How Can HR Tackle High Attrition Rates? Share Your Ideas and Experiences

Hi Friends, people are going to switch every day. In today’s scenario, attrition is one of the major problems that the IT & Non-IT sectors are facing. These days, the market is open for everyone. HR is the key person between management and employees.

How HR Can Control Attrition Rate

- HR can conduct one-on-one sessions and discuss various topics with employees.
- Salary hikes (But if we increase the hike for a particular employee, then the rest of the employees will also demand it.)
- Motivation (Should we send appreciation emails to employees?)

Friends, please give your valuable suggestions and contribute your new ideas for controlling attrition.

Thanks,
Suman Kataria

Dear Suman,

You have already mentioned the methods to control the attrition rate. Time-to-time discussion is definitely a good option to reduce attrition. Periodic salary increments should be implemented based on performance.

Desired

We should always try to keep the talented employees within the organization for a long time, so increments should be given to them from time to time, and these increments should be kept confidential.

Regards, Rupam

Dear Suman,

Only increment will not reduce the attrition rate because, in my 8-year career, I saw people mainly quit due to insulting treatment from their boss or any subordinate, or any harassment, or company politics. Only 10% of people go for salary.

Hello Suman,

I have reviewed Pankaj's statement. If the organization does not provide a salary increment according to the employee's level, none of the managers will be motivated to promote employees with 5 to 8 years of experience. Certainly, they will seek job opportunities offering higher designations and better salaries.

Regards,
Santosh

As HR professionals, we cannot always entice employees with huge perks and compensation, but yes, it can't be ignored. A low-paid employee can't be motivated with any kind of alternative. They will definitely look for another job where they could get both pay and satisfaction, as there are a lot of players in the market.

Understanding Employee Motivation

Remembering Maslow's Hierarchy, once the employee achieves the lower needs to a satisfactory extent, they will look for the next level. So, first comes the compensation, next comes the job satisfaction, and then the growth perspective. If an employee receives a comparable pay to the market, then they can be motivated.

Motivation is not hypnotizing. We should offer something to entice – it can be growth, pay, or job satisfaction. This depends on the situation. Now, here comes the HR capability to understand the mode and which weapon to be used at what time.

There is no thumb rule for smart work and success.

Regards

One initiative that can have a major impact is Employee Engagement, which, in essence, would be a combination of many small initiatives. These are seemingly small but simple and effective initiatives that can mitigate the challenge of attrition. Some of them are:

- 'Town Hall' sessions
- In-house magazines
- Employee opinion and satisfaction surveys
- Intra-organizational communications
- Reward and recognition schemes
- Involvement in CSR activities
- Events where employees' families are also involved, e.g., organizing a 'bonny baby' contest, a painting competition for slightly older children, a grooming session for the spouses, 'spell bee' for kids, a cooking demo for spouses, etc.
- Inter-function sports competitions - cricket, baseball, carrom, TT, etc.
- 'Spell bee', 'sudoku', crossword competitions for employees.

The basic principle is to keep the engagement methodology simple and cost-effective.

Trust you'd find these inputs useful.

Warm Regards,

Lt. Col. (Retd) Sumant Khare

Nvision Learning and Development
Gateway to Experiential Learning

Gurgaon, India

NVision | Learning and Development
M: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
T: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Please go through the below answers as per my point of view:

- HR can conduct one-on-one sessions and discuss a lot of things with employees. HR should conduct sessions periodically based on employees' requirements, which means identifying areas where they are lacking. Sessions should be short and filled with practical day-to-day examples. HR should understand that every employee is an asset to the company and should help them realize their own value.

- Like salary hikes (but if we increase the hike for a particular employee, then the rest of the employees will also demand increases). It is a crucial way of motivation based on the Performance Appraisal Program. Please carefully review the PAP. HR's duty is not only to implement salary hikes but also to explain to employees why they are receiving a hike or not. For employees not receiving a hike, please help them understand the core reasons and identify the gaps at that level.

Nowadays, employees' needs are not only financial but also emotional, including personal growth, recognition, and appreciation.

- Motivation (Should we send appreciation emails to employees?) Yes, you should send motivational emails daily in the morning. It really works. Please try it.

Last but not least, "BE SINCERE IN YOUR COMMUNICATION."

Thanks

Attrition in any organization is due to the following:

- Lack of personal growth
- Lack of professional growth
- Lack of career succession
- Lack of motivation
- Improper values in the organization
- Organization culture
- Organization climate
- Firm policies, etc.

So, if HR professionals maintain the above aspects optimally, we can reduce the attrition rate. Hope you are clear.

Goodbye.

