India tops global attrition chart; one in four to switch jobs

The concerns among the Indian employees about fairness of their compensation and career objectives could be key reasons for them to switch jobs, says Hay Group.

As growth trends firm up in the job market, India is set to witness the highest attrition rate globally, with possibility of one in four employees switching jobs, a survey said.

The survey conducted by global human resource and management consultancy major, Hay Group, also said concerns among the Indian employees about fairness of their compensation and career objectives could be the key reasons for them to switch jobs.

Hay Group, in association with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, found 49 million more employees are likely to leave their employers worldwide over the next five years compared to 2012, owing to improvement in economic and labour market conditions.

The Asia-Pacific will experience its largest spike in employee turnover levels this year, and organisations in the region will experience the highest increase in turnover rates worldwide. India is expected to lead the region in turnover rates at 26.9 per cent in the organised sector in 2013—the highest attrition rate globally. This figure is expected to go up further in 2014 to stand at 27.5 per cent.

“Make no mistake, we are (India) in the eye of an employee turnover storm. In order to protect employee retention, organisations in India must give serious thought to what drives employee commitment,” Hay Group India Leadership and Talent practice leader Mohinish Sinha said.

“Indian economic growth is set to pick up, and this will be warmly welcomed by businesses. But the upturn will come with a risk —  driven by an ambitious middle class — and employers at India Inc are likely to face a talent exodus in the coming year,” Sinha added.

Indian employees expressed concerns about fairness of their compensation (55 per cent) and the extent to which benefits meet their needs (48 per cent). One in every three employees expressed concern over lack of confidence in being able to achieve their career objectives with their current employers (37 per cent).

As a result, 39 per cent are concerned about opportunities for learning and development and 36 per cent about supervisory coaching for their development, the report added.

“Organisations need to give serious thought to how they stack up against these factors now before the job markets begin to improve,” Sinha said. Globally, the number of workers taking flight is expected to reach 161.7 million in 2014 — a 12.9 per cent increase in people leaving compared to 2012.