NCJ Number
162210
Date Published
1996
Length
131 pages
Annotation
This study provides corrections administrators with information on corrections workers' needs, concerns, and reasons for work dissatisfaction that might lead to termination of employment, together with recommended means for retaining a trained and experienced workforce.
Abstract
Major study objectives were to determine turnover rates and the variation among them for various institution types and employee categories; to determine factors involved in staff terminations; to examine current corrections practice for staff retention; to examine successful staff retention programs; and to develop the information into a guide for corrections agencies to use in improving their staff retention practices. After profiling the study itself, this manual discusses the importance of a philosophy to a corrections agency, as it is presented in a mission statement and the goals that support the mission. Another chapter examines the importance of management to a successful agency, including the attitudes of management and the communication of those attitudes to staff, the different types of management personnel, and the role of a manager. The findings of a study of management staff in the targeted institutions are examined; and a chapter traces the study's collection of data that describe the staff in the four target agencies. It presents the mechanics of the data analysis in a manner that allows administrators to adapt the methods to their own agencies. The chapter includes methods of data collection and analysis and provides guidance on the types of data to gather so as to create a staff information system. Other chapters focus on the use of a staff information system, an assessment of generally accepted staff retention strategies, and a self-assessment procedure for administrators. 16 figures and 17 tables