project report - amit sinha mhrm1
TRANSCRIPT
A PROJECT REPORT
ON
ATTRITION ANALYSIS
AT
BIG BAZAAR
(Future Value Retail Limited)
A Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of MHRM from Indian Institute of Social Sciences and Business
Management, Calcutta University
Submitted By:
Amit Kumar Sinha
DECLARATION
1
I, Mr. Amit Kumar Sinha, hereby declare that the Project Work titled “ATTRITION
ANALYSIS”, submitted to the Kolkata University in partial fulfillment of requirements
for the award of MHRM is a record of original work done by me under the supervision of
Mr. Shuvojeet Ghosh, Sr. Executive HR, at BIG BAZAAR, LIC BRANCH of Future
Value Retail limited. .
Enroll No: ……………………………
Date:
(Amit Kumar Sinha)
Signature:
2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
On the successful completion of the project, I take this opportunity to express my sincere
gratitude towards Mr. Kaushik Ghosh, Manager HR at Pantaloons Retail India Limited
for giving me the opportunity to complete my training at Big Bazaar, LIC Building.
I thank Mr. Shuvojeet Ghosh Sr. Executive HR under whose guidance I completed this
project. I would also like to thank all the others at Big Bazzar for being extremely co-
operative and guiding me throughout my project.
I would also like to express my thanks to Dr. U.K Haldar, whose immense involvement
in my project, regular feedbacks and suggestions helped me complete my project. He
gave the right direction to my project. Without his able guidance, I would not be able to
complete my work successfully as he provided help for correcting the project section
over and over until I finally got it accomplished efficiently.
I would also like to thank Dr. Kumkum Mukherjee, Mr. Buddhadeep Mukherjee,
Dr, Tania Shaw, Dr. Madhumita Mohanty who were always there to help me whenever I
felt a need of them.
3
TABLE OF CONTENT
Sl.No. TITLE PAGE No.
1. Executive Summary 5
2. Literature review 6-12
3. Company Profile 12-28
4. Introduction 29
5. Why attrition needs to be controlled 30-31
6. Benefits of attrition 32
7. Reasons of attrition 33
8. Analyzing attrition on the basis of happiness at
workplace
34
9. Managing attrition 35
10. Calculation of attrition rate 36
11. Attrition data of the store 37-44
11.1 Attrition data analysis 45
11.2 Tenure wise analysis 45-46
11.3 Reason wise analysis 47-48
11.4 Band wise analysis 49
11.5 Department wise analysis 50-51
12 Other observations 52
13 Retaining the employees 53-54
14 Recommedations 55-59
15 Biblography 60
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4
PEOPLE are the most important and valuable resource. Dynamism of the people can
make an organization dynamic. People can make or mar organization. Effective
employees can help an organization to march towards excellence. Competent and
motivated people can make things happen and enable an organization to achieve its goals.
But when employees start leaving the organization at high rate, then it becomes a matter
of concern for the organization.
Today with a lot of companies entering the retail sector in India has made it
oligopolistic. The competition has increased to such an extent that man management has
become extremely important for an organization to retain talent.
My project has been accomplished in one of such retail company – Pantaloons Retail
India Limited. This is one of the best companies in retail sector in India. The project
focuses on analysis of attrition with the help of qualitative as well as quantitative data
provided by the company. After the analysis, measures for retaining the employees have
been suggested.
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT:
o To understand the reasons for attrition at Big Bazaar.
o To find solutions to the problems leading to attrition and giving my
suggestions to improve the same.
LITERATURE REVIEW
5
Today attrition is a major problem which organizations have to face. There are many
factors which directly or indirectly contribute to attrition.
The following research work is an attempt to analyze the reasons for attrition in the retail
sector which is today one of the fastest growing sectors in India.
A review of the literature uncovered very few studies on attrition. However, following
studies listed below provided insight and inspiration for the current research project.
Frank and Taylor (2003) argue that there is no issue of greater importance than employee
retention and is a growing concern for many employees. To understand what encourages
retention of employees, it is relevant to understand the commitment and the motivational
factors, since motivation is a central field of managing human resource (Lindmark and
Onnevik, 2005).
Many researchers argue that high turnover rates might have negative effects on the
profitability of organizations (Hogan, 1992).Turnover results in loss of tacit knowledge
that the employees might have developed over the period of association with the
organization. Catharine (2002) argued that turnover include other costs, such as lost
productivity, lost sales, and management’s time. But there has been evidence that the
employee turnover is not always bad. Turnover means movement in the workforce. Some
may go and some may come, so it helps avoid creating status quo and helping
organization not to become psychic prison (Morgan, 1997).
Mark Parrott(2000) believes that, there is a straight line between employee satisfaction
and customer satisfaction. He believes that today’s employees pose a complete new set of
challenges, especially when businesses are forced to confront one of the tightest labor
markets in decades. Therefore, it is getting more difficult to retain employees, as the pool
of talent is becoming more and more tapped-out.
According to Eskildesen, Hammer, 2000, the best way to retain employees is by
providing them with job satisfaction and opportunities for advancement in their careers.
The saying , good help is hard to find, is even truer these days than ever before because
the job market is becoming increasingly tight.
Dr. Paul Carr and Dr. Michael Hartsfield, both associate professors at Regent University,
USA, in their article titled “Attrition as an HR Challenge” concluded that organizations
6
planning for the future should be given close attention to why attrition is occurring in the
present. To ignore why people are leaving the organization is to ignore the organization’s
greatest asset, namely, its people (Carr and Hartsfield, 2008).
Abbasi and Hollman(2000) sought to determine the impact of employee turnover on
organizations and found that excessive employee turnover often engenders far-reaching
consequences and, at the extreme, may jeopardize efforts to attain organizational
objectives.
According to Abbasi (2000) lack of recognition, absence of competitive compensation
system and toxic workplace environment are some of the organizational factors leading
to employee turnover.
Griffeth et al. (2000) noted that pay and pay-related variables have a modest effect on
turnover. Their analysis also included studies that examined the relationship between pay,
a person’s performance and turnover. They concluded that when high performers are
insufficiently rewarded, they quit. This brings the issue of equity/justice in pay and perks.
All the three kinds of justice-procedural, distributive and interactional are related to
retention and turnover. When justice perception is low, people tend to quit the
organization.
Paula and Rachael (2004) found that superiors support was a strong predictor of job
satisfaction and also indirect predictor of turnover intention. Lack of fit may also lead to
employee turnover. It refers to what extent there exist the compatibility or incompatibility
between individual interests and personality and organizational goals and values
(Schneider, 1987).
A recent study by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India
(ASSOCHAM, 2003) highlighted some interesting figures regarding the attrition rates in
India Inc. The survey focused on the attrition problem in growing economy and said that
the maximum attrition is taking place in the age group of 26 to 30 years as they find
themselves to be unsettled in their jobs and companies that they have been associated.
The study also revealed that most stable segment of employees is found to be in age 39 to
45 years. Attrition trends also reveal that women employees are less prone to frequent job
changing than their male counterparts. For every 10 males changing their jobs, there were
only 2 females doing the same.
