A Study on causes of attrition in Bharti Airtel Limited, NESA

[A Project Report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree

of Master of Business Administration (Full Time) of Dibrugarh University]

Submitted by: DUBARITALUKDAR

Under the guidance of: Rohan Das HR Operation Bharti Airtel Limited, NESA

Dr. Mithun Jagadish Sharma Assistant Professor Centre for Management Studies DIBRUGARH UNIVERSITY February 2014

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the winter internship project titled Causes of attrition in Bharti Airtel Limited, NESA is an academic work with industrial intent done by Dubari Talukdar submitted in the partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Business Management from Centre for Management Studies, Dibrugarh University under my guidance and direction. To the best of my knowledge and belief the data and information presented by her in the project has not been submitted elsewhere.

Mr. Rohan Das HR Operations Bharti Airtel Limited, NESA Guwahati

Centre for Management Studies Dibrugarh University Dibrugarh 786 004 Assam (India)

Dr. Mithun Jagadish Sharma Assistant Professor

C E R T I F I C A T E

This to certify that the project report entitled Causes of attrition in Bharti Airtel Limited, NESA submitted by Dubari Talukdar has been prepared under my supervision and guidance. It was done as a part of the requirements of course 40400 for the award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration (FT) of Dibrugarh University. It is further certified that the said project report has not been submitted to any other University or Institution for similar purposes. I wish her a successful career and a prosperous life ahead.

(Dr. Mithun Jagadish Sharma) Date: February 28, 2014

ABSTRACT 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 the developing countries like India due to either lack of appreciation or lack of proper job sculpting. 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. The whole purpose of the study is to find out the causes of attrition in Bharti Airtel NESA and attempt has been made to suggest suitable measures for controlling attrition. 60 employees had left Bharti Airtel, NESA during the period 01-04-2012 to 31-01-2014. An attempt was made to do a telephonic survey of all the 60 exemployees. However, only 48 could be contacted. Based on the responses solicited from these 48 former employees of Bharti Airtel, NESA it has been concluded that the basic causes of attrition in Bharti Airtel, NESA are better career opportunity, higher compensation, work life balance, family circumstance, health issue, relocation, job dissatisfaction etc.

CONTENTS List of Contents Abstract List of Figures List of Tables Preface Acknowledgement Chapter 1 1. Industry Overview 1.1 Current Status Chapter 2 2. Company Profile 2.1 Established 2.2 Proportionate Revenue 2.3 Shares in issue 2.4 Listings 2.5 Stock Exchange Symbols 2.6 Customer Base 2.7 Registered office 2.8 Vision & Promise 2.9 Some of the Rewards & Recognitions (2012-13) Chapter 3 3. Bharti Airtel, NESA (North Eastern State and Assam) 3.1 Services provided 3.2 Departments of Bharti Airtel, NESA 3.3 HR Structure of Bhart Airtel, NESA Chapter 4 4. Introduction to the topic 4.1 What is Attrition 4.2 Attrition Rate 4.3 Drivers of Attrition 4.4 Costs involved in Attrition 4.5 Some positive aspects of attrition Chapter 5 5. Research Methodology 5.1 Problem Statement 5.2 Significance of the study 5.3 Objective/s 5.4 Assumptions 5.5 Research Design 5.6 Population 5.7 Data Collection 5.8 Tools of Analysis 5.9 Research Limitations Chapter 6 6. Data Analysis and Interpretation 6.1 Analysis from the telephonic survey Chapter 7 7. Findings Chapter 8

8. Recommendatons/Suggestions Chapter 9 9. Conclusion

LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1.1: HR Structure of Bhrti Airtel, NESA Fig. 1.2: Department wise distribution of attrition Fig. 1.3: Percentage hike in salary following exit at Bharti Airtel, NESA Fig. 1.4: Reason/s for leaving Bharti Airtel Fig. 1.5: Compelling counter offer to reconsider the decision to exit Fig. 1.6: No. of employees willing to reconsider working with Bharti Airtel, NESA, if given an opportunity Fig. 1.7: Employees skills and experience were put to good use Fig. 1.8: Employees opinions were valued and work was appreciated Fig. 1.9: Employees superiors provided them timely and helpful feedback on their performance Fig. 1.10: There was a good sense of collaboration and team work in their team Fig. 1.11: Employees believe that they were paid fairly/competitively for the work they did Fig. 1.12: The compensation/incentive plans of Bharti Airtel reward outstanding performance LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Table showing department wise distribution of attrition Table 1.2: Table showing percentage hike in salary following exit at Bhart Airtel, NESA Table 1.3: Table showing reason/s for leaving Bharti Airtel Table 1.4: Table showing compelling counter offer to reconsider the decision to exit Table 1.5: Table showing no. of employees willing to reconsider working with Bharti Airtel, NESA, if given an opportunity Table 1.6: Employees skills and experience were put to good use Table 1.7: Employees opinions were valued and work was appreciated Table 1.8: Employees superiors provided them timely and helpful feedback on their performance Table 1.9: There was a good sense of collaboration and team work in their team Table 1.10: Employees believe that they were paid fairly/competitively for the work they did Table 1.11: The compensation/incentive plans of Bharti Airtel reward outstanding performance

PREFACE What is learnt when combined with what is practiced make a student realize the ultimate goal of education. Theoretical concepts do not always allow suffice the need of modern education. Its a blend of both practical and theoretical aspect which is in need in todays competitive environment. As part and parcel of Master of Business Administration, every aspirant has to undergo an in- company training in organization. The purpose of this training is to expose the students of management science with real life situations existing in the organization and to provide an insight into the various functions who can visualize things what they have been taught in classrooms. Actually, it is the life force of management. It was fortunate enough to do my training in Bharti Airtel Limited, NESA. As a complementary to training, every trainee has to prepare and submit a report on the working of the organization. This report is in continuation of that tradition. It is an attempt to present an account of practical knowledge and observations gathering during the training.

Dubari Talukdar MBA 4th Sem Centre for Management Studies Dibrugarh University

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am very thankful to the entire team of Bharti Airtel, NESA for their cooperation, without which completion of this project would not have been possible. I am extremely grateful to Mr. Tridip Sharma (Head HR) who was kind enough for providing me this opportunity to undertake my winter internship in this organization. I am extremely grateful to Mr. Rohan Das (HR Operations) for providing me with valuable insights about the base metals. I would like to thank him for the patience shown by him and being of such a great help to all my queries. I would also like to convey my sincere thanks to Dr. Mithun Jagadish Sharma, Assistant Professor, Centre for Management Studies, Dibrugarh University for his valuable guidance and encouragement and constructive suggestions throughout the project work. Last but not the least my sincere thanks to my parents and the supreme power, the almighty god, who has always guided me to work on the path of my life.

