With the constantly changing mosaic of the Indian Industry, particularly that of the IT & ITES Sector after liberalization and Globalization, there is substantial movement of the Talent Pool. At the lower end of the spectrum we call them ‘The Hoppers’ and at the higher end of the spectrum we may call them ‘Knowledge Nomads’. This is the category of people who are loyal to their profession and would move from one organization to another not only for the financial/ hygiene factor increments, but also or rather mainly for enhancement of knowledge in new technology, global exposure or just because they are growing faster than their organization.

Well, these are just speculations till now. The established fact is that there in volatility in the current phase of growth in the Indian IT & ITES sectors. When you ask a head of any company or head of HR of any company, “What are the three key issues that you would want your HR consultants/ partners to handle for you?” The top of the mind issue that emerges is: “How do I retain my best people?” The best and the extremely respected of the companies are facing attrition to the tune of 20-30%. The ITES sector reporting an average of 50% attrition is posing a Herculean challenge for the HR professionals. Looking closely, we can say that an ITES organization of about 1000 people would have a totally new team by the end of the year which means, re-induction, re-training and re-coaching.

In this light, how are the IT & ITES companies coping with the situation. What are their strategies? What do they need to do to bring about stability in their set up? While there are a lot of surveys being conducted in India like “The Best Employer Survey” by Hewitt Associates, “Best Companies to work for” by Mercer, “Great Places to Work” by Grow Talent etc, it is yet to be seen if the same factors that make them best employers actually maintain a consistent low attrition rate.

I’ve conceptualized this research to build a “Theory” encompassing all the variables that bring about stability in IT & ITES companies in India, and help assess their PSQ ™! And finally recommend a clear action plan that when implemented would be able to significantly contribute towards arresting the exits and enhancing their PSQ ™!