Labour Turnover and Quality | AQA Q18, Paper 1 2018

Here is a suggested response to Q18 in AQA A-Level Business Paper 1 in 2018 which looked at the possible effects on quality and competitiveness of a business having lower labour turnover rates compared with the industry average.

One effect is a more experienced workforce than the competition. The data indicates that, in the last 10 years, BBB had a much lower labour turnover than competitors. Indeed, BBB’s labour turnover is almost one third of the competitor average. A consequence of this is that BBB’s workforce may have more experience in making high quality products than competitors whose quality might suffer due to losing almost one-in-four employees each year. It is often the case that experienced workers produce consistently good quality output, particularly if they are well trained and feel valued at work, as the data suggests they are.

Another effect is quality may suffer due to less innovation. Not only is BBB’s labour turnover much lower than competitors, but it has been for almost 30 years. One possible consequence is that BBB’s workforce may now be much older on average than its competitors, with workers perhaps set in their ways and resistant to new ideas. By contrast, with almost a quarter of their workforces changing each year, the quality of competitor output may benefit from having people with new ideas coming into the business, such as how to make or deliver the product. Competitor quality might, therefore, be better than BBB as products may be more innovative and better suited to changing customer and market needs.