Dubari Talukdar MBA 4th Sem Centre for Management Studies Dibrugarh University

CHAPTER 1 1. Industry Overview Indian telecom sector is more than 165 years old. Telecommunications was first introduced in India in 1851 when the first operational land lines were laid by the government near Kolkata (then Calcutta), although telephone services were formally introduced in India much later in 1881. Further, in 1883, telephone services were merged with the postal system. In 1947, after India attained independence, all foreign telecommunication companies were nationalised to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a body that was governed by the Ministry of Communication. The Indian telecom sector was entirely under government ownership until 1984, when the private sector was allowed in telecommunication equipment manufacturing only. The government concretised its earlier efforts towards developing R&D in the sector by setting up an autonomous body Centre for Development of Telemetric (C-DOT) in 1984 to develop state-of-the-art telecommunication technology to meet the growing needs of the Indian telecommunication network. The actual evolution of the industry started after the Government separated the Department of Post and Telegraph in 1985 by setting up the Department of Posts and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The entire evolution of the telecom industry can be classified into three distinct phases.

Phase I- Pre-Liberalization Era (1980-89) Phase II- Post Liberalization Era (1990-99) Phase III- Post 2000

Until the late 90s the Government of India held a monopoly on all types of communications as a result of the Telegraph Act of 1885. As mentioned earlier in the chapter, until the industry was liberalised in the early nineties, it was a heavily government-controlled and small-sized market, Government policies have played a key role in shaping the structure and size of the Telecom industry in India. As a result, the Indian telecom market is one of the most liberalised markets in the world with private participation in almost all of its segments. The New Telecom Policy (NTP-99) provided the much needed impetus to the growth of this industry and set the trend for liberalisation in the industry. 1.1 Current Status Globalisation has made telecommunication an integral part of the infrastructure of the Indian economy. The telecom sector in India has developed as a result of progressive regulatory regime. According to the TRAI, the total gross revenue of the Indian telecom services industry was Rs 1,524 billion in FY09 up from Rs 1,291 billion in FY08 registering a growth of 18.03% over FY08 and its subscriber base grew by 43% over FY08 to touch 429.70 million subscribers in FY09.

The telecom sector in India experienced a rapid growth over the past decade on account of regulatory liberalisation, structural reforms and competition, making telecom one of the major catalysts in Indias growth story. However, much of this growth can be attributed to the unprecedented growth in mobile telephony as the number of mobile subscribers grew at an astounding rate from 10 million in 2002 to 392 million in 2009. Besides, the growth in the service and IT and ITeS sector also increased the prominence of the telecom industry in India. Telecom has emerged as a key infrastructure for economic and consumer growth because of its multiplier effect and the fact that it is beneficial to trade in other industries. The contribution of the sector to GDP has been increasing gradually (its contribution in GDP has more than doubled to 2.83% in FY07 from 1.0% in FY92). Telecom is one of the fastest-growing industries in India; on an average the industry added 8 million wireless subscribers every month in FY08. The government had set a target of 500 million telecom connections by 2010. However, according to the TRAI, the total subscriber base (wireless and wire line) in the industry crossed the 500-mnmark and reached 509.03 million by the end of September 2009, which took India to the second position in terms of wireless network in the world next only to China. Prior to liberalisation, the telecom sector was monopolised by the public sector and recorded marginal growth; in fact, during 1948-1998, the incremental teledensity in the country was just 1.92%. However, the introduction of NTP99 accelerated the growth of the sector and the teledensity increased from 2.33 in 1999 to 36.98 in 2009; however, much of this growth was brought about by the NTP-99 policy changes such as migration from fixed license fee to revenue sharing regime and cost-oriented telecom tariffs. From 2003 onwards the government has taken certain initiatives such as unified access licensing regime, reduced access deficit, introduction of calling party pays (CPP) and revenue sharing regime in ADC that has provided further impetus to the sector. The Indian telecom industry is characterised with intense competition, and continuous price wars. Currently, there are around a dozen telecom service providers who operate in the wired and wireless segment. The government has been periodically implementing suitable fiscal and promotional policies to boost domestic demand and to create volumes for the industry. The Indian telecom industry has immense growth potential as the teledensity in the country is just 36 as compared with 60 in the US, 102 in the UK and 58 in Canada. The wireless segment growth has played a dominant role in taking the teledensity to the current levels. In the next few years, the industry is poised to grow further, in fact, it has already entered a consolidation phase as foreign players are struggling to acquire a pie in this dynamic industry. Considered as the backbone of industrial and economic development, the industry has been aiding delivery of voice and data services at rapidly increasing speeds, and thus, has been revolutionising human communication.

CHAPTER 2 2. Company Profile Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company headquartered in New Delhi, India. It operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa, and the Channel Islands. Airtel has a GSM network in all countries in which it operates, providing 2G, 3G and 4G services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel is the world's third largest mobile telecommunications company by subscribers, with over 275 million subscribers across 20 countries as of July 2013. It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with 192.22 million subscribers as of August 2013. Airtel is the third largest in-country mobile operator by subscriber base, behind China Mobile and China Unicom. Airtel is the largest provider of mobile telephony and second largest provider of fixed telephony in India, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services. It offers its telecom services under the "airtel" brand, and is headed by Sunil Bharti Mittal. Bharti Airtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve CISCO Gold Certification. It also acts as a carrier for national and international long distance communication services. The company has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. Airtel is credited with pioneering the business strategy of outsourcing all of its business operations except marketing, sales and finance and building the 'minutes factory' model of low cost and high volumes. The strategy has since been copied by several operators.[8] Its networkbase stations, microwave links, etc.is maintained by Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Network[9] whereas IT support is provided by IBM, and transmission towers are maintained by another company (Bharti Infratel Ltd. in India).[11] Ericsson agreed for the first time to be paid by the minute for installation and maintenance of their equipment rather than being paid up front, which allowed Airtel to provide low call rates of 1/minute (US$0.02/minute). During the last financial year (200910), Bharti negotiated for its strategic partner Alcatel-Lucent to manage the network infrastructure for the tele-media business. On 31 May 2012, Bharti Airtel awarded the three-year contract to Alcatel-Lucent for setting up an Internet Protocol access network (mobile backhaul) across the country. This would help consumers access internet at faster speed and high quality internet browsing on mobile handsets. 2.1 Established July 07, 1995, as a Public Limited Company 2.2 Proportionate Revenue Rs. 219,385 million (ended Dec 31, 2013-Audited) Rs. 193,624 million (ended Dec 31, 2012-Audited) 2.3 Shares in issue 3997.4 Mn shares as at Dec 31, 2013

