22Original Scientific Paper UDC: 338.486.3:640.45(497.11)
005.963.1/.5:338.48-057.16 doi: 10.5937/menhottur2301051M
Does training and development affect employee retention in the hotel industry? The mediator role of organizational commitment
Marija Miric1, Marko Slavkovic1*
1 University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Economics, Kragujevac, Serbia
Abstract: The capacity of hotel companies to attract and keep qualified human resources is a critical factor influencing their long-term success. This study aims to verify the effects of training and development on staff retention in hotels located in the Republic of Serbia and to determine if a high degree of organizational commitment alters the strength of the link between these constructs. Descriptive and correlational analysis, ANOVA, T-test, and the regression model for testing mediation effects were applied to a sample of 97 hotel employees. The obtained results confirmed the statistical significance of the association between training and development and employee retention, along with the mediating role of their commitment in this relationship. The study’s theoretical contribution enhances knowledge of the intricate connection between training and development, employee commitment, and staff retention. Additionally, the results support hotel management in reinventing the approach for controlling employees’ work attitudes through a number of pragmatic implications.
Keywords: training and development, retention, commitment, hotels, human resources JEL classification: M12, M53, L83
Da li trening i razvoj uticu na zadrzavanje zaposlenih u hotelskoj industriji? Medijatorska uloga organizacione posvecenosti
Sazetak: Odrziv uspeh hotelskih preduzeca u velikoj meri je opredeljen njihovom sposobnoscu da regrutuju i zadrze kvalitetne ljudske resurse. Cilj istrazivanja u ovom radu je da ispita uticaj treninga i razvoja na zadrzavanje zaposlenih u hotelima koji posluju na teritoriji Republike Srbije i da utvrdi da li visok nivo organizacione posvecenosti menja jacinu odnosa ovih promenljivih. Na uzorku koji broji 97 zaposlenih primenjene su deskriptivna i korelaciona analiza, ANOVA, T-test, kao i regresiona analiza za utvrdivanje medijatorskih efekata. Generisani rezultati potvrduju statisticki signifikantan uticaj treninga i razvoja na zadrzavanje zaposlenih i medijatorski efekat njihove posvecenosti u prethodno navedenoj relaciji. Sa stanovista teorijskog doprinosa sprovedeno istrazivanje produbljuje
* mslavkovic@kg.ac.rs
Tliis article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
razumevanje kompleksnih odnosa treninga i razvoja, retencije zaposlenih i njihove privreznosti hotelu. Dodatno, kroz izvesne pragmaticne implikacije, rad pruza podrsku menadzmentu hotelskih preduzeca u redefinisanju strategije upravljanja radnim stavovima zaposlenih.
Kljucne reci: trening i razvoj, zadrzavanje zaposlenih, posvecenost, hotelijerstvo, ljudski resursi
JEL klasifikacija: M12, M53, L83
1. Introduction
As the employer market became more competitive, hotels faced new challenges in human resource management (HRM). Ensuring necessary employee commitment and long-term staff retention is one of the primary responsibilities of the hotel’s top executives. In this regard, they are expected to identify the most prevalent causes of employee turnover before creating and establishing effective measures to retain a high-quality workforce. Employee training and development in this context deserves significant attention since it is regarded as a possible staff retention strategy. Along with low wages and insufficient work-life balance, the absence of training and development programs has proven to be a common factor for employees leaving hotel companies (Mohanty & Mohanty, 2020). In this sense, effective training and development activities and their successful implementation can support the enhancement of positive working attitudes among hotel staff.
