The relative importance of reputation and pride as predictors of employee turnover in an academic medical center

Background: Past research shows a dual role of organizational reputation in an employment context. Prospective and current employees are affected by public perceptions of their employer, as affiliation with an employer widely known for its positive achievements boosts organization-based self-esteem whereas a poor reputation leads to decreased self-esteem and disassociation. Another key construct is engagement, which relates to employee enthusiasm and their attitude toward the organization and their interest in finding employment elsewhere.

Purpose: The current study examined relationships between engagement, organizational pride, perceived departmental and institutional reputation, and turnover intentions in employees at an academic medical center.

Methods: Participants were 241 faculty, staff, and trainees (63.9% women) in a clinical department at an academic medical center who completed an anonymous online survey that contained the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, as well as questions about pride, reputation, and turnover intentions. Relationships between engagement, organizational pride, perceived departmental and institutional reputation, and turnover intentions were explored.

Results: To determine whether employee engagement mediates the relationship between various predictors and turnover intentions, exploratory mediation models were examined. All of the variables were significantly correlated with each other. Perception of departmental reputation was more strongly associated with engagement, pride, and turnover intentions than was institutional reputation. Engagement fully mediated the relationship between perceived institutional reputation and turnover intentions and partially mediated relationships between departmental reputation and turnover intentions and between pride and turnover intentions.

Practice implications: The findings suggest that perception of one's department may be more important to engagement and pride than perception of the larger institution. Furthermore, relationships between pride and reputation and turnover intentions in an academic medical center appear to be, at least partially, mediated through engagement. In contrast to common practice, turnover reduction efforts might be more effective if they enhance perceived departmental, rather than institutional, reputation.