7
Increased attrition is a multi-faceted problem in the sense that not only does it contribute
to the brain drain from a company, but it also results in increased costs for administration,
recruitment and selection procedure, induction of new employees and costs incurred
during the vacancy period for a position. Research shows that the cost to replace a
frontline employee is 40% of the salary and that for a top management employee is 40%
of the salary and that for a top management employee is 150 to 200%. Apart from this,
delays creep into project timelines, client relationships may be adversely affected, and
searching for best skills for the job again may demand lots of time and effort (IIM-
Calcutta, 2007).
Raychaudhuri (2003) concluded in his white paper that the main approach to preventing
attrition should be grooming leaders, rather than just treating employees the way it is
normally done. In fact, the companies with leading-edge retention programs should
address all the areas like ongoing education and training, a mix of job assignments, the
organization of small groups and teams, peer group and mentoring programs, organized
career counseling, flextime and other lifestyle benefits, including on-site day care, fitness
clubs and sponsored charity work and internal marketing and communication with
employees.
Job characteristics as the causative factors of employee’s turnover have always been in
the forefront among the researchers. The experiences of job stress (Griffeth and Hom,
2001), lack of commitment in the organization; and job dissatisfaction make employees
to quit (Firth et al., 2004).
Evidence suggests that turnover is triggered by dissatisfaction with such factors as
relationships with supervisors, job content, working conditions, and pay(Griffeth, Hom,
and Gaertner 2000).
Career development is another issue for retention and turnover. Organizations where
career paths are well laid down, people tend to stay. Human resource managers can play
very important role in any retention strategies as at least 75% of the reasons for voluntary
turnover can be influenced by managers (Harter, 2008).
An organization culture may have direct effects on the rate of voluntary turnover within
the organization (Abelson, 1993). Kerr and Slocum (1987) proposed that the cultural
8
values of team work, security, and respect for individual would foster loyalty and greater
retention than the values of initiative and individual reward.
Organizational instability has been shown to have a high degree of relationship with high
turnover. Indications are that employees are more likely to stay when there is a
predictable work environment and vice versa (Zuber, 2001).
Employees have a strong need to be informed and hence organization with stong
communication systems enjoyed lower turnover of staff (Labov, 1997).
Trevor (2001) argues that local unemployment rates interact with job satisfaction to
predict turnover in the market. A general rise in economy brings more opportunities in
employment which in turn affects stability of employees.
Excerpts on attrition from the research work on Total Quality Management in IT
industry done by Dr. Uday Kumar Haldar discussed at Indian institution of
industrial Engineering, Nimhans convention centre, Bangalore, during 48th national
convention held on 29th- 30th September 2006.
The relationship between job satisfaction and attrition as surveyed by the “Hay Group”
and used by Raychoudhuri in his paper entitled “Manpower Planning and Employee
Attrition” is reproduced.
Satisfaction with
Total percent satisfied
Employees planning to stay forGAP
More than 2
years (%)
Less than 2 years
(%)
Use of my skill and abilities 83 49 34
Ability of top management 74 41 33
Company has clear sense of direction 57 27 30
Advancement opportunities 50 22 28
Opportunity to learn new skills 66 38 28
Coaching counseling from one’s own
supervisor
54 26 28
Training 54 36 18
9
Pay 51 25 26
Key Attrition Factors:
From the studies many industrial stalwarts and academicians and also my personal
interactions with HR and IT personnel a set of factors which can be treated as the key
attrition factors is listed.
Inability to use one’s competencies
Lack of challenge
Boss and his management style
Lack of scope of growth in terms of salary, status and other factors
Lack of role clarity
Lack of sense of belongingness
Rust out stress syndrome (ROSS)
Burst out stress syndrome (BOSS)
Lack of learning opportunity
Levels of motivations
Unfulfilled ‘Occupational values’
Life style inventory – Unmatched with the task
Lack of excitement and innovation of in the job
10
The remarkable world of Retail
World over, the retail segment has performed exceptionally since its inception in the 20th
century.
Sample these facts:
Retail is currently the biggest industry in the world with sales of $7.2 trillion
Every 10th billionaire in the world is a retailer.
25 of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies are in retail.
The Indian retail story couldn't have been more different. India has approx 12 million
retail stores, more than rest of the world put together. But the per capita square feet area
under retail is just 2 sq.ft or 0.2 sq. meters with fragmented keerana stores being the
predominant players. Retailing in India has remained in the unorganized sector and
largely untouched by corporates.
However, times are changing.. With the GDP at an all time high and income levels
shooting through the roof, the average Indian consumer has never had it so good. The
propensity to consume has reached peaks that had never been scaled before. Credit cards
are flashed with disdain and shopping baskets are getting bigger all the time. Here are
some factors that indicate the potential of retail in India:
Factors driving organized retail growth
11
At 271 million, one of the largest consuming base in the · world, forming 27% of the
total population.
A high spending community below 45 years comprises
81 percent of the population.
A young population with 54% population below 25 years.
Increased literacy from 44% in 1965 to 70% in 2003.
Increase in workingwomen from 1.3 million in 1961 to
4.8 million in 1998.
Increase in media penetration to 38-million cable household and 80-million TV
household in 2001.
The availability of credit and the reduction in rate of interest has led to a boom in real
estate
market and several new malls are coming up, thereby increasing the area under retail.
Credit card usage is another factor that is driving organised retail growth.
Another factor that is driving organised retail is the car sales. With availability of
credit and
increased aspirations of the youth to have a car, car sales grew by 41% last month. Car
sales and
retail are directly linked. As people have cars, they will come to a destination to shop
and entertain
themselves. India is seeing a convergence of shopping and entertainment with multiplex
being part of
many malls now.
Inspite of all the above factors organized retail stands at 2 per cent in India compared to
85% in USA, 40% in Thailand, 55% in Malaysia and 20% in China. Consultants have
predicted that retail in India is in a take off stage and expect the share of organized retail
to jump from the current 2 per cent to 10 per cent by 2010. No wonder that consultants
12
have estimated that by 2005, the retail business would have absorbed 5 lakh employees
directly.
Organized retail on a fast track
Organized retailing in India started a few years back and currently has not more than 2%
Share of the total retail market estimated at $180 to $200 billion. Over 12 million small
local
Stores referred to as mom and pop stores abroad dominate 98% share of the retail market.
In some developed countries like USA, the organized share is 85% and in even in
countries
Like Thailand and Malaysia it is around 40% and 55% respectively. In China, the share
of
Organized retail is 20%. This represents growth opportunity for India. Organized retail is
on
The fast track and with retail space expected to increase, organized retail will grow faster.
Take for instance the number of new malls that are coming up. It is estimated that about
225
New malls are coming up in India and will offer between 30-40 million squares of retail
space
In 50 plus cities over the next five years. With average size of the local stores being 100-
150
Square feet, the total area under retail could be anywhere between 120-180 million square
Feet. In million and the share of organized retail (retail space wise) could be anywhere
between 40-50
Million square feet or 18-22%. It seems organized retail is set to grow fast. This is further
substantiated with the Fitch report that expects organized retail to grow to 15-20% by
13
2010. Five years, the total area under retail (including new malls) will be between 150-
220.
Company Profile
Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited (PRIL) was incorporated on October 12, 1987 as Manz
Wear Private Limited under the stewardship of Mr. Kishore Biyani. The Company was
converted into a public limited company on September 20, 1991 and on September 25,
1992 the name was changed to Pantaloon Fashions (India) Limited and the same time it
went public and today it has approximately 14,000 shareholders. It later changed its name
to Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited on 7th July 1999.
