Attrition and Retention

Employee attrition refers to the loss of employees through a number of circumstances, such as resignation and retirement. The cause of attrition may be either voluntary or involuntary, though employer-initiated events such as layoffs are not typically included in the definition. Each industry has its own standards for acceptable attrition rates, and these rates can also differ between skilled and unskilled positions. Due to the expenses associated with training new employees, any type of employee attrition is typically seen to have a monetary cost. The biggest challenge facing the corporate houses these days is not attracting the prospective employee but retaining the talent. Attrition has been a never-ending problem for every organization especially due to either lack of appreciation and many more reasons. It not only affects the morale of other employees but also on the financial position of the organization. As it becomes very necessary for the HR managers to understand the factors that prompt employees to quit an organization, firms are adopting many retention strategies to combat the attrition problem.This paper examines the faces of attrition; and attempts to offer some insight that may alleviate future problems. In this paper an attempt has been made to suggest suitable measures for controlling attrition. Keywords: employee attrition, employee retention, globalization, challenges, retention strategies.