Talent retention in Asian emerging markets: evidence from China and Malaysia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study talent retention, which has long been an important area of inquiry across many industries. Consistently, both academicians and practitioners have recommended several “posthire” solutions to retain employees, such as allowing employees to work from home, providing them with flexible work schedules, promoting a work–life balance and rewarding good performance. In this study, the authors focus on how the “prehire” career-related characteristics of call center agents and their personality traits relate to their turnover intentions. This is important because selecting the right person at the employee selection stage can prevent firms from trying to retain someone who is likely to quit his/her job. Design/methodology/approach The authors surveyed 442 employees working in the call centers of a major multinational logistics company across China and Malaysia and used covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) to test the model. Findings The results showed that call center agents who reapplied for a job in the current company had lower turnover intentions than first-time applicants. Similarly, call center agents who provided supplementary information during their application had lower turnover intentions than the ones who did not provide any such information. As for the personality traits, the results indicated that while the call center agents’ agreeableness and openness to experience were positively associated with their turnover intentions, their consciousness and emotional stability were negatively associated with them. Originality/value This study shows the uniqueness of Asian emerging markets and the call center industry by presenting several interesting patterns that are different from those that have been found in other industries.