14
From a humble beginning in 1987, Pantaloon as today evolved as a leading manufacturer-
retailer in the country with 13 Pantaloon stores and 9 hypermarkets, 13 Food Bazaars and
1 central operational across the country. It has been a remarkable journey for PRIL as its
evolved from a manufacturing to a completely integrated player controlling the entire
value chain.
Pantaloon: Evolution Curve
15
Vision
To emerge as the best & the most profitable retailer in India.
Corporate Mission
"We share the vision and belief that by improving our performance through
innovative spirit and dedication, we shall serve our customers and stakeholders
satisfactorily.”
We shall be the trendsetters in fashion and offer a fair deal to all our customers
The company shall strive to be the Indian Retailing Conglomerate, an efficient and low
cost operator with a commitment to quality.
Our positive attitude from our devotion, Sincerity and united determination shall be the
driving force to make us globally competitive.
16
PRIL believes that unconventional and innovative thinking will be the key ingredients to
attain leadership in the emerging retail sector where the rules of the game are still
evolving. Whereas serving the customers satisfactorily is the core focus, the company
also believes in adequately rewarding its shareholders though concerted efforts on
reducing cost and improving profitability. To implement the corporate mission, PRIL has
penned a well thought of corporate strategy and policy which will ensure rapid growth in
the coming years. This strategy can be best described in the following words
‘Rewrite Rules Retain Values’
Rewrite Rules
Seamlessly integrate businesses
By seamlessly integrating business and disintermediation PRIL has a competitive
advantage over other retailers in the company. Managing the value chain from retailing to
manufacturing of apparels, which helps it to deliver value to the customer, contain costs
and reduce time-to-market significantly. By capturing the value added at each level that
company has also been able to capture maximum value for its shareholders .
Substantial Value Addition
17
Blending Strategies
To targeting higher share in customer shopping basket the Company has adopted
blending strategies. By entering into multiple formats - departmental stores and
hypermarkets – PRIL has effectively blended the multiple strategies and thereby has been
successful in addressing a high share of the customer’s basket. Increase in this share has
been primarily on account of entering new product categories.
‘Family focus’ rather than ‘individual focus’
PRIL strategy is to target family as its customer rather than individual. With Indian
audience having social ethics and culture deeply rooted in them addressing the
family pulls more
customers into the store. Moreover, it ensures repeat purchases. This strategy of the
company is reflected in all its communications and product offerings
Paradigm shift in ‘rapid roll-out’
The company has aggressive grow plan to achieve scale of economy and take leadership
position in this evolving industry. PRIL’s ability to evolve from smaller format into large
format retail stores is well proven. With aggressive growth plans the company has
identify many locations across the company to roll out
stores in the future. The company plans to increase the retail space under control from
2.00 Lac in
FY0102 to more than 1 million square feet over the next 3 years to emerge as a
‘GodZilla’ of the Indian retail industry.
18
Retain Values
INDIAN-NESS
The core value of company is INDIAN-NESS. We believe in ourselves. The
company is developing Indian model of retailing being India is unique country and the
Indian customers have unique culture and value systems that’s why company’s is
targeting family as customer rather then Individual, offers products of Indian taste,
combination of own category and shop-in-shop category to offer to customer and having
mix of big retailer partnering with small time shop keeper.
Dedication
The company is dedicated to customer satisfaction that why it have no question asked
exchange policy, offering product which customer need or demand, follows inverse
pyramid structure of organisation where Board of Directors is at bottom and customer
service executive is on the top.
Leadership
The company wants to be leader and not a follower. The company has taken initiatives
and taken leadership position in retailing by launching multiple formats of retailing and
targeting all segments of society.
Self Development
The company is on the continuous process of self-development by sincere and hard work
towards understanding customers, markets and products. The company has
19
moved over times from apparel manufacturing to distribution to franchisee retailing to
departmental format retailing to hypermarket format of retailing. The company is on the
path of continuous learning and implement learning’s. The company has respect for every
individual whomsoever it may be that’s why even employees been considered as internal
customer, Suppliers/Vendors are being treated as partners in progress and company
believes in relationships to delivery value to customers rather business transactions/deals
Respect
Introspection
Introspection is the key corporate value. The company has passed through the strategic
points of inflection in the short life spun so far and came out well at all the times. The
company is a living organisation and always looks to itself first then others. The
introspection has helped the company to move over times, from smaller format to big &
multiple formats of retailing to target all sections of society.
STRENGHS
During its evolution the company achieved various milestone and demonstrated
innovativeness and leadership by pioneering concepts that has now become industry
standards. Some of the major milestone achieved by the company in its life span of 14
years is enumerated below
20
Major Milestones
Company Incorporated
1987-88
The Pantaloon Trouser – India’s first formal trouser brand launched
1987-88
BARE – Indian Jean brand launched
1989-90
John miller- Shirt inspired by America - Formal shirt in popular segment launched
1993-94
Distribution of branded garments through multi-brand retail outlets across nation and exports of garments
1993-94
The Pantaloon Shoppee – Exclusive menswear store in franchisee format launched across nation
1993-94
Pantaloons- India’s Family Store launched
1997-98
BIG BAZAAR - Isse se sasta aur acha kahi nahi! – Indian Hypermarket launched
2001-02
FOOD BAZAAR - Wholesale Prices - Chain of large supermarkets with a difference.
2001-02
GOLD BAZAAR - Sone pe suhaga. Shudh bhi, sasta bhi
2003
21
CENTRAL MALL - Shop, Eat, Celebrate!
2004
The only listed Indian Company to successfully launch discount stores (at
Hyderbad and Calcutta branded as Big Bazaar) and plans to have chains of similar
nature, which targets the large and growing upper-middle and middle class of
Indian society. This is totally contrast to other organized retailing players, which
are targeting the HNI (High Networth Individuals) and whose market is currently
saturated.
Pantaloon has second largest selling space amongst the retailers, after Bata. This
is backed by complete automation of the retail outlets. After completion of the
central hub at Mumbai the company’s operations would be fully integrated which
would give its operating efficiency a boost.
Company has strong owned brand names in its portfolio. The brands include
Pantaloon, John Miller and Bare. Higher percentage of "own brand" sales
improves margins, thus reducing break-even level of sales.
Further, the company plans to diversify from apparels to household items in its
discount stores. This will enable them to enlarge the basket of offering.
Currently FDI participation in retail is not allowed, but in case this happens this is
a stock waiting to be acquired. Any upside on acquisition is an added bonanza for
investors, when it will happen is anybody's guess and we are not commenting on
it.
22
At the current market price of Rs.35, Pantaloon trades at 6.3x FY02 and 3.4x FY03
earnings. Stock re rating will be driven by completion of fund raising (promoters allotted
shares to themselves at SEBI price of around Rs31 in February second week) and launch
of Big Bazaar in Mumbai. We set a price target of Rs 75 over the next six months.
June Sales
Sales for the month of June from Value retailing stood at Rs. 79.39 crores, while lifestyle
retailing contributed sales of Rs. 36.86 crores. Value retail displayed a same store growth
of 36.65 per cent and lifestyle retailing of 6.99 per cent.
