Factors that contribute to job tenure of upper management in the private clubs of Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin

Abstract

The literature suggests that turnover in the hospitality industry exists continuously at epidemic levels. Furthermore, the private club industry is a business best known for its turnover. According to Hume, “the turnover rate of private club managers is higher than any other managerial segment” (Hume, 1981). However, there is a lack of current information on turnover in the private club segment of the hospitality industry. Even though clubs have existed for hundreds of years, there has been no concerted effort in researching the topic nor have any theories been developed to help initiate this effort. The ability to deal with the issue of retention could be the difference between whether a business or club succeeds or fails. From a practical viewpoint, turnover is costly by virtually any standard. The cost of turnover in the United States has been estimated at more than $11 billion annually with the average cost per job at 10 to 20 times the position’s weekly wage rate. The majority of search companies, that specialize in the private club industry, charge twenty to thirty percent of the manager’s first-year salary, which for general managers of private clubs is typically around $100,000. This study will determine the extent to which turnover of upper management in the private clubs of Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin is a problem. The focus will be on organizational and personal factors that contribute to job tenure. This research will also identify the factors that contribute to job defection and measure factors that contribute to job satisfaction of upper management in the private clubs of Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The intent is to provide a foundation by which private club managers and search committees of private clubs will be assisted in making their current and future employment decisions. The literature review includes the following sections: a review of published research on the private club industry, a review of unpublished research concerning the private club industry, a review of psychological research on factors that contribute to job tenure, and an analysis of factors that affect job satisfaction. Two hundred and seventeen surveys were mailed on November 1, 1999, and 137 usable surveys were returned for a 63 percent response rate.