Employees will seek possibilities for advancement in other organizations if their present company does not offer them the opportunities for training and development that they expect based on the application of information and skills gained through training (Upadhyaya & Ayari, 2019). New algorithms for human resource development in the hotel industry are rooted in rising expectations of potential employees about maximizing particular knowledge and abilities, as well as career opportunities (Kordic & Milicevic, 2018). Employee training and development is an important aspect of employer branding, a complex approach used to recruit top-quality candidates from the labor market (Slavkovic & Slavkovic, 2019), generate satisfaction (Tanwar & Prasad, 2016), commitment (Sharma et al., 2018), and retention (Ul Hadi & Ahmed, 2018). According to the results of previous research, the development value of the employer brand, which in meaning and content corresponds to training and development is negatively correlated with the intention to leave (Ahmad & Daud, 2016). Such value enhances employee retention by improving job satisfaction and commitment (Syal, 2021). However, one of the intended outcomes of implementing diverse training and development programs is organizational commitment. This concept’s tight relationship with training and development, on the one hand, and employee retention, on the other, was the impetus for exploring its possible mediating effect in the applied research model.
This paper aims to identify the training and development impact on employee retention in hotels operating in the Republic of Serbia. The research subject also involves organizational commitment as a possible mediator in the aforementioned relations. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to explore the interconnection of these variables and to determine whether a high level of organizational commitment changes the strength of the relationship between training and development and employee retention. Although several studies demonstrate the direct effect of training and development on staff retention in the hotel sector, no study, to the best authors’ knowledge, has looked into the intermediary function of commitment in this relationship. As a result, the goal of this study is also to overcome identified research gap by determining the mechanism through which training and development affects employee retention in hotels. Furthermore, research on staff retention
antecedents in the hotel industry is particularly scarce in the domestic literature. The paper is divided into six logically related sections. Following the Introduction, there is a literature background with the research conceptual framework. The third section covers the methodology used and the structure of the examined sample, while the fourth part presents the empirical study findings. The results are discussed in the fifth part. Finally, the paper is framed with the main conclusions and implications followed by the study’s limitations and future research proposals.
2. Background
Employee training and development is one of the vital functions in HRM, with the primary goal of providing the organization with an appropriate strategic response to the growing demands of the volatile business environment. The advantages of instituting training and development programs are multiple, and they have a significant impact on guest relationship management. However, training programs and management support in its implementation affect the quality of hotel service (Dhar, 2015; Waqanimaravu & Arasanmi, 2020), whereas the perception of high service quality most often leads to the formation of positive consumer attitudes (Radosavljevic et al., 2018) and their retention (Alketbi et al., 2020). At the same time, the possibilities for employee development are a significant aspect in establishing the company’s image as an attractive employer in the job market (Ul Hadi & Ahmed, 2018). Thus, the real opportunity for professional advancement becomes one of the reasons why knowledge workers remain loyal to their current employer (Horwitz et al., 2003). Training and development, in particular, strengthens employees’ commitment and loyalty, while also increasing staff retention in companies (Bibi et al., 2018).
Employee retention in the hotel business is a serious concern that is becoming more relevant due to the sector’s rapid expansion, but also to the increased discrepancy in the supply and demand for skilled human resources (Mehta & Sharma, 2015). The struggle for staff retention is especially acute among younger generations, who perceive a job in a hotel as an entry point into the world of work rather than a possibility for lifelong employment and a basis for building a career (Mohanty & Mohanty, 2020). Frequent employee departures have a detrimental impact on the profitability of the hotel business. However, the negative repercussions of high turnover rates extend beyond financial consequences. Low employee retention rates can impact employee morale (Imanneni & Sailaja, 2020) and harm the hotel’s reputation, both among customers and potential job candidates from the labor market. Hotel management may address this issue by developing new training programs and opportunities for career advancement (Vasquez, 2014).
Hotel companies that promote training opportunities and care about their employees’ growth encourage long-term retention. Numerous empirical studies support the link between training and development and employee retention (Al Mamun & Hasan, 2017; Kossivi et al., 2016). Analyzing a sample of hotel workers in Malaysia, Bibi et al. (2018) concluded that training and development positively affects their retention. In their research study, Mapelu and Jumah (2013) revealed a direct negative association between training and development and turnover in the hotel business. According to Koster et al. (2009), firm investments in employee training contribute to the perception of support while having a negative influence on the intention to leave the job. Training and development was recognized as a factor of employee retention in studies conducted by Moncarz et al. (2009) and Upadhyaya and Ayari (2019). Sitati et al. (2019) found a strong link between employee development and retention in a sample of Kenyan hotels. Furthermore, Costen and Salazar (2011) discovered that opportunities to gain new skills and prospects for development have a strong positive
influence on the intention to stay in lodging industry companies. The preceding findings served as the foundation for developing the first research hypothesis:
Hi: Training and development is positively associated with employee retention in the hotel industry.