Jun -
05
Jun -
04
YoY% July-Jun-05 July-Jun-04%
Change
Particulars Sales Sales Sales Sales
Value Retailing 79.39 37.78 110.14 669.89 346.14 93.53
Life Style Retailing36.86
21.75 69.47 417.41 216.97 92.38
TOTAL116.25 59.53
95.28 1087.30 563.11 93.09
23
Same Store Growth
Value Retailing50.00
36.59 36.65 457.88 341.40 34.12
Life Style Retailing23.27
21.75 6.99 254.02 215.32 17.97
Sales are in rupees crore
Source : Investor Update June 200
Pantaloon: Fashion by Pantaloon
Pantaloon is the company's departmental store and part of life style retail format. In fact,
PRIL took its very initial steps in the retail journey by setting up the first Pantaloon store
in Kolkata in 1997. In a short time Pantaloon has been able to carve a special place for it
self in the hearts and minds of the aspirational Indian customers. The company has depth
of offering for both men and women at affordable prices. A striking characteristic of
Pantaloon has been the strength of its private label programme. John Miller, Ajile,
Scottsvile, Lombard, Annabelle, Rig & Bare are some of the successful brands created by
the company.
Big Bazaar: Is Se Sasta Aur Accha Kahin Nahin !!
24
Big bazaar is the company’s foray into the world of hypermarket discount stores, the first
of its kind in India. Price and the wide array of products are the USP’s in Big Bazaar.
Close to two lakh products are available under one roof at prices lower by 2 to 60 per
cent over the corresponding market prices. The high quality of service, good ambience,
implicit guarantees and continuous discount programmes have helped in changing the
face of the Indian retailing industry..In the Big Bazaar format, average billing is Rs 500
per customer. There is a a conversion ratio of 36-37%. They get into the stores a family
size of at least 3-4 people and that is nearly a virtual conversion.
Food Bazaar – Wholesale prices
Food Bazaar’s core concept is to create a blend of a typical Indian Bazaar and
International supermarket atmosphere with the objective of giving the customer all the
advantages of Quality, Range and Price associated with large format stores and also the
comfort to See, Touch and Feel the products. The company has recently launched an
aggressive private label programme with its own brands of tea, salt, spices, pulses, jams,
ketchups etc.
Welcome to Central, a world of pure indulgence.
Central represents the company’s foray into seamless malls formats. Central will provide
customers the opportunity of choosing from amongst the best brands in apparel, toys,
books, music, sports, lifestyle accessories and more. With more than 300 brands and
floors dedicated for women, men, youth and home, Central aims to provide customers
with an array of options never seen before. At present there are 2 Central’s, one each
located in Bangalore and Hyderabad, with the third mall opening.
25
STRUCTURE
The organization has clearly demarcated departments.
These departments are as follows–
PANTALOON
1. Marketing and Sales
2. Finance
3. Customer Service
4. Information Technology
5. Human Resource
6. Logistics
The approximate employee strength is 150.
BIG BAZAAR
26
1. Marketing and Sales
2. Finance
3. Customer Service
4. Information Technology
5. Human Resource
6. Logistics
The approximate employee strength is 150.
COMMERCIAL
1. Accounts
2. Marketing
3. Information Technology
4. Tax and Payroll
INTRODUCTION
Today attrition is seen commonly across organizations. Ideally, employees should love
their jobs, like their coworkers, work hard for their employers, get paid well for their
work, and should have ample chances for advancement, and flexible schedules so they
27
could attend to personal or family needs when necessary. And never leave. But this is not
the case in reality. In the real world, employees, do leave, either because they want more
money, hate the working conditions, hate their coworkers, want a change, or because
their spouse gets a dream job in another state.
“If employees are to be products,
Their shelf-lives are getting shorter”
DEFINITION
Attrition can be best defined as leaving a position in a company which mainly arises out
of dissatisfaction with the job content as well as job context.
Attrition rate can be best defined as ‘the rate of shrinkage in size or number’.
WHY ATTRITION NEEDS TO BE CONTROLLED
Globalization and high growth rate for past few years in India has resulted in high
competition. The downside of this increased competition is a rising rate of attrition.
28
Skilled employees are hopping from job to job and taking with them the customer
knowledge and technical expertise that any company needs.
Not only has that, Companies had to allot much time and huge expense for recruiting new
employees and making them familiar with the new business. Typically Employee attrition
costs 12 to 18 months’ salary for each leaving manager or professional, and 4 to 6
months' pay for each leaving clerical or hourly employee.
Cost of attrition
A. Recruitment cost
The cost to any organization when hiring new employees includes the following
factors:
Time spent on sourcing replacement
Time spent on recruitment and selection
Travel expenses, if any
Re-location costs, if any
Background/reference screening
B. Training and development cost
The cost of training and developing new employees can be largely classified under the
following heads:
Training materials
Technology
Employee benefits
Trainers’ time.
C. Administration cost:
Setting up communication systems
Adding employees to the HR system
Setting up the new hire’s workspace
29
Setting up ID-cards, access cards, etc.
Considering the above costs involved, it quickly becomes apparent why companies are
investing in strategies to prevent attrition.
BENEFITS OF ATTRITION
Attrition is not bad always if it happens in a controlled manner. Some attrition is always desirable and
necessary for organizational growth and development. The only concern is how organizations differentiate
“good attrition” from “bad attrition”.(www.citehr.com, viewed on 10th June 2010)
30
Attrition rates are considered to be beneficial in some ways:
If all employees stay in the same organization for a very long time, most of them will be at the top
of their pay scale which will result in excessive manpower costs.
When certain employees leave, whose continuation of service would have negatively impacted
productivity and profitability of the company, the company is benefited.
New employees bring new ideas, approaches, abilities & attitudes which can keep the organization
from becoming stagnant.
There are also some people in the organization who have a negative and demoralizing influence on
the work culture and team spirit. This, in the long-term, is detrimental to organizational health.
Desirable attrition also includes termination of employees with whom the organization does not
want to continue a relationship. It benefits the organization in the following ways:
o It removes bottleneck in the progress of the company
o It creates space for the entry of new talents
o It assists in evolving high performance teams
There are people who are not able to balance their performance as per expectations, lack potential
for future or need disciplinary action. Furthermore, as the rewards are limited, business pressures do
not allow the management to over-reward the performers, but when undesirable employees leave
the company, the good employees can be given the share that they deserve.
REASONS FOR ATTRITION:
Employees leave the organization for reasons which can be broadly classified as organizational issues,
personal reasons. Big Bazaar has its own administrative manual of classifying and grouping the reasons
behind attrition. The most common reasons behind attrition are manifold.
31
Dissatisfaction with the tasks assigned to them
Organizational climate not conducive to effective contribution
Tasks assigned not challenging (in knowledge sector this is a common reason)
Success is not shared with juniors
Good works are not recognized and rewarded
Burn out stress syndrome
Rust out stress syndrome
Working environment
Lack of transparency in administration
Canceling of information from juniors
Passing the buck (Diverting the blame)
Salary and other benefits
Personal reasons
Better prospects
Integrity issue
Health grounds
ANALYZING ATTRITION ON THE BASIS OF HAPPINESS AT WORKPLACE
Unhappiness at work can be a major factor for attrition as unhappy staffs are most likely to leave the
organization. Unhappy staff possesses low morale, influences more staff to leave – with inevitable impact
on profits.
