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What are the best HRM practices for retaining experts? A longitudinal study in the Canadian information technology sector

Stéphane Renaud (School of Industrial Relations, University of Montréal, Montréal, Canada)
Lucie Morin (School of Management Sciences, University of Québec in Montréal, Montréal, Canada)
Jean-Yves Saulquin (France Business School, University of the Loire Valley, Tours, France)
Jocelyne Abraham (IAE de Tours, University François-Rabelais in Tours, Tours, France)

International Journal of Manpower

ISSN: 0143-7720

Publication date: 1 June 2015

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to answer the following two questions: What are the HRM practices that have a significant impact on employees’ functional retention?, and Does the impact of these HRM practices on functional retention differ based on the employee’s status as an expert or a non-expert? Our theoretical foundation rests on human capital theory and social exchange theory.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses longitudinal data that come from multiple surveys conducted on new employees within a Canadian subsidiary of an international information technology (IT) firm.

Findings

Results show that four out of five HRM practices under study have a significant and positive impact on functional retention of employees regardless of their expert status: satisfaction with a respectful and stimulating work environment, satisfaction with training and development, satisfaction with innovative benefits and satisfaction with incentive compensation significantly increase functional retention of employees. Functional retention was found to be higher for experts than for their non-expert counterparts. Last, results show that expert/non-expert status play a moderating role between HRM practices and functional retention.

Originality/value

In short, this study offers five main contributions to the literature: first, it focuses on retention rather than turnover; second, it goes further by examining functional retention as the dependant variable; third, it distinguishes between two categories of employees: experts and non-experts; fourth, it extends the limited literature on IT workers, HRM practices and retention; and fifth, it is based on longitudinal data whereas the overwhelming majority of published studies have been based on cross-sectional data.

Keywords

  • HRM practices
  • Experts
  • Human resource management
  • Functional retention
  • IT workers

Citation

Renaud, S., Morin, L., Saulquin, J.-Y. and Abraham, J. (2015), "What are the best HRM practices for retaining experts? A longitudinal study in the Canadian information technology sector", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 416-432. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-03-2014-0078

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Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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