Gupta Professor’s Research Promotes Employee Retention Strategies

Associate Professor of Management at the University of Dallas – Gupta College of Business, Blake Frank, Ph.D., has a long history of applied business research.

Long before joining the staff at University of Dallas, Frank worked as an industrial and organizational psychologist, assisting the Southland Corporation (today known as 7-Eleven Inc.) to apply principles of human behavior in a work environment. Frank’s research helped guide the organization in making crucial decisions such as hiring and developing new employees.

After joining the Gupta faculty, Frank was asked to assist the National Association of Convenience Stores/Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council (NACS/CCRRC). His resulting work was the first ever employee retention research study within the supermarket industry.

“Across all businesses one of the most costly issues is employee retention,” said Frank. “In the supermarket industry, however, it is especially expensive.” In his original study, Frank discovered that the cost of employee turnover actually far exceeded the profits generated by the retail industry.

Employee retention continues to be on the minds of those in the retail industry today. Since the 1990’s, employee engagement programs and other attempts at fostering employee commitment have been on the rise.

In 2014, the NACS/CCRRC reached out to Frank once more. Since this time, he has been conducting research to help provide businesses with tested examples of successful employee retention methods.

Frank’s work will be utilized by the NACS/CCRRC in a three-part series entitled “Power Up Your People”, which will be released over the course of several months. The second part of the series will feature Frank’s work, including video summaries and his complete work on employee engagement practices.

regions: Dallas

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