A shortage of professional nurses is a global concern, and employers of professional nurses in many countries, including South Africa, are losing them to lucrative international job opportunities, further exacerbating the problem. Traditionally, the migration of nurses is studied in the context of turnover and turnover intentions. With the aim of contributing to the knowledge on the retention of nurses, this study examined whether breach of the psychological contract predicts nurses’ job embeddedness, as embeddedness has been found to increase intention to stay. A cross-sectional sample of 228 professional nurses was drawn from private hospitals in South Africa. Hierarchical regression and ANOVA were used to examine the relationship and group differences. The findings indicate that, after controlling for age, citizenship, and employment status, psychological contract breach negatively impacts job embeddedness. The implication for managers is that employers of professional nurses must honour their obligations and promises made to retain them as part of the retention strategy to stem this outflow and loss of expertise.

Orientation: The employer–employee relationship is becoming increasingly strained, evidenced by the increase in cases referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. These disputes are presumed to be a consequence of breach of the psychological contract of undelivered expectations or obligations. There seems to be a need to improve the management of employer–employee relationships.Research purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to identify inducements and obligations made known by organisations on their websites.Motivation for the study: Clarity of inducements and expectations may provide a foundation to proactively improve the employer–employee relationship.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative content analysis was identified inducements and expectations on the websites of the 2015 Business Times Top 100 organisations. As two of the companies had merged with existing companies, a total of 98 companies were analysed. A codebook on content associated with the psychological contract generated quantitative data from a qualitative analysis.Main findings: Comparisons between different industries (manufacturing, wholesale and financial services) yielded significant differences between organisational policies and career development inducements. Comparisons revealed that organisations with a career section convey more inducements and expectations than organisations without a career section.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations are offered a means to identify inducements and expectations that are publicly conveyed through their websites and inform the psychological contract.Contribution/value-add: The findings contribute to existing theory of the psychological contract. More insight is gained into the expression of inducements and expectations and the potential association with employees’ psychological contract.

The aim of the study was to investigate whether an intervention to address post-

Orientation: The management context is dynamic; this is especially evident in human capital as the primary source of value creation as opposed to physical and natural resources. In response, measurement methodologies have moved from a transactional approach (strategy implementation) to a transformational approach (human capital contribution paradigm), as well as diverging into different purposes. To date, there has been little overlap on recent domains to consider in managing and measuring the contribution of the human resource function and employees, and how to unlock and add value.Research purpose: The aim of the study was to explore and describe changing domains within human capital management to be managed and measured.Motivation for the study: The motivation was to advance the understanding of changing measurement domains to aid practitioners to manage and measure the contribution of the human resource function and employees, in order to unlock and add value and ultimately contribute to the success of an organisation.Research design, approach and method: Unstructured, in-depth interview data of purposively selected cases from a selected panel of human resource practitioners specialising in human capital measurement was thematically analysed in this exploratory-descriptive investigation.Main findings: Findings suggested that seven domains should be managed and measured. These domains highlight new areas of impact and levels of management. In addition, crossdomain relationships in measurement allow for an understanding of the impact and potential value on which to capitalise.Practical/managerial implications: New domains to manage and measure focus the attention of practitioners beyond the transactional performance management paradigm to a transformational approach to influence the business strategy. Higher education institutions need to develop students’ cognitive skills to facilitate systems thinking.Contribution: This study suggests a new approach to managing and measuring the human capital function and the workforce.

Orientation: Retaining and developing talented top- and middle-level managers who possess organisational-specific skills and experience promotes competitive advantage for organisations and is a long-term investment.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore challenges to retention and effective retention strategies for top- and middle-level managers.Motivation for the study: Human resource (HR) managers are facing difficulties retaining managers as a result of ineffective retention strategies. This study aims to provide insight into suggested strategies to retain such managers.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey, using an instrument developed from the literature, was completed by 97 HR management professionals registered with the South African Board of People Practices. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted as well as group comparisons.Main findings: Results revealed that leadership and performance management practices are considered to be effective retention strategies for top- and middle-level managers.Practical and managerial implications: Having a deeper understanding of effective retention strategies for top- and middle-level managers can assist HR professionals in retaining these employees.Contribution or value add: This study adds to the insights of HR professionals, line managers and leaders in organisations regarding retention challenges and effective retention strategies for top- and middle-level managers.