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M apping Career Aspirations

to Combat Attrition:

A Study of Leading Multi National BPO Operating in India


Shalini Garg, Shilpa Jain

ABSTRACT During the past decade employee turnover have become a very serious problem for Organisations. Managing retention and keeping the turnover rate below the target and Industry norms is one of the most challenging issues. Even as economic times changed, Turnover will continue to be an important issue for most of the job groups. Yet despite these facts employee turnover continues to be the most appreciated and under valued issue facing business leaders. In this study employee turnover is studied in specific to a leading MultiNational BPO operating in India-Global Pvt. Ltd. (Name changed).What are the major reasons of employee turnover in this Company and what initiatives it took to combat the employee turnover rate. An extensive exit analysis is done to understand the key factors and employee attitude to conclude the reasons behind employee turnover. This study contributes to the BPO Industry a classic example of retention, purely focusing on creating a learning and development culture to engage the employees and realize their potential. Keywords: Attrition,Attrition Rate,IJP's (Internal Job Postings),GPL University,Exit Interviews, Performance Development Plan (PDP),Career Path,On-the-Job Training (OJT).

MAPPING CAREER ASPIRATIONS TO COMBAT ATTRITION: A STUDY OF LEADING MULTI NATIONAL BPO OPERATING IN INDIA
BACKGROUND The Indian Economy is no more passive and reluctant. During the past few years the Country had many reasons to smile as it has developed in its various phases. BPO is one of the sectors that have driven the Country into the epicentre of change. The expansion in this sector can be attributed to the leading IT giants, captive players and third party service providers who dominate the Indian ITES/BPO market. India became familiar with the BPO only in the early 1990's but today after 17 odd years India is quivering with the 'BPO fever' and call centres contribute the major to the BPO Industry. Employment opportunities are boon in India because of BPO and the standard of living also increased for people. However one of the biggest challenges that look straight on the face of these big shots, in spite of the so-called world class working environment is Attrition. The first signs appeared in the mid-90s with the advent of the software services industry. By the turn of the century, this problem had reached epidemic proportions as the IT industry matured and ITES-BPO sector kicked into high gear. Attrition, a crippling HR headache that has plagued organizations across India Inc says Business Today (2008). It can be defined as "A reduction in the number of employees through retirement, resignation, terminations or death" and "the rate of shrinkage in size or number is called Attrition Rate. In the best of worlds, employees would love their jobs, like their co-workers, work hard for their employers, get paid well for their work, have ample chances for advancement, and flexible schedules so they could attend to personal or family needs when necessary, and never leave. But then there's the real world. And in the real world, employees, do leave, either because of better opportunity, they want more money, strained relationship with their supervisors, unfavourable working conditions. The rate of attrition has risen to 55 per cent in the Indian BPO industry, which is also facing a shortage of skilled and educated workers, said a study by industry body Assocham (2011). The attrition rate has jumped to 55 per cent in the December 2010-April 2011 period from the 40 per cent level of the same period in the previous year, said the study in a report published in The Economic Times. The Assocham study said there was 60 per cent attrition in the pharmaceuticals and financial services domain, while in the automobiles, FMCG, infrastructure, retail and IT sectors, the figure was 50 per cent. Assocham secretary general DS Rawat said the increasing tendency of employees to switch jobs may hit the industry hard and may hinder its growth. This is all the more so as the Indian BPO industry is facing stiff competition from countries such as Mexico, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, Canada, and Ireland. The study further emphasized that the rapid job switching has put a cloud over India's competitiveness and companies must counter this by investing in training and emphasizing on work experience. (BPO Watch Bureau; April 15, 2011) A further report by Assocham on BPO Watch Bureau (2011) says that India's position as the dominant destination for BPO
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activities could be compromised soon enough due to the very high levels of attrition that the industry has seen over the past few months, an apex industry association has claimed in a recent report. The Assocham report believes that the $14.7 billion industry is in dire straits due to the fact that the Indian youth no more perceive the BPO industry as a career option for the future that guarantees stability at work and consistent growth. Attrition levels are as high as 55% in the industry that employs more than a million people, says the report quoting figures for December-March time frame. What's even more worrisome is that a significant part of the attrition came at the middle and senior levels in the absence of a diversified career stream and lack of opportunity for lateral movement within a company. The study says that the BPO-ITeS industry accounted for the highest attrition rates ranging around 65% during the past couple of years, a figure that experts believe does not augur well for the overall industry prospects. Most BPO companies fail to offer its employees a career plan and growth path though some of the larger ones are now investing in employee retention schemes like training, reward and recognition and clear career options within the existing setup. Companies like Infosys BPO, TCS and Wipro offer continuous skill development courses and training to their staff while pureplay BPOs like Genpact and 24/7 Customer initiate degree and diploma programs via institutional tie-ups. The study also says that services offered by IT/ITes and BPO in the domains of pharma and BFSI have registered an attrition rate of around 60%, while in the domains of retail and IT, an attrition of about 55% has been recorded during the period under review. Earlier, Nasscom has suggested that attrition rate for voice-based BPOs is 55-60% and 15-20% for non-voice based processes. It had predicted that the industry could face a staffing shortage of 2.62 lakh professionals by 2012. Although attrition has been spiralling out of control for some time, especially in fast-growing industries such as IT, BPO, retail and infrastructure, few companies have been willing to discuss this hot button issue, instead preferring to sweep it under the carpet. What was a problem restricted to just a couple of sunrise sectors has today become a widespread problem. While dozens of surveys were conducted on the rise of attrition in Indian industry, few have been able to get to the heart of this menace and suggest meaningful and long-term solutions. (BusinessToday 2008).

