Forces companies to focus on processes to derisk the people issues better. In a commoditizing business, good processes become a basic necessity, not a differentiator.
Good or bad, the fact remains that attrition is a reality and there are companies that manage it well and there are those that do not.
What the Companies Can Do?
An optimum mix of freshers is critical to maintain margins. Typically at least 30-40% of a project needs to comprise freshers (< 1 year experience) to maintain margins. With a bench factor of 10% and a training lag of 3 months factored in, it is clear that to make this work, companies need to have a comprehensive attract-recruit-train-staff machine that churns out project ready freshers. But this is easier said than done. The best of freshers (IIT et al) typically gravitate to the product companies. The best of the rest prefer to join a large, established services brand even at the cost of a salary compromise. The mid-tier and small companies are left fighting for the scraps and are forced to recruit from the open market incurring a cost overhead. The larger companies owe their success in no small measure to the fantastic "rookie machine" that they have built over the years. In fact some of the best companies have successfully used science graduates to telling effect.
What the HR Can Do?
The key measure for an HR professional attached to a Business Unit is to know who would be 'potential attrition' cases and why. The only way a HR person can know this is if they interact and hang out with the employees a lot. Knowing the dissatisfied employees and the reasons of their dissatisfaction can result in preventive actions being taken to retain them.
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* Gaurav Goel is a student of Masters in Human Resources & Organisational Development (MHROD) at Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University.
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