The training and development program’s adoption is assumed to result in a variety of favorable results. At the organizational level, the experience and loyalty of customers, as well as the overall performance of the firm, are enhanced, and at the individual level, employee outcomes and satisfaction are improved (Jaworski et al., 2018). Furthermore, by giving possibilities for employees’ skill development, their commitment to the company is strengthened. Workers with a high level of commitment, according to Rieu and Kamara (2016), are the company’s most valuable asset. They are highly motivated, resulting in increased productivity and improved work performance (Yildirim et al., 2015). The most frequent understanding of commitment in the literature is the model developed by Allen and Meyer (1990), which distinguishes three separate dimensions of this concept: affective, continuous, and normative. Affective commitment, according to them, refers to an employee's emotional attachment and identification with the organization, its goals, and values. The connection of an individual with the organization that arises as a result of his perception of insufficient alternatives for employment and the perceived costs of leaving the organization is described as continuous commitment, whereas normative is a reflection of the feeling of obligation to stay with the employer, according to the same authors. Employees acquire a sense that their company cares about their needs and seeks to enhance their skills and abilities when they are given the option for training, and this perception evolves into a deeper relationship with the firm (Upadhyaya & Ayari, 2019).
Training and development is strongly positively related to all forms of commitment -affective, normative, and continuance commitment of employees (Khan et al., 2021). According to Mapelu and Jumah (2013), training and development is a strategy that hotels could employ to produce a productive and committed workforce. Nandi et al. (2020) state that the availability of training and management guidance is a significant factor in employee motivation and commitment growth. Ohunakin et al. (2020) identified training and development as a determinant of organizational commitment in a sample of workers in Nigerian five-star hotels. Employee retention rates increase when they regard training and development activities as investments and feel a strong obligation to ensure the return on such an investment (Hemakumar, 2020), which generates normative commitment to the organization. Atoko et al. (2018) found that training and development had a positive effect on employees’ affective commitment. Bulut and Culha (2010) acknowledged that training dimensions such as motivation for training, access to training, benefits gained from participation in the program, and support from managers during training, have a positive effect on the development of organizational commitment of employees in Turkish five-star hotels. Based on this, we developed the second hypothesis:
H2: Training and development is positively associated with the organizational commitment of employees in the hotel industry.
Research shows that a high level of organizational commitment results in a low percentage of absenteeism and human resource turnover (Bulut & Culha, 2010; Rieu & Kamara, 2016; Yildirim et al., 2015). In a sample of 1,500 employees in Cypriot hotels, Zopiatis et al. (2014) proved a negative association between affective commitment and intention to leave the company. In a research model applied by Nandi et al. (2020), employee commitment has a mediating effect on the relationships between the availability of training and managerial support and the intention to leave the job in SMEs in Pakistan. Therefore, organizational commitment has been identified in previous research as one of the positive results of
implementing training and development programs, while a certain number of studies recognize it as a significant predictor of employee retention. Khan (2018) found that training and development is a significant predictor of both employee commitment and retention across industries. Furthermore, according to his research, organizational commitment has a greater influence on employee retention than training and development. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the concept’s mediating function in the interaction between training and development on the one hand and staff retention in hotels on the other. The third study hypothesis was created based on these findings:
H3: Organizational commitment mediates the relationship between training and development and employee retention in the hotel industry.
Figure 1 illustrates the research’s conceptual framework, which includes the examined variables and their presumed connections.