Here are a few procedural methods given to control the attrition rate and retain talent:

Job Related: Career planning workshops (for employees and their children too), succession planning, job enrichment, continuous education initiatives for workers/employees, regular increments to employees after the evaluation of performance appraisals, conducting religious functions (poojas, etc.), gradation for each designation, open appraisal system, delegation of power, reward schemes, identifying the star performer, fringe benefits as per grades, and confidence building.

Welfare Measures: Annual meet for all employees and family members, picnic, medical care, superannuation scheme, uniforms, canteen, recreation club, magazines and newspapers, social initiatives, sports, family counseling, cultural events, etc.

Regards,
LK

Retention Strategy for High-Performing Employees

Attrition is not necessarily bad as long as we are able to keep the right people. I suggest that you put in place a targeted retention strategy exclusively for high-performing and quality employees. What is important is that you keep the right people and not distress over the attrition rate. This is because attrition only measures the number of outgoing employees and not really the quality of the employees who leave the company.

Regards

As everyone is discussing this prominent issue and has provided many views, we would like to add that we endeavor to create an atmosphere of open communication and build a stronger organizational culture. This will foster a sense of belonging, association, and team orientation.

Regards,
Rach

How HR People Can Control Attrition?

This is the biggest challenge that HR professionals are facing globally. Lots of experimenting, research, and tools are being tried and are in the process. Attrition has always existed, but in the current scenario, it has become most significant as its rate is at its peak. This cannot be eliminated but can be controlled.

Good HR systems and solid implementation are essential. The role of HRD is very crucial, and it has to be fast and efficient enough to maintain its pace with the changes happening within the industry. It should be fresh and relevant to the existing requirements.

This can be initiated from the very beginning. By beginning, I mean selecting the right people for the right job. There should be a clear picture of what the organization expects, and employees should be asked about their expectations, ensuring a proper match. Transparency should be maintained from the beginning. Every effort should be made to ensure that there is no confusion on either side.

Job descriptions become very important. Everything should be in black and white, and timely appraisals should be done in a fair manner. Favoritism and wrong practices should not be allowed to exist, but they surface again and again. A transparent system will minimize it.

HR will have to ensure that it provides a concrete ground for the scope of career planning and professional and personal growth. Therefore, organizational culture plays a vital role in controlling attrition. There is an urgent need to become more professional with a humanitarian approach.

A good leadership can transform a worse team into the best team, while bad leadership can turn the best team into a worse team, as the saying goes, "One bad fish can ruin the entire pond." Keeping a constant vigil on any negative elements and dealing with them firmly is crucial. Appreciation should be given for even the smallest positive things, and wrong practices need to be eliminated from the start.

Our systems and procedures should be strong enough to address issues promptly. If employees have opportunities for constant growth and development, and their skills are appropriately recognized, they are more likely to stay, contribute positively, and channel their energy in a constructive direction. My emphasis always focuses on the positive aspects.

It is better to invest in our existing talented human resources rather than frequently wasting time, energy, and assets on organizing new recruitments, which may not always guarantee success. Of course, recruitment is necessary, but it should be done only when essential, and our HR filters should be effective in selecting assets over burdens.

Experienced HR professionals are needed to manage core HR activities effectively, and they can work wonders.

I would like to quote some beautiful lines by Sir Chinmoy:

"The moment enthusiasm
Leaves us,
Our life-energy decreases
Beyond our imagination.

My entire being
Must be surcharged with
Enthusiasm-flood.

Enthusiasm is a divine gift,
And this divine gift
We get from higher worlds.

Enthusiasm lost,
Life satisfaction is lost;
God perfection in man
Remains a far cry.

Enthusiasm has success
In it.
Enthusiasm is progress
In itself.

Daring enthusiasm and abiding cheerfulness
Can accomplish everything on earth
Without fail.

My enthusiasm needs
No imagination-flight,
For it is always
A rich harvest."

Regards,
Bibhutosh Bhadauria

How to Control Attrition

From day one, the employee should be engaged. However, what we feel is that we need to slowly load the people. When individuals are overloaded with work, they tend to buckle under pressure and start considering an escape route.

The HR function should act as the mother function, while the department head plays the role of the father. The department head is expected to be demanding, tough, and ruthless concerning the job, not behavior. The mother function, represented by HR, is there to console and take care of the employees.

The crucial point here is for the mother (HR) to effectively communicate feedback to the father (department head) so that adjustments can be made regarding workload intensity.

In reality, the mother often seizes the opportunity to blame the father, putting the department head in a difficult position. This dynamic leads to problems for employees and contributes to increased attrition rates.

Therefore, the role of HR is vital in addressing attrition.

Hi all,

Timely appraisal, motivation, recognition, employee engagement activities, a weekend get-together, an outing with all employees, etc., can reduce the attrition rate. Firms should take measures to boost the morale of employees and thereby increase job satisfaction.

