Retaining Core, Critical & Scarce Skills in the Energy Industry

An organization within a major energy providing industry is facing staff retention challenges. In spite of their retention strategy that was implemented over the past three years, employees with core, critical and scarce skills are still leaving. The study explored employee motivation theories underlying employee retention in organizations. A qualitative study was conducted in order to determine factors that influence employees to remain or leave the employer. The findings revealed that factors such as leadership style of superiors, ability to exercise control with respect to decision-making and problem-solving, and a desire for career advancement and skills development play a role in retaining specialist staff.