Attrition in the BPO industry is two fold. One part of the attrition is where the employee leaves the industry entirely. The other section of attrition is where the employee joins another firm in the industry. Both the sections have separate reasons which need to be identified. The primary reason for people leaving the industry is due to the cause that the industry is viewed as a gap filler occupation. There seems to be a flaw in the way the industry is structured. The industry has been mainly dependent on youth who take out time to work, make money in the process while thinking of career alternatives. Hence for this group BPO is never a long term career but only as a part time job. The easy availability of BPO

ITERATURE REVIEW

DIAS TECHNOLOGY REVIEW VOL. 8 NO. 2 OCTOBER 2011 - MARCH 2012

MAPPING CAREER ASPIRATIONS TO COMBAT ATTRITION: A STUDY OF LEADING MULTI NATIONAL BPO OPERATING IN INDIA
jobs is only a source of easy money till the time there is no other source of funding. Also the unfriendly working conditions, late night work shifts, high tension jobs acts as a deterrent for people to stick to this industry for long time. In addition, the BPO jobs are not being taken with a positive spirit 15 by the society on a large. Research says that nearly 50 per cent of those who quit leave the industry (Prakash and Chowdhury 2004). Carruthers (2011) wrote in an article on why employees leave that most employees leave their work for reasons other than money - and your organization can correct these reasons. Most leaving employees seek opportunities that allow them to use and develop their skills. Leaving employees want more meaning in their work ... they often indicate that they want to use their qualities and skills in challenging teamwork led by capable leaders. Hourly employees notice whether they are treated with respect, have capable management and interesting work. Clerical employees voice concerns such as "type of work," "use of skills and abilities" and "opportunities to learn". Professional employees cite concerns about "supervisory coaching and counseling," "company direction" and interesting work. Managerial staff cite "career growth" and "leadership" as the major factors that influence their decisions to stay or leave, together with "opportunities for management" "ability of top management" "use of skills and abilities" and "work/family balance." Demand Media (2011) in an online article mentioned that a lack of personal or career development is one of the primary reasons for employee attrition. Training programs, development opportunities, further education or a promotion will help employees stay at a company because their job prospects increase. However, if the employee does not feel he can progress or receive further job opportunity, then he is more likely to leave. An employee cannot utilize his skills or develop new ones if no personal or career development is available at a particular company. As mentioned by Ganesh (2011) in an article on attrition in BPOs, Nasscom figures place attrition in non-voice BPOs at 35% and 45% at voice-based call centers. The study states that about 80% of these people change over to better opportunities within the same industry read competition. The decision to hop jobs is triggered by a number of reasons. They could run the gamut from compensation to recognition to sheer boredom at one place. Says N. Muralidharan, managing director, Jobstreet.com: It could be due to better opportunities for some while it is lack of growth for many. Poor job satisfaction is another reason as there is no addition to intellectual or analytical capabilities. Insufficient recognition on the job, lack of comfort with continuous night shifts and being a problem handler daily lead to high attrition in the industry. A survey of more than 700 HR professionals was conducted by Assess People in 2008 with the objective to reveal the key factors that impact attrition, so that organizations may be able to address the problem at the root level and improve retention. Survey participants represent diverse industries including Information technology ITES Manufacturing, Financial services, FMCG, Pharma, Telecom, Retail, Diversified and others. The survey results revealed that Employees tend to leave at a higher rate in the first 2 years. A substantial percentage of employees leave within the 2 months. The higher the qualification, the more likely the employee is to leave. Males are more likely to leave than females. Single employees are more likely to leave than those who are married and employees with an Urban Background are more likely to leave than those from rural backgrounds. Employees in the age group 25-30 most likely to leave. Work culture, supervisor's management style (or even ability to supervise) and profile of people in the company are clearly key factors that should be paid attention to. Further the report emphasize that a look at the retention strategies from an overall perspective indicate that HR professionals believe that it is through providing people opportunity to grow and develop that you can retain talent. Garner (2008) wrote in article that regardless of economic conditions, top engineering talent always has other career options. If engineers don't perceive or know that career opportunities exist, they'll seek them elsewhere. Some organizations assume that employees know how careers develop. This can be a costly assumption. Other organizations believe that communicating how careers develop will be interpreted as a promised promotion; therefore, they avoid these conversations. Again, this can be a costly mistake. Managers are usually surprised to learn that a perceived lack of career opportunity led to attrition, because they had a clear vision of the individual's career path. Unfortunately, the vision, or a recommended approach for career development, was never articulated to the engineer. Because it takes a long time to groom talent and today's new engineers expect to advance quickly, it is important to have a consistent and clear message about career development within the organization. This certainly doesn't mean that promotions are promised. Instead, guidance should be provided on how to manage one's career within the organization. Some organizations use engineering development councils for this purpose. These committees of mid- or high-level managers designs programs that help engineers understand what they need to do to advance within the organization. Other organizations use HR experts to help engineers execute development plans. Begin grooming talent early. It doesn't have to be costly. Leveraging in-house expertise, vendor relationships, and local universities can result in a clear, current, and consistent message about managing an engineering career within the organization. Jagannathan (2008) in a report on attrition in BPOs says that A number of professionals are looking at more challenging jobs. "In several cases, faced with a choice between more money and a challenging job, employees have opted for the latter as it allows them to learn new technology and increase domain expertise." People analyze the training programmes of prospective companies with those of their current organization, which means that how an organization grooms an employee is weighed to a greater extent. This is because they know that developing next-level skills will keep them ahead in the job market, and finally result in better
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DIAS TECHNOLOGY REVIEW VOL. 8 NO. 2 OCTOBER 2011 - MARCH 2012