2.4 Listings Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE) National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) 2.5 Stock Exchange Symbols NSE-BHARTIARTL BSE-532454 2.6 Customer Base India: 198,513,000 GSM mobile; 3,355,000-Tele media customers and 8,807,000Digital TV Services. (Status as on Dec 31, 2013) International: 76,733,000 GSM mobile customers. (Status as on Dec 31, 2013) 2.7 Registered office Bharti Airtel Limited (A Bharti Enterprise) Bharti Crescent, 1 Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj, PhaseII, New Delhi-110 070. Tel.No.: +91114666 6100 Fax No.: +91 11 4666 6411 2.8 Vision & Promise By 2015 Airtel will be the most loved brand, enriching the lives of millions. "Enriching lives means putting the customer at the heart of everything we do. We will meet their needs based on our deep understanding of their ambitions, wherever they are. By having this focus we will enrich our own lives and those of our other key stakeholders. Only then will we be thought of as exciting, innovation, on their side and a truly world class company." 2.9 Some of the Rewards & Recognitions (2012-13) Bharti Airtel Shared Services Team won two awards in categories of Value Creation and Innovation & Improvement at the SSON (Shared Services & Outsourcing Network) Excellence Awards 2012. Bharti Airtel won four Effie awards at the Effie Awards 2012. Airtel's extremely popular 'Har ek friend zaroori hota hai' campaign conceptualized by Taproot India, stood out as a campaign amongst all nominations, winning three Gold Effie awards. Apart from a Gold in the 'Telecom & Related Services' category, the campaign won a Gold each in 'Digital Advertising' and 'Integrated Advertising'. Bharti Airtel also won one Silver Effie award for its 'Baat sirf paison ki nahin hai' campaign for airtel money in the telecom category.

Sanjay Kapoor was awarded the "Telecom Person of the year 2012" at the "Voice & Data Telecom Leadership Awards 2012". The award was accorded by Honourable Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Farooq Abdullah. Bharti Airtel won the QuEST Forum India Quality Award for the Top Telecom Service Provider. QuEST Forum is a unique collaboration of information and communication technologies (ICT) service providers and suppliers across the world, dedicated to improving operational and supply chain quality and performance. Bharti Airtel was awarded the #1 Service brand in Brand Equity's List of "Most Trusted Brands". Bharti Airtel was felicitated for 'Best Mobile Service Provider' and 'Innovation in mMoney' at Aegis Graham Bell Awards held on November 1, 2012. The Aegis Graham Bell awards honor the best innovations in the field of TIME (Telecom, Internet, Media & Edutainment) recognizing the most exceptional contributions in the respective fields. Bharti Airtel was awarded the 'Brand of the Year' at the CNBC TV18's flagship initiative, the India Business Leader Awards (IBLA) for its Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai campaign. The IBLA Brand Of The Year Award seeks to recognize a brand mass media/ communication campaign based on its key message, popularity amongst the target audience and impact on the brand. Bharti Airtel won the 'Excellence in First People Initiative' award at the first, People 2012 Awards. Airtel HR's multiple initiatives in enhancing the internal customer's experience through innovation and leveraging mobile technology helped us to win the prestigious award. The Airtel Centre of Excellence (ACE) received the 'Excellence Award for Shared Service Centre Operations in India' in the 2nd National Shared Services Council by All India Management Association and Delhi Management Association in recognition of their outstanding efforts to identify key strategic drivers and implementing them to deliver value to all stakeholders. Bharti Airtel won the highly prestigious Porter Prize in the 'Exploiting Trade-offs' category. The Porter Prize Awards, named after Professor Michael Porter the father of modern strategic field, are the most coveted awards in the field of strategy and competitiveness. The award recognises and honours Indian companies which have embraced the best strategic management practices. Bharti Airtel Sri Lanka bagged a silver at the prestigious HRM awards. Airtel Sri Lanka was recognized for their HR practices by HRM awards. Bharti Airtel won the Star News Viewers Choice Best Mobile Network, Best Quality Mobile Network Service Provider, at the 6th National Telecom Awards 2012 hosted by CMAI in May 2012.

Bharti Airtel won 5 awards at the Telecom Operator Awards 2012, announced in March 2012 by Tele.net. Airtel bagged the 'Best National Mobile Operator', 'Best VAS Provider', 'Best Enterprise Services Provider', 'Best Ad Campaign by an Operator' and 'Most innovative Solution' for airtel money.

CHAPTER 3 3. Bharti Airtel, NESA (North Eastern States and Assam) On March 30, 2005, Airtel, Indias leading GSM mobile service announced the launch of services in North East & Assam. Airtel is the sub-continents best mobile service with more than 10.6 million customers in the country. The launch of Airtel in the region will provide more choice to customers and heralds the beginning of a new era in mobile services. With the launch of services in North East & Assam, Airtel becomes the first mobile service in the country to be present in all the 23telecom circles. Airtel brings to North East & Assam, a state-of-the-art ER network covering key towns and highways in the region. The network has been deployed by and will be managed by Ericsson - world leaders in telecom infrastructure. In addition to worldclass customer care, seamless coverage and unmatched value proposition, Airtel will also offer its customers innovative value added services. This is in keeping with Airtels endeavour to offer best in class mobile services to its customers across the country. Telecom is a core infrastructure industry and acts as a catalyst for overall growth of the economy. It creates more job opportunities, both direct and indirect, supports trade and commerce and helps in enhancing the quality of civic life. It is believed that a 1% improvement in telecom penetration results in more than 3% growth in GDP. The launch of Airtel will further boost the telecom infrastructure in the region and hence facilitate overall growth & development. Airtel will also support various public service initiatives in North East & Assam as it has been doing in various parts of the country. 3.1 Services provided Airtel Bill Coupon (ABC) that makes payment easy - The Airtel Bill Coupon (ABC) is a convenient and unique way of making payment for an Airtel connection. Customers can pick up the ABC of the denomination nearest to their bill amount and dial 123. The amount will automatically get credited to the customers account and balance, if any, will get adjusted in the subsequent bills. Mobile Entertainment Introducing Hello Tunes, Airtel Live and much more Airtel is offering a variety of revolutionaty value added services ranging from songs, movies, games, MMS, GPRS, astrology and many more. Some of these include: Airtel Live A multi access entertainment portal on the mobile with the most comprehensive content in the spheres of movies, music, sports and mobile games. Properties, which can be experienced and downloaded, include games, color wallpapers, video clips, polyphonic ringtones, music messages, jokes etc. Content on Airtel Live can be accessed through voice (by dialing 646), SMS (sending keyword to 646), GPRS (Airtel Live mobile portal) or the web (http://www.airtelworld.com/)