Figure 1: The conceptual framework
3. Materials and methods
The survey approach was used to acquire primary data. The questionnaire itself was created by modifying measuring scales from various sources and was divided into four sections. The first three sections provide findings for measuring training and development, organizational commitment, and employee retention, respectively, while the fourth section gathered basic hotel and respondent data. The first section of the questionnaire assessed training and development with 10 items derived from the work of Knox and Freeman (2006), Mapelu and Jumah (2013), Tanwar and Prasad (2016), Sitati et al. (2019) and Zhu et al. (2014). The examples are: Management invests in staff training and development, and If I needed training in a particular area, I would not hesitate to inform the senior manager. The organizational commitment was measured through 8 statements which were adapted from the scale created by Allen and Meyer (1990), such as I have a great connection to the hotel where I work, I feel appreciated in this hotel, or I feel honored to work in this hotel. Lastly, the third part of the questionnaire measures employee retention through 7 items, developed based on research conducted by Abeyesekera (2007), Kyndt et al. (2009), and Zopiatis et al. (2014). Meanwhile, some statements used for employee retention assessment were formulated by inverting the scale that measures the intention to leave the job, for instance, I would not take an offer from another hotel for the same position. All statements were translated from English to Serbian and adapted to fit the Serbian setting. Respondents expressed their agreement with the items on a five-point Likert scale, with the following alternative answers: 1-I do not agree at all; 2-I mostly disagree; 3-I am not sure; 4-I mostly agree; 5-I completely agree. The data was collected between May and June of 2022. Questionnaires were distributed both in person and electronically and data anonymity was
guaranteed. The potential respondents were contacted by email or the social network LinkedIn where they were approached personally by the researcher through a personalized message. The structure of the sample is shown in Table 1.
Table 1: The sample structure
Variable Frequency %
Hotel category * 28 28.9
** 33 34
*** 22 22.7
**** 7 7.2
***** 7 7.2
Number of employees < 9 17 17.5
10 - 49 58 59.8
50 - 249 21 21.6
> 250 1 1
Gender Male 46 47.4
Female 51 52.6
Age < 25 13 13.4
25 - 35 years old 33 34
35 - 55 years old 44 45.4
> 55 7 7.2
Education High school 25 25.8
College 36 37.1
Bachelor 22 22.7
Master 14 14.4
Working experience with current employer < 1 year 24 24.7
1-5 years 23 23.7
> 5 years 50 51.5
Position Front office Employee 44 45.4
Operations manager 41 42.3
Back office Middle manager 7 7.2
Top manager 5 5.2
Source: Authors’ research
Through frequency analysis, it was determined that the largest number of respondents in the sample work in a two-star hotel. Hotels with 10-49 employees outnumber those with between 50 and 249 employees in the sample. The analysis of the sample structure according to gender shows a greater participation of women, and the dominant age group is between 35 and 55 years old. The majority of surveyed employees completed college or university and they are numerically followed by those with a high school degree. Respondents with more than 5 years of service at their present workplace constitute 51.5% of the observed sample, almost equal to those with less than 5 years. Around half of the respondents are employees (receptionists, maids, etc.), while 42.3% of the sample are operational managers.
The techniques of the statistical software package for social sciences - SPSS 26.0 - were used to analyze primary data. After ensuring the reliability of the variables employed, descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, T-test for two independent samples, correlational analysis, as well as a simple and multiple regression approach, were performed.
4. Results
Before verifying the hypotheses, the internal consistency of the questionnaire statements and the reliability of the created variables were evaluated, followed by descriptive statistical analysis. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to undertake reliability analysis. Nunnally (1978) defines the variable as reliable if the value of this coefficient exceeds 0.7. Table 2 shows the findings of the reliability analysis and descriptive statistics.
Table 2: Reliability analysis
Variable Cronbach’s alpha
Training and development 0.83
Organizational commitment 0.86
Employee retention 0.82
Source: Authors’ research
For all three variables, the calculated Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is greater than 0.8. Based on the results, it is possible to conclude that the statements used have a high degree of internal consistency and created constructs are reliable. According to the indicators of descriptive statistics, the highest degree of agreement among respondents is present in the statement I feel appreciated in this hotel (M=3.93), which assessed organizational commitment and refers to its affective dimension. The lowest standard deviation was recorded for the statements The hotel promotes job rotation (SD=1.15) and If I left this hotel, many things in my life would be disrupted (SD=1.16). The highest heterogeneity of responses was found for the statement My plan is to stay at this hotel for at least another five years (SD=1.56) which assessed employee retention.