Hi Suman, I have shared ideas and best practices on retaining talent, and other members on the forum have provided inputs that may help you. This thread of discussions started in 2005. https://www.citehr.com/787-innovativ...-part-one.html

Best Regards,
Rajat Joshi

I am the HR manager in a sheet metal manufacturing industry. I discussed the high attrition rate in my company with the director and suggested some solutions, as others have mentioned here. All management is aware of the loopholes and other problems related to welfare facilities, issues with increments, problems with the payment offer, and problems with working hours. However, the higher management is not willing to address these issues, provide more facilities, or compromise on working hours (12 hours per shift). They have been working this way since the company's inception. Due to this, attrition is not a new issue for them. Previously, nobody took this matter seriously and attempted to manage it with the help of contractors. Since my appointment as HR, recruitment has become a major task for me. Can somebody suggest how to tackle this problem? In India, it is relatively easy to find well-qualified individuals but challenging to locate skilled, unskilled, and semi-skilled workers as they do not register themselves with any employment exchange or portal. I would like to know how to easily identify these individuals.

Hi Suman, your question is very much correct because I have also been working as an HR Officer for the past 3 years in a USA MNC in the manufacturing sector. Our attrition rate is also more than 50% due to what you mentioned above, such as salary, welfare benefits, and lack of motivation. I would be interested in suggesting that you try to provide as many facilities as possible to retain employees.

Regards,
Umesh Shetty

Attrition is bound to happen, and it is indeed very challenging to control it. It's high time that we start living with it and work towards minimizing contingencies caused by attrition on the overall business/morale of the organization. People have a variety of reasons to quit, and no standard policy can really apply to control so many aspects that lead to overall attrition.

Identifying Key and Critical People

I guess it's important to identify key and critical people at every level and in every department in an utmost objective manner. We need to ask ourselves who these critical people are who are driving your business today and have the potential to drive it for the next 2 to 3 or maximum 5 years. Critical resources are those who are either star performers or are critical because there is no backup for them in the organization.

Once the list is ready, specific strategies can be planned. You then need to conduct periodic discussions with these specific employees.

The target is to reduce attrition in the star performer category and minimize risk by training and creating backups for those who don't have replacements in the organization.

HR people should be instrumental in driving this exercise and helping business heads in identifying potential risks and devising strategies to minimize the impact.

Regards,
Sonali

Best Ways to Minimize Attrition

1. Skills Development
2. Communication
3. Promotion/Progression
4. Management Style
5. Work-Life Balance

But what can you do differently?

Skills Development

When we look at attrition and how to improve it, we are asking, “How can I keep my staff motivated?” If you refer to any motivational theory, personal development is always a high motivator. So why would a contact centre be any different? Looking for ways to enhance the skills of your employees is good for the business, the customer, and the employee.

Many centres use multi-skilling as a way to be more efficient; used correctly, this can also be seen as a development tool. Employees would be trained in new skills after certain periods of time and/or reaching a certain performance level. If communicated correctly, this gives employees a sense of achievement and creates variety in a job. This can be achieved without the need for financial reward, therefore providing motivated staff who will stay with the business longer as they move along the skill path, whilst meeting the business need for efficiency.

Communication

Communication is key to any successful business! In contact centres, there is a need for everyone to understand the goals of the business. It is important that employees feel part of the brand and understand what the business is striving for and the part that they have to play in making it happen. Attrition rates are high in centres when employees feel disengaged, “Nobody listens to me.” There have been a number of good communication examples where employee focus groups are used to make change happen, and employee champions are used to drive change forward and give the employees a voice.

Targets need to be aligned and communicated effectively. Results need to be reported and discussed. Many centres now have web-based technology to display performance stats and working patterns. The use of intranet sites to display information can also be very effective. We must use all the communication media we have available and remember that what may not seem important to a manager may be crucial to an agent.

Promotion/Progression

Many now view contact centre work as a career, and with the varying roles available, from the traditional path of Agent, Coach, Team Leader, or a support role in HR, Resource Planning, or Finance, there are many opportunities. It is important, therefore, that at least some of these vacancies are filled with internal candidates. This gives employees the knowledge that if they work hard and do well, they have a chance to progress.

It can also be useful to give people opportunities to try out new roles; “try before you buy,” if you like. This can be done through secondments, day-in-the-life, or development programmes. Many centres have development opportunities designed at finding the next team leader from the agent population; these schemes could be extended to include the many other support roles available in today's contact centres.

Management Style

This area is closely linked to communication. Does an employee feel valued? Do they want to come to work? There is an old adage: “You don't leave the business; you leave your manager.” How many times have you heard someone say, “The job's okay, but the people are great”? This shows how important management style is to employees. The contact centre should be a great place to work, with an element of fun and hard work. The management approach will go a long way to achieving these goals.

Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is not easy to achieve. Employees have to understand that the business must meet its customers' demands, while the business must understand that employees have external pressures as well and do all it can to help them.