Hello Tunes Airtels ring back tone service, Hello Tunes, is an exclusive and personalized mobile music service where the caller hears songs and other sound clips instead of the traditional switchboard ring-ring tone. Customers can choose from a collection of English, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telegu, and Malyali songs. Airtel is launching a collection of Assamese songs which the customers can choose as their Hello Tunes. Missed call alert - 'Never Miss a Call on your Airtel' - An innovative service from Airtel, the customer is informed about the calls that he or she missed when their phone was either switched off or not reachable. Widest roaming coverage nationally and internationally - As a result of the largest spread across 23 circles in India, Airtel offers its customers of staying connected with their near and dear ones across thousands of towns in India. Airtel also offers the largest international roaming coverage in more than 125 countries. Choice of Number Only Airtel offers its customers the freedom to choose their own number for a connection for oneself or even for another member within the family. GPRS and MMS Customers can receive instant access to the internet from their mobile phones through their Airtel GPRS services or send colored picture messages with sound clips via the Airtel Multimedia Messaging service. M-Bill Customers can know their bills even before receiving them. All information is available via a mini statement on SMS giving details of current charges, total amount due and payment due date. Friendly 24 hr Customer Care Airtel believes in delighting customers at every step for a total mobile experience and more than 10.6 million happy customers across the country are a testimony to it.

3.2 Departments of Bharti Airtel, NESA Business Head Department: In Bharti Airtel, NESA there are four persons in Business Head Department. The business head department is responsible for overall sustainability of Bharti Airtel, NEAS circle. Business head persons hold a top position in NESA Circle. Finance Department: The main activities of Finance Department of Bharti Airtel, NESA is to cover a wide range from basic book keeping to providing information to assisting managers in making strategic decisions. They are also responsible for all day to day transactional accounting of the business and managing of cash flows and ensuring enough funds available to meet the day to day payments. Most of the works in Finance Department of Bharti Airtel, NESA are done in computerized system. There are 11 employees working under the finance department. Human Resource (HR) Department: In NESA Circle of Bharti Airtel, the HR Department deals with wide range of activities from strategic planning level to the day to day operations level. The HR managers of NESA Circle also hold the responsibility of forecasting the manpower requirement. The recruitment, selection, training, induction etc. This department also provides

guidance to various internship project carried out by the students from different institutes and universities. There are 3 employees working under the HR department. Marketing Department: In NESA Circle of Bharti Airtel, the Marketing Department carries out all activities of marketing with a primary motive to attract new customers and retain their existing customers. All the promotional activities within NESA circle are carried out by the Marketing Department. The job of Marketing Department of NESA Circle is to reach out the potential customers and community and create an image that represents the company in a positive light. There are 17 employees working under the marketing department. Sales Department: The sales department of Bharti Airtel, NESA Circle is closely related to the marketing department to ensure the products or services of Airtel are marketed and sold to targeted consumers. It is also the responsibility of sales department to work for the development of a new business. The sales department of NESA Circle is also responsible for identifying the client base of Airtel. There are 140 employees working under the sales department. Information Technology (IT) Department: There is a department called IT Department in Bharti Airtel, NESA Circle. The main function of IT Department of NESA Circle is to architect, hardware, software networking of computers in the company. The IT professionals working in this department perform a number of duties so that employees have full access to the computer system. This department is also responsible for network analysis , system maintenance etc. There are 2 employees working under the IT Department. Legal Department: The legal department of NESA Circle, having responsibility to handle the conflicting legal matters that involve international, public and private laws. Drawing up and submitting major contracts, agreements and other legal documents are the responsibilities of this department. In some cases, the legal officers prepare and monitor the budget and expenditures on certain projects. There are 3 employees working under the legal department. Supply Chain Management (SCM) Department: The main function of SCM department in Bharti Airtel, NESA Circle, is to planning and development for better service delivery to customers, inventory control, purchasing of materials, ensuring deliveries to customers. This department handles the resources a company uses to build products for customers. There are 11 employees working under the SCM department. Customer Service Department (CSD): The main function carried out by the CSD of Bharti Airtel, NESA is to handle inquires made via email, telephone or in person. They answer questions concerning products and services and provide information about company policies and procedures. At present there are 67 employees working under CSD of Bharti Airtel, NESA Circle. Operational Excellence (OE) Department: The OE Department of Bharti Airtel, NESA is responsible to improve quality, obtains higher yields, faster output with less wastage. This department also helps the NESA Circle of

Bharti Airtel to manage the business operations and requirements from stakeholders and ensure sustainable performance. There is 1 employee working under the OE department. Retail Department: The main function of Own Retail Department of Bharti Airtel, NESA is to manage operation of the various relationship centre of Bharti Airtel, NESA Circle operating from various places of North East India. In this own retail it includes all the retail store of Airtel from where products and services of Airtel has been sold. There are 2 employees working under the retail department.

3.3 HR Structure of Bhrti Airtel, NESA

Head - HR Tridip Sharma

Head Talent Acquisition & Employee Services Moushumi Choudhury

Head - Talent Management Development Pooja Bora

HR Operations Rohan Das

Fig. 1.1: HR Structure of Bhrti Airtel, NESA

CHAPTER 4

4. Introduction to the topic Employee attrition is significant business concerns for every organization, one even bigger than attracting talent. Employee attrition is a serious issue, especially in todays knowledge-driven marketplace where employees are the most important human capital assets; attrition impacts an organizations competitive advantage. The tangible costs of employee attrition would be the cost of training new employees, the recruitment and selection costs, adjustment time, possible product and/or service quality problems, costs of agency workers/ temporary staff, the cost of training, the cost of loss productivity, the cost of lost knowledge and the cost of the position remaining vacant till a suitable replacement is found. The intangible costs, which may be even more significant than the tangibles, involve the effect of attrition on organizational culture, employee morale, social capital or organizational memory. All these costs would significantly take away the profitability and the competitive advantage of the firm. It is imperative for every organization to understand what attracts and retains a potential candidate and predict attrition early in the recruitment process to curtail significant loss of productivity among hiring managers, recruiters and eventual loss of revenue and moneys. Employee attrition is a very big problem globally. Why an Employee leaves a company is the question asked by most of the employers. Companies even hire Private HR professionals to study the companys work and find out why an employee is dissatisfied. HR department does the recruiting of new employees and then send them for training so that they can understand work and work culture and become better professionals. Each and every company faces employee turnover problem whether big or small. An employee leaves his present job for another job to get better pay package and good working conditions. Every Company calculates Employee attrition rate and takes measures to reduce it. The facts and figures are not made public as it may tarnish the image of the company in front of its own employees and its loyal customers. For this, a study is conducted at Bharti Airtel, NESA to know about the causes of attrition and give necessary recommendations wherever possible such that it aids combat attrition effectively and make it as minimum as possible. 4.1 What is Attrition Attrition refers to the loss of employees due to reasons other than firing and other employer-initiated events. This means that an employer has no direct control over how many personnel are lost to employee attrition. Retirement is one major cause of employee attrition, and since people tend to retire around a specific age this is a factor that can be accounted and planned for. Other causes of employee attrition, such as

