Predictors of Recruitment & Retention Factors to Aid in the Management of Turnover in the Army Dental Corps
Abstract
Recruitment and retention of U.S. Army Dental Corps officers continues to be of great concern. A better understanding of the factors related to officers' intentions and feelings will assist Dental Corps strategic planning efforts. The purpose of this management project is to examine factors that influence Army Dental Corps officers' career decisions and feelings concerning their leadership. The factors of interest are those that affect officers' decisions to remain in or leave the service, those that affected officers' decisions to join the service, and factors they believe affect officers' decisions to join the service today. The goal is to evaluate and analyze the 1997 Dental Officer Recruitment and Retention Survey to ascertain the factors impacting recruitment, retention, and turnover, as well as attitudes toward Dental Corps leadership. Factors found to influence officers' decisions are related to pay, training and education, job satisfaction, quality of life, location, and years of service. Findings indicate that officers currently in dental specialty programs are more likely to stay in the Army. Special pay increases and potential future increases also influence officers to stay, where as low pay influences them to leave. Officers in their initial commitment, and those with less than six or more than 18 years of service are more likely to leave. Age, gender, rank, marital status, and type of unit did not influence officers' intentions. Immediate advanced dental educational opportunities are important for recruiting young dentists into the Army, and early opportunities for dental specialty training are important to retain them. Feelings about Dental Corps leadership generally did not influence officers' intentions, but the more senior officers, and those in administrative and special assignment positions tended to have a more positive feeling about the leadership.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA420309
Entities
People
- Mark E. Mcclary