Attrition and Hiring in India

As the economic recession is melting down, the companies are in the phase of hiring new employees. With the recession there was seen changes in the percentage of attrition. The attrition rate at present in India is about 9-11% which was 18-20% earlier. This has happened because of less available job opportunities as compared to the past. The number of lay offs are also less in India as compared to the rest of world. In India 12.6% companies are considering to lay off their employees whereas in US 55% of companies are doing this. China is at 30.6%, Japan at 17% and Australia at 32.4%.

But with the squeezing of economic recession, new jobs can again give rise to the problem of attrition in India. BPO sector in India has the highest attrition rate. Gone are the days when people used to stick to one job & got retired from the same job after 25-30 years. The trend has changed a lot. Now everyone wants to grow at much faster pace & keep looking for job change & satisfaction. As per the Hay Group's report, the attrition rate in BPO is 23.5% that is followed by Communications (22%) & Retail (18%). The IT industry is seeing 15-16% attrition rate. The major reasons citied are no post job benefits like pension & PF with very less basic salary. Apart from this numerations & bonuses are also very less as compared to other industries that are leading to attrition. Further if the companies will not think from the employee's perspective then the never ending attrition will further increase.

Most of the Call center or BPO sector hire freshers with or without graduation. So when they get experience of one or two years they look for more greener pasture and thus change the job for more salary & position. But if the attrition rate is compared to the last two to three years then for year 2009 there has been a decrease. This is because of the less availability of new job opportunities due to recession. Attrition at senior level is further low than the executive level because of the job satisfaction both on professional & financial front.

Many companies thus to solve this problem are looking for employees who are already employed. Companies are taking lateral entry that means hiring employees from the other company at same level & salary. Although in India there are anti-poaching laws but yet this is being practiced.

The sectors of financial services, insurance, telecom & retail are seeing major recruitments. New companies & extensions along with the less availability of talent in these sectors have led to more job recruitments in these sectors. As per Manpower Consultants, the employment service providers, there is a scope of 25% employment in India for fourth quarter in 2009 which was 19% in the first quarter. Kotak Mahindra Bank is hiring around 750 people by the end of this year. 100 employees will be freshers. Capegemini is also on the way of hiring employees and expected to increase the work force to 40,000 from 17,000 by 2010. Also major hiring will be seen in Deloitte that was once facing the high attrition.

So overall it can be seen that with the expansion of the companies, the hiring is on. Present day employers are looking for the quality rather than quantity. So you as an employee can brush up your talent to grab the matching job opportunity that will be knocking your door soon.

How to keep your job safe

Although the severe recession time is over, the risk is not all clear. It will take some more time for economy to get stable and recession to be wholly out of scene. So, along with knowing about how to keep job safe, you must also be prepared for a layoff. Here are some ways to tackle with this grave problem.

Create an Emergency Fund: Keep some of your money aside to cover your basic living expenses for about six months. This should include paying your rent or mortgage, buying monthly supplies of food and repaying loan premiums. It will be wise to keep them away as short-term deposits so that you earn interest as well as they are available in the near future without any loss on interest.

Cut Back on Your Expenditures: Refrain from buying expensive items that are not basic to your living. In fact, this way you'll save money for your emergency fund too.

Keep Away Your Credit Cards: Don't be tempted with those credit cards. Debts call stress and they are complete “no no” when you are seeing layoff in the near future. If you have to use these cards, do it cautiously.

Enlarge Network: Try to get known to as many people as you can in your field of work. A lots of friends and contacts in industry means a better chance of finding work quickly in case you lose your job.

Enhance Your Skills: Use your downtime (when you are not working) as an opportunity to develop your skills and knowledge to a higher level. This can even help in making changes in your job profile- some other work that hasn't got affected by recession.

Recession Layoff: Warning Signs

The ongoing recession has left almost everybody in jeopardy of losing their jobs. Following are some of the warning signs that should be kept in mind to recognize the possibility of a corporate bankruptcy or unemployment.

1.If the company starts hiring a consultant then one must be prepared that job cuts and lay offs are on the cards.