personnel who quit due to prolonged illness, dissatisfaction with the company, or other reasons, can be more difficult to estimate. The cause of attrition may be either voluntary or involuntary, though employerinitiated 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. It is also possible for a company to use employee attrition to its benefit in some circumstances, such as relying on it to control labour costs without issuing mass layoffs. 4.2 Attrition rate Attrition rate can be defined as the rate of shrinkage in size or number of the workforce of an or ga ni z at i on. A form ul a has t o be devi s ed k eepi n g i n vi ew t he nat ure o f t he busi ness and different job functions. Attrition rates can be calculated using a simple formula: Attrition = (No. of employees who left in the year / average employees in the year) x 100 4.3 Drivers of Attrition It is not easy to find out, who contributes and who has the control on the attrition of employees. Various studies/survey conducted indicates that everyone is contributing to the prevailing attrition. Attrition does not happen for one or two reasons. The way the industry is projected and speed at which the companies are expanding has a major part in attrition. If you look within, the specific reasons for attrition are varied in nature and it is interesting to know why the people change jobs so quickly. Even today, the main reason for changing jobs is for higher salary and better benefits. At the same time the attrition cannot be attributed to employees alone. Organisations must develop its own sensing device to know whether it is the internal or external factor that is causing the attrition. The drivers of attritions can assemble in three categories . The individual factors plays vital role while making any decision. Individual / Personal reasons The personal reasons are many and only few are visible to us. The foremost personal reasons are getting married or falling in love or change of place. The next important personal reason is going for higher education. Health is another aspect, which contributes for attrition. Employees do get affected with health problems like sleep disturbances, indigestion, headache, throat infection and gynaecological dysfunction for lady employees. Employees who have allergic problems and unable to cope with the AC hall etc will tend to get various other health problems and loose interest to work. Youngsters look jobs as being temporary and they quickly change the job once they get in to their own field. Organizational matters

The employees always assess the management values, work culture, work practices and credibility of the organization. The Indian companies do have difficulties in getting the businesses and retain it for a long time. There are always ups and downs in the business. When there is no focus and in the absence of business plans, non-availability of the campaigns makes people to quickly move out of the organization. Moving from one job to another for higher salary, better positions and better benefits are the most important driver for attrition. The employees expect salary revision once in 4-6 months and if not, they move to other organizations. The employees move out if there are strained relations with the superiors or with the subordinates or any slightest discontent. Other factors Working environment is the most important cause of attrition. Employees expect very professional approach and working environment of international standard. They expect very friendly and learning environment. Employees look for freedom, good treatment from the superiors, good encouragement, friendly approach from one and all, and motivation. If they wont get such environment they will leave the job. Pouching The demand for trained and competent manpower is very high. Poaching has become very common. The big companies target employees of small companies. The employees with 4-6 months experience have very good confidence and dare to walk out and get a better job in a week's time. Most of the organizations have employee referral schemes and this makes people to spread message and refer the known candidates from the previous companies and earn too. 4.4 Costs involved in Attrition Costs Due to a Person Leaving Cost of the person(s) who fills in while the position is vacant. This can be either the cost of a temporary or the cost of existing employees performing the vacant job as well as their own. Include the cost at overtime rates. Cost of conducting an exit interview to include the time of the person conducting the interview, the time of the person leaving, the administrative costs of stopping payroll, benefit deductions, benefit enrolments, and the cost of the various forms needed to process a resigning employee. Cost of the manager who has to understand what work remains, and how to cover that work until a replacement is found and the cost of the manager who conducts their own version of the employee exit interview. Cost of training the company has invested in this employee who is leaving. Includes internal training, external programs and external academic education. Includes licenses or certifications the company has helped the employee obtain to do their job effectively. Cost of lost knowledge, skills and contacts that the person who is leaving is taking with them out of your door. Cost of losing customers that the employee is going to take with them, or the amount it will cost you to retain the customers of the sales person, or customer service representative who leaves.

 Recruitment Costs Cost of advertisements. Cost of the internal recruiter's time to understand the position requirements, develop and implement a sourcing strategy, review candidates backgrounds, prepare for interviews, conduct interviews, prepare candidate assessments, conduct reference checks, make the employment offer and notify unsuccessful candidates. This can range from a minimum of 30 hours to over 100 hours per position. Cost of a recruiter's assistant who will spend 20 or more hours in basic level review of resumes, developing candidate interview schedules and making any travel arrangements for out of town candidates. Cost of the hiring department (immediate supervisor, next level manager, peers and other people on the selection list) time to review and explain position requirements, review candidates background, conduct interviews, discuss their assessments and select a finalist. Also include their time to do their own sourcing of candidates from networks, contacts and other referrals. This can take upwards of 100 hours of total time. Administrative cost of handling, processing and responding to the average number of resumes. Number of hours spent by the internal recruiter interviewing internal candidates along with the cost of those internal candidates to be away from their jobs while interviewing. Cost of drug screens, educational and criminal background checks and other reference checks, especially if these tasks are outsourced. Cost of the various candidate pre-employment tests to help assess a candidates' skills, abilities, aptitude, attitude, values and behaviours. Training Costs Cost of orientation in terms of the new person's salary and the cost of the person who conducts the orientation. Also the cost of orientation materials. Cost of departmental training as the actual development and delivery cost plus the cost of the salary of the new employee. Note that the cost will be significantly higher for some positions who require 4 - 6 weeks or more of classroom training. Cost of the person(s) who conduct the training. Cost of various training materials needed including company or product manuals, computer or other technology equipment used in the delivery of training. Cost of supervisory time spent in assigning, explaining and reviewing work assignments and output. This represents lost productivity of the supervisor. Consider the amount of time spent at 7 hours per week for at least 8 weeks. Lost Productivity Costs As the new employee is learning the new job, the company policies and practices, etc. they are not fully productive. Following guidelines are helpful to calculate the cost of this lost productivity: Upon completion of whatever training is provided, the employee is contributing at a 25% productivity level for the first 2 - 4 weeks. The cost therefore is 75% of the new employees full salary during that time period.

