Abstract:
Purpose: In today's competitive environment, effective human resource management
(HRM) is critical for organizations striving to attract and retain talented employees.
In this context, insurance companies struggle to attract and retain the best sales staff.
Currently, insurance Companies accept that human resource management practices
are the cornerstone for attracting and retaining talented sales Employees who continue
to contribute to achieving profitability and other corporate objectives. Union
Assurance Plc served as the focal point of this study. This study focused on Union
Assurance PLC, specifically its sales staff in the Northern and Eastern provinces
(Cluster 4) of Sri Lanka, to investigate the impact of HRM practices on sales staff
retention. The aims of the study were to find the impact of HRM practices on the
retention of sales employees which has emerged as the dominant research issue in the
field of HRM.
Design/methodology/approach: A self-administered questionnaire was used to
collect the data from 199 sales staff from the Eastern and Northern branches of Union
Assurance. The questionnaire covering independent variables such as recruitment and
selection, training and development, compensation and rewards, and performance
management with retention of sales staff as the dependent variable. Descriptive,
correlation and regression analyses were employed to analyze the data.
Findings: The analysis revealed that HRM practices, including recruitment and
selection, training and development, compensation and rewards, and performance
management, significantly impact the retention of sales employees at Union
Assurance PLC. Among these factors, performance management had the most
substantial effect on employee retention in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
These findings not only address the research questions by demonstrating the overall
significance of HRM factors on retention but also provide practical insights for HR
professionals in the insurance industry, highlighting performance management as the
most critical factor. Practical implications: The study's results provide valuable insights for Union
Assurance PLC in developing targeted HRM strategies to enhance sales employee
retention. By focusing on effective performance management and other HRM
practices, the company can improve job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and
retention rates. Additionally, the findings contribute to the broader literature on HRM
and employee retention in the insurance industry, particularly in the context of Sri
Lanka, offering a foundation for future research and practical applications in HRM
strategies.
Originality value: This is the additional contribution to human resource management
theories from Sri Lankan context. This is a new contribution among insurance
industry in the Sri Lankan context in the relevant scope.