2.A bad assessment or review is also a warning bell. If your colleague is bestowed with a positive review then you might be on the hit list. You should definitely start worrying once your managers complains about the recession and layoffs.

3.If the company is experiencing low profits and the sales are also down, then it is the time to worry. Profits and pay cheque are directly proportional, hence a decrease in the profit will directly influence decrease in the pay. Thus, when a company is rendering losses, then it will surely start cutting the number of employees.

4.If your company is slashing the present salary of the employees then become sure that your organization is in deep trouble. The situation can also appear dim in case there is a pay freeze. This too means that the company is facing a precarious condition.

5.When people are being laid off and hiring has come down to minimal, then it is advisable for you to start looking for an alternative. You never know when you many be thunderstruck with the lighting of unemployment.

6.If your company on the verger of a merger then it implies that something big is happening for good or worse. Since merger puts any company in a very negotiable position, there is a chance that the employees will be sacked. This happens a lot in IT Jobs.

7.When too many rumors are being circulated in the market and the company officials are sitting with their lips sealed then there is a reason to worry.

These are some of the most common warning signs that implicate that your job is in danger. However, there are certain industries like auto industry and various manufacturing industries wherein the job stability is very less. Sometimes, even when your company is making profits but the industry is wavering, then your job might be far from being safe. Keep these warning signals is mind, especially during recession to keep yourself prepared for any catastrophe.

Keep in mind before closing Job Offer

If you belong to the genre of those job seekers who enjoy multiple job opportunities in their kitty, then you have more reasons to be worried. Choosing the right job from amongst many offers can be a tricky decision and it can change the life of a person drastically. Here is a rescue. Below are some of the most trusted facts that should be kept in mind while choosing an offer.

Know About the Company

Before you plan to join any company, it is important that you know about the company throughly. Visiting the company's website is the way to do it. Besides, you should also be aware of the job profile and the offer of the company in order to compare the best deal. To have the best opinion, contact the candidates who have been interviewed before or ask the skill and employability department and the HR people regarding their company's policies.

Define Your Priorities

In order to ensure that you choose the best company that suits you the most, define your priorities. For example, if a brand is more important, then you can opt for the company that has a good reputation, compromising even if the salary is a little less. Some of the most common priorities of any person includes, money, job satisfaction and professional growth. If you are interested in mathematical calculation and find yourself to be satisfied doing that, then you should go for banking or accounting jobs rather than running after a more money making job where you wont be satisfied.

Take Your Time

Some companies offer you to join within a short notice. Don't be too haste. Ask the employers for some time so that you can make a uniform decision. Be careful while evaluating the offer as well as while negotiating the terms of the offer. Avoid procrastinating it for too long. Don't give the impression that you are taking the advantage of the companies generosity.

These were some of the most common facts that one should keep in mind before determining the company to be picked as your workplace. Choosing between jobs can be one of the most difficult part of job hunting process and it requires constructive planning and clearheaded decision making.

Jobs are Back

The dragon of economic recession has engulfed every sector and undoubtedly the employment sector in the India job market scenario is the first one to have a hard hit because of this. Globally numerous companies are laying off their employees. In India the conditions in the beginning of 2009 were quiet similar when a job dip came and with this the job market reached at 29%. But due to financial insight of India's leaders, the Indian job market is showing the promising growth and it has gone to 51% in the second quarter. So there is a rising trend in the Indian job market. These figures are shown in the quarterly survey by Global Placement Report on employment trends for Indian job market with 30 key countries. It says that Indian's job market is the strongest.

India is one of the strongest nations that is growing profusely in every sector. Hyderabad, NCR, Bangalore & Chandigarh have become the IT hubs that generates numerous jobs even during the recession period in India job market. According to the Boston Consulting Group the sector like IT, health, banking, retail and outsourcing along with others will have the requirement of 85-90 million people even during the hard economic times. The another survey by HR consultancy Manpower projects is showing that jobs in India are not much affected by the recession. In Hyderabad the largest banks are opening their branches and huge construction for that is going on at a fast pace. In the near future it is expected to generate 2,00,000 new jobs in financial and banking domain freshers as well as experienced fellows.