During weeks 5 - 12, the employee is contributing at a 50% productivity level. The cost is therefore 50% of full salary during that time period. During weeks 13 - 20, the employee is contributing at a 75% productivity level. The cost is therefore 25% of full salary during that time period. Cost of co-workers and supervisory lost productivity due to their time spent on bringing the new employee "up to speed." Cost of mistakes the new employee makes during this elongated introduction period. Cost of lost department productivity caused by a departing member of management who is no longer available to guide and direct the remaining staff. Cost of negative impact on the completion or delivery of a critical project where the departing employee is a key participant. Cost of reduced productivity of a manager or director who loses a key staff member, such as an assistant, who handled a great deal of routine, administrative tasks that the manager will now have to handle. New Hire Costs Cost of bring the new person on board including the cost to put the person on the payroll, establish computer and security passwords and identification cards, business cards, internal and external publicity announcements, telephone hook-ups, cost of establishing email accounts, costs of establishing credit card accounts, or leasing other equipment such as cell phones, automobiles, pagers. Cost of a manager's time spent developing trust and building confidence in the new employee's work. Lost Sales Costs For sales staff, divide the budgeted revenue per sales territory into weekly amounts and multiply that amount for each week the territory is vacant, including training time. Also use the lost productivity calculations above to calculate the lost sales until the sales representative is fully productive. Can also be used for telemarketing and inside sales representatives. For non-sales staff, calculate the revenue per employee by dividing total company revenue by the average number of employees in a given year. Whether an employee contributes directly or indirectly to the generation of revenue, their purpose is to provide some defined set of responsibilities that are necessary to the generation of revenue. Calculate the lost revenue by multiplying the number of weeks the position is vacant by the average weekly revenue per employee.

4.5 Some Positive Aspects of Attrition Attrition rates are considered to be beneficial in some ways: If all employees stay in the same organization for a very long time, most of them will beat the top of their pay scale which will result in excessive manpower costs. When certain employees leave, whose continuation of service would have negatively impacted productivity and profitability of the company, the company is benefited. New employees bring new ideas, approaches, abilities & attitudes which can keep the organization from becoming stagnant. There are also some people in the organization who have a negative and demoralizing influence on the work culture and team spirit. This, in the long-term, is detrimental to organizational health. Desirable attrition also includes termination of employees with whom the organization does not want to continue a relationship. It benefits the organization in the following ways: It removes bottleneck in the progress of the company It c re at es spac e for t he ent r y of ne w t al ent s It assi st s i n evol vi n g hi gh pe rform an ce t eam s Acquisition of new knowledge Reduced conflict situations from controversial employees who leave

CHAPTER 5 5. Research Methodology Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we study steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic behind them. 5.1 Problem Statement The underlying problem is that there is a high rate of attrition in Bharti Airtel, NESA. So it is important to identify the factors promoting attrition to provide with feasible recommendation to minimize further attrition. 5.2 Significance of the study Where on one hand the sector is growing with leaps and bounds, on the other the employee attrition has been alarmingly high, thus costing a lot to the company. The study is an attempt to find out the causes of attrition in Bharti Airtel, NESA and give necessary recommendations in order to minimize further attrition. 5.3 Objective/s To find out the factors central to attrition in Bharti Airtel, NESA. To suggest the activities that they might undertake in order to decrease attrition rate & retain employees. 5.4 Assumptions The assumptions made during the course of this study are as follows: The information provided by the person contacted is not having any kind of bias. The sample taken will represent the fair idea about study. It is believed that the former employees will provide the real and authentic information. 5.5 Research Design Our Research design is exploratory. 5.6 Population The total element of the universe from which sample is selected for the purpose of study is known as population. The population of our research is the employees who had left Bharti Airtel, NESA during the period 01-04-2012 to 31-01-2014.

5.7 Data Collection A Census of all the employees who had left Bharti Airtel, NESA during the period 01-04-2012 to 31-01-2014 has been made, out of which responses from only 48 exemployees could be solicited. Data source: Primary Data Primary data has been collected through schedules having both open and close ended questions from employees who had left Bharti Airtel, NESA during the period 01-04-2012 to 31-01-2014. Research technique: Telephonic interview Research instrument: Schedule with both open and close ended questions. Respondents: Employees who had left Bharti Airtel, NESA during the period 01-04-2012 to 31-01-2014.

5.8 Tools of Analysis Bar Diagram: Bar diagrams are used for representing quantum or magnitude of different objects on the same parameter. Here Bar diagram has been used to make a comparative analysis the performance of hospitals against all the parameters of service quality dimensions. 5.9 Research Limitations There are also some limitations of this project, which must be kept in mind, they are as follows: The responses from the employees could be casual in nature. This may be due to lack of interest or time on their part. The method of study was schedules with both open and close ended questions by telephonic survey which has its own limitations. Our study is confined only to those aspects covered in the research due to time constrains. Some of the important aspects may be left out and as a result it may not proof to be a comprehensive study. The limited intellectual capacity of the researcher. Since responses from all the former employees could not be solicited this itself limits the scope of the study. Since former employees could not be physically interacted with, this limits the scope of the study.

CHAPTER 6 6. Data Analysis and Interpretation Interpretation refers to the analysis of generalization, Interpretation and results. Interpretation can be conceived as a part of analysis. Interpretation in a simple way means the translation of statistical result into an intelligible description. 6.1 Analysis from the telephonic survey We have done analysis of employee attrition at Bharti Airtel, NESA. There are total 11 departments currently. We have taken the attrition data for the period 01-04-2012 to 31-01-2014. We have done telephonic survey of total 60 employees out of which 48 have shared the reasons for their resignation. Their department wise distribution is as shown below: Table 1.1: Table showing department wise distribution of attrition Departments Sales CSD Marketing Finance HR SCM Business Head IT Legal Operation Excellence Retail No. of employees left 31 11 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

Department wise distribution

35 31 30 No. of employees 25 20 15 11 10 5 0 2 2 No. of employees left 1 1

Departments

Fig. 1.2: Department wise distribution of attrition Interpretation of above graph From the above graph we can analyse that maximum number of employees from Sales and Customer Service Department (CSD) had left the company during the period 01-04-2012 to 31-01-2014, while least number of employees had left from Marketing, Finance, HR, SCM department during the period. No employee had left the company from Business Head, IT, Legal, Operation Excellence and Retail Department during the aforesaid period.

