Technology to check high attrition levels

Technology is helping increase employee welfare and consequently raise employee satisfaction levels. This is also helping retain staff.

"The use of technology has helped make the work-place and assessments more transparent and made employees feel they are in better control of their job situations," says Ron Hanscome, senior product director, HR management system, Oracle Corporation.

With employees becoming tech savvy, they expect their information and approval processes directly on their desktops. Hence, to address these needs companies are increasingly using self-service applications. BPOs, in particular, are moving towards strategies to address employee satisfaction and motivation issues, Hanscome told Business Standard.

To meet the challenges of a fast-changing economy, constant training of employees is essential. But training at optimal cost is the challenge. Hence, "companies are using more of the e-learning techniques to maximise reach at minimum cost," said Hanscome.

The Cedar 2004 Workforce Technologies Survey, which was the 7th Annual Edition, showed employee satisfaction having increased by 50 per cent in 2003 and 10 per cent in 2004 in the US. The use of technology by companies helped increase operational transparency and HR service response time, helping instill "a sense of pride and ownership among employees". This in turn helped retention, says Hanscome.

A well-motivated team also ensures world-class service from employees who interact directly with customers. That's where human capital management (HCM) plays a critical role.

"HCM helps identify and recruit the best available talent, and helps managers retain, develop and motivate people to reach their fullest potential," says Hanscome.

The IT and ITeS sectors are implementing human capital management systems (HCM) to address the high levels of attrition.

The focus for HCM in future will be on "aligning employee goals with company goals", asserts Hanscome.

The balanced scorecard approach is the key to achieving this. It is a management system that provides feedback on both the internal business processes and external outcomes in order to continuously improve strategic performance and results. Many companies in India are said to be considering this method.

Many organisations are keen on processes and systems that lead to identification of "key result areas" (KRA) and monitoring of the health of KRAs at various levels, says Hanscome.

The levels at which they can be done may be the organisational, departmental and even at the individual level.