Investigating the Effect of Interviewer Job Attitudes on Turnover and Job Performance in Centralized Telephone Interviewing Facilities

• Activity Number: 35
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Sunday, July 31, 2011 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Ashley Bowers*+ and Steven G. Heeringa and Michael R. Elliott and Benjamin Duffey
• Companies: University of Michigan and University of Michigan and University of Michigan and NORC at the University of Chicago
• Keywords: survey costs ; interviewer turnover ; job satisfaction ; job performance

Abstract

Interviewer turnover and concerns about interviewer job dissatisfaction have plagued survey organizations for years (MRIA, 2008; Wiggins, 1999). The costs associated with continually recruiting, hiring and training new interviewers are significant (Harding, Yost, & Knittle, 2007). While interviewers who leave drive up survey costs, dissatisfied interviewers who stay may exert less effort to obtain cooperation and may fail to apply appropriate interviewing techniques. Such poor performance can lead to nonresponse error and measurement error (Groves et al., 2009). Despite these serious consequences, no research has identified the attitudinal predictors of turnover and job performance. We surveyed interviewers in three centralized telephone interviewing facilities and tracked their subsequent job performance and turnover. With these data, we test a model that links a series of attitudinal states to the intent to quit and ultimately turnover. Additionally, we assess the effect of job satisfaction on interviewers' job performance in gaining cooperation and in applying standardized interviewing techniques.