Table 1.2: Table showing percentage hike in salary following exit at Bhart Airtel, NESA No. of employees 2 3 6 19 5 4 3 6 Range 0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 <50 Did not disclose N/A Percentage 4.17 % 6.25 % 12.50 % 39.58 % 10.42 % 8.33 % 6.25 % 12.50 %

Percentage hike in salary following exit at Bharti Airtel, NESA

45.00% 40.00% 35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% 0-10 2 Nov-20 3 21-30 6 31-40 19 41-50 5 <50 4 Did not disclose 3 N/A 6 4.17% 6.25% 12.50% 10.42% 12.50% 8.33% 6.25% Percentage 39.58%

Fig. 1.3: Percentage hike in salary following exit at Bharti Airtel, NESA

Interpretation of above graph From the above graph we can conclude that percentage hike in salary of maximum no. of employees was within the range 31-40, while percentage hike in salary of least no. of employees was within the range 0-10. Table 1.3: Table showing reason/s for leaving Bharti Airtel No of employees 24 30 11 0 0 6 1 1 10 0 2 4 Reasons Better Career Opportunity Higher Compensation Work Life Balance Interpersonal issues with Managers Interpersonal issues with Co Workers Relocation Health Issues Job Dissatisfaction Family Circumstances Pursuing Higher Education or Training Started own business got govt jobs Percentage 50.00 % 62.50 % 22.92 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 12.50 % 2.08 % 2.08 % 20.83 % 0.00 % 4.17 % 8.33 %

Reason/s for leaving Bharti Airtel

70.00% 62.50% 60.00% 50.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 22.92% 20.83% 20.00% 12.50% 8.33% 4.17% 10.00% 2.08% 2.08% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% Family Circumstances Work Life Balance Relocation Job Dissatisfaction Pursuing Higher Education or Training Higher Compensation Interpersonal issues with Managers Health Issues Interpersonal issues with Co Workers Better Career Opportunity Started own business got govt jobs Percentage

24

30

11

10

Fig. 1.4: Reason/s for leaving Bharti Airtel

Interpretation of above graph From the above graph we can conclude that most of the employees had left Bharti Airtel for higher compensation and better career opportunity while least of the employees had left for health issues and job dissatisfaction. Table 1.4: Table showing compelling counter offer to reconsider the decision to exit No of Employees 27 39 8 2 5 Counter offer Bigger role Better compensation Flexibility posting in preferred location Not likely to reconsider his decision to exit irrespective of whatever counter offer he gets Percentage 56.25 % 81.25 % 16.67 % 4.17 % 10.42 %

Compelling counter offer for the employees to reconsider their decision to exit
90.00 81.25 % 80.00

70.00

60.00

56.25 %

50.00

40.00 Percentage

30.00

20.00

16.67 % 10.42 %

10.00 4.17 % 0.00 Bigger role Better compensation Flexibility posting in preferred location Not likely to reconcider his decision to exit irrespective of whatever counter offer he gets 5

27

39

Fig. 1.5: Compelling counter offer to reconsider the decision to exit Interpretation of above graph From the above graph we can conclude that for 81.25 % employees i.e. for most of the employees, the counter offer to reconsider their decision to exit Bharti Airtel, NESA is better compensation, while the least preferred counter offer is posting in preferred location.

Table 1.5: Table showing no. of employees willing to reconsider working with Bharti Airtel, NESA, if given an opportunity No. of Employees 39 9 Response Yes No Percentage 81.25 % 18.75 %

Given an opportunity, no. of employees willing to reconsider working with Bharti Airtel

18.75%

39 Yes 81.25% 9 No

Fig. 1.6: No. of employees willing to reconsider working with Bharti Airtel, NESA, if given an opportunity Interpretation of above pie diagram From the above diagram we can conclude that if given an opportunity, 81.25% i.e. maximum no. of former employees are willing to reconsider working with Bharti Airtel while only 18.75 % former employees are not willing to reconsider the same. Hence we can conclude that the working environment of Bharti Airtel, NESA is good. Table 1.6: Employees skills and experience were put to good use No. of Employees 0 5 4 38 Response Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Percentage
0.00 % 10.42 % 8.33 % 79.17 %

Strongly Agree

2.08 %

Employees' skills and experience were put to good use

90.00 80.00 70.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00 Strongly Disagree 0 Disagree 5 Neutral 4 Agree 38 Strongly Agree 1 0.00 % 10.42 % 8.33 % 2.08 % Percentage 79.17 %

Fig. 1.7: Employees skills and experience were put to good use

Interpretation of above graph From the above graph it is found that 79.17 % ex-employees agree that their skills and experience were put to good use, 10.42 % ex-employees disagree, 8.33 % ex-employees are neutral, 2.08 % ex-employees strongly agree while 0 % ex-employees strongly disagree to the same. Hence we can conclude that majority of ex-employees agree that their skills and experience were put to good use in Bharti Airtel NESA. Table 1.7: Employees opinions were valued and work was appreciated No. of Employees 0 1 9 38 0 Response Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree Percentage
0.00 % 2.08 % 18.75 % 79.17 % 0.00 %

Employees' opinions were valued and work was appreciated

90.00 80.00 70.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00 Strongly Disagree 0 Disagree 1 Neutral 9 Agree 38 Strongly Agree 0 0.00 % 2.08 % Percentage 18.75 % 0.00 % 79.17 %

Fig. 1.8: Employees opinions were valued and work was appreciated Interpretation of above graph From the above graph it is found that 79.17 % ex-employees agree that their opinions were valued and work was appreciated, 18.75 % ex-employees are neutral, 2.08 % ex-employees disagree while 0 % ex-employees strongly disagree and strongly agree to the same. Hence we can conclude that majority of ex-employees agree that their opinions were valued and work was appreciated in Bharti Airtel, NESA. Table 1.8: Employees superiors provided them timely and helpful feedback on their performance

No. of Employees 0 1 12 32 3

Response Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

Percentage
0.00 % 2.08 % 25.00 % 66.67 % 6.25 %

Employees' superiors provided them timely and helpful feedback on their performance
70.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00 Strongly Disagree 0 Disagree 1 Neutral 12 Agree 32 Strongly Agree 3 0.00 % 2.08 % 6.25 % 25.00 % Percentage 66.67 %

Fig. 1.9: Employees superiors provided them timely and helpful feedback on their performance Interpretation of above graph From the above graph it is found that 66.67 % ex-employees agree that their superiors provided them timely and helpful feedback on their performance, 25 % ex-employees are neutral, 6.25 % ex-employees strongly agree, 2.08 % exemployees disagree while 0 % ex-employees strongly disagree to the same. Hence we can conclude that maximum no. of ex-employees agree they were provided timely and helpful feedback on their performance by their superiors in Bharti Airtel, NESA. Table 1.9: There was a good sense of collaboration and team work in their team

No. of Employees 0 4 12 31 1

Response Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

Percentage
0.00 % 8.33 % 25.00 % 64.58 % 2.08 %

There was a good sense of collaboration and team work in their team
2.08 % 0% 8.33 %

0 Strongly Disagree 25% 4 Disagree 12 Neutral 31 Agree 1 Strongly Agree 64.58 %

Fig. 1.10: There was a good sense of collaboration and team work in their team

Interpretation of above pie diagram From the above diagram it is found that 64.58 % ex-employees agree that there was a good sense of collaboration and teamwork in their team, 25 % exemployees are neutral, 8.33 % ex-employees disagree, 2.08 % ex-employees strongly agree while 0 % ex-employees strongly disagree to the same. Hence we can conclude that more than 50 % ex-employees agree that there was a good sense of collaboration and teamwork in their team in Bharti Airtel, NESA.

