The Hindu Business Line : Of attrition and more

While on the one hand an IT major such as Infosys has problems in finding quality manpower in the numbers required, on the other hand, it is grappling with attrition in an era when employees have so many choices.

In an interview to Business Line, Infosys Board Member and HR chief, Mr T.V. Mohandas Pai, talks about why people leave companies, and the contribution of women to the IT industry.

Excerpts:

Attrition has become a big problem for industry — particularly the IT industry. What kind of an attrition problem do you face at Infosys?

We do have attrition but our attrition rates are the lowest in the industry at 11.9 per cent; the average is 15-16 per cent. It could be lower, but we invest a lot in people and have created a huge pool of people — 1.2 million — who are highly skilled and can work anywhere in the world. This is our contribution to India.

What are entry-level salaries?

Our salaries are Rs 2.1 lakh for the first six months and 2.4 lakh after that. Next year, we'll pay Rs 2.7 lakh for engineers on the day they join.

Coming to a larger HR question... why do people leave organisations?

I have my own theory. We're in a very open, competitive society where individuals have choice. Society has changed; our parents were stuck in the same job for 25-30 years, they never changed and were very happy. We may have changed jobs twice or thrice in our careers. Today, people are eager to go up the ladder faster, they will not go through pain, will not try to adjust, the time horizons have become shorter. That is the way things are.

Is it healthy?

Let's admit it, today every individual has higher aspirations and wants to realise them much faster. It's for companies like ours to ensure that they realise their aspirations faster when they're with us and prolong the time they spend with us. We have to add value to them, communicate to them that when they stay with us they'll be well compensated, and we're going to train them, invest in them, add value and treat them with respect and openness.

Companies that do this will have lower attrition. But the fact remains that people want change, they get bored easily. Yesterday a friend's son, who passed out from an IIM and joined City Bank last year, tells his dad that he is bored and wants a change. And the father says you can't move so soon; I've been in my job for 10 years. So time horizons have changed.

Is frequent job-hopping desirable?

No. An individual should ask: Is the job adding value to me, am I learning, am I adding value back. Am I taking advantage of opportunities to make sure I'm a better person than I was yesterday? So long as I continue to add value to myself I'll look forward to the job, the day I feel I've come to a dead- end, I'll quit. That's okay. Because of attrition, there is greater cross-fertilisation of people, and the whole industry benefits because people become well-rounded personalities with more and better skills.

And it's good to get some fresh blood, right?

Sure. So that organisations don't become static, certain level of attrition is good.

Do you feel happy when people leave you to start their own ventures?

We feel both sad and happy; sad because we want them to stay here and add value. But when people leave to start their own companies, what can you say? Our founders are people who left other companies to found this one. So we can't have differential rules.

What has been women's contribution to the IT sector?

Women are contributing more and more. For instance in the trainee batch in services (Infosys) we have 30 per cent women and Progeon (its BPO) has 40 per cent women. Average across the company we have 28 per cent women, up from 18 per cent six years ago. IT has brought this change in that more women want to become engineers, travel all over the world, challenge themselves and realise their potential. But as they grow older and start their own families some of them drop out.

Are you offering them flexi time? They too have to fulfil their biological and social roles, if they choose to do so.

We offer them whatever we can. For example, when a woman gets a child we allow her to take a year off and come back.

But don't such women feel outdated?

No, because they can remain in touch through the web, so they're quite okay. And we try to make life easier for them. We have a programme called IWIN — Infosys Women's Initiative Network — where women come and talk about what they need and we try to veer our policies around that, we've become much more sensitive to gender.

But there aren't too many women in senior positions...

We want more people in senior management but there are very few women around at that level, so that's a challenge but we do want more women.

Well, as they get into senior positions, the demands from home/family also increase, but you do have a woman director.

We have one woman director and are looking for more but the talent pool at that level is small.

So are you actively looking out for women at senior positions?

Yes, we are... but they are difficult to find.

Do they bring different skills on the table?

They definitely bring a different perspective.

In what way?

For one, they're much more focussed. Their management style is more sensitive and more open, they relate more easily to people and they're very hardworking.

What kind of leadership qualities do they have?

They bring leadership qualities of consensus building and qualities that are very inclusive. They are tough taskmasters because they are very focused and that is good.

Do men working under them resent women bosses?

No. Today women are accepted as part of the work force. But the big challenge that is happening is that in trainee batches when you have 30-40 per cent young women coming together with young men, they get to know each other and there are many marriages. After all the training environment is like a college. If you go to our Mysore campus, it is an interesting atmosphere. The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, said after a visit: `I can feel romance in the air!'

So are marriages between employees good or bad for an organisation?

It's good in a way, both work together, etc, but in one way it reduces flexibility in the system because if somebody has to go abroad, then they get separated, and sometimes when they leave, they leave together.

But they many also stay together.

Oh yes, but I don't have data to substantiate this.

IT is a high-pressure job; many women in the industry either don't want children or delay them. Your comment.

Yes, things will change. When a woman has economic independence it'll change her way of thinking, because in a traditional society women were forced into early marriages, forced to have children and conform to the idea of an ideal choice. But now, she can choose and we have to accept that choice. Every woman, every individual has the right to choose and we have to accept that choice

But the youngsters of today are very different...

They are; very adept at technology and the web, but the unfortunate part is that younger people are losing their social skills. The tragedy of the whole IT revolution is that people are becoming less humane in the sense they're losing inter personal skills, the ability to move with people, be sensitive to each other. The softer side of life is giving way...

(Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in)

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