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Employee turnover is the loss of talent in the workforce. High employee turnover is expensive and disruptive. Young employees are more likely to leave one job for a better one and are often less attached to an organisation while they are completing their education. The aquatics industry has been described as being in a crisis, experiencing unprecedented levels of turnover amongst lifeguards. A first important step is to understand the reasons for turnover amongst lifeguards. This study utilised semi-structured interviews with aquatic and recreation centre managers (N = 16; 69% female) to explore their insights about lifeguard turnover. A deductive content analysis determined that lifeguards leave their current position for four main reasons: lifeguarding being a temporary position, a negative working environment, pursuing employment in a higher paying lifeguard position and location. Consequently, centre managers need to consider short and long-term strategies to retain lifeguards.

Extensive research has focused on human resource management (HRM) and recruitment and selection practices across different settings. However, there is a gap in the scholarly literature in ARC settings, including lifeguards. Additionally, the aquatics industry is experiencing unprecedented levels of lifeguard turnover within aquatic facilities. The recruitment and selection process can impact employee turnover. Therefore, an important first step to address lifeguard turnover is to better understand the current recruitment and selection practices of lifeguards. This study focuses on the recruitment and selection practices of ARC management to better understand the recruitment and selection of lifeguards. The analysis is based on 16 semi-structured interviews with ARC managers involved in lifeguard recruitment and selection. Participants included center managers, assistant center managers, and operations managers/coordinators. A deductive analysis was able to effectively explain the current recruitment and selection practices for recruiting lifeguards in Victorian ARCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]