MAPPING CAREER ASPIRATIONS TO COMBAT ATTRITION: A STUDY OF LEADING MULTI NATIONAL BPO OPERATING IN INDIA
compensation. They also look for a job with higher levels of responsibility, better learning opportunities. Srikanth (2006) in a blog wrote that attrition issues in Indian BPOs are not salary oriented anymore, but due to perceived lack of long-term career growth in the sector, according to international risk management and business intelligence firm Hill and Associates. Speaking to FE, Hill and Associates country manager Ashish Sonal said, The number of people, who leave BPO companies due to life style issues such as salaries and bonuses, have decreased significantly over the past years. Companies have taken enough initiatives to contain such issues, because the industry itself is associated with high salaries and good incentives. However, BPOs are not prioritizing enough on solving perceptions on work and career growth-related issues in BPOs, he said. Hiring practices in the sector are wrong and there is a huge expectation and qualification mismatch. The aspirations of employees are not managed well. A good number of employees leave the sector because they feel that their long-term career growth prospects are better in some other sector, he added. Currently, average attrition rate in the Indian BPO industry is over 30% The rapid growth of the sector left no space and time for players to take care of career issues of employees. This industry will take at least three years to settle its issues. But the coming years are crucial because if the growth is not well managed, the whole system will be hurt badly, he added. Elsdon (2002) reported that the recent studies show the major reason people consider leaving an organization is lack of career development support. As the balance of power shifts to more equality between the individual and the organization, so the importance of providing career development support elevates. It will be needed to build the bond of affiliation between the individual and the organization. It will be needed for the organization to secure employment continuity. It will be needed for the financial health of the organization. Recent work has shown the cost impact of attrition being equivalent to a decrease in market value of more than 10% in a single year for some organizations. This is a tough statistic to ignore. Is there any hard data that demonstrates the financial impact of organizational career development programs? One example is a study conducted at Sun Microsystems that showed a 183% return on investment for a comprehensive career development program. This program, based on individual career counseling, helped employees better understand themselves and their options and choices. As a result they chose to stay with the organization rather than leave it. Doshi (2000) in an article in Indian Express wrote that there are a number of factors leading to high rate of attrition and believes that the problem begins with recruitment practices. Further it has been suggested that mapping out a career path for employees would provide an added incentive for them to hang on and improve efficiency. It is often good to know that there is a career path within an organization into which an individual can map his or her own personal and career development. Noh & Beggs (1993) after an initial study indicated that the most significant factor affecting retention for Physiotherapists in Northern Ontario was perceived opportunity for career
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development. A follow-up study was completed two years later to determine: 1) actual job turnover and regional attrition among physiotherapists in Northern Ontario; and 2) the predictive validity of variables identified in the first study regarding job turnover and regional attrition. Job turnover occurred in 29.5% of those sampled and the regional attrition rate was 12%. Discriminant function analysis revealed factors affecting job turnover and regional attrition including professional experience, practice location, opportunity for career development and size of community of residence.

