Retention factors of experienced Malay male Architects in Malaysian architectural design consultant firms in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

Abstract

The Malaysian construction industry suffers from a high rate of talent attrition within architecture design consultant firms which hinders these firms from competing locally and globally. This talent attrition hinders strategic nurturing of employees needed to sustain the firms’ involvement in the global market. This paper reports the findings of an investigation into the factors that contribute to employee retention of a purposive sample of ten male professional Malay Architects in Malaysian architecture consulting firms in the Klang Valley. It explored the reasons for respondents remaining with their employers through data collected from qualitative interviews. The data in the form of interview transcripts, interview memos and analysis memos were analyzed using category coding to generate meaning units and categories of employment retention. The analysis was based upon Alderfer’s ERG motivation theory and intrinsic motivations. It was found that existence needs (convenience, physiological needs, material security), relatedness needs (group belongingness, social needs, family obligation, friendship obligation, employment group obligation, social obligation, and social esteem), growth needs (self esteem and self-actualization) and intrinsic motives (choices, progress, competence and meaningfulness) underlie the employment retention of the respondents. The research findings provide insights about Malay male Architects employment retention factors in Malaysian architecture consulting firms.

Factors of Talent Retention in Malaysian Construction Industry: Employee’s Perspective

“…Organizational commitment (employee loyalty) ranked fourth out of the 12 factors. The findings indicated a high level of loyalty and professionalism among construction personnel, similar to the past research of Mohd Amar & Ariffin (2019), employees in the architectural design consultant firm are unlikely to leave their jobs due to their commitments to execute the tasks assigned by their managers and subordinates. Respondents in this study also agreed that loyalty is a human characteristic of humankind.…”

“…The findings are comparable to Alias et al (2019), who revealed that ICT professionals prefer reliable connections with their superiors to help them improve their overall well-being at work, e.g., by aiding them in solving issues or obtaining resources to accomplish tasks. This survey's results also discovered that open communication and networking events among workers may be used to build a positive relationship between workers, and the respondents in this survey have the same opinion as the previous literature (Nguyen, 2020;Mohd Amar & Ariffin, 2019). Respondents also agreed that transparent, fair, and supportive relationships between managers and colleagues improve their job satisfaction, and management style and leadership do have a significant impact on their commitment to the company.…”

“…Compensation and Benefits (Chol et al, 2021), (Magaisa & Musundire, 2021), (Frye et al, 2020), (Nguyen, 2020), (Mohd Amar & Ariffin, 2019), (Kakar et al, 2017), (Ahmad Fahmid, 2016), (Foong et al, 2015), (George, 2015), (Haider et al, 2015), (Imna & Hassan, 2015), (Lam et al, 2015), (Francis, 2014) Training and Development (Chol et al, 2021), (Magaisa & Musundire, 2021), (Nguyen, 2020), (Kakar et al, 2017), (Foong et al, 2015), (George, 2015), (Lam et al, 2015), (Fauzi et al, 2013), and (Ng et al, 2012) 6 Working Environment (Chol et al, 2021), (Frye et al, 2020), (Nguyen, 2020), (Mohd Amar & Ariffin, 2019), (Foong et al, 2015), (George, 2015), (Imna & Hassan, 2015), (Lam et al, 2015) and (Fauzi et al, 2013) 7 Management and Social support (Magaisa & Musundire, 2021), (Yusliza et al, 2021), (Frye et al, 2020), (Nguyen, 2020), ), (Mohd Amar & Ariffin, 2019, and (George, 2015) 8…”

“…Organizational Commitment (Employee Loyalty) (Chol et al, 2021), (Nguyen, 2020), (Mohd Amar & Ariffin, 2019), and (Lam et al, 2015) 11 Flexibility and Work-life Balance (Chol et al, 2021), (Magaisa & Musundire, 2021), (Mohd Amar & Ariffin, 2019), (Ahmad Fahmid, 2016), (Foong et al, 2015), and (George, 2015) 12 Length of Commute (Mahadi et al, 2020), and (Mohd Amar & Ariffin, 2019)…”