Struggling to Retain Skilled IT Employees in Surat? What Works Best for You?

Hello everyone,

We are an IT company based out of Surat, Gujarat and part of a UK-based MNC. Being in a non-IT area, we do face a few issues with getting good employees in the first place, and if we do get them, retaining them.

I would like to know, in your opinion, what is the best way to retain skilled employees:
1) Higher salaries
2) On-and-off-the-job training
3) Additional perks and benefits
4) Better designations
5) An excellent work environment
6) Chances of foreign trips

What, in your opinion, is the best way or combination of ways to ensure employees stick with us?

Regards,
Gaurang

Hi,

In my opinion, the ways in terms of their importance to retain employees are as follows:

- Excellent work environment
- Higher salary
- Additional perks and benefits
- On and off-the-job training
- Chances of foreign trips
- Better designations

Any combination may be used as per the importance of the individual strategy.

Amit Goyal

Hi Gaurang,

There is no panacea for employee retention. Attrition is a critical issue for IT and ITeS enterprises in India except in organizations operating from semi-urban locations.

Being an HR professional, you can do a couple of things to reduce employee turnover or at least sense employee dissatisfaction.

Some myths on employee retention:

1) Higher salaries (50-100% hike in CTC from the previous company or more than 30% hike per year)
2) Training programs
3) Additional perks and benefits
4) Fancy designations
5) Workfloor ambiance
6) Onsite trips

Even after providing all these facilities, an employee may submit their resignation and leave the company without giving proper notice. This is not a new occurrence. Many companies have lost projects due to irresponsible behavior from their own employees. Therefore, it is essential to keep an eye on your workforce, measure their satisfaction levels, have a backup force ready for critical projects, and provide standard salary hikes only. Try to cultivate a friendly work atmosphere with less supervision but more accountability.

India is a favorite destination for outsourced IT/ITeS assignments, not just because of the availability of skilled manpower, but also due to the cost factor being another important advantage. Therefore, if we are unable to provide a cost advantage, a significant portion of these opportunities will likely be taken by individuals from other countries.