Also the outsourcing sector like BPO, KPO & other call center are the major job providers in India. HCL, Wipro, Converges, Excel are few to name are the top guns in BPO industry. These big companies are recruiting numerous candidates. Apart from this, the sectors of health, insurance, pharma are also showing significant growth, which again is the symbol for rising trend in Indian job market. If we consider the govt sector then Indian Railways is the biggest employer in India with 1.42 million employees. Not to forget Indian railways is also the fourth largest employer in the world. All the state level, the railway industry is expected to hire new professionals in the coming years.

Top ten companies by NASSCOM (the National Association of Software & Services Companies) who are hiring:

• Tata Consultancy Services
• Infosys Technologies
• Wipro Ltd
• Cognizant Technology Solutions (India)
• HCL Technologies
• HP India
• MphasiS Ltd
• Intelenet Global Services Ltd
• IBM-Daksh Business Process Services Pvt Ltd
• Genpact India Pvt Ltd

Job market in India is thus flourishing and giving all sorts of career opportunities.

Sony Pictures Layoff

NEW YORK: Sony Pictures Entertainment, a division of Sony Corp, is planning to lay-off about 450 employees, or about 6.5 per cent of its current work force, in the next few weeks, says a media report.

Attributing to a memo by Sony Pictures co-chairmen Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal, The Wall Street Journal said, the company is planning to lay-off about 450 employees in the next few weeks.

The report said that the majority of the layoffs are expected to hit the studio's home-entertainment and formation-technology departments, but nearly all divisions are expected to feel an impact to some extent, which includes motion pictures, television production and corporate.

"Most of the layoffs are expected to fall in the US and take place by the first week in March," it added.

After the current round of job cut, studio's head count would stand at about 6,300. In addition, the studio would not fill about 100 jobs that are currently open.

The company's business has been hit by digital piracy and the impact of social-media services that have sometimes undermined studios' marketing efforts.

DVD sales in the US has seen declined 13 per cent to $8.73 billion against last year, putting a major dent in the studios' bottom-line, the report said attributing to Adams Media Research.

Human Touch : Layoff

Losing a job is akin to death for most & must be dealt with sensitively. Layoffs are the order of the day & a fact of corporate life. No organization worth its salt is going to tolerate poor competence & sloth and will get rid of employees who do not contribute, particularly in recessionary times. However, the process requires a great deal of empathy and tact.

More than anything it requires the 'Human Touch'. Here are a few tips:

1. Be transparent. The first thing you need to do is to be more open with your employees. Start by exposing your employees to all of your major business and financial metrics, because laying everything out on the table builds employee trust. Not only will exposing employees to this information give them some warning about downturns, but it might also spur them to come up with some approaches to solve your business problems.

2. Over-communicate. Not knowing what’s happening always breeds fear. The best approach to minimize fear and speculation is to over-communicate—saturating people with information. Keep rumour mongers at bay. They can destroy morale.

3. Focus your retention efforts. Generally, rather than low morale, the biggest negative business impact comes from increased turnover. The best retention approach begins by identifying and prioritizing the most critical segments of your employee population that are at risk of leaving (i.e., top performers and individuals in revenue-producing and mission-critical positions).

4. Educate them about the consequences. Educate your current employees so that they realize that losing a job isn’t the end of the world. Start by letting all employees know what help they will receive from the firm if they are laid off. In addition, if a significant percentage of your previously laid-off employees have successfully found jobs, make your employees aware of it.

5. Take the responsibility of informing the concerned person that it was a decision made by & why it was made. Offer to help the person find another job if he/she allows. Also insist that the person’s department head and HR are around. The occasion is a serious one and is not to be dealt with flippantly.

It’s important to realize that having no layoffs can actually backfire, because it can cause employees to develop the expectation of permanent job security getting them to rest their oars and drift. This isn’t a good result, because a reasonable fear of business downturns actually tends to keep your employees from becoming complacent.