Today, more than ever, one of the major challenges faced by an organization, big or small, is retention of its employees. With employee turnover on the rise, organizations are taking every measure possible to `plug' this hole. It so happens that at times, companies use a square peg for a round hole and vice versa. As a result, the problem persists.

The question, "Why does an employee leave an organization?", has always fascinated me. Every time I come across someone who has changed jobs, my questions revolve around trying to know the reasons that went into the decision to shift. And when I meet someone who has been with an organization for more than a decade, I find out what has kept him there. As a part of the placement team in INC, I have interacted with over 500 employees—our students —and continue to do so, asking them why they stay or why they quit. Almost all of them work with reputed organizations, for good packages, in modern environs, among the best of brains and yet some choose to leave the companies while some choose to stay.

Recently, I have come across a query in an online forum in which the manager of a medium-sized company asked for help. He faced a serious problem. He said that one of his employees not only left his organization without notice but also took a few other employees along with him. The ex-employee is now asking the existing employees of the organization to leave the job and join the company he is working for. The manager sounded desperate, yet clueless. Having read it, I knew that the manager must have realized that the undesirable or `regrettable' attrition had finally arrived.

What is attrition? Attrition, says the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, is a reduction in numbers (employees) usually as a result of resignation, retirement, or death. Retirement and death are natural and inevitable. It is the resignation part which is worrisome to the organizations. Most organizations are now coming to acknowledge what Sanjeev Sharma, in his article, "High Attrition Rate: A Big Challenge" showcases—the massive costs associated with attrition or turnover. Sharma says that while some of these costs are not visible to the management reporting or budget system, they are none the less real. In fact, he goes on to say, saving 8% of salary costs will make the average HR manager a hero. According to Cabot Jaffee, Chairman of Global Talent Metrics, the organizational costs associated with turnover in terms of hiring, training and productivity loss costs can add up to more than 5% of an organization's operating costs.

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