8.

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE DUE TO EMPLOYEES RESIGNATION

Firms operating under the IT industry have always been on the headline due to its
profitability, innovative structure and dynamism since it calls for new talents in such
field. The entrance of new players in the market is giving new opportunities to
youngsters such that they can easily shift from one IT company to the other. This is
one among the greatest challenge faced in this industry. The networking of
employees is so high that the benefits of joining a company are not unknown to other
employees. Such transparency tempts other staff to shift to more lucrative
companies after the departure of their colleagues (Rawat, 2013:1).
Shayo (2004:2) conducted a survey in which approximately 75% of the IT personnel
are younger than 45 years. Employees placed on strategic level in the IT Industries
are in their 30s and thus it becomes more difficult to manage and retain them. To
prevent such circumstances, companies have to adapt retention strategies to make
employees stay for sufficient period in which the employee is able to contribute and
perform better in meeting the business aims and objectives.
Hausknecht, Rodda and Howard (2009:3) conducted a survey in which it was found
that the main factor for employee retention as well as increasing performance is job
satisfaction. The survey was carried out on 25,000 employees in which 51% has
opted for job satisfaction, 41% responses was attributed to rewards which was
followed by 34% of responses to constituent attachments. The results of the survey
showed that to prevent employees from leaving the organisation, it s important that
they enjoy their actual work, they like doing the assigned tasks as an employee and
on top of that they should enjoy their work environment. For rewards, employees
have expressed their willingness to stay in the company depending on factors such
as competitive wages, health benefits, retirement contributions, and incentive plan.
According to Irwin (2011:5), the act which contributes to employee retention starts
with the first day a newly recruit join the organisation. Instead of being on his own,
that particular employee should be trained and be able to assist to senior officers
such that a sense of loyalty is build up. Even if other employees are leaving the
organisation for another job, the confidence level of staying in business is high. This
is further supported by the statement bring forward by McCooey (2010:1) who stated
that the starting days of a new recruit will directly affect the remaining career path of
the employee within the organisation. In addition, MacLean (2001:5) stated that
employees must be trained, oriented and be supervised so that they gain
competence and confidence in their job tasks. Though training of staff can be costly
at times, employers should also consider its benefits in terms of talent attraction from
potential employees, retention lever and also increasing the job performance level
(Smith, 2012:2).
Another cost-effective retention strategy is to give employees job autonomy where
possible. It might take some organizational redesign, but it could prove very

advantageous. Giving employees some freedom in structuring their work may be

hard to replicate elsewhere and substantially improve commitment and intention to
stay. (Smith, 2012)
On the other hand, Arthur (2001:15) pointed the importance of employee
engagement in strategic aims and objectives of the organisation. He explained the
role of open work environment whereby any staff regardless to their title in the
company, can voice out his or her opinion in meeting the overall business objectives.
Such strategies result in bringing out more innovative and creative ideas into the
business. In the IT sector, innovation is one among the topmost priority to be on the
competitive hedge. Hence, employee engagement not only helps in retention rate
but also facilitate the business to flourish in the corporate world. Irwin (2011:25)
pointed out that by taking into consideration the reviews of employees, this might
create a positive bond between management and the employees. He is of the
opinion that the overall goal is to make the business environment a place where
people would want to work.

Another retention strategy is to seek upon the personal life of employees and the
extent to which rules of the company can positively affect the life of employees.
Instead of a traditional vacation policy, the company can allow employees to take
time off from a leave bank, in which they can accumulate as many as 60 days off to
use as they see fit. This policy has helped with employee retention, particularly by
making it easier for female employees starting families to take time off and ultimately
return to work. (Spiro, 2010:10).

REFERENCES
Arthur, D. (2001) The Employee Recruitment and Retention Handbook [Online].
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Hausknecht, J. P., Rodda, J. M., & Howard, M. J. (2009) Targeted Employee
Retention [Online]. Available from: http://pioneerjournal.in [Accessed 16 September
2013].
Irwin, T. (2011) Five Top Employee Retention Strategies [Online]. Available from:
http://www.mondaq.com [Accessed 16 September 2013].
MacLean, P. J. (2001) Taming Turnover: Creating Strategies for Employee Retention
[Online]. Available from: http://pioneerjournal.in [Accessed 16 September 2013].
McCooey, D.(2010) Keeping Good Employees on Board [Online]. Available from:
http://pioneerjournal.in [Accessed 16 September 2013].
Rawat, R.B. (2013) Emerging Employee Retention Strategies in IT Industry [Online].
Available from: http://pioneerjournal.in [Accessed 16 September 2013].
Shayo, C. (2004) Strategies for Managing Is/It Personnel [Online]. Available from:
http://pioneerjournal.in [Accessed 16 September 2013].
Smith, S. V. (2012) How to Stop Employee Turnover in India [Online]. Available from:
http://www.forbes.com [Accessed 16 September 2013].
Spiro, J. (2010) How to Improve Employee Retention [Online]. Available from:
http://www.inc.com [Accessed 16 September 2013].