This contagion problem of attrition in BPO sector where it is heading to compromise India's position in global BPO industry has instilled the authors to brainstorm on this issue. On the basis of the statistics available and literature review it is well established that the major reason of attrition in this industry is lack of career growth. Now how to combat this issue can well be understood through witnessing a success story. Global Pvt Ltd (name changed) is one such organization who is a major player of BPO industry in India. They practically implemented the career growth plans for their associates and combated the attrition in their organization. This study provides indepth view of how the organization combated attrition through mapping career aspirations.

ATIONALE OF PRESENT STUDY

The following data clearly depicts the challenge faced by Global Pvt. Ltd. and the steps taken by the Organisation to overcome these challenges. Table 1 give the details of the attrition rates of Global Pvt. Ltd. for the year 2006. Table 1 Percentage of Overall Attrition at Global Private Ltd. During 2006 Year-06 Jan-06 Feb-06 Mar-06 Apr-06 May-06 June-06 July-06 Aug-06 Sep-06 Oct-06 Attrition % 12% 10% 11% 11% 12% 11% 13% 10% 09% 08%

OMBATING ATTRITION BY MAPPING CAREER ASPIRATIONS AT GLOBAL PVT.LTD.

Attrition % = Quits/ Average Headcount X 100

DIAS TECHNOLOGY REVIEW VOL. 8 NO. 2 OCTOBER 2011 - MARCH 2012

MAPPING CAREER ASPIRATIONS TO COMBAT ATTRITION: A STUDY OF LEADING MULTI NATIONAL BPO OPERATING IN INDIA
Table 2 produce three major reasons of attrition in Global Pvt. Ltd. Better Opportunity Further Studies Dissatisfied with work interview form (Annexure 1), it was concluded that employees do not leave the organization but they look forward for a better career and growth opportunity which would enhance their skills and also increase their knowledge. Global Pvt. Ltd. then came to a decision to control the employee turnover by analyzing the reasons of attrition and to provide its employees with sufficient growth opportunities and also a chance to groom them and to have their choice of career. Looking at this thought process GPL University Launched which became the USP (unique selling proposition) for the organization. Global Ltd is dedicated to assisting its employees to reach their professional goals through internal promotion and transfer opportunities. One of the tools the company makes available to its employees in managing their career is IJP's (internal job postings). This procedure enables current employees to apply for any available position within the Company. Internal Job Postings are regularly communicated to employees through internal mails and notice boards through which employees get to know about the current positions or the positions that are coming to them in the near future. Internal Job Postings provide complete job descriptions. A well-constructed job description communicates competencies needed, Organisational goals and objectives. By also including information on performance standards IJP's send signals to employees about what is valued. The entire eligibility criteria are set for each position and if an employee meets the set criteria they can apply for an IJP . Following are the steps, which an employee has to follow to apply for an IJP: To Apply for an Opening: Step 1 Ensure that you meet the following eligibility requirements. a. You are a regular employee of the Company. b. You have been in your current position for at least six months. (Exceptions to this sixmonth requirement can be made by your current supervisor and should be consistent with company business needs.) c. Your performance meets performance development plan (PDP) standards or established work standards in your current position. d. Your average performance rating for the last 6 months should be at least ME (Meeting expectations). e. You have not had an employee counseling or corrective action within six months. You are not following a performance improvement plan for your current position. f. You meet the qualifications listed for the position on the job posting. Complete an on-line Internal Job Application through People soft.Every employee in the Company has his/her personal People soft ID and
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Table 2 explains the distribution of the attrition rate in different factors of Global Pvt. Ltd. for the year 2006 from Jan06 to Oct-06. The data for this period has been taken because based on this data the management planned to launch a special program in addition to IJP's (Internal Job Postings) called GPL University. Table 2 Distribution of Attrition Rate to Different Factors at GPL from Jan-06 to Oct-06
Month Better Opportunity Further Studies Dissatisfied due to Growth Opportunities Other Reasons

