INTRODUCTION:

In the serious business situation, worker maintenance transforms into a significant issue in each association. For example, if a worker leaves the association, the administration needs to bring about extra costs on enrolling, recruiting and preparing another representative. Along these lines, it is fundamental for any association to execute a worker maintenance technique to hold their top abilities for a delayed timeframe in the association. It is likewise to be noticed that the greater part of the association puts away time and cash to set up a pristine joiner, assemble him/her to challenge the corporate work environment at equality with the overarching representatives to achieve the authoritative objectives.

In this way, the definition of a correct maintenance technique empowers the administration to spare expense just as aides in building up a feasible competitive edge.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

Identified and encouraged a learning culture, leadership engagements, career advancements, employee-engagement drives, increasing the level of satisfaction, and work-life balance initiatives, etc. HR experts should focus on and decrease attrition levels through a wide range of rewards and recognition programs, counselling, mentoring programs, the creation of a positive and friendly work environment, promoting employment involvement, participation, and generating and retaining a talented workforce in the organization. This research helps to determine human-resource practice and the challenges confronted by HR experts in an Indian IT firm¹.

Author studied the determinants of employee engagement in the Indian IT sector. The researcher identified seven critical factors such as supervision, quality of the working environment, reliability of the information, communication, quality of information, pay and benefits, appraisal process as well as the level of satisfaction and organizational commitment².

The impact of organizational health and job satisfaction on employee retention. The study highlighted various ideas related to employee retention, organizational health also job satisfaction in different dimensions. It is determined that organization health and job satisfaction are correlated, interrelated and influenced employee retention directly and positively³.

The organizational support and perceived career opportunity are negatively related to intention to leave the organization, whereas training and development are positively associated with employee intention to leave the organization among Brazilian employees’ in the multinational corporations (MNCs) stemming from emerging markets⁴.

The results indicated from multiple regression and mediation analyses showed that employee work participation is adversely associated with workers’ turnover intentions. Additionally, the results showed that organizational identification, and both internal communication adequacy and organizational identification, mediated the relationship between employee work participation and turnover intention⁵.

The study suggested organizational talent management should recognize employee motivation and job satisfaction interventions that might help to retain talented staff⁶.

The role of different biographical characteristics on the psychological contract, psychosocial career preoccupations and retention factors of employees in South Africa. It provides greater insight into the psychological contract and career development theories that could potentially educate industrial and organizational psychologists in the retention of diverse and multicultural employees⁷.

It is found that all types of employee participation influenced positively on employee retention with the moderation effect of employee compensation. The study highlighted delegative participation of employees had a stronger influence on retention as compared with other types of employee participation in both sectors⁸.

The results would assist in setting the direction for future research in the area of talent management and help managers comprehend the significant roles of talent perception congruence and organizational justice in defining the talent management outcomes⁹.

The influence of personal factors on job retention in a banking services sector setting. The regression analysis revealed personal factors to predict the talent retention factors of job characteristics, career opportunities, supervisor support, and work-life balance of employees¹⁰.

OBJECTIVES:

· To find out the factors influencing employee retention strategies in the IT industry

· To assess the influence of employee retention strategies of organization on the personal factors of the employees

· To measure the relationship between organizational factors on the perception of employees’ retention strategies

· To examine the impact of employee retention strategies on the organizational and individual employee effectiveness

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Sample Design:

TCS, Infosys, Polaris, Capgemini and Oracle are the main IT companies selected for this study.

Data Collection:

The convenience sampling method is applied to collect the primary data. The collected data were analysed using SPSS software with tools as follows Parametric T-test.

Hypothesis used:

· There is no relationship between compensation and employee retention strategies

· There is no relationship between the training and development of employee retention strategies.

· There is no relationship between rewards/recognition and employee retention strategies.

· There is no relationship between the work-life balance on employee retention strategies.

· There is no relationship between the work environment and employee retention strategies.

· There is no relationship between job satisfaction and employee retention strategies.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS:

Parametric T-test Analysis:

To satisfy the conditions of normality, equal variance, and independence.

