Are you losing your best performers in this downturn?

The India Attrition Study 2008 (October 2008- March 2009) conducted by Business Today and People Strong  is out. The May 3, 2009 dated edition of Business Today carries an article on key findings.

 

The study tried to understand why employees quit and how this current slowdown has impacted the way employers view their employees. The study was conducted among 59 companies in 8 industries in India. Using methodologies such as exit survey, health meter and employee voice study 4024 exit interviews were conducted and 1750 existing employees were quizzed.

 

The study classifies employees as top performers, early leavers (within 12 months of joining) and universal leavers.

 

It seems like organizations are losing a lot of top performers and many of the ‘universal leavers’ who form the chunk of most organizations.

 

Challenges they face include reduction in staffing budgets, wage shrinkages and the ability to keep employees motivated.

 

The top four drivers for leaving were:

 

a)     Opportunity for career growth

b)     Salary

c)      Type of work

d)     Training & development

 

Organizations have adopted a two pronged strategy:

 

1. To strengthen system that identities top performers and rewards and retains them
2. To weed out non-performers

 

Interesting aspect of the study was the differences noted among employees of North and South India and their specific wants. For North Indian respondents, titles and designations were important while leadership was a key driver for the latter. The thought among HR leaders was to tweak policies to suit region-specific needs.

 

The study mentions the young and restless workforce, who though information savvy, are easily swayed by speculation.

 

Strategies recommended:

 

By reducing the % of early leavers from quitting the organization: 33% of those who quit as early leavers (within 12 months of joining). Focusing on enhancing induction and orientation programs is a suggestion. By bringing down this number, organizations can improve their attrition scores.

 

Nurturing top performers: by supporting growth and benchmarking against salaries

 

Best practices from some organizations:

 

Quatrro BPO Solutions – tapping high performers among alumni to rejoin company

Samsung – internal job transfers

GenPact – bringing prospects in to the office before joining to showcase workplace and help them understand what the organization does

Maruti Suzuki – region specific fine tuning of HR policies

 

Opportunities for internal and human resources professionals:

 

a)     Understand the mindset among employees – revisit Maslow’s hierarchy as during this slowdown, job security is top of mind unlike what organizations tend to believe

b)     Leverage internal influencers (key employees whose opinions matter) to cascade information using formal and informal channels.

c)      Review the approach in communicating with employees – can there be specific messages fine tuned to the respective categories?

d)     Acknowledge the need to relook at the employee orientation and induction programs – are the materials in line with research findings?

e)     Have leaders connect more often with employees to listen more than deliver messages