32
Common reasons responsible to make an employee unhappy at work
Lack of communication from the top
Noncompetitive salary
No reward and recognition for achievements
Incompetent boss/line manager
No or little opportunity for personal growth and development
Ideas contributed are not judged and simply ignored
Lack of opportunity for good performers
Lack of suitable compensation packages
Work not enjoyable
Ways by which employee’s happiness can be ensured at work place
Friendly, supportive colleagues
Enjoyable work
Good boss or line manager
Good work/life balance
Varied work
Belief that we are doing worthwhile
Feeling that what we do makes a difference
Being part of a successful team
Recognition for our achievements
Competitive salary
MANAGING ATTRITION
There are certain soft means of controlling the attrition. It is once again emphasize that only attractive
remuneration cannot hold creative talents in an organization. We have to pay relook to the
organizational practices. Some points which are likely to control and reduce attrition are enumerated
below
Providing stimulating work environment:
33
Good rewards and recognition programs
Recreation clubs, Canteens, Entertain programs , fun activities within the work area:
Better learning opportunities
Regular holiday packages, gifts, outings etc.
Making employees understand the importance of their work through following ways :-
o Compliments and thanks cost little and can bring great benefits
o Letting employees know that their opinions are valuable
o Keeping employees informed - not letting them hear important news through rumors
o Updating employees with technical information
o Addressing staff by their first names
o Publicly praising what the employee has accomplished
o Criticizing privately about what the employee can do better and explaining how to do it
better
o Creating community with activities such as informal meals or events outside work
o Involving employees in organizational planning
o Titles cost little and remind employees that they are valuable
Good pay, fringe benefits, compensation in addition to the above.
CALCULATION OF ATTRITION RATE:
Organizations calculate attrition rate based on two variables
1. Total number of employees who left in the year
2. Average number of employees in the year. This is calculated by adding the number of employing at the
beginning of the year and the number of employees at the end of the year and then divided by two.
34
Attrition rate =
Number of employees who left in the year / Average employees in the year x 100.
35
Attrition Data Of the store (from May 2008 to May 2010)
Following data has been taken from the company data base for analysis of the reasons for
attrition. The attrition data is for the period May 2008 to May 2010 of one of the Big
Bazzar stores in Kolkata. Data has been taken at the time of the exit interviews.
Mon
th
Sl
-
N
o-
Em
p
Co
de Name DOJ
DOL (Should
be the same
with SAP
Date)
Designatio
n Department
Concised
reasons
May
-08 1
505
00
Biswanat
h Sarkar 4-Feb-0823-Apr-08
Executive -
WarehouseWarehouse
Abandoned
Services
2
521
27
Pintu
Hira 7-Feb-0824-May-08
TTM Ladies
Better
Prospects
3
521
15
Soumya
Sinha 4-Feb-086-May-08
TTM Cash
Personal
Reasons
4
167
53
Dibyendu
Roy16-Feb-
0622-May-08 Store
Manager
Operations PersonalReas
ons
Jun-
08 5
400
80
Pinaki
Nath
Bhattach
arya
9-Jul-07 17-Jun-08Executive -
Administra
tion
AdministrationBetter
Prospects
6
557
88
Tanmoy
Shil
24-Mar-
081-May-08
TM Ladies
Better
Prospects
7
517
63
Anirban
Ghosh25-Jan-08 3-Jun-08
TM Plastics
Better
Prospects
8
521
26
Siku
Barik 7-Feb-081-May-08
TTMCash
Abandoned
Services
Jul-
08
9 387
52
Dibakar
paik
6-Jun-07 19-Jul-08 Executive-
Safety &
Safety &
facility
Better
Prospects
36
Facility
10
557
87
Pankaj
Sharma
24-Mar-
081-Jul-08
Team
Leader Mobiles
Better
Prospects
11
214
70
Chirag
Gandhi 15-Jul-0625-Jul-08
Asst. Store
Manager Operations
Better
Prospects
Aug
-08 12
557
82
Biswaroo
p Ghosh
17-Mar-
081-Aug-08
Team
MemberFootwear
Health
Grounds
13
635
87
Abhijit
Manna 21-Jul-08
18-Aug-08
Trainee
Team
Member Cash
Personal
Reasons
14
635
85
Arghya
Ghosh 21-Jul-08
24-Aug-08
Trainee
Team
Member Mens
Personal
Reasons
15
454
37
Abhijit
Tapadar12-Oct-07 19-Aug-08
Store
ManagerOperations
Better
Prospects
16
298
28
Debdulal
Samanta
11-Dec-
0624-Aug-08
Team
MemberFood Bazaar
Better
Prospects
17
614
44
Subhajit
Chakrabo
rty 26-Jun-08
1-Aug-08
Trainee
Team
Member
Watches &
SunglassesPersonal
Reasons
18
635
89
Partha
Golder 24-Jul-081-Aug-08
Executive -
SafetyAdministration
Personal
Reasons
Sep-
08 19
185
62
Balaram
Thakur
17-Apr-
0618-Sep-08
TMCash
Better
Prospects
20
529
00
Sanjay
Banik
11-Feb-
0825-Sep-08
TM Mens
Integrity
Issue
21
540
15
Anup
Das
22-Feb-
0825-Sep-08
TM Mens
Integrity
Issue
22
643
84
Srijita
Kar 4-Aug-0825-Sep-08
Executive
TraineeCSD
Better
Prospects
Oct- 23 540 Anup 26-Jun- 25-Sep-08 Team Mens Integrity
37
08 15 Das 08 Member Issue
24
529
00
Sanjay
Banik
22-feb-
08 25-Sep-08
Team
MemberMens
Health
Grounds
Nov
-08 25
535
50
Soma
Mukherje
e
16-Feb-
0817-Nov-08
TM Ladies Abandoned
Services
26
529
08
Sabirul
Mallick19-Jun-08
6-Nov-08TM Food Bazaar
Personal
Reasons
27
583
00
Arunita
Bose
25-Apr-
08 30-Nov-08
Executive -
CSDCSD
Better
Prospects
Dec-
08 28
311
66
Arnab
Maity15-Jan-07
2-Dec-08
Team
MemberCash
Absconding
29
2E+
05
Maharna
b Ghosh 1-Sep-08 19-Nov-08
Trainee
Team
Member
Toys Health
Grounds
30
583
01
Iqbal
Chowdhu
ry
28-Apr-
08 22-Dec-08
Exective -
CSD
CSD
Absconding
Jan-
09 31
464
26
Binoy
Ghosh5-Nov-07
15-Jan-09
Team
MemberKids
Abconding
Feb-
09 32
621
61
Tuhin
Dey1-Jul-08
8-Mar-09
Team
MemberFood Bazaar
Absconding
33
450
81
Ashok
Sharma 1-Oct-07 8-Mar-09
Team
MemberLadies
Absconding
34
614
36
Arindam
Das 23-Jun-08 1-Mar-09
Team
MemberCSD
Integrity
Issue
Mar-
09 35
621
61
Tuhin
Dey1-Jul-08
8-Mar-09
Team
MemberFood Bazaar
Absconding
36
450
81
Ashok
Sharma 1-Oct-07 8-Mar-09
Team
