Factors affecting turnover intention among sales and marketing professionals in fast moving consumer goods (GMCG) and retail industry

Abstract

Sales and Marketing in FMCG and Retail industry are in high demand recently in Vietnam. The movement of labor makes sales become the industry that needs the most mass recruitment, but it is also difficult to find the most qualified candidates. The main reason, according to employers, is that the percentage of high turnover rate among sales and marketing professionals, making the recruiters fall into a passive position. Therefore, the necessity of maintaining sales and marketing talents is increasing in order to save recruitment costs and gain efficient productivity for the organization itself. This study is concentrating on sales and marketing professionals from supervisor level to director level of management who are currently working in four central provinces of Southeast, Red River Delta, Mekong Delta, and South Central Coast in Vietnam. Applying quantitative methods for research, online and paper questionnaires are primarily distributed via LinkedIn, retail workshop, and personal database of the four selected regions. The turnover intention found to be predicted directly by job satisfaction and commitment to organization, and is determined indirectly by stressors (role ambiguity, role conflict, work-overload), and job stress. Additionally, compared to sales and marketing professionals in South Central Coast and Mekong Delta, those who are working in Southeast and Red River regions are likely to decide to change the jobs, especially Southeast area, where locating various prestigious corporations and abundant labor. What’s more, in comparison with sales and marketing managers and directors, professionals at lower management level are immensely concerned about switching their current jobs to seek for a new opportunity with attractive promotion and well-treated salary package. As a result, motivating those professionals with a salary commensurate with their ability and position, providing chances to alternate their work with increasing levels of challenge while working, and building a collective corporate culture by hosting team-building activities to tighten the spirit of solidarity, discovering hidden talents will enhance the engagement between workers and the organization, and therefore reducing turnover intention.