One-way ANOVA analysis was used to determine whether there were any statistically significant differences in training and development perceptions, organizational commitment, and retention between groups in terms of educational level. We categorized all respondents into three groups based on their level of education: those who completed high school (group 1), those with a university degree (group 2), and respondents with a master’s degree (group 3).
Table 3: ANOVA test for the groups with different levels of education
Variable F Sig.
Training and development 8.21** 0.001
Organizational commitment 4.58* 0.013
Employee retention 5.61** 0.005
* The value is significant at the level equaling 0.05 **The value is significant at the level equaling 0.01 Source: Authors’ research
The findings of the ANOVA are presented in Table 3. The test revealed that evaluations of training and development, organizational commitment and employee retention differ depending on educational level. Differences in perceived training and development opportunities, as well as retention within the present employer, are statistically significant at the 0.01 level, but differences in organizational commitment across respondents from various groups are significant at 0.05.
A post hoc Scheffe test was carried out to examine which groups of respondents according to education were statistically different in terms of evaluating the three analyzed constructs. The results are shown in Table 4.
Table 4: The results of post hoc Scheffe test
Variable Intergroup comparisons Means difference Sig.
Training and development Group 1 - Group 2 0.24 0.607
Group 1 - Group 3 -0.96* 0.018
Group 2 - Group 3 -1 19** 0.001
Organizational commitment Group 1 - Group 2 0.20 0.651
Group 1 - Group 3 -0.61 0.134
Group 2 - Group 3 -0.81* 0.013
Employee retention Group 1 - Group 2 0.37 0.392
Group 1 - Group 3 -0.73 0.154
Group 2 - Group 3 -1.10** 0.006
* The value is significant at the level equaling 0.05 **The value is significant at the level equaling 0.01 Source: Authors’ research
The findings showed that there was a statistically significant difference in perception of training and development provided by the employer between respondents with a high school degree and those with completed master’s (p<0.05). Furthermore, the mean values of training and development differ between respondents with a university degree and those with a master’s degree (p<0.01). Statistically significant differences in organizational commitment and employee retention were identified between groups 2 (bachelor’s) and 3 (master’s degree respondents) at the 0.05 and 0.01 significance levels, respectively.
Respondents were further classified into those in direct contact with clients (front-office) and those in administrative and supporting roles (back-office). A comparison of the mean values of training and development, commitment, and retention in two specified groups was done using the T-test for two independent samples. The results are given in Table 5.
Table 5: Comparison between front-office and back-office employees (T-test for two __________________________________independent samples)____________________________________
Variables Front-office M (SD) Back-office M (SD) Mean difference t Sig.
Training and development 3.12 (1.07) 3.79 (0.79) -0.67* -2.62 0.018
Organizational commitment 3.21 (0.94) 3.78 (0.77) -0.57* -2.02 0.046
Employee retention 3.12 (1.19) 3.91 (0.81) -0.79** -2.93 0.009
* The value is significant at the level equaling 0.05 **The value is significant at the level equaling 0.01 Source: Authors’ research
For all three variables examined, statistically significant differences between front-office and back-office staff were found. The largest distinction between respondents from the two groups was manifested in employee retention (-0.79; p<0.01). A higher level of retention was found for back-office employees. They were also more committed to the hotel and they perceived training and development opportunities as more optimistic compared to front-office employees.
Table 6: Correlational matrix
Variable 1 2 3
Training and development 1 0.796** 0.763**
Organizational commitment 0.796** 1 0.863**
Employee retention 0.763** 0.863** 1
** The value is significant at the level equaling 0.01 Source: Authors’ research
Table 6 summarizes the findings of the correlation analysis, which looked at the strength and direction of the link between the observed variables. Because the Pearson coefficient for each observed association is positive and ranges between 0.763 to 0.863, it can be stated that the variables of the applied research model have a statistically significant positive and strong relationship. According to the findings, organizational commitment and employee retention have the strongest correlation (r=0.863), while the value of the Pearson coefficient is the lowest for the relationship between training and development and employee retention.