The introduction of family-friendly legislation has forced many contact centres to look at how they schedule staff. Contact centres have then taken this more flexible approach and developed it for all employees, creating a number of lifestyle schedule options that give employees more choice, whilst still meeting the business needs. These schedule choices are often created by the employees through focus groups, always bearing in mind that the business needs must be met. All employees are different, and it would be wrong to assume we know what everyone wants or needs, so providing options is a great way of providing a suitable solution for all.

Hello Suman,

Reducing attrition starts with who gets hired. If HR wants to decrease attrition rates, they need to convince hiring managers to recruit based on talent. By the way, talent is not typically found on resumes or easily discerned during interviews.

When Money is the Major Motivation

Quarterly incentives (once every 3 months) for employees and incentives based on the performance of the employee, regardless of the designation. Incentives should be determined by the Managing Director/Proprietor and not by another employee, no matter how high the designation, to ensure fairness. This will address an increase in pay for performance and ensure that salaries need not be raised for all.

Additionally, the HRD/Managers/Management should address the employees as team members or family members of XYZ. This is very important to ensure a cohesive unit is formed.

There are no quick fixes to curb attrition; the only way through which a company can minimize risk is by effectively engaging with the employees. Companies need to ensure that quality talent is identified early and put on a fast-track program to grow within the organization. Also, performance-linked pay will be an important parameter against which an employee can make his/her decision to stay on with the company. Staff engagement is also a key area. Providing new avenues for growth and learning through job rotation.

:) Sraboni

Dear Suman,

I think it depends entirely on the employee's behavior and coordination with HR for the selected job. If we are performing well, we will succeed, and there is no question of quitting.

This is my opinion.

Thanks & Regards,
Sumant

According to my view, an HR person can't alone control the attrition rate. Other people like departmental heads, supervisors, and peers play a key role in controlling attrition. There are several reasons for attrition such as:

1. Lack of job satisfaction
2. Improper hike in salary
3. Improper working conditions
4. Lack of motivation from superiors
5. Lack of support from colleagues
6. Intense work pressure
7. Not involving the employee in decision-making
8. Lack of concern towards their family, etc.

First, we should create loyalty in the employee. Next, we have to provide reasonable pay, make them feel responsible, and give respect and importance to the employee's views, ideas, opinions, and suggestions.

Strategies to Control Attrition

HR professionals can control attrition by first dividing employees based on what motivates them. Research shows that higher-level employees are motivated by growth opportunities, while lower-level employees are motivated by compensation. Therefore, the first step is to identify these motivations.

After this, the following steps can be taken:

1. Try to lessen stress.
2. Encourage interpersonal relationships between employees.
3. Ensure that every employee has a best friend at the office.
4. Celebrate festivals together.
5. Show them a career progression path and make them believe that this organization cares about and values them.
6. Keep the company's door open for those who have left the organization.

Regards,
Snehlata Singh
Student - H.R.
LBSIMT-Bareilly

First of all, we should study the mindset of outgoing professionals. Senior HR professionals have already shared valuable insights on this subject. Additionally, I would like to emphasize that it is crucial for all organizations to develop a strategic retention policy. This will enable us to focus on various key areas such as:

1. Employee Engagement
2. Training & Development
3. Job Rotation
4. Worker Ownership
5. Organizational Behavior
6. Suggestion Box
7. Employee Relations

By utilizing these tools within the organization, we can enhance the overall situation. It is essential for us to take proactive steps in this direction.

Best regards,
Saroj Kumar Deka

You have come with the HOT TOPIC for every HR professional...great.

My View

Rather than talking about attrition, we can have a full-fledged mindset for retention.

1. For the same, we must have a clear picture of the business in both the long and short term.

2. Accordingly, the HR strategies need to be linked to it, just like retention.

3. Freezing your organizational structure and functional hierarchies based on the performance and potential of the existing employees.

4. Charting out the needs of the organization in the long and short term.

5. Based on the same recruitment strategy. Recruitment is the foundation of retention, I believe.

6. Proper channels and time span for communications from the upward to the downward level of the organization.

7. Training and development.

8. Implement other suitable motivation techniques specific to the organization. This includes reward and recognition, compensation benchmarks, job enhancement/enlargement, job rotation, especially for managerial cadre, team building, and cross-functional teams.

Include other facilities suitable for the type of industry you are in.

Thank you.

Please reply to me with your views, or please correct me if I have made any mistakes.

The Role of HR in Reducing Attrition

HR can significantly reduce attrition quickly, but in the US, we find that HR departments are seldom the reason why attrition is significantly reduced. CEOs, COOs, GMs, sales managers, and talent managers seem to be the people most responsible for bringing change to their organizations. People in these positions have a personal interest in the bottom line. Hiring for talent is the secret to reducing attrition and creating engaged employees.

Regards