IBM India claims low attrition rate

Mumbai, Jan 7 (UNI) At a time when the information technology (IT) firms in the country are faced with high attrition rates, one of the leading IT majors of the country, IBM, claims to have the rate lower than the industry average.

In the last few years we have seen the evolution of the HR (human resource) function in companies facing hyper growth. The headcount for the company grew from 9,400 in four years back to 43,000 employees in June last year, said a company source.

IBM has established a comprehensive approach that actively supports both strategies. ''While we continuously hire skilled talent to quickly fill vacancies that require critical technical or professional skills, we also work towards creating a strong career development engine for existing employees which enables a series of career fast tracks pointing towards the critical roles. The career development engine helps limit the attrition among existing talent,'' said a company official.

Another aspect which helps the company retain the best talent are the learning and career development programs that it offers its employees. IBM employs one of the most highly educated workforces in the world. IBMers in India also have the unique opportunity to change jobs within the same organization - this is why they build careers within the company itself.

Meanwhile, the company has chalked out big plans for the country during the current year. The firm will continue to focus aggressively on things like on key verticals. In addition to Financial Services, Telecom, Government, SMB and Automotive, the company is investing in Pharma and Life-Sciences, said the company source. Apart from it, it will be providing affordable end-to-end solutions for small businesses with a view to grow its SOA (service-oriented architecture) and server technology.

In an e-mail reply to UNI poser, Country Manager of IBM India, Shanker Annaswamy, said that ''At IBM, we expect Indian organizations to substantially invest in Business model innovation, the process of which will be efficiently supported by a robust IT environment.'' UNI