MemberLadies
Absconding
37 614 Arindam 23-Jun-08 1-Mar-09 Team CSD Integrity
38
36 Das Member Issue
38
532
4
Jayanta
Roy12-Jul-04
31-Mar-09
Departmen
t Manager Food Bazaar
Personal
Reasons
39
540
17
Sudipta
Mitra
22-Feb-
08 15-Mar-09
Team
Member Cash
Integrity
Issue
40
535
48
Surajit
Das
18-Feb-
08 16-Mar-09
Team
Member Cash Absconding
41
529
01
Sanjib
Ghatak
11-Feb-
08 16-Mar-09
Team
Member Cash Absconding
Apr-
09 42
614
41
Sourav
Kr. Das 24-Jun-08 13-Apr-09
Team
MemberHome Linen
Personal
Reasons
43
535
46
Yeasin
Ali
Mondal
16-Feb-
08 15-Apr-09
Team
MemberFood Bazaar Personal
Reasons
44
528
93
Dilip
Mochi
11-Feb-
08 19-Apr-09
Team
MemberCash
Better
Prospects
May
-09 45
521
17
Tarun
Bhattach
arya 4-Feb-08 13-Apr-09
Team
Member Toys
Personal
Reasons
46
540
18
Avijit
Paul
25-Feb-
08 3-Apr-09
Team
Member Food Bazaar
Health
Grounds
47
120
31
Kaushik
Khutia1-Sep-05
1-Apr-09
Team
Member Food Bazaar
Personal
Reasons
48
2E+
05
Soumya
Ghosh
Roy 8-Sep-08 22-Apr-09
Team
Member Ladies
Personal
Reasons
49
535
41
Santu
Das
16-Feb-
08 3-May-09
Team
Member Crockery
Better
Prospects
Jun-
09 50
540
19
Tapas
Shil
26-Feb-
08 30-Jun-09
Team
Member Mens
Personal
Reasons
51 540 Subir 3-Mar-08 30-Jun-09 Team Food Bazaar Absconding
39
22 Mondal Member
52
107
84
Snigdha
Sunder
Das 1-Jul-05 30-Jun-09
Team
Leader CSD, Ladies
Health
Grounds
53
238
76
Nirmal
Lahiri
15-Sep-
06 30-Jun-09
Team
Member Electronics Absconding
54
173
38
Shafique
Imran 1-Mar-06 17-Jun-09
Team
Leader
Watches &
Sunglasses
Better
Prospects
55
137
79 Jyoti Das15-Oct-05
6-Jun-09
Team
MemberFood Bazaar
Personal
Reasons
56
527
7
Amitava
Basu1-Jul-04
15-Jun-09 ADMFood Bazaar
Personal
Reasons
Jul-
09 57
309
53
Sakya
Mitra 2-Jan-07 15-Jul-09 ADM
Electronics,
Furniture
Better
Prospects
58
357
44
Debasis
Nag 1-Mar-07 3-Jul-09 ADM CPU
Personal
Reasons
Aug
-09 59
146
61
Sk.
Sahabudd
in 15-Oct-05 19-Aug-09
Team
Member Mens Absconding
60
517
60
Subir
Rudra
Paul 25-Jan-08 23-Aug-09
Team
Member Mens Absconding
61
2E+
05
Tanmoy
Shil 1-Oct-08 19-Aug-09
Team
Member Footwear Absconding
Sep-
09 62
590
99
Subhasis
h Mitra 16-feb-08 24-Sep-09
Team
Member Mens
Health
Grounds
63
445
73
Paromita
Sen 25-Oct-07 20-Sep-09
Team
Leader Ladies
Personal
Reasons
64
315
25
Dipankar
Basak15-Jan-07
7-Sep-09 ADM Kids , toys
Personal
Reasons
Oct- 65 614 Dipankar 23-Jun-08 9-Oct-09 Team Food Bazaar Absconding
40
09 35 Saha Member
66
535
43
Mahul
Krishna
Roy
16-Feb-
08 9-Oct-09
Team
Leader Home Linen Absconding
67
635
62
Vandana
Mandal 21-Jul-08 17-Oct-09
Team
Member Electronics
Health
Grounds
68
557
77
Avijit
Ghosh 6-Mar-08 15-Oct-09
Team
Member Mens
Better
Prospects
69
535
40
Sukanta
Biswas
16-Feb-
08 9-Oct-09
Team
Member Mens Absconding
Nov
-09 70
2E+
05
Bikash
Swarnaka
r
30-Sep-
09 6-Nov-09
Trainee
Team
Member Mens
Better
Prospects
71
2E+
05
Faizan
Akhter
30-Sep-
09 3-Nov-09
Trainee
Team
Member Mens
Personal
Reasons
72
2E+
05
Abhijit
Mukherje
e 7-Aug-09 13-Nov-09
Trainee
Team
Member Mens
Personal
Reasons
73
2E+
05
Bikash
Bose 1-Sep-08 5-Nov-09
Team
Member Cash
Personal
Reasons
74
445
34
Bijoy Kr.
Ghosh 1-Oct-07 2-Nov-09
Team
Member Mens
Personal
Reasons
75
207
11
Archita
Ganguly 27-Jun-06 2-Nov-09
Team
Member Ladies
Personal
Reasons
76
192
83
Hirak
Dey 1-sep-08 28-Nov-09
Team
Leader Cash
Integrity
Issue
Dec-
09 77
528
88
Abhijit
Chakrabo
rty
11-Feb-
08 24-Dec-09
TM
Mens Absconding
78 564 Arindam 18-Feb- 19-Jan-10 TM Home Linen Absconding
41
79 Mukherje 08
79
162
709
Atanu
Mondal 9-Nov-0931-Dec-09 Exec VM
VM Absconding
80
583
03
Debasish
Ghosh 8-May-08 11-Dec-09Exec WH
Warehouse Work Load
81
282
43
Md
Wasim
20-Nov-
0631-Dec-09 TL Food Bazaar
Better
Prospects
82
497
93
Moloy
Chanda 11-Jan-0831-Dec-09 TM
CPU Absconding
83
635
88
Moumita
Seal 17-Jul-0831-Dec-09 TL Food Bazaar
Absconding
84
528
93
Prodip
Mirdha
11-Feb-
0831-Dec-09
TM Kids Absconding
85
540
14
Pronoy
Chowdhu
ry
22-Feb-
08 24-Dec-09 TM
Food Bazaar
Absconding
86
540
11
Ranajit
dey
22-Feb-
0831-Dec-09
TM Cash Absconding
87
163
029
Sanjay
Show
11-Nov-
0931-Dec-09
TLFood Bazaar
Absconding
88
156
793
Sourav
Bardhan 1-Jun-0931-Dec-09
TTMFood Bazaar
Absconding
89
156
385
Suman
Rakshit 22-feb-0831-Dec-09
TL Mens Work Load
90
540
25
Taslima
Khatoon 5-Mar-08 21-Nov-09 TM Ladies Work Load
Jan-
10 91
540
13
Anirban
Banerjee
22-Feb-
08 15.01.2010TM
Cash
Health
Grounds
92
159
959
Dhruv
Singh 1-Sep-0915.01.2010 TM
Mens
Personal
Reasons
93 614 Sitanath 24-Jun-08 15.01.2010 TM Cash Better
42
43 Dutta Prospects
94
157
633
Suvendu
Dey 1-Jul-09 15.01.2010TM
Mens
Personal
Reasons
95
528
91
Biswadip
Roy
11-Feb-
0831.01.2010 TM Food Bazaar
Better
Prospects
Feb-
10 96
313
55
Chandan
Roy
16.02.201
0 16.02.2010TM Food Bazaar
Integrity
Issue
97
159
957
Suhasis
Das
06.02.201
006.02.2010 TM
Mens
Better
Prospects
Mar-
10 98
603
06
Debabrat
a Mondal
05.06.200
8 18.03.2010TM
Ladies
Health
Grounds
Apr-
10 99
528
97
Munna
Prasad
11.02.200
8 04.04.2010TM
Cash
Integrity
Issue
May
-10
10
0
525
22
Chandran
i Ghosh
18.02.200
8 02.05.2010TM
Watches &
Sunglasses
Personal
Reasons
10
1
557
81
Purnima
Auddy
12.03.200
8 02.05.2010TL
Kids
Health
Grounds
43
ATTRITION DATA ANALYSIS
Tenure Wise Analysis
Table 1
Chart 1
44
Service period(in months) No. of employees
0 – 6 23
7 – 12 20
13 – 18 21
19 – 24 11
24 and above 24
From chart 1 it can be analyzed that attrition rate has almost remain same throughout the
two year period. But after having discussion with store HR manager and analyzing
company’s master data on attrition, it was found that the reasons mentioned by
employees for leaving were different for different service periods. For the service period
of 0-6 months, about 50% of employees mentioned personal reasons to be the reason for
leaving the jobs. After getting in touch with the ex employees it was known that the
personal reasons was, that, they were not able to adjust in the new working
environment/were not properly aligned to their new job roles.