The mediation regression approach was used for hypotheses testing. According to Baron and Kenny (1986), the following conditions must be followed in order to assess the mediation effect: The first step is to confirm the significant direct influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable; another simple linear regression examines whether the independent, i.e. the predictor variable, affects the potential mediator, and the next step is to demonstrate that the mediator significantly influences the dependent variable. The conditions for the final testing of the mediator effect are produced by validating these assumptions, and in the last phase, the joint influence of the independent variable and the proposed mediator on the dependent variable is examined using multiple linear regression. Ultimately, for a mediating effect to be established, the hypothetical mediator must be a statistically significant predictor of the dependent variable while the influence of the independent
variable reduces (partial mediator effect) or ceases to be statistically significant, which is regarded as a full mediator effect.
Table 7: The results of regression analysis
Variables Dependent variable: Employee retention Dependent variable: Organizational commitment
P Sig. R2 P Sig. R2
Training and development 0.763 0.000** 0.583 0.806 0.000** 0.562
Organizational commitment 0.863 0.000** 0.743
** The value is significant at the level equaling 0.01 Source: Authors’ research
The influence of training and development on employee retention was initially tested using simple regression analysis, in accordance with the previously described technique for finding mediator effects. Its results are given in Table 7. The findings revealed that training and development is a statistically significant predictor of employee retention (P=0.763, p<0.01), with the observed independent variable explaining 58.3% of the variance in retention. Training and development has a significant positive effect on organizational commitment (P=0.806, p<0.01), with the coefficient of the determination being 0.562, indicating t hat in 56.2% of cases, training and development determines commitment. In the third step, it was discovered that commitment had a significant positive effect on employee retention (P=0.863, p<0.01), which matched all of the criteria for assessing the mediator effect.
Table 8: Multiple linear regression analysis
Variables Dependent variable: Employee retention
P Sig. R2 VIF
Training and development 0.207 0.015* 0.756 2.734
Organizational commitment 0.698 0.000** 2.734
* The value is significant at the level equaling 0.05 ** The value is significant at the level equaling 0.01 Source: Authors’ research
A multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the joint effect of training and development and organizational commitment on employee retention in the hotel industry (Table 8). Three multivariate assumptions were measured to check the justification for multiple regression. The VIF coefficient (variance inflation factor) was used to determine multicollinearity. Since the value of the VIF coefficient in the observed regression model is less than 5, it can be concluded that multicollinearity is not a concern in this research. The linearity assumption is also met and there is no drastic deviation from the normality of the data distribution. The multiple regression results revealed that organizational commitment has a significant impact on employee retention (p<0.01), while the impact of training and development on retention is significantly reduced, implying that commitment has a partial mediating effect in the aforementioned relationship.
5. Discussion
The findings of the empirical research revealed that training and development had a statistically significant positive influence on staff retention in hotels, verifying hypothesis Hb In their studies, Bibi et al. (2018), Costen and Salazar (2011), and Mapelu and Jumah (2013), all reached the same result. The findings are almost consistent with those of Al Mamun and Hasan (2017), Kossivi et al. (2016), Koster et al. (2009), Sitati et al. (2019), and Upadhyaya and Ayari (2019). This finding demonstrates the importance and value of training and development programs in shaping individuals’ intentions to stay at their present workplace. Employees are less likely to leave a hotel if they have access to proper training and development opportunities, as well as the encouragement of superiors in their implementation. Training and development investments thus become a long-term asset based in prospective employee satisfaction and loyalty to the employer. The willingness to stay within the organization is largely determined by how well the employees’ needs are addressed. The prerequisite for meeting the need for self-actualization is the availability of training and development opportunities.
