Attrition levels across India Inc are likely to fall to their lowest in the past few years, as employees prefer to stay put in their current jobs amid a cautious sentiment induced by the cash crunch following demonetisation last month that has thrown businesses out of gear and led to a postponement of hiring plans.
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With annual appraisals coming up, not many employees look to switch jobs at this time of the year in any case, experts said, but the number is likely to be lower still this time round because of fewer opportunities and therefore reduced bargaining.?
"Voluntary attrition will definitely go down," said Anandorup Ghose, partner at human resources consultancy Aon Hewitt India. "Last year it was around 16%; this year it may go down a few percentage points."?
The compensation tracker had in its annual salary increase survey last year pegged attrition levels at a five-year low of 16.3%. Any further dip will spell at least a six-year low.?
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"There is an apparent apprehension among employees now in looking for jobs," said Ajit Isaac, chairman of business services provider Quess Corp.?
S Venkatesh, president-group HR, RPG Enterprises, said, "People will stay put and hold onto their jobs until the negative sentiment blows over."?
Besides demonetisation, Venkatesh said, another factor that is likely to keep employees from changing jobs is that the much-anticipated boom didn't quite materialise in the recent past. "Fresher hiring has gone down for many companies; even at leadership levels, movements have slowed down," he said.?
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"It's a wait-and-watch for executives at C-levels, which is likely to last for at least a quarter," said Uday Chawla, managing partner at executive search firm Transearch India.?
Managing and retaining talent has been high on the agenda of HR departments across corporate India since the loss of good employees is believed to cost a company four to five times their salary. In that respect, it's advantage employers for the moment. "Attrition will definitely come down given the current macro environment," said a Philips spokesperson. "Everybody is aware that if increments aren't going to be great in their existing organisations, it won't be much better outside."?
Rituparna Chakraborty, senior vice-president, TeamLease Services, said attrition is likely to be arrested in the short term. "Hiring is sluggish and people will bide their time before we see a turnaround — hopefully by the beginning of the new financial year," she said.