Know What Experts Say About High Attrition Rates at TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Tech
The average attrition rate (during the past 12 months) for the IT sector is currently as high as 25%. This includes organisations like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Tech. Attrition rates have increased over the last few quarters while hiring has stalled. According to experts, the main cause of the high attrition rate is that the IT sector presently offers relatively fewer growth chances than other sectors.
Neeti Sharma, president and co-founder of TeamLease Edtech, said, “High attrition has been a problem in the IT sector for a fairly long time. However, the past few quarters have seen higher attrition and with the conversations around the ‘Great Resignation’ and ‘Great Movement’, the problem has been highlighted to a larger extent.”
Infosys stated this week that voluntary attrition for the quarter ending in September 2022 was 27.1%. (Q2FY23). Although it was lower than the 28.4% recorded in the previous quarter, it was higher on a yearly basis than the 20.1% reported in Q2FY22.
HCL Tech’s attrition rate (during the past year) stayed at 23.8% in Q2FY23, whereas TCS’s IT services attrition rate for the third quarter of 2022 was 21.5%. (higher than 19.7 per cent in the previous quarter and 17.4 per cent in the March quarter). According to the company, Wipro’s voluntary attrition for the quarter was calculated over the preceding 12 months and was at 23%, down 30 basis points from the prior quarter.
Sharma continued, “There has been a 3x surge in the demand for technical capabilities in non-tech organisations along with the growth potential in the tech sector and start-ups.” Employers have had to come up with innovative strategies to attract talent as a result of the rise in demand, and the attrition rate in the industry as a whole has been very high.
Neha Bagaria, founder and CEO of women’s career platform JobsForHer, said, “The corporate universe has been facing challenges in hiring and retaining the right people at work. If the issue is not addressed on priority, it can turn into a talent crisis and can have a negative impact on businesses worldwide.”
TeamLease’s Sharma said, “With the emergence of the gig economy, millennials and Gen Z have options apart from traditional career paths. Flexibility and work-life balance are primary motivators for the current generation and this could be another possible reason for the 25 per cent (average) attrition rate in the sector.”
