Strategies to Address Employee Absconding and Improve Retention

Dear Seniors,

We are a team of about 25, and I have recently joined the organization as an HR Manager. I got to know that many new employees, when they join, after a month, they receive their first salary and abscond. So, the company has decided that for a certain set of employees, the payment should be given via cash. Now, to make the payment mode uniform for all, I want to credit even their salary through a salary account. Kindly suggest any ideas where the payment should also go through the bank, and the employees cannot abscond from work without serving the notice.

Certain amount of turnover of employees always takes place. Initially, new employees, before they settle down, are most vulnerable to changing jobs. The importance of helping new employees to settle down in a new environment cannot be overstated. As an HR professional, one must reach out and try to get to know all employees well. The department should also take a lead in mentoring new employees.

It is not easy to retain an employee who wants to leave. Whether you pay by cash or cheque, one who wants to leave will leave. Once your company can show employees that they have growth prospects, ability, and opportunity to learn the latest developments in the field, employees would tend to remain with a progressive company.

Being a small company, HR can make efforts to know each employee better and make them feel valued, not just as a statistic in the company. A sense of belongingness can be introduced through interaction and the way the company addresses employees. In a free world, one cannot restrain employees from leaving.

Dear Sushilendra,

If the employees are abandoning their employment within just 1-2 months, then there is something wrong with the company's culture. Instead of studying the causes of their departure, the solutions you are adopting seem quixotic, like paying salaries in cash, etc. Do you believe that these tactics will reduce attrition?

Your primary task now is to calculate the cost of attrition. Once calculated, present it to your management in an organized manner.

Previously, I have responded to a similar post. You can check the following link:
https://www.citehr.com/433012-employ...st1959617.html

To understand how to perform attrition analysis, click on the following link:
https://www.citehr.com/519562-employ...ml#post2211229

Employees might be leaving due to incorrect recruitment practices as well. To understand the repercussions of not having a proper recruitment policy, you may refer to the following link, where there was a substantial discussion on this topic:
https://www.citehr.com/511164-hr-res...floor-bpo.html

Although the industry mentioned in the post is different from yours, the post is enlightening for all HR professionals.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

The solution will vary based on the level at which attrition is taking place. At entry level, you could deploy the 6/12 bond method that has been used by IT/Non-IT companies to good effect. At middle/top levels, the solution lies in the manner in which you recruit personnel and the responsibilities that you entrust.