THE EFFECT OF LABOUR TURNOVER ON PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED MICRO ENTERPRISES IN AKURE METROPOLIS

Abstract

This study assessed the effects of labour turnover on performance of micro enterprises in Akure Metropolis. The study adopted a survey technique with the administration of a set of questionnaire supported by interview guide, personal observation; and secondary data to elicit relevant information on the study objectives. The population comprised all micro enterprises in Akure Metropolis of Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State. The micro enterprises in Akure metropolis consist of water processing and packaging industry, bakeries, block making, agribusiness, food processing/vendors and oil servicing companies among others. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted on the study. The first stage was the purposive selection of two (Table/sachet water production and bakery) firms from the study area. The second stage consisted of the selection of twenty (20) firms made up of 10 table water companies and 10 bakery firms. On the third stage, a random sampling technique was used to select the majority (200/88.5%) employee respondents from the population of 226 labour in the selected firms. Data was analysed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics were frequency counts, averages, percentages, Likert-Scale as well as Relative Important Index (RII) while the inferential statistics were Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis (r) and Chi-Square (X2). The study identified the causes of labour turnover in micro enterprises in Akure Metropolis and evaluated the effects of labour turnover on performance of micro enterprises in the study area. The study also established the effects of casual labour on organisational performance in micro enterprises in Akure Metropolis. The results showed that the major causes of labour turnover in micro enterprises in Akure Metropolis were poor remuneration (3.32), work boredom (3.15) as well as non-involvement of staff members in decision making (2.89). The results also revealed that the effects of labour turnover on performance of the enterprises include among others employees’ engagement in overtime jobs (0.97), reduction in work productivity (0.94) as well as increase in work load and stress for each employee (0.94). However, the given effects of the variable were not significant (r = -0.128, p ≤ 0.05) on the performance of the firms. Moreover, the study showed that casual labour engagements were not significant (X2 = 3.0, p ≥ 0.05) on the performance of the micro enterprises in the study area. The study concluded an urgent need for micro enterprise firms to engage in anticipatory strategic planning approaches for minimizing employees’ turnover rate.