Jan-06 Feb-06 Mar-06 Apr-06 May-06 Jun-06 Jul-06 Aug-06 Sep-06 Oct-06

52% 40% 44% 39% 28% 34% 28% 26% 38% 38%

5% 2% 13% 4% 14% 14% 19% 15% 14% 5%

0% 6% 3% 8% 6% 5% 7% 2% 0% 0%

43% 52% 40% 49% 52% 47% 46% 57% 48% 57%

Note: Other Reasons include Personal Reasons, Health Reasons, Disciplinary Issues and Performance Issues. From the research done it is concluded that tenured people (with the Company for more than a year) are leaving more often than other employees who have joined 6 months back. An exit interview was conducted with some of the associates and as per them: Rakesh Sharma while leaving and spending 3 years with Global Pvt. Ltd. said Stagnancy and monotony in the current role/profile and he is leaving the organisation in order to learn more and add on to his skills. Ruchika Jain worked with Global Pvt. Ltd. for more than two years and at the time of leaving she commented I am opting for a management course and the objective behind it is the probability to have better career and faster career growth opportunities. Sachin Tyagi worked with Global Pvt. Ltd. for one and a half year I have been offered a better role which would in cash my potential and groom me better for higher position. While going through the entire data analysis/ statistics and personal interviews with the associates on the basis of exit
DIAS TECHNOLOGY REVIEW VOL. 8 NO. 2 OCTOBER 2011 - MARCH 2012

Step 2

MAPPING CAREER ASPIRATIONS TO COMBAT ATTRITION: A STUDY OF LEADING MULTI NATIONAL BPO OPERATING IN INDIA
password. They can login to the same and can apply for IJP . For any assistance HR Department is available for the clarification(s). Submit the Internal Job Application to your supervisor for approval. Submit your complete and approved Internal Job Application to HR.Once the IJP form is filled up by an employee, it will automatically route through his supervisor with his/her approval to HR. All the Resumes received by HR Department will be screened and the employees meeting the criteria will get short-listed. Short-listed employees and their supervisors are informed well in advance through internal mails. Employees whose resume are short listed are called up for a Group Discussion by the head of the department for which IJP has been rolled out with the HR manager. Employees who get selected in the Group Discussion are called up for a personal interview by the head of the department for which IJP has been rolled out and with the HR manager. The hiring manager and the releasing manager finalizes on the release date of the employee. No employee is released to their new program until after a full transition of their duties and a handover of their ongoing assignments. After receiving the released date the offer is made to the employee. Feedbacks are shared with all the employees who are not selected in the presence of their supervisors by the HR department. Once feedbacks are shared, result is announced for the employees selected for the new role and is moved to the new department. The result is communicated to all the employees of the Company through notice boards and internal mails. costs and all other avoidable costs related to new hire orientation and training. Current employees already know the culture, have established relationships, and understand the way things are done. But the biggest advantage is the moraleboosting message an internal hire sends to all employees: Your contributions and talent have not gone unnoticed. For the success of IJP's and for the employees to get better view of IJP's GPL University has also been launched especially who are working at agent level. Agents play a critical role in the success of the Company. Global Pvt. Ltd. is making an endeavour to ensure that Agents have the resources required to continually learn and develop. GPL University aims to create awareness of all possible career opportunities within Global Pvt. Ltd. across sites and verticals and helps employees to take charge of their own careers. It prepares employees via a leaning environment that is targeted at imparting structured learning for Industry specific roles. The system will also enable employees to be better prepared to move into alternate roles or new job responsibilities within Global Pvt. Ltd. It helps employees develop a career plan and the skills and know how to develop the plan. GPL University is of the utmost importance to its employees to gain exposure and information. GPL University provides various career path options to its employees in different areas such as Training (Customer Care Officer to Trainer), Quality (Customer Care Officer to Quality Supervisor), Technology (Customer Care Officer to Support Engineer), Human Resources (Customer Care Officer to Officer HR) and Transport (Customer Care Officer to Transport Officer) and this kind of facility is not provided in any other Organisation where employees not only work but also grow and enhance their skills. Current Career Path Options
Human Resources Sr. CCO (I) Training Sr. CCO (I) Quality/ TME Sr. CCO (I) Technology Sr. CCO (I) Assets/ Transport Sr. CCO (I)

