How To Determine The Commitment Of An Employee - Controlling Attrition Rate

Hi,

In the IT industry, attrition is something that challenges any efficient HR. Can this be checked at the time of selection of the right candidate? If yes, is it checked at the time of the interview? What type of questions would help the HR identify that aspect? Do we ask him about his commitment or ask questions relating to his attitude or what other kind of questions? Please help me out.

Regards,
Soumya Shankar

That's a difficult decision to make, but one can ask a few questions to determine whether the candidate might quit the company at an early stage. I am not a professional to answer these, but the following questions might give you some ideas.

Ask him/her during the interview:

1. You should sign the contract for 6 or 9 months, will you? Even if you don't have any procedure to make an employee sign a contract, ask the above question. If the candidate responds positively, then you can consider that he might stay at least 9 months (if he/she is satisfied with the job). You can also mention that if you sign for 6 months (for example, you will be paid 10k, and if signed for 12 months, you will be paid 12k), something like that.

2. You can also ask if there is an opportunity for growth in an MNC, would you consider shifting?

3. You can also present him/her with a case study related to an employee changing jobs for the sake of growth/money and assess his answers.

Please let me know if you need any further assistance.

Hi Pramod,

Thank you very much for the wonderful idea you have given me. A case study could be one of the best ways to judge a person's mentality. I also appreciate the idea of a contract. I will definitely follow that and let you know how it worked.

Regards,
Soumya Shankar

Hi Soumya,

I think the case study will work out better than the contract because even though most companies have contracts, the attrition percentage is still high in the software industry. Therefore, the case study will work well, and regular one-to-one meetings will do wonders.

Regards,
Anu

Hi Soumya,

In my experience, you can retain a person for a maximum of one year plus, not more than 2, if the person is working in a technological field that is booming nowadays. There is always a craze for a brand name.

Go through the resume and analyze the educational background of the employee. If found to be good, even in the interview, you will notice their facial expression showing commitment towards the job. Speak about career growth, opportunities overseas, etc. Only through this and recognition will you be able to retain employees.

HR should not only recruit employees but should also have one-on-one discussions about their profile, career, etc., very often. HR should not only enforce rules but also try to build a team. I have been able to do the above and have been successful in retaining employees.

Regards,
N. Neelam

Hi Neelam,

Can you suggest how many HR personnel can be there in a software concern that is growing and has the number of employees as 150+?

Regards,
Anu

Hello Soumya,

In the IT industry, attrition is something that challenges any efficient HR. Why limit it to IT? Can this be checked at the time of selection of the right candidate? The definition of the right candidate is one who stays on the job for a long time, enjoys the job, and is successful doing the job. If yes, is it checked at the time of the interview? For our 35,000+ clients, the right candidates are usually identified after the first interview. What type of questions would help the HR identify that aspect? We use 317 questions that evaluate applicants' thinking styles, occupational interests, and job-related behaviors. It takes about an hour on the Internet. Do we ask him about his commitment or ask questions relating to his attitude or what other kind of questions? You may ask, but job fit is almost impossible to assess during an interview. Why take hours of the interviewer's time and the applicant's time when one hour of the applicant's time is all that is needed?

Bob

Hi, I second Neelam and I like the contract idea. You can have a clause in the contract too that they can't join your competitor for 6-12 months, like in the ad industry. 😄

Hi,

Thanks a lot for all your responses. It really helped me.

I am basically an HR Generalist, but in my new company, I've got to handle recruitment as well. I did not know how to go about the HR round.

Thanks once again.

Regards,
Soumya Shankar

Hello Members,

What should be the good and healthy HR relationship between an employee and employer for a short assignment in the technological field? What are your views on successful trends for fostering the healthiest relationships?

Regards,

Hi,

During the interview, the candidates are very smart. Actually, commitment has to be found after joining the team only. Kindly let me know how to find it.

Regards,
Sangeetha

Hello,

Some questions are coming in bits and pieces.

As far as commitment is concerned, it may vary from person to person depending upon their belief system in the current relationship. However, 95% are supposed to be committed at least to their work. The graph is exponential - with low trust comes low commitment, but with high trust, it increases. There comes a point where it breaks the threshold value and expands into new areas.

What do your cards say?

Regards,
Umalme

Hi Umalme,

What you have told is true but very generic. It is true that with trust, there is commitment, but I feel that is not the major contributor to commitment.

Today's job market is very smart. Even the most trustworthy person is diluted, especially in the IT market. Initially, the majority of the employees would serve the notice period at the time of resignation. They showed their commitment even at the time of relieving, but now companies buy the notice period; there is no guarantee that the person coming today would be coming tomorrow as well.

As told by many of our HR friends, the candidate can be better judged on the job, which is a risk that is taken by the HR. The possibilities are that he is productive or turns out to be a liability. We should only aim at minimizing this risk.

This scenario is in the case of the IT industry. But is it the same in other sectors also? Can anybody shed light on how much employees are committed to their work in other industries?

Regards,

Soumya Shankar

Hi,

Look at the following aspects while recruiting:

(1) How many jobs has the candidate changed in the last 10 years? If a candidate is changing jobs frequently, s(he) might do it again. Changing jobs in less than 2 years (especially without any convincing reason) is a concern.

(2) If recruiting for a managerial position, ask the candidate questions like:
a) "How will you tackle the attrition issue in your team?"
b) "According to you, what is a sufficiently long period for your team members to stay in your team?"
Many times, candidates consider leaving organizations frequently as very normal. The above questions will reveal their thinking on what they feel about attrition.

(3) As suggested earlier, you can conduct a Psychometric test to identify the candidate's stability.

Regards

Hey Soumya,

One thing you could ask about is past education as well as future/higher/further education plans. A person preparing for or intending to take exams such as CAT/GATE/GMAT/CET is searching for a job to fill in the gap before he/she gets admission. This person can only be relied upon for a short duration of time, and he/she should be viewed as a short-term employee, in case you decide to hire them.

ShoOOonya.

Hi,

There are so many points to keep in mind while selecting the right candidate. I think the recruiters have to do a lot of homework even before they interview the candidates. Hats off to you all.

Regards,
Soumya Shankar