You Paid for the Skills, Now Keep Them: Tuition Reimbursement and Voluntary Turnover.

Does investing in employees ’ marketable skills reduce turnover? This study uses insights from human capital theory to explain how general skill development and promotion relate to voluntary turnover. Data from 9, 439 salaried employees of a large manufacturer show that participation in tuition reimbursement reduces turnover while employees are in school. Voluntary turnover increases when individuals earn graduate degrees but is significantly reduced if they are subsequently promoted. In today’s competitive and volatile global econ-omy, where job security is difficult to offer, com-panies are increasingly relying on “employability” to attract, motivate, and retain knowledge workers (Craig, Kimberly, Bouchikhi, 2002; Lawler, 2001; Rousseau, 1997). Existing turnover theories and empirical research, however, do not resolve the question central to this employment strategy: Does investing in employees ’ marketable skills make them more likely to stay? Many firms appear to be making the assumption that it does, investing substantial amounts to de-velop employees ’ knowledge and skills. Estimates of company spending on employee development in the United States range from 16 billion to 55 billion, and the level of investment appears to be