The rapid digitization in the aftermath of the pandemic has increased the demand for IT professionals. From entry-level IT professionals to mid- and senior-level executives, the IT tech space is bursting at the seams right now. Furthermore, companies are offering huge raises to retain talent. Many professionals are leaving traditional IT firms for startups with faster growth opportunities and competitive salaries. In September last year, the average attrition rate in the IT business was 8.67%, according to a survey by TeamLease, a provider of HR solutions. Leading Indian IT companies are experiencing their highest-ever turnover rates right now, as a result, the tech industry giants are having trouble completing projects.
Evolving business models
The high attrition rate is a reflection of the great market demand. Due to the migration of workforces online since December, the bottom lines of IT companies have improved. Indian IT companies are looking to develop fresh revenue models based on user data and transactions to expand their operations in response to the pandemic. Experts in artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, big data, and automation are in high demand, as are data scientists, cybersecurity authorities, and cloud engineers. This year, the industry has experienced a nearly 30-35 percent increase in the hiring of these capabilities.
. Therefore, job seekers today have access to multiple job offers.
To keep up with the changes, forward-thinking IT firms are enhancing their digital capacities, which is increasing the demand for analytics specialists. High attrition rates indicate that the Indian IT industry is maturing, which may seem counterintuitive. According to a recent Gartner survey, 48% of workers would probably work remotely after the Covid-19 outbreak as opposed to 30% before it. The majority of its attrition has been among workers with three to six years of experience. Other employment strategies that have emerged as a result of the pandemic, such as talent sharing and 80% pay for 80% work, are taken into consideration by employers.
Data explosion
Businesses are now making significant investments in data science and advanced algorithms to mine the accumulating data and provide profitable results. The industry is moving forward as a result of the network effect. Online learning is another way that Indian workers are upgrading their skills. Although the labor force is catching up in terms of skills, the supply-demand imbalance is not yet solved. There is currently a high demand for futuristic skill sets, but there aren’t a lot of them available in India
Problem of plenty
The talent pool in India’s IT industry will have many opportunities due to the growth potential of AI. India’s lack of digital expertise is causing high attrition rates and rising wages. The transition to remote employment has undoubtedly altered people’s perspectives. The idea of job security has also become meaningless over time. People are working independently and more confidently as a result of working from home. Employees are looking for new chances to challenge themselves and gain experience in their careers. To lower attrition rates, companies are implementing a multifaceted strategy that includes increasing new hires to increase the supply pool, accelerating re-skilling programs through online learning, deploying adjacent-talent skills for on-the-job learning, and providing employees with a holistic experience. Today’s workforce value flexibility, opportunities for coaching and mentorship, upskilling, and
work-life balance in addition to competitive compensation as essential components. The enterprises are spending money on stock options, pay adjustments, attractive salaries and perks, numerous employee engagement initiatives, and reliable talent management procedures for people’s growth both immediately and in the long run. A few resignations in the IT sector are also being caused by unwillingness to return to the office. Engineers are becoming more selective in their job choices as a result of layoffs at some firms even if the majority of layoffs are now occurring in startups.
Employers are prepared to pay over-market rates to satisfy their current needs. As businesses compete to entice the greatest people, this has increased competitiveness in terms of compensation raise percentages, incentives, and benefits. In the past, attrition prevention measures would start after a resignation. The retention plan, however, now starts even before onboarding. This procedure to retain starts as a potential candidate is recognized and continues through the hiring process.
Hiring Fresher
India’s IT companies are currently hiring engineering graduates from numerous colleges, despite the mounting attrition problems. To mitigate the situation, companies should hire in cities beyond metros and collaborate with leading educational institutions. Hiring and training freshers are the only long-term solution to meeting demand. Companies in India continue to struggle to find Java, Javascript, Python, and SQL specialists to stay up with the adoption of digital technology and cloud-based services.
High attrition destroys the merit of going offshore. Companies suffer knowledge loss, training costs, a never-ending cycle of hiring, and delays in completing projects that were anticipated as a result. Since staff recruitment and retention are major concerns for IT firms, employers should establish a work environment where employees can participate in reward programs. Although companies may claim to be aware of each offshore employee retention strategy, few put them into practice or measure whether their external vendors are practicing them. To improve decision-making and narrow the talent acquisition and retention gap, IT is leveraging technologies like AI/ML and analytics. The best employees will leave and only those who are unworthy of keeping will remain if the problem regarding long hours, poor pay, or an overwhelming workload is not solved. Businesses are actively working to expand along with their staff rather than merely in terms of revenue. In the end, a company’s ability to establish a positive workplace culture will determine how satisfied its employees are.
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About the Author
Krishna Kumar is the Founder and CEO at Learnbay, a Bengaluru-based EdTech firm. Learnbay caters to working professionals and helps them grow in their careers via their job-ready data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning courses. His focus has always been to guide working professionals to transform their careers by providing high-quality and job-oriented training on the latest technologies, and the views expressed in this article are his own