Table No. 1 ’t’ test on compensation

FACTOR	N	Mean	SD	SE	‘t’Value	Sig. Value	Rank
The salaries offered by this organization are competitive with similar job positions in other organization Strengthening employee retention	519	4.5048	0.65427	0.02872	52.398	0.000	1
Organization pays annual bonus to employees	19	4.1522	0.69050	0.03031	38.015	0.000	4
Overtime salary is given to encourage the employees		4.2023	0.79058	0.03470	34.646	0.000	3
Compensation given for employees during layoffs or any accidents took place within the organization are satisfactory		4.0790	0.88287	0.03875	27.842	0.000	5
Pay hike for employees of this organization are based on performance evaluation		4.3526	0.77668	0.03409	39.674	0.000	2

Table No. 2 ’t’ test on Training and development

FACTOR	Mean	SD	SE	‘t’ Value	Sig.Value	Rank
Performance appraisal is key factor for training.	3.9576	0.97959	0.04300	22.270	0.000	3
Training program is designed to meet the individual job requirements.	3.9518	0.93391	0.04099	23.219	0.000	4
Training induced greater management responsibilities to the employees	4.1272	0.87832	0.03855	29.236	0.000	1
Training enhanced to become more productive and efficient supervisor/manager.	3.9326	0.91601	0.04021	23.193	0.000	5
Feedback is necessary after the completion of training program	3.9750	0.96730	0.04246	22.962	0.000	2

Table no.3 ’t’ test on Rewards/Recognition

FACTOR	Mean	SD	SE	‘t’ Value	Sig. Value	Rank
Fringe benefits provided by the company are good.	3.9518	0.97833	0.04294	22.164	0.000	3
Recognition of employee for their achievement.	4.1618	0.80587	0.03537	32.845	0.000	2
There is a lot of support and recognition for trying something new in this organization.	3.9422	0.94671	0.04156	22.673	0.000	4
In this organization, people are rewarded in proportion to the excellence of job performance.	4.1715	0.88503	0.03885	30.155	0.000	1
The organizations do not provide enough reward and recognition for doing good work.	3.8227	1.00163	0.04397	18.713	0.000	5

The table no. 1 represents the compensation statement relating to employee retention. It is ascertained that the mean value ranges from 4.07 to 4.50. Followed by, the standard deviation (SD) varies between 0.65 to 0.88 with the standard error (SE) ranges between 0.028 to 0.038. The ‘t’ value which is above 1.96 is highly significant; in this study, it ranges from 27.84 to 52.398. This ascertained that the employees in the IT companies strongly agreed and highly considered about ‘the salaries offered by the organization are competitive with similar job positions in other organization for strengthening employee retention’ and least considered about the ‘compensation given for employees during layoffs or any accidents took place within the organization are satisfactory.’

The table no. 2 represents training and development statement relating to employee retention. It is revealed that the mean value ranges from 3.93 to 4.12. Followed by, the standard deviation (SD) varies between 0.87 to 0.97 with the standard error (SE) ranges between 0.38 to 0.43. The ‘t’ value which is above 1.96 is highly significant; in this study, it ranges from 22.270 to 29.236. This indicates that the employees in the IT industry strongly agreed for ‘Training-induced greater management responsibilities to the employees’ and agreed for “Training enhanced to become more productive and efficient supervisor/manager.’ Thus, it also results in performance appraisal, enhance to meet job requirements, efficient supervisor/ manager and productivity, feedback needed at the end of training.

The table no. 3 indicates rewards and recognition statement relating to employee retention. It is revealed that the mean value ranges from 3.82 to 4.17. Followed by, the standard deviation (SD) varies between 0.80 to 1 with the standard error (SE) ranges between 0.035 to 0.043. The ‘t’ value which is above 1.96 is highly significant; in this study, the t-value ranges from 18.713 to 32.845. This ascertained that the employees in the IT industry are strongly agreed for ‘People are rewarded in proportion to the excellence of the job performance’ and least considered about ‘The organizations do not provide enough reward and recognition for doing good work.’

Hence, resulted in the employees were strongly agreed for good fringe benefits, recognition for achievement, support for innovation, performance-based rewards and recognition for good work. Thus, resulted in employee recognition is overvalued in IT organization and compensating employees in direct proportion to their productivity ensures a happy and satisfied workforce.

