Infosys BPO, facing high attrition like others in the sector, has brought down the number of people leaving by offering to help those who leave for higher education.

Speaking to Business Line , Mr Raghavendra K., Vice-President and Head — Human Resources, said, “People quit for three reasons, namely, better prospects, family issues and for education.” By helping people to pursue higher education, Mr Raghavendra said Infosys has reduced attrition related to this reason by around 65 per cent to 70 per cent.

Measurement

Infosys looks at attrition in two ways. If one were to take only non-trainee figures, it stands at around 18 per cent to 19 per cent. However, if one were to consider trainees, too, — for Infosys BPO, trainees who are turned away for lack of proper documents are included in attrition figures — then the figure climbs to mid-30s.

However, Mr Raghavendra said Infosys has managed to ensure that 70 per cent of lateral positions are given to people from within. “Last fiscal, 74.6 per cent of lateral vacancies were filled internally, and my colleagues from the industry were stunned when I told them this,” said Mr Raghavendra.

Mr Raghavendra, however, said attrition is a major issue for the company. “Around 42 per cent of my staff of over 19,000 people are women, and around 70 per cent of my employees are not from places where I have my offices,” he pointed out.

The Infosys Head for HR said the BPO industry was still a mainstream sector.

Mainstream sector

“There are around 4 million people in this industry, and in the next five to six years, there will be 20 million graduates in this industry, making this the largest employer of graduates in the country,” he said. “A lot more needs to happen to build awareness that this industry is mainstream.”

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