Impact of staff turnover on organizational effectiveness and employee performance at the Department of Home Affairs in the Eastern Cape Province

This research focuses on the impact of staff turnover on organisational effectiveness and employee performance in the Department of Home Affairs in the Eastern Cape Province. High staff turnover rate may jeopardize efforts to attain organisational objectives. In addition, when an organisation loses a critical employee, there is negative impact on innovation, consistency in providing service to guests may be jeopardized and major delays in the delivery of services to customers may occur. The research design used in this study was the quantitative approach, which allowed the researcher to use structured questionnaires when collecting data. A pilot study was conducted to test the questionnaire. The survey method was used in this study because the target population only composed of 100 employees. A high response rate of 98% was obtained using the personal method of data collection, questionnaire was structured in a 5 point Likert scale format. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 15 for Windows was used for statistical analysis of the main responses. The study finding suggests that salary is the primary cause of staff turnover in the Department of Home Affairs. The findings highlighted that high staff turnover increases work load to the present employees in the department. The study finding also showed that staff turnover causes reduction in effective service delivery to the customers and reflects poorly on the image of the Department. Other findings suggested that unhealthy working relationship may also be the cause of staff turnover in the department. The recommendations highlighted that top management should pay a marketable salary to employees and the employees must be rewarded if they have achieved their goals. Top management should also develop opportunities for career advancement in the department. Top management should involve employees when they make decisions that will affect them in the Department of Home Affairs in the Eastern Cape Province. The study concludes with direction for future research.