you will revisit Irontown Incorporated and compile a plan to reduce turnover to meet the quality and cost objectives set by company leadership. Please refer back to the prior case studies to refresh your memory on the issues facing Irontown and information on their business.

The purpose of this final case study is to pull it all together and develop a retention plan to support the overall staffing strategy of the company. This is important because the company has decided to keep the customer service department in-house if turnover can be reduced by 20% per year over the next three years. If the retention program is meeting its goals by the end of the first year, the company is going to invest in a new CRM software program.

HR has asked the last 120 employees who left voluntarily to participate in an exit interview. 100 employees agreed, and a summary of the data collected is presented below. HR also held a focus group session with the CSR 2s to understand issues from their perspective. A summary of the key points from the focus group is also presented below.

The exit interview asked employees to list reasons that were a factor in their decision to leave. Results are summarized in the chart below.

Factor	%
Stress on the job	31
Job not as expected	29
Lack of ability to resolve customer problems	14
Lack of flexibility	10
Compensation package	5
Discrimination	5
Another job opportunity	4
Other	2

The CSR 2s identified the following concerns:

• Trainees are all assigned the day shift and work directly with a CSR 2, and this presents two issues. First, it depends which CSR 2 a trainee is paired with as to what the trainee learnsthe training is not consistent. Second, the trainees typically move to the evening shift immediately after training, and it is noticeably more difficult, particularly toward the end of the shift.
• The CRM software is not effective, and too much time is lost getting the CSR 2s up to speed when a call is upgraded to their level.
• The continual shortage of enough employees to operate has a chronic demoralizing effect.
• Employees of color felt isolated, due to the relative absence of diversity in the organization and poor treatment at times by employees, managers, and customers alike.
• The job structure, modality, and hours were described as inflexible, making the job of less appeal than comparable jobs on the market.

Within the context provided, recommend an effective retention strategy for the organization. In your case study analysis, include the following:

• Discussion of the importance of retention in an organization and key ways to engage employees
• Analysis of the root causes of turnover based on the case study
• Solutions to the root causes with explanations about how they will reduce staffing costs, while also improving retention and production quality
• References, at least three beyond the required readings