancy, The South African Rewards Association and the Association of Black Actuaries and Investment Professionals (ABSIP) (n = 2600). A total of 208 usable responses were received.

Main findings: The main findings and contribution to the field of study was that African Black senior managers do not trust organisations with their career development. They would rather take control of their own career development by moving from organisation to organisation to build their repertoire of skills and competence. They want to be in charge of their careers. This finding has profound implications for organisations employing African Black managers in the senior cadre.

Practical/managerial implications: Managers of African Black senior managers need to create attractive employee value propositions that address the main findings. Contribution/value-add: The research shows that African Black senior managers generally seek corporate environments that encourage a sense of belonging and with a clear career growth plan.