Table no.4 ’t’ test on Work-life balance

FACTOR	Mean	SD	SE	‘t’ Value	Sig. Value	Rank
Organization provides the amount of flexibility in work scheduling.	4.2004	.89525	0.03930	30.547	0.000	2
The organization provides the opportunity to do work from home or flexitime work without being penalized.	3.8189	1.00094	0.04394	18.638	0.000	4
The ease of getting time off for a family is needed.	3.7418	1.09174	0.04792	15.480	0.000	5
Supervisor and peers dislike how often I am pre-occupied with my personal life while at work.	4.3757	0.72959	0.03203	42.957	0.000	1
Work-life balance policies will influence the employees’ intention to stay in the organization.	4.0385	0.73420	0.03223	32.225	0.000	3

Table no.5 ’t’ test on Work environment

FACTOR	Mean	SD	SE	‘t’ Value	Sig. Value	Rank
Organization provides a harmonious place to work.	4.0347	0.78767	0.03457	29.926	0.000	1
Employees are treated with due respect.	3.9461	0.88585	0.03888	24.330	0.000	2
Workers and management get along in this organization.	3.8073	1.01412	0.04451	18.136	0.000	4
This organization offers a lot of security and facilities for employees.	3.8131	0.94120	0.04131	19.681	0.000	3
A spirit of co- operation, co- ordination and team work exists.	3.7669	1.09649	0.04813	15.933	0.000	5

Table no.6 ’t’ test on Job satisfaction

FACTOR	Mean	SD	SE	‘t’ Value	Sig. Value	Rank
The amount of job security provided in the organization is high.	3.6204	1.12382	0.04933	12.577	0.000	4
The degree of independency to execute the job is good.	4.0096	0.87979	0.03862	26.144	0.000	2
The promotional opportunities offered by the company is good.	4.0539	0.95708	0.04201	25.087	0.000	1
Token of appreciation helps the employee to enhance job satisfaction.	3.8189	1.03507	0.04543	18.023	0.000	3
The amount of guidance and support from the management/super visor is satisfactory.	3.5723	1.19284	0.05236	10.929	0.000	5

The above table represents the work-life balance statement relating to employee retention. It is revealed that the mean value ranges from 3.74 to 4.37. Followed by, the standard deviation (SD) varies between 0.72 to 1.09 with the standard error (SE) ranges between 0.032 to 0.0479. The ‘t’ value which is above 1.96 is highly significant; in this study, the t-value is ranging from 15.480 to 42.957. It is identified that the employees in the IT industry strongly agreed for flexibility in work, work from home without penalizing, getting time off for family, superior dislike engaging personal life while at work, intention to stay. Also, the study ascertained that employees in the IT industry are highly considered about ‘Supervisor and peers dislike how often I am pre-occupied with my personal life while at work’ and they least concentrated on ‘The ease of getting time off for a family is needed.’

Thus, understanding these factors could help the organization to a certain extent to retain their employees. Furthermore, it provides a guide for employers in formulating family-friendly policies that could help employees manage both work and family responsibilities.

The table no. 5 represents the work environment statement relating to employee retention. It is revealed that the mean value ranges from 3.76 to 4.03. Followed by, the standard deviation (SD) varies between 0.78 to 1.09 with the standard error (SE) ranges between 0.0345 to 0.0481. The ‘t’ value which is above 1.96 is highly significant; in this study, the t-value is ranging from 15.933 to 29.926. This indicates the employees in IT industry strongly agreed for a harmonious place to work; employees are given due respect, employees and management relationship, the organization provides a lot of securities and facilities, the spirit of co-operation, co-ordination and teamwork exist. The employees in the IT industry highly considered about ‘Organization provides a harmonious place to work’ and least considered about ‘A spirit of co-operation, co-ordination and teamwork exist.’

Thus, the organization which provides an employee-friendly work environment creates a good sense of trust among the employees.

The table no. 6 represents the job satisfaction statement relating to employee retention. It is revealed that the mean value ranges from 3.57 to 4.05. Followed by, the standard deviation (SD) varies between 0.87 to 1.19 with the standard error (SE) ranges between 0.0386 to 0.0523. The ‘t’ value which is above 1.96 is highly significant; in this study, the t-value is ranging from 10.929 to 26.144. This indicates employees in the IT industry strongly agreed for high job security, execute the work independently, good promotional opportunities, appreciation and agree with the amount of guidance or support from the management or supervisor. It is identified that employees in the IT sector highly considered about ‘The promotional opportunities offered by the company is good’ and least considered about ‘The amount of guidance and support from the management/supervisor is satisfactory. ‘Thus, organizational promotions go hand-in-hand with employee development and provide a clear path for advancement.