For the service period of 24 months and above, again personal reason, was the major
reason mentioned by employees. After interrogating the ex employees who has left
recently, it was found out that after working for more than two years in the organization
they were finding the job monotonous or not finding their work any more challenging.
Their dominant occupational values must be ‘creativity and originality’ backed by
‘special abilities or aptitudes’. Added to these their dominant motive must be
‘achievement’ with very high degree of career aspirations.
The employees who left after serving for more than 6 months but less than 2 years,
expressed the reason of leaving the company even after gaining substantial job
experience. There occupational values are ‘earn a good deal of money’ as realized from
their response ‘left due to better prospects’.
Again a third category of employees wanted to learn the job and develop interest in their
work; but ultimately left not developing the same as they could not derive pleasure from
the job. The significant job attitude of them must be ‘job satisfaction’. There
organizational commitment, particularly continuance commitment, was not built in.
Some of them opined that they left due to health problems thought they have joined some
other organization. Obviously these people are conservative, suppressed the exact reason
of leaving.
45
Reasons Wise Analysis
Table 2
Reasons of leaving No. of employees
Better prospects 20
Personal reasons 29
Health grounds 12
Integrity issue 08
Absconding 26
Chart 2
From Chart 2 it is very clear that personal reasons constitute major reason for employees
leaving their job. There are many employees who join retail sector with the intention to
46
gain few months of practical experience and after that switch to other sectors. There are
also huge number of young employees in the organization, many of whom leave their
jobs to pursue higher studies. The no. of female employees is also very large and
therefore marriage also is an important reason for attrition.
The number of employees who were absconding from their job is second most major
reason for attrition in the organization. After having discussion with HR manager it was
found that there are many who find their job so alien or working environment so
inconvenient that they don’t even bother to give one month notice and leave without
informing.
Leaving job for better prospects is the third most reason which is quite understood
witnessing the competitive scenario of the retail sector.
Health reason is also a big reason for attrition as retail sector demands huge physical
stress like long standing, night shifts etc. which many are not able to cope up with.
Finally many employees mentioned integrity issues related with customers as well as
management as reasons for leaving their job.
Band Wise Analysis
47
Table 3
Employees band No. of employees left Standard no. of
employees
One 88 102
Two 10 14
Three 01 2
Four 02 1
Chart 3
From Chart 3, it is very clear that the attrition rate is almost same for all the bands which
indicate that employee’s level has no direct relation with attrition. For band-four which
comprises the post of store manager, it is found that in period of just two years, two store
managers left the job. According to the HR manager, since employees of such level
continuously look for challenges in their work, after working for some time in the same
organization, they start feeling their job monotonous and therefore leave, once they get
better prospects in another organization.
Department Wise Analysis
Table 4
48
Departments Standard no. of employees No. of employees who left
in 2 years
Men’s 18 20
Ladies 12 10
Food bazaar 12 19
Cash 14 15
Administration 02 02
CPU 08 04
CSD 03 06
Electronics 07 03
Footwear 03 02
Home linen 03 03
Kids 08 04
Mobiles 01 01
Operations 03 03
Safety and Facilities 01 01
Toys 02 02
Visual Merchandiser 01 01
Warehouse 02 02
Watches and sunglasses 02 03
49
Chart 4
From Chart 4 it can be concluded that among the various departments, the three busiest
departments of the store in terms of customer footfall- Mens, Food bazar and CSD has
highest rate of attrition. It could be said that since jobs in these departments are much
demanding in terms of physical stress, many are not able to cope up with the demand and
therefore leave their job.
50
Other Observations
From the data it is quite visible that attrition till December 2009 was too high. After that
it reduced gradually. After having discussion with HR manager it was found that till
December 2009 working hours of the employees were too high (approx 13.5 hrs/day).
Night shifts and every day roster of the employees were not well planned. Discovering
the problem, the HR department then properly planned the roster of the store which
reduced the work pressure on employees without reducing their productivity. As a result
the attrition rate slowly declined.
51
RETAINING THE EMPLOYEES
Employees today are different. They are not the ones who don’t have good opportunities
in hand. As soon as they feel dissatisfied with the current employer or the job, they
switch over to the next job. In prominent Indian metros, there is no dearth of
opportunities for the best in the business, or even for the second or the third best.
Importance of retaining employees remains the same irrespective of the size of the
organization, its nature of business or the country of operation. The only difference lies in
realizing the fact that frequent employee attrition means there is something, which needs
immediate attention and cure.
Employee Retention involves taking measures to encourage employees to remain in the
organization for the maximum period of time. It involves being sensitive to people's
needs and demonstrating the various strategies in the five families detailed in Roger
Herman's classic book on employee retention, Keeping Good People.
Compensation: It is said that money isn't a motivator, but it is an effective de-
motivator. The employees always have high expectations regarding their
compensation packages. So an attractive compensation package plays a critical
role in retaining the employees.
Growth: No one joins an organization to just do the same work till the end of his
career. If an employee does not see growth in his own organization, there are high
chances that he might opt for leaving the organization. So such strategies must be
framed where an employee can see his bright future in the company.
Relationship: The management is sometimes not able to provide an employee a
supportive work culture and environment in terms of personal or professional
relationships. The organization culture should be such that encourages healthy
relationship between all the employees.
52
Support: Sometimes not getting the right kind of support and co-operation also
leads an employee to be frustrated and provokes him to leave the organization.
This should be taken care of by providing healthy work relationships.
Environmental: An organization needs to have an environment where individuals
learn and get support from colleagues and seniors along with the healthy mixture
of authority and responsibility.
Based on the above five points, a retention strategy can be framed after understanding the
reasons for attrition in a particular organization.
53
RECOMMENDATIONS
At Big Bazzar, after analysing the reasons of attrition, it could be concluded that there are
problems related to compensation, growth, work environment and other benefits
In order to reduce the amount of attrition, the HR as well as all the business/division
heads need to join hands and come together and take actions.
The following measures can be taken:
Designing a competitive compensation package:
Most of the employees at Big Bazzar are not satisfied with the salary that they are being
paid. High attrition due to better opportunities shows that. Thus there is a need of a
systematic comparison of the compensation paid at Big Bazzar with the market trends.
An analysis should be done keeping in mind the kind and scope of work and the salary
packages offered at Big Bazzar and other companies in the same industry. For this
purpose, external help can be taken. There are many agencies which carry out such
research work for organizations. Big Bazzar can hire one such agency for this work.
Thus it would be possible for Big Bazzar to provide a very competitive pay package
which would restrict the attrition to some extent.
Learning Environment:
The seniors in all the departments should try to create an environment of learning in their
division/department. Knowledge gained should be shared with the others. E.g. If an
individual from the HR department has gone for a training program on Interpersonal
Skills, he should be encouraged to share the contents of the program with his colleagues
through a presentation on the same. The same kind of environment should be created in
the whole organization.
54
Career Graphs for employees:
Analysis also shows that most of the employees do not see much personal growth in the
organization. Thus it is recommended that the superiors of employees should take the
responsibility to show his subordinate a career graph projecting his growth in the next 5
years. This would bring enough confidence in the employee to stay with the company and
motivate him to achieve the targets placed before him.
Inculcate Team Work:
All the employees need to trained and motivated to work as teams and not individuals.
This can be done with the help of the department heads. They need to bring all the
employees in the particular division together and show them the ultimate goal for which
they all are working. When a combined vision is shown, it plays an important role in
motivating the employees to work together.
Making employees accountable:
There should be fairness in the working of the company. If an individual has made a
mistake he should be made accountable for it irrespective if his relations with the seniors.
The HR can play a role here by bringing in rules of punishing the offenders.
Fun at work:
“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”. Employees spend almost 10 hours of the
day at their work place. It is very important that the employees are given opportunities to
have fun at work. For this, HR can organize gaming events between the various
departments as well as within the various departments. They can have events like chess
tournament, table tennis tournament, quiz competition, best of waste competition etc.
these can be done first at the Store level and then at the organizational level.
55
This will enhance their sense of belongingness for their departments/function as well as
increase the interaction between and within the departments/divisions.
Achieving a match between individual and organisational goals:
The company needs to achieve a balance between the two. This can be done at the initial
level while recruiting the employee only if his / her personal goals can be aligned to the
organizational goals.
Increasing organisational transparency:
There is a need for transparency in the working of the company. The employees should
be given reasons and answers to the question which arise in to their minds. If this is not
done, they give it the name of a partial environment, start having grudges against others
and spoil the organizational culture.
Helping employees acquire new skills:
There is an increasing need for keeping the employees up dated about the new techniques
and technologies. Thus there is a need for increasing the number of training programs
which at this point of time are very less. Training signals employees that the organisation
values their contribution, and is willing to invest in upgrading their skills. These would
also mean increase in interaction between the employees which is again a requirement at
Big Bazzar.
Celebrations and Social and cultural Networks:
In some of the surveys and audits it has been found that employees get a sense of
belongingness if the organization encourages some form of social networks, cultural
programs, team celebrations. These can be done with very little investments by
encouraging employees to have picnics, social gatherings, celebrations and festivals etc.
When the person feels at home with a company he would think twice before leaving the
company.
56
HR at Big Bazzar can encourage the formation of different clubs like the golf club, social
service club, sports club, where the employees from all divisions can register as per their
likings. These clubs can then have their own gatherings and interactions. This would
increase the interactions between employees from different departments.
Change of Styles through 360 Degree Feedback and Internal Customer
satisfaction Surveys:
Many times the style of manager has been responsible for employees in certain
departments to leave. With supportive managers and Head of departments employees
think several times before they leave. Some managers may not realize that their coercive
style, excessive task centeredness, and the way they assign tasks including the clarity
with which they give instructions, respect etc to employees have tremendous impact on
their staying with the company. Thus a 3600 feedback system can be implemented for the
senior level managers and corrective actions can be taken to improve the problem areas.
The supervisors must be prepared to be collaborative, supportive, and nurturing of their
people. The old style of "my-way-or-the-highway" style of management is a thing of the
past. Most new supervisors need training to understand what it really takes to retain
employees.
Periodic rewards or gifts for work done:
If an employee is appreciated for the work he does, it acts as a motivating factor for him
to perform well at his work. This ultimately benefits the organization. Thus the
employees should be motivated by appreciation form the senior level. His work can also
be acknowledged by giving him/her a small token of appreciation for the work done.
57
Measuring employee satisfaction:
Obsessed with catering to the demands of their external customers, companies ignore
their internal customers. Periodic employee satisfaction surveys can highlight the
potential flash-points, and enable the company to take corrective action.
Stress Management:
The employees face a lot of stress in their day to day personal and professional life. If the
employees remain stressed out, their efficiency is reduced. So HR can take measures to
reduce this stress level and improve the efficiency. This can be done by organizing
seminars on stress reduction, yoga, one day camps, picnics etc.
Employees should be taught as to how they themselves can fight the stress that they are
experiencing. This would bring a dual advantage to the company. Firstly, the employees
will realise that the company is taking the responsibility of the stress that are
experiencing due to the company’s work. Secondly, their productivity will increase
which will again benefit the company.
Today’s employees are different. They are the ones who have ample of opportunities.
So if the company wants to retain its employees it has to start taking responsibility of
its employees. HR needs to make the employees realize that they are an important
part of the company. The employees cannot be retained only by giving them high pay
packages. They need to see their own growth and have a feeling of belongingness in
the company.
Employee retention takes effort, energy, and resources. But the results are worth it.
58
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND WEB RESOURCES
Biblography
Bhayani Sanjay J., and Bard Kishore (2009), Attrition analysis in
Pharmaceutical Industry of Gujarat, Business Review Vol. No. 1 & 2- June-
December 2009, pp. 97, 108.
Jeswani Saket, and Sarkar Souren (2009), A Theoretical Framework On
Significant Common Factors of Job Satisfaction and Employee Turnover as
an Effective Strategy to Minimize Turnover, Management Stream, Volume 2,
2009, pp. 45-52.
Shahnawaz M.G., and Jafri Hassan (2009), Exploring Antecedents Of
Employees Turnover In India, Abhigyan, Vol. 26 No.4, Jan-Mar, 2009, pp.
25-37.
Haldar, Dr. Uday Kumar (2006), Total Quality Management in IT industry
discussed at Indian institution of industrial Engineering, Nimhans
convention centre, Bangalore, during 48th national convention held on 29th-
30th September 2006.
Aswathappa.K,(2002) Human resource and Personnel Management.
Web Resources
www.citehr.com accessed on 5th June, 2010.
www.hr-guide.com accessed on 8th June, 2010.
59
60