The study also validated hypothesis H2, which states that training and development is positively associated with the organizational commitment of hotel employees. According to the findings of this study, in addition to affecting their retention, training and development also tends to build employees’ commitment to the hotel where they work. The acquired results are compatible with prior studies by Mapelu and Jumah (2013) and Bulut and Culha (2010), and are partly consistent with the findings of Nandi et al. (2020) and Atoko et al. (2018). According to the results obtained, hotel management that actively implements training and development programs and provides support to staff in mastering new skills achieves a high level of employee commitment. The possible explanation for such finding is that employees create a sense of moral duty to the organization and a responsibility to stay when they are given opportunities for training and development.
The study also found that organizational commitment acts as a mediator in the relationship between training and development and employee retention in hotels in the Republic of Serbia, confirming hypothesis H3. Such an effect in the specified relationship implies that the causal links between the presented variables are partially dependent on the organizational commitment level. Training and development programs, when properly implemented, have the potential to retain employees in the hotel. However, if they have a strong organizational commitment, they will stay in their roles even if training and development initiatives are still in the early stages. The perception that the hotel is concerned about the employee’s longterm professional development enhances feelings of loyalty and commitment. However, if specific reasons prevent a hotel from offering training and development programs, they should pursue alternative commitment enhancement strategies in order to retain high-quality staff. In light of the findings of this study, which identified commitment as a significant predictor of employee retention as well as its ability to compensate for inadequately established training and development programs, other possible strategies to enhance commitment should be investigated.
6. Conclusion
A properly designed and implemented training and development strategy has various advantages for the hotel industry. In the context of human resource management in hotels, the implementation of effective training and development programs influences the creation of great work attitudes, which enhances employee retention. The research examines how organizational commitment affects the strength of the causal link between training and
development and employee retention. This explained how training and development impacts workers’ intentions to stay with their present company and stressed the significance of organizational commitment as a factor of employee retention in hotels. Thus, empirical information on the relations that illustrate how the offered possibilities for training and development of hotel employees are transformed into their intention to stay with the current employer is presented. Perceived chances for training and development among hotel staff improve their emotional attachment and sense of obligation to stay. Therefore, the study proved the relationship between training and development, on the one hand, and the commitment and retention of employees, on the other, thus confirming the results of previous research in this area. However, with this research, we made a step forward by examining the mediating role of organizational commitment in a given relationship in the hotel industry.
The study also offers practical implications for hotel management based on the reported results. The fundamental recommendation is the establishment and planned execution of structured internal and external training programs. Every employee must have access to alternatives for professional growth and continual improvement of work skills. Identifying the need for training and investing in it should become an integral element of the human resource management strategy for the hotel business. Effective managerial guidance is essential to achieve the required efficacy of the training program. Hotel managers at all organizational levels should be responsible for mentoring staff throughout training. At the same time, just conducting training and development is insufficient to deliver the desired results in terms of establishing positive employee working attitudes. It is critical that these programs are coupled with suitable motivational support in order to instill a sense of confidence in employees and to establish strong positive work attitudes, such as commitment and retention, in addition to obtaining the essential skills. Furthermore, the proven mediating effect of organizational commitment in the examined relationship gives important guidance for hotel HR managers. Specifically, if hotels with a low staff retention rate cannot deliver the expected level and quality of training and development opportunities, it is vital for them to concentrate on strengthening organizational commitment through certain strategies. Organizational commitment, in this sense, represents a sort of compensation for insufficient training and development chances.
The conducted research faces certain limitations. One of them arises from the features of the sample and is evident in the limited number of respondents. Future studies on a larger sample size would produce results with more validity and reliability. Another issue is that the study model assesses the influence of total employee commitment rather than its individual dimensions. The recognized limits of the study serve as the foundation for determining future research paths. Thus, it would be interesting to investigate the impacts of various antecedents of employee retention, as well as the diverse mediating effects of other work attitudes, such as satisfaction and perceived job security. Furthermore, multiple distinctive dimensions are observed within the construct of training and development in the modern literature and practice, therefore it would be beneficial to investigate the individual effects of these factors on commitment and retention among hotel employees.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Received: 31 December 2022; Revised: 22 January 2023; Accepted: 5 April 2023
