Struggling with High Attrition in Our Team: How Can We Keep Our Employees Engaged?

Hello Everyone,

Currently, one of our departments is facing the issue of high attrition. We had a team of around 20 people in that department. There are senior members who are leaving the organization. We have hired freshers, but they are also leaving either within the training period (we pay a stipend of Rs. 2500 for the initial one-month training period) or after the completion of the training period (after we hire them as trainee software engineers and provide a proper salary).

Please suggest what different ways there are to reduce this attrition.

Gaurav

Hi Gaurav,

You should find out the reason why employees are leaving the organization, take exit interviews, etc. Also, try to change things that make employees uncomfortable. All the best.

Hi Gaurav,

Do you conduct exit interviews to find out the reasons for leaving? As far as I know, an employee leaves the organization for:

1) Higher Salary or a Bigger company
2) Not happy with the current manager
3) As his friends are leaving to join another company, as a team he is also leaving.

Try to find out the actual reasons and implement the accurate solution. Let me know if you require more help from me in this matter. You can contact me anytime using the details below.

Please analyze the below mentioned points:

1. Past history of the department.
2. Is poaching being done?
3. Culture is a problem.
4. Underpaid compared to market or competitors.
5. Wrong selection process.
6. Introduce a bond system.
7. Head of Department (HOD) needs to be flexible and instill confidence in people.
8. Employee engagement should start from day one.
9. Flexible working hours.
10. Show new employees the future promotion and increment prospects at the time of joining.
11. Introduce incentive and motivational plans.
12. Implement exit interview forms and analyze the data to identify real reasons and find solutions.
13. Spend maximum time with new employees until they are comfortable.

The problem is concealed within your organization. Please bring it to light and present it to management. It is the role of HR to do so; otherwise, the organization will deteriorate gradually.

Hi Gaurav,

No person joins a new company to leave it in two months or three months; everybody wants stability. From my point of view, the following can be the reasons:

1) Working environment
2) Ambiguity in role, responsibility, and duties of the employee
3) Supervision, immediate manager
4) Friction between the goals of the company and employee
5) Growth opportunity
6) Market scenario
7) Compensation, other benefits
8) Unfulfilled promises by the company
9) Internal politics - Something between managers and the company, etc.

Remedies:
Have exit interviews, talk to the employees on a weekly basis, address their problems with management, etc.

I hope this will be of some help.

Thanks,
Neetu

Hi,

You should conduct the climate survey first. After that, you can work on the issues you identify through the survey.

Sara, Madhav, and Shivram,

Thank you very much for your suggestions. I am sure this is really going to help me overcome this issue.

Gaurav

P.S.: Anshuman, I will consider your proposal and will discuss the same with management after experimenting with the above-given suggestions by members.

Every,

Thanks a lot for your suggestions. I am sure this is really going to help me to overcome this issue.

Gaurav

P.S.: Anshuman, I will consider your proposal and will discuss the same with management after experimenting with the above-given suggestions by members.

Hi Gaurav,

Take one-on-one personnel interviews. Take them in confidence. Ask them about the organizational culture, inquire about the pressure or stress levels within the organization, and discuss their comfort levels.

Dear Mr. Gaurav,

The problem that you have posted is not new, and every organization faces this to some degree. As I see it, if there is a greater level of attrition in one department in your organization, there can only be a few specific reasons: (i) The domain knowledge of this department may have a booming market, and there may be a market pull because your salaries are not in tune with the market; and (ii) There is a serious relationship problem within the department, and perhaps people are disenchanted working under a specific boss/manager.

Remedies: Talk to everyone who leaves, perhaps through a structured Exit Interview. This will give you some indication, but not the truth. No one will tell all the truth on the day of leaving, pending receipt of full and final settlement and proper relief. They would also like to land a new job without any hindrance from the organization they are leaving. Therefore, talk to them over the phone after a couple of weeks, and you will get all the pent-up emotions and feelings flowing out naturally. A couple of discussions with the same person with a gap of a week or so will reveal more. That would help you to get to the bottom of the chronic problem that exists in this department.

a) If your salary does not match, you need to escalate it to the appropriate level with evidence and help them benchmark your salaries, designations, working conditions, terms of service, direct and indirect benefits, working time, etc., and then your organization can take corrective actions.

b) If the reason is a relationship issue, carefully but objectively look inwards. If you are careful and sensitive, you can trace it to some people within the department who do not let others stay long enough. If this is the case, any amount of salary corrections, improvement of service conditions, training, counseling, job enrichment, etc., would not help. You have to address this problem. If this relates to the Team Leader or the Boss of the department or the Head, things will not improve unless this person or group that is in control changes their attitudes, relationships, and leadership styles. Developmental interventions such as training, performance counseling, plain-speaking, and other soft options are perhaps the way to improve the department. You can consult an Organizational Development Expert or a Behavioral Expert to help you understand and take remedial solutions.

c) Appraise your senior management of your assessment at every stage and let the facts speak for themselves through comparative data of attritions in different departments. You will have to get the buy-in of those who can make decisions in this regard, and some of it can be really tough.

d) Paying Rs. 2500/- during the training period (even if it is one month) will only attract those who are desperate for a job, and once they are with you, they will try to improve their compensation by applying to other companies. If you wish that people do not leave as quickly as they come, please review this policy specifically. Unless you invest during the training period, you have no right to harvest when someone is trained. No doubt those who are trained on a decent salary may also leave. But that is a risk that you have to take.

Hope I have been able to clarify.

EIRVALSA

Hello,

The work environment and the culture of your organization could be underlying factors. Analyze these factors. If they are indeed the cause of the problem, then try to adjust them to suit the people working in the company because after all, the employees are the most important assets of your company.

SIMON BORIBAH

Hello Eirvalsa,

I really appreciate you for taking the time to understand the problem and for providing so many valuable suggestions. Before this post appeared on cite-hr, I had reviewed the policy of paying Rs. 2500 during the one-month training period. Instead, we have already started paying the proper salary to individuals and will now wait for another 1-2 months to see the improvement.

I also like the idea of speaking to employees two to three weeks after they have left the organization. This may help us understand the reasons behind their resignations.

Thanks,
Gaurav

P.S. Thanks to Neetu, Gaurir, and Simon as well for your valuable suggestions.