Step 3 Step 4

Step 5

Step 6 Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10 Step 11

Step 12

Step 13

There are so many examples in Global Pvt. Ltd, employees who were earlier working in Operations as Customer Care Officers moved to the positions with HR, OD, Training and other support functions. They are all promoted/transferred through IJP's and this is one of the reasons why employees stick to Global Pvt. Ltd. for long. On an average the Company rolled out 8-10 IJP's per month. In a span of six months there were 168 vertical movements done within the Organisation. As and when any new position comes up instead of hiring a new candidate from outside Global Pvt. Ltd. first gives a chance to their current employees through IJP's. Global Pvt. Ltd. make its employee believe that it contribute to an atmosphere of openness, trust and confidence and its employees also feel that they have been given priority and a better opportunity to improve and grow in their career which is not in any other Company in such a vast frame. Global Pvt. Ltd. also believes that it is more cost-efficient to hire a proven internal candidate rather than pay recruiter fees, relocation
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In-team HR Officer/ Trainer (I) Recruiter (B1)

In-team QE (I)

Associate Technician IV (A4)

Transport Coordinator (A4)

Sr. HR Officer/ Recruiter (B2)

Quality CommuExecutive nication (A4) Coach (A4) /FST

Associate Technician/ Sup Engineer (B1)

Sr. Trainer (B2)

Manager (B3)

Quality Supervisor Sr. (B1) Technician/ Support Engineer (B2) Quality Supervisor (B2)

TPT Sup (TO/TL)/ Asst Asset or Facility Officer (B1)

Sr. TPT Sup/ Facility Officer (B2)

Figure 1

DIAS TECHNOLOGY REVIEW VOL. 8 NO. 2 OCTOBER 2011 - MARCH 2012

MAPPING CAREER ASPIRATIONS TO COMBAT ATTRITION: A STUDY OF LEADING MULTI NATIONAL BPO OPERATING IN INDIA
Learning Framework

6 months in production

Level 2 Training Implementation through off the job Training

IJP Implementation through On the Job Training Certification Level 3 Training Internal Job Posting

Level 1 Training

Figure 2 The learning module for GPL University is for 12 weeks, which includes 3 levels as mentioned below: 1. 2. 3. Introduce - Introduce the tools of trade. Create awareness on functionality of the Role. Build - Build Skills for Success. Reinforce - Reinforce Skills for Success. Levels After each level, the agent would get a participation certificate. At the completion of the course, the agent would get a Certificate, which qualifies them as knowledgeable in the specific role. Employees in Global Pvt. Ltd. can enroll themselves to GPL University by registering themselves with their concerned Team Leaders or Managers who in turn forward the names to the HR /OD department. Each session will help an employee to understand their current profile and the alternate role they can choose as per their interest and k n ow l e d g e . T h e s e s s i o n s a r e t a k e n b y t h e S r. Managers/Director of the development team. Table 3 Show the change in attrition figures after the Implementation of IJP's and GPL University. Table 3 Distribution of Attrition Rate to Different Factors at Global Pvt. Ltd. Post GPL University
Month Better Opportunity Further Studies Dissatisfied due to Growth Opportunities Other Reasons

