Paul & Athisayam (2014) conducted a conceptual study on impact
of organisation culture on employee retention at Tata Steel, Coimbatore.
Culture is the environment that surrounds employees at work. Authors
indicated that culture that is aligned with the strategy of industries can lead to
employee retention. Employee reward programs, career development
programs, performance based bonus, loyalty bonus, quality of work life etc
were few tools for employee retention.
Sehgal & Pathak (2014) in their study aimed to find out the factors
that cause attrition in the insurance sector and how those dimensions vary
across the personal characteristics of the sales professionals. Authors indicated
that, to retain talent, companies have to be more cautious in dealing with their
employees. Findings revealed that five factors they have identified for the
study, namely, external career opportunities, role clarity, intrinsic motivators,
transparency and internal career boosters did not have equal influence on
attrition rate. Transparency and eternal career opportunities had the
strongest influence on attrition rate. This indicated that organisations have to
be more transparent and clearly communicate the growth opportunities within
the organisation. Authors concluded that in order to retain sales professionals,
organisations should give them due importance in the form of timely
recognition and empowerment.
According to James & Mathew (2012), employees are the assets of
any organisation. Authors conducted a study in IT sector, which tried to
understand the impact of retention strategies on employee turnover. Regression
analysis results indicated that retention strategies have a significant impact on
employee’s intention to stay. Author also investigated the relationship between
variables welfare benefits, organisational culture and personal satisfaction with
employee’s intention to stay. Results revealed a significant relationship with
organisational culture, personal satisfaction, welfare benefits and intention to
stay.
Mahal (2012) observed that there is a positive correlation (r =
0.369; P < 0.01) between HR and organisational practices. A
significant positive relation was found in employee retention and
organisational and HR practices (r = 0.364, P < 0.01). Study also observed a
significant positive correlation between organisational practices and
organisational commitment.
Zacharia & Roopa (2012) conducted a study on employee retention
factors influencing IT professionals of Indian IT companies and multinational
companies in India. Study examined the reasons for leaving organisation,
staying with organisation, their attitude towards work, their expectations from
organisation. Study also examined whether any significant difference is there
in the response of IT professionals of Indian IT and MNCs with respect these
factors. Data was collected from 30 IT professionals and results indicated that
there is no significant difference in response of IT professionals of Indian IT
and MNCs with respect these factors. With respect to certain demographic
factors such as total experience, position and sponsored certification programs,
results indicated a significant difference between these companies. Authors
concluded that a robust retention strategy will help organisations in attracting
and retaining top talents.
Ananthan & Sudhindra Rao (2011) in their study highlighted the
critical need to investigate the dynamics of employee retention practices,
strategies and systems followed by MNCs and Indian firms. A
structured questionnaire with special reference to retention strategies and their
adaptability, authors collected data from 550 respondents which include 335
employees and 215 managers. Results indicated that employees had higher
scores on total retention strategies, management/organisational strategies,
reward and recognition strategies, employee benefit strategies and employee
ideas and suggestion strategies. No difference was observed between Indian
and MNCs on various retention strategies based on the data analysed.
According to Gill et al (2011), empowerment and Transformational
Leadership are effective retention tools in the hospitality industry.
Transformational Leadership clarifies mission, goals and objectives to
followers. Clarification of mission, goals and objectives of the organisation
reduces the tension of employees related to their daily tasks and thus reduces
employee’s intention to quit.
Kavitha et al (2011) indicated that retention is more important than
hiring and there is no dearth of opportunities for talented person. Their
study reveals that, treating employees with respect and dignity is critical to
retaining good workers, especially in a better job market. Recognition of
employee’s achievements, encouraging innovation, handling their complaints
and fairly rewarding them for jobs well done are some of the ways for
employers to show workers respect and retain them.
Employee retention is a process in which the employees are
encouraged to remain with the organisation for the maximum period of time.
Employee retention is beneficial for the organisation as well as the employee.
Employees today are different. When they get dissatisfied, they move to other
organisations (Gurumani 2010).
According to Swaminathan & Rajasekharan (2010), Employee
engagement is the combination of job satisfaction, motivation and
effectiveness. Employee engagement is an important area that an organisation
should focus, to be productive and to get effective and committed workforce.
Chatterjee (2009) indicated that organisational culture and
opportunities for career development and training, as well as personal and
professional growth, are fast becoming the main reasons for employees leaving
at middle, senior and or even at the top level in a company. Employee retention
is about developing the culture and having the appropriate practices and
processes for the individual to grow within the organisation.
Bhattacharya & Mukherjee (2009) conducted an investigation
among IT professionals with an emphasis to rewards as the key to
engagement. Study indicated that the IT professionals give much importance to
the different reward strategies for their ‘engagement’. Authors conducted the
study in three IT organisations. According to IBM employees, encouraging
their development, praise or recognition at work, a friendly trusting working
atmosphere, being a critical part of the organisation’s success and good union
relations, are very important as a retention strategy. To the employees of TCS,
opportunities to learn, entrustment of challenging tasks, participation in
decision-making process and sharing of ownership/power are more important
to retain them.
According to Chabra & Mishra (2008), factors that have led to the
importance retention today are dearth of skilled and professional employees,
acute labor shortage as a result of nearing retirement age of baby boomers,
changing expectations of the new workforce, lack of stability in terms of
jumping from one to another organisation among Generation X and Generation
Y, workforce diversity and increased competition. Thus workforce stability can
be an employer’s competitive edge today.
Punia & Sharma (2008) in their study investigated the influence of
organisational procurement practices on employee retention intention based on
personal and positional variables of employees in IT industry. Authors
emphasised that retention is the biggest challenge the Human Resource
Management is facing today. Results indicated that efficacy of the induction
program, scientific job analysis and fair and skill based distribution of the work
assignments are the key factors that influence the employee’s retention
intention in IT sector. Outsourcing and psychological tests based selections
have least significance in influencing the employee’s retention. Study also
highlighted the influence of age and designation as significant factors in
employee retention.