Table 1.10: Employees believe that they were paid fairly/competitively for the work they did No. of Employees 0 13 6 29 0 Response Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree Percentage
27.08 % 12.50 % 60.42 % 0.00 %

Employees believe that they were paid fairly/competitively for the work they did
0 Strongly Disagree 13 Disagree 0% 6 Neutral 29 Agree 0 Strongly Agree

0% 27.08 %

60.42 %

12.50 %

Fig. 1.11: Employees believe that they were paid fairly/competitively for the work they did Interpretation of above pie diagram From the above diagram it is found that 60.42 % ex-employees agree that they were paid fairly/competitively for the work they did, 27.08 % ex-employees disagree, 12.50 % ex-employees are neutral while 0 % ex-employees strongly disagree and strongly agree to the same. Hence we can conclude that more than 50 % ex-employees believe that they were paid fairly/competitively for the work they did in Bharti Airtel, NESA.

Table 1.11: The compensation/incentive plans of Bharti Airtel reward outstanding performance No. of Employees 0 3 13 26 6 Response Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree Percentage
0.00 % 6.25 % 27.08 % 54.17 % 12.50 %

The compensation/incentive plans of Bharti Airtel reward outstanding performance

60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 12.50 % 10.00 0.00 % 0.00 Strongly Disagree 0 Disagree 3 Neutral 13 Agree 26 Strongly Agree 6 6.25 % 27.08 % Percentage 54.17 %

Fig. 1.12: The compensation/incentive plans of Bharti Airtel reward outstanding performance Interpretation of above graph From the above diagram it is found that 54.17 % ex-employees agree that the compensation/incentive plans of Bharti Airtel reward outstanding performance, 27.08 % ex-employees are neutral, 12.50 % ex-employees strongly agree, 6.25 % ex-employees disagree while 0 % ex-employees strongly disagree to the same. Hence we can conclude that around 50 % ex-employees believe that the compensation/incentive plans of Bharti Airtel reward outstanding performance.

CHAPTER 7 7. Findings It has been found that attrition is visible only among employees belonging to the age group 25-40 who are young and ambitious. Employees are facing different problems due to which they resign or leave the company. Highest numbers of employees left are from Sales department and Customer Service Department (CSD).

 Lowest numbers of employees left are from Marketing, Finance, HR and SCM department. No employee had left the company from Business Head, IT, Legal, Operation Excellence and Retail Department during the period. Most of the employees who left Bharti Airtel, NESA experienced 31 to 40 percentage hike in salary and least of the employees experienced 0 to 10 percentage hike in salary. Higher compensation and better career opportunity offered by some other organization prompted most of the employees to leave Bharti Airtel, NESA. Least number of employees left because of health issues and job dissatisfaction. Most of the employees could have been retained by compelling counter offers like better role, bigger compensation, flexibility, posting in preferred location etc. The working environment is good and most of the employees who left Bharti Airtel, NESA would like to reconsider working with the organization, if given an opportunity to do so. Skills and experience of employees are put to good use in Bharti Airtel, NESA. The company values opinions of the employees and their work is appreciated. Most of the employees are satisfied with the timely and helpful feedback provided by their superiors regarding their performance in Bharti Airtel, NESA. Most of the employees agree that cooperation and teamwork exist in Bharti Airtel, NESA. 60 % employees agree that they were fairly compensated for their work and performance in Bharti Airtel, NESA. More than half of the former employees agree to it that at Bharti Airtel, NESA, outstanding performances always get rewarded. CHAPTER 8 8. Recommendations/Suggestions Employee attrition rate can be never being entirely eradicated. It can only be influenced to keep it in control. How a company can best retain its staff in a competitive environment is the topmost challenge of HR professionals. When employees leave, it is usually due to either lack of appreciation or due to an inability of nurturing employees according to their skills. Following are some strategies to combat the attrition problem. Strengthening the recruitment process: Hiring the people that are a good "fit" with the culture of the organization meaning that their values, principles, and goals clearly match those of the company and then training as necessary will go a long way toward ensuring employee loyalty and retention. Keeping a complain box: Managements of the Company should keep complain boxes in each department to know the needs and grievances of the employees in order to further improve the working environment.

 Strategic compensation package: The company should develop an overall strategic compensation package that includes not only base and variable pay scales, but also long term incentive compensation, bonus and gain sharing plans, benefit plans to address the health and welfare issues of the employees, and non -cash rewards and perks as well. To be competitive in todays labour market, most companies find it necessary to offer a standard benefit package including health, dental, life insurance, vacation and leave policies, investment and retirement plans. But what more could be done that would be cost effective towards creating an employee-oriented work environment? Creativity in compensation and benefits can make quite a difference to the welfare of the employees. Bharti Airtel, NESA should assess overall employee needs when addressing retention issues. Fun & Laughter at workplace: Company should celebrate successes and recognize when milestones are reached. Buffet launches, birthday parties and creative contests will help remind people why an organization is a great place to work. Treating Employees like Customers: Company should have similar approach to employees and customers. If the company strives to retain their employees in the same way they try to retain their customers, the attrition problem is out of question. Company should maintain a good flow of communication with regular meetings and daily updating employees about companys current position and events. Transportation facilities: Many times the employees feel inconvenience to manage the conveyance from home to office. Keeping the same problem in view company should provide transportation facilities to their employees either on sharing basis or part of benefits. Making the organisation very transparent: Employees feel more comfortable working in a highly transparent organisation where much of the details regarding its functioning, development and performance are freely available to the employees. Recreation, Healthcare, gym facilities, etc: To have healthy atmosphere at the workplace, company should provide different facilities like gym, yoga/mediation, healthcare etc. Financial support: Financial support for performing family weddings, death ceremonies, festival celebrations, immovable property purchases, hospitalisation expenses for mishaps and other medical emergencies should be provided. Employee stock ownership plan: ESOP i.e. Employee stock ownership plan is a kind of reward scheme that enable employees to acquire the status and benefit of ownership in their company without investing their money. It creates the direct link between employee productivity and employee benefits. ESOPs also encourage employees to develop a sense of ownership and commitment. They provide increased financial incentives, create a sense of ownership, and help to build teamwork. Bring your buddy scheme: It is the recent strategy now a days HR managers are adopting. Companies should have started hiring the buