Orientation Programs and Realistic Job Previews: Tactics to Reduce Dysfunctional Turnover
Two approaches were utilized to reduce turnover in a printing company. First, the orientation program was revised to incorporate tactics from the organizational socialization literature, which indicates that the more socialized employee will report greater levels of satisfaction and commitment, lower intentions to quit, less role ambiguity, and less role conflict. Second, realistic job previews (RJPs) in the form of temporary employment, department tours, and job descriptions were utilized. It was hypothesized that new hires attending the revised orientation program that incorporated socialization tactics and new hires that received a RJP would remain on the job longer than new hires that attended the original orientation program or new hires that did not receive a RJP. The revised orientation was found to reduce turnover rates by 20%. All three forms of the revised orientation program (i.e., program only and program combined with RJPs) were equally effective in reducing turnover. New hires that first worked as temporary employees stayed significantly longer than other new hires attending the original orientation.
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
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