Creating Stickiness in the Work Force

The IT industry in India has seen unprecedented growth in the last decade. It has helped the growth of Indian export thereby serving a bigger purpose in our national framework. Today the IT industry contributes 6% of our GDP. In such a short time it is a great achievement. However, it has also brought a lot of challenges for the company. One of them is high mobility in the work force. The opportunities are enormous and it leads to high mobility. IT is a knowledge industry. People are the Main assets. If one witnesses a high turn around in people, quality of deliverables suffers. We will discuss some key issues related to high attrition.

Industry survey, exit interviews are and other analysis of exits point to few important parameters for high attrition. Few top ones are:

1. Growth in business: Absence of growth in business is the most important factor resulting in high attrition. The industry is young; its participants are ambitious. They look for fast growth. The business growth brings enormous opportunities for them. It is noticed that the larger companies like TCS, Infosys have lower percentages of attrition compared to mid-sized companies. Undoubtedly these companies have also been showing faster pace of growth as well.

2. Opportunities for working in exciting technologies: Techies are those who love working on newer stuff. They are passionate about new technologies. If a company can create a platform which imparts learning opportunities on newer technologies, it creates a big stickiness for many techies. There could be companies working in niche markets like on mobile Technologies, which provide tremendous opportunities to work with leading edge technologies. For others, there is a high correlation between growth and technological opportunities. A company can also create an environment where technological initiatives are encouraged but finally; it has to be aligned to its business direction.

3. Work Environment: This term becomes a little abstract unlike the previous ones. It includes the work culture, participation, empowerment, your concern for the growth of the employees, etc. etc. I will argue that one can create a work culture inside the four walls of the office, which may be different than the prevailing work culture in the company. This could be very positive. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji has said- “if you see higher attrition in a team, look at the manager of the team”. Taking this positively, a team manager can create a unique work environment to create stickiness in his team. I will deliberate more on this aspect and the softer issues.

“Salary is often proved to be one of the main causes of high attrition”. I will argue this is the most misrepresented factor for attrition. The trigger starts from the other factors and finally in pursuit of a job, one lands up getting a better salary. Therefore, I argue, salary is the hygiene factor. We all need it but it does not trigger attrition!

Having discussed all these, how can we create stickiness in our team? I shall discuss today a softer factor which might bring a tremendous impact on the work force. In our industry, we deal with people. And people have emotions. If we are able to support someone’s emotion, I think, we can create a better relationship and a better environment for work. Many companies use competency management as a tool to manage growth and to bring about meaning to their work. I think this could be a great tool in the hands of managers. We need to look at it from two different aspects:

1. Short Term Goal: This is to find out how a resource can add maximum value to his\her current engagement. Typically, we go about identifying factors for the role and assess each resource against the requirement. The gap is found and actions are initiated to bridge the gap. Surely, it helps. It provides aid in executing project successfully. I am afraid it will not help much in creating any stickiness.

2. Long term Goal: Talk about the career aspirations of an individual. Each one of us needs coaching. Use your experience to plan out his career progression journey. Coach him, mentor him. It will bring a different level of relationship between the manger and the resources. You are helping them grow. Many times we get stuck with opportunities available in the company. I think this aspect should not be kept in mind while planning such sessions. Look at the individual and help him grow and build his competency. If this company cannot take care of his needs, someone else will. This is a philosophical initiative, a real initiative, which will help to create a much better work environment.

Therefore, I recommend using the competency analysis not only to manage the current problem but also to support a long term view of helping someone realize his goal. If your company grows, you have an advantage of a competent person managing growth. Due to some reason, if it does not happen then you have made someone capable and you have made a big contribution towards the society. Do not forget, if you have a huge good will, people will queue to come back when you need them. It is a win win situation.