Hitachi Solutions shows the way to tackle staff attrition

Losing employees to the competition is a major concern for software companies, but the $4 billion Hitachi Solutions believes it has found the solution– incubating talent at the college level.

The company has tied up with RMK Engineering College and Rajalakshmi Engineering College for technical talent incubation and with Bharathidasan Institute of Management in Tiruchirapalli for functional talent across Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions.

In the last 18 months, the company recruited 40 students from these colleges through the incubation programme. “None have left us so far,” Ananthanarayanan Subramanian, President and Managing Director, Hitachi Solutions India, told

The general industry attrition is 6-7 per cent. The company, a part of the $ 24 billion Hitachi Group of Japan, has 200 employees with plans to reach 500 in the next three years. It has centres in Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune, and plans to open one each in Chennai and Hyderabad in 3-4 months, he said.

Normally, a company provides six months to one year training after recruiting a person. This is a huge cost and the person is unproductive during this period. However, through the incubation programme, the company engages the person on projects from day one, he said.

Hitachi Solutions took up the challenge of sourcing talent by developing a strategic initiative with the colleges to provide in-campus training in the core modules of Microsoft Dynamics AX and CRM, he said.

Partnership with academia helps the company develop a sustainable source for talent. Customer feedback indicates high level of competency and performance on live projects, he said.

Meanwhile, the company plans to acquire a firm in the area of Microsoft Dynamics in Asia-Pacific by mid-2015. “We are in discussion with 2-3 companies. It will be a 500-member firm,” Subramanian said without giving further details.

Hitachi Solutions has made three acquisitions in its key markets of the US, Europe and Canada. “We are now focussing a lot in Asia-Pacific and the acquisition should help us tap business in key markets like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand,” he said.