Level 1-Introduce

Create Awareness on Functionality of the Role

40% self paced

60% Classroom

Levels 2-Build

Build Skills for Success

June-07 July-07 August-07 July-08 August-09

17% 24% 22% 16% 18%

7% 5% 6% 4% 5%

1% 0% 0% 0% 0%

75% 71% 72% 80% 77%

40% self paced

60% Classroom

Levels 3 Reinforce

The overall attrition at Global came down to 5% in 2008 and 6% in year 2009. Thus, the above Table prove that it is important as an employer to realize the growing need of mapping the potential of employees and filling in the gaps by appropriate career path to enhance their skill set and emerge as future leaders. In the United States, many companies reimburse employees for advanced degrees or certifications that relate to their area of expertise. Until recently, the opposite was true in India, but after witnessing the success of Global Pvt Ltd in curbing attrition through focusing on career aspirations and worldwide supportive evidences the trend has begun to change as businesses have discovered that a significant
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Reinforce Skills for Success

60% self paced Figure 3

40% Classroom

DIAS TECHNOLOGY REVIEW VOL. 8 NO. 2 OCTOBER 2011 - MARCH 2012

MAPPING CAREER ASPIRATIONS TO COMBAT ATTRITION: A STUDY OF LEADING MULTI NATIONAL BPO OPERATING IN INDIA
portion of their attrition problems stem from employees leaving to pursue a master's degree. Following in the footsteps of Global Pvt Ltd. several offshore service providers have teamed with universities to offer their workers managementlevel master's courses at a subsidized rate, and watched attrition rates drop as a result. For example, Cognizant Technology Solutions, an IT service firm with 17,000 employees, partially reimburses Indian staff that pursues master's degrees at BITS, a higher-education institution located in Pilani, India. ICICI OneSource gives employees who have been with the company for more than 18 months an option to switch to positions in other ICICI group companies. The system works as a big assurance for BPO employees that the skills they have learnt such as customer friendliness and rapid response to customer problems have wider applications and market demand. This is important considering the fact that the cost of attrition in the industry is 1.5 times the annual salary. Phoenix Global Solutions, recently acquired by TCS, recorded attrition well within the stipulated limits. Says Vasantha Kalbagal, general manager: This could be attributed to the rotation policy, onsite training, transition & work assignments, giving additional responsibility etc. 24/7 Customer with attrition rates in the region of 25% has a well-oiled staff retention program that maps every employee across the employee lifecycle in the organization. The program has as its components the boot camp, career counseling immediately after induction, coaching and mentoring for fresh recruits. For lateral hires and tenured employees, the challenges revolve mainly around growth. 24/7 Customer has designed learning and development programs that play a major role in developing, empowering and retaining quality resources. Says S Nagarajan, COO, 24/7 Customer: The thrust is on fostering a sense of belonging, nurturing career aspirations and enabling career growth. 24/7 Customer, in association with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, launched a management-education seminar series called "Beyond Knowledge," through which 24/7 aims to educate employees about the BPO industry and discuss related careers. Companies like GE, Wipro Spectramind offer management diplomas and MBA courses to their employees, as most fresh graduates want to study further. Further, they also give innovative incentives like scholarships. Many companies like HCL Tech BPO Services, GTL, Tracmail, and Vertex India believe that giving career counseling and planning career paths to its employee help to control attrition.

Thus, from the diagnosis above it can be concluded that the reason behind attrition is a push from within rather than a pull from outside. GPL University helps its employees to grow and gain knowledge on the subject of their interest and grooms them to take up the role of their choice through IJP's and successfully handle the challenges. This is the first step towards transitioning a JOB to a CAREER taken by an Organisation for its Assets.