FINDINGS:

The findings of the research work done on the Employee Retention Strategies in IT industry with specific reference to Bengaluru City. This chapter also offered suitable suggestions based on the findings and a brief conclusion of the research work. The results are derived from the data of 519 responses from IT companies in Bengaluru. The statistical analyses were done using the SPSS software package. The findings are inferred from various statistical applications in the study were percentage analysis, ‘t ’test. The result shows the significant difference between demographic variables of employees in the IT industry, organizational variable and its effectiveness.

CONCLUSIONS:

The employee may leave the organization for personal or professional reason. It is not easy to retain every employee in the organization. Many employee retention philosophies can work to mitigate turnover and create a desirable workplace. Employee retention can help the organization reach its strategic goals and may reduce the expenses involved in employee turnover. These expenses can be measured in various ways, including:

The cost of recruiting, hiring, and training replacements, especially given today's tight job market and the increased costs of finding and hiring the right people. The adverse effects on organization culture and employee morale stemming from dissatisfied workers or constant turnover of positions. The loss of valuable knowledge about the organization internal operations when trained staffs resign the job for outside opportunities. If the resigned employee has not documented job procedures appropriately, or if the management fails to provide adequate training to the newly hired employee in place of the old employee, there is a risk that a newly hired employee may take a longer time to learn the procedures of the assigned task.

The interruption of workflows that happens when the existing employee leaves the organization and their manager needs to reallocate the work assignment to other employees as well as invest additional time in training and developing a new employee in the position.

The study inferred that IT companies, offering competitive and alluring salary are also one of the problems when it comes to retaining their employees as they feel a little difference in their pay they shift from their organization to another over a short period, since IT companies feeling recruiting or replacing the new employee cost is too high while comparing to retaining the existing employee. Improving retention is a critical issue for every IT company to sustain in the competitive business world and companies are trying to redefine the HR policies and practices for keeping employees in the long run. The factors influencing retention in the IT industry in this study were compensation, training and development, rewards and recognition, work-life balance, work environment, job satisfaction. From the above factors, the organization can increase their productivity and profitability. Especially, compensation, conducive work environment, communication can enhance the retention, therefore retention has positively influenced on organizational effectiveness.

To conclude, the IT industries need to find a way to increase employee retention to achieve more organizational goals. Moreover, the organization should understand the potential grievances that prevent employees from leaving. IT industry that continually seeks to improve HR practices and there is no single policy to retain the employees.

SUGGESTIONS:

· The organizations ought to create a positive employee experience to attract and retain employees in a highly competitive job market. The well-structured employee experience leads to high levels of work engagement, work enthusiasm, job involvement and employer brand commitment.

· Organizations need to renovate HR Practices by digitalizing all employee-related tasks and make the right use of technology in streamlining performance reviews, hiring, onboarding, processing payroll, employee self-service and more. Paperless on boarding, online access to compensation and benefits information gives ease and flexibility to employees to manage the data on their own.

· The management needs to treat the employees as special as customers for improving engagement, retention and experience at the workplace. The higher authorities or the immediate supervisors need to support them and provide a solution to their problems to work more effectively.

· Organizations need to give flexibility to the employees for team collaboration because the employees can remotely connect through technologies and manage project/work online. This enables them to share the work progress on each task to the team members.

· Management needs to be transparent and conduct unbiased performance reviews, compensation benefits, training and development sessions and about the succession plan to the employees to establish a clear and objective culture.

· The organization needs to align employees’ goals with respect to the organizational objectives more effectively and holistically. This encourages the interaction between employees and managers to build a healthy work environment.

· The IT sectors are always inspiring millennials followed by Gen Z millennials with the innovation. The technology enabled work environment to boost creativity and efficiency of the employees. This helps the management to retain the employees for longer period of time.

REFERENCES:

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Received on 08.10.2020 Modified on 05.11.2020

Asian Journal of Management. 2021; 12(2):209-214.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5763.2021.00032