MindIt

Wisdomjobs.com released the outcome of its survey on — how companies are fighting attrition with monetary and non-monetary benefits. The survey was conducted across 150 companies from 10 different industries that are Retail, Healthcare, IT, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Automotive, FMCG, logistics, ITES and BFSI to understand how companies are coping with the challenge of retaining their valued employees.

Monetary incentives still rule the roost when it comes to employee retention, finds the study.

So what actually makes employees leaveIJ

While there are several reasons why employees leave their organisations, a majority of these reasons can be classified under three heads — for better monetary benefits, for better career prospects, and for personal reasons.

• 41% of respondents said most employees leave looking for better pay and benefits.
• 32% felt the biggest reason for employees leaving is better career prospects i.e. better work environment, career progression, more challenging work.
• 27% said the major reason for attrition is due to employees’ personal commitments such as marriage, relocation, health issues, childbirth and care.

While, as expected, attrition at entry and junior levels is relatively high, companies also see significant attrition at middle and senior management levels (as a percentage of number of employees at that level).

How do the locations fareIJ

While attrition rates vary widely between industries and sectors, it has been observed that they also show variation based on location. Several factors such as the concentration of certain industries, the volume of jobs available, the quality of life, etc. play a role in determining this.

• Attrition rates were found to be the highest in Delhi at 11.6%, followed by Chennai at 10.8% and Hyderabad at 10.2%
• Mumbai had the lowest attrition rate at 6.8%, followed by Ahmedabad at 7.5% and Bangalore at 8.5%.
• Kolkata and Pune have almost similar rates of attrition at 9.3% and 9.5% respectively.

What can help retain employeesIJ

• Almost 50% of recruiters felt that growth opportunities are essential to retain employees.
• 38% of recruiters said training and mentoring of employees is important in retaining them.
• 45% said a positive work culture and a happy work environment plays a key role in long-term retention.
• 30% felt that regular communication and engagement of employees can help in retaining them longer.
• 73% recruiters opined that attractive compensation and benefits are key to reducing attrition with respect to specific benefits.
• 55% favored competitive salaries and monetary incentives.
• Nearly 40% said insurance benefits.
• 33% said flexible work arrangements, and 25% favored other add-on perks.