CHAPTER ONE:ISSUE IDENTIFICATION
1.1. INTRODUCTION
This study aims to explore the relationship between orientation and job training on employee turnover and job performance in restaurants at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This study is conducted under framework of a global brand – the Walt Disney World Resort. The Walt Disney World Resort is the most visited and largest recreational resort in the world, employing more than 66,000 employees nowadays, spending more than US$1.2 billion on payroll and $474 million on benefits each year (Walt Disney World Resort, 2011).
The restaurant industry has the highest employee turnover rate in all business segments, exceeding 100 percent in one year in many units (Arduser & Brown, 2004, p. 1). There are many reasons why the turnover rate is so high, including the typically low wages, lack of benefits, and night and weekend hours. No matter the reason for turnover, the cost is always significant. According to Voorhaar (2005), replacing an employee can cost anywhere between 90 and 200 percent of their annual salary. This includes advertising costs, lost time spent on interviews and administration, training costs and time spent on extra supervision while the staff member learns how to do the job they were hired for, termination pay and the loss of specialist knowledge or skills (Voorhaar, 2005). Since this cost is significant most employers look for ways to avoid this and retain employees. As a result, there is an abundance of literature available that discusses how to reduce turnover in a multitude of ways. However, there has been little research done to identify if orientation and on-the-job training (OJT) programs affect the turnover within the restaurant industry. An orientation program is a systematic process that enables companies to welcome new employees, explain the working policies, expectations, specific skills and knowledge the employee will need to begin their job (Sims, 2001, p. 34). These programs differ in...