ONCLUSION

REFERENCES 1 Assess People (2008) India Attrition Survey 2008. http://www.assesspeople.com/india-attrition-survey-2008.asp 2 BPO Watch India Bureau (April 15, 2011) Attrition rate rises to 55 per cent: Assocham http://www.bpowatchindia.com/bpo_news/attritionassocham/april15-2011/attrition_rate_rises_to_55_per_cent_assocham.html 3 BPO Watch India Bureau (April 29, 2011) BPO industry stymied by high attrition www.bpowatchindia.com/bpo_industry.../bpoindia/april-292011/bpo_industry_stymied_by_high_attrition.html 4 Business Today (August 24 2008). India Attrition Study 2008. p 190 http://www.bpowatchindia.com/bpo_industry_report/bpoindia/april-292011/bpo_industry_stymied_by_high_attrition.html 5 Carruthers, M. (2011). Reduce Employee Turnover. http://www.systemiccoaching.com/attrition.htm 6 Demand Media Inc (2011). What Are the Causes of Employee Attrition?. http://www.ehow.com/info_8518233_causes-employee-attrition.html 7 Doshi, M. (2000). How call centres can combat attrition. Indian Express Group (Mumbai, India). http://www.itpeopleindia.com/20021216/management1.shtml 8 Elsdon, R. (2002). Why is Career Development Important for the Organization of the Future? California Career Development Association News, Vol XVIII, No. 1. October 2002. 9 Ganesh, U. (2011). BPOs work hard to fight attrition. http://www.bpowatchindia.com/BPO_Features//More/bpo-attrition-nasscom-hewitt.html 10 Garner, G. (2008). Five Attrition Factors and What You Can Do About Them. By Geraldine Garner National Society of Professional Engineers, May 2008 the magazine for professional engineers 11 Jagannathan, A.N. (2008). A Project on Attrition. Unpublished Research Work submitted to University of Mumbai 12 Noh, S. & Boggs, C.E. (1993). Job turnover and regional attrition among physiotherapists in northern Ontario. Physiother Can. 1993 Fall; 45(4):239-44. 13 Prakash, S. and Chowdhury, R. (2004). Managing attrition in BPO, In search of Excellence, Cool Avenues, http://www.coolavenues.com/know/hr/s_1.php. Last accessed on: February 06, 2010. 14 Srikanth. (2006). Career growth concerns trigger attrition in BPO http://www.citehr.com/6179-career-growth-concerns-trigger-attrition-bpo.html

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DIAS TECHNOLOGY REVIEW VOL. 8 NO. 2 OCTOBER 2011 - MARCH 2012

MAPPING CAREER ASPIRATIONS TO COMBAT ATTRITION: A STUDY OF LEADING MULTI NATIONAL BPO OPERATING IN INDIA

Annexure 1 Exit Interview Personal Information: Name: Date of joining: Position: Date of Resignation: Program Details: Program Name: Ops Manager Name/Training Manager: Team Leader name/Trainer: Last Day Worked: What are the reason(s) for your leaving Global Pvt. Ltd.? (Check all that apply) Return to Studies Better Opportunity Dissatisfied with Location Family Reasons Dissatisfied with Salary Illness in Family Dissatisfied with Incentives Child Care Dissatisfied with Supervisor/Manager Marriage Dissatisfied withWork Load Relocation Dissatisfied withWork Conditions Dissatisfied withTraining Dissatisfied with Benefits Transportation Problems Dissatisfied with Performance Rating Health reasons Night Shifts Dissatisfied with Promotion Opportunity Dissatisfied withWorking Hours Other -Voluntary __________________ (e.g. self employment, transportation) Explain: What was the single, most compelling factor in your decision? What other factors contributed to your decision? What, if anything, could Global Pvt. Ltd. have done differently that would have changed or delayed your decision? If you have spent less than a year with Global Pvt. Ltd. Was your Orientation sufficient to help you perform your duties? If no, Why? What did you most like about your Job, Global Pvt. Ltd. and the Program? What did you like least about your job, Global Pvt. Ltd. and the Program? Under what circumstances would you consider returning to work for Global Pvt. Ltd.? Are you leaving for a daytime job? If leaving for better opportunity: With whom: What Designation: Was the Performance Appraisal Process clear (In case of resignation because of Dissatisfaction on Appraisal)? Clear? _________ Ambiguous? _________ Not Applicable? _______ Would you recommend Global Pvt. Ltd. to a friend as a place to work? ____________Yes ____________No WHY_____________________________________________________________________ Summary (to be completed by HR Manager):

(SIGNATURE OF HR)
DIAS TECHNOLOGY REVIEW VOL. 8 NO. 2 OCTOBER 2011 - MARCH 2012

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