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Vinson Kurian

Thiruvananthapuram , Aug. 13

IT now emerges that the domestic IT industry has a problem managing its huge wealth of skilled workforce, faced as it is with increasing levels of attrition. This is cause for some concern, according to the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom).

Call centres, for instance, have an attrition rate ranging from 30 per cent to 35 per cent. Other than the natural causes of attrition, "poaching" of employees, "burn-outs" and high stress environments contribute to the increased churn rate in the industry, says Nasscom.

Managing attrition is becoming increasingly important, not only because knowledge professionals are the lifeline of a service oriented industry, but also since staffing costs are one of the largest expenses charged to the budget of a company in the IT/ITES sector. The challenge of addressing and understanding attrition lies in the fact it involves people and is therefore tenuous and ridden with nuances. Evaluating performance of employees, and rewarding high performers, is an imperative managerial task that is critical to the success or failure of a service centric company.

The most effective way of enhancing customer service while reducing workforce attrition is by an improvement cycle of professional development followed by performance measurement and precise and immediate feedback to agents. Reducing workforce attrition will directly affect the bottom line of any call centre's profitability.

Involving customers and employees in decisions that affect them often results in better solutions and less resistance to change. Like most customers, employees are reasonable and willing to focus on greater good as long as they share in the success and rewards.

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