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This is a major issue for HR professionals
today. Attrition is termed a labor/employee
turnover is a fact of the natural life cycle
of any organization. Attrition means, not only the loss of talent, but it includes cost of training
the new recruits as well. Employee's attrition may
be caused either by contingencies like disability, death, retirement and resignation, or
by burgeoning mobility of human resources and human capital.
Attrition is not a new phenomenon. It has existed all along. In earlier days, jobs were
few, and the evolution of technology, low. In the 1980s and early 1990s, people still believed
in jobs for life, and a career within a company.
But in the late 1990s, the pendulum started to swing wildly. The unspoken and
unwritten Lakshman Rekha between the employer
and employees started getting crossed more often. Corporate culture was on the cusp of
major transformation. For companies seeking to reduce the bloating workforce,
employee retention was the last thing on their
radar screens. By 2000, employees emerged as
"free agents" and corporate "vagabonds"
focused more on boosting their own employability
and attendant gain than becoming sensitive to employers' concern and triumphs.
Attrition rates of India Inc. are overblown and as the country is moving towards a million
dollars economy, retention has turned out to be a
major area of concern for the entire industry.
Industries, like IT and Software Development, IT
and Hardware Development, IT Enabled Services (ITES), Call Centers, BPO
Industries, Pharmaceutical Industries and
Manufacturing Industries, etc., are the ones facing the brunt of
the syndrome.
Almost all the sectors in India are facing
attrition, but the reasons and effects are unique to
each sector. Attrition in the IT/ITES sector is an area
of grave concern, given the contribution of the IT sector to the Indian economy. Though the
IT/ITES sector is booming, it is constantly facing attrition rates in the range of 25-30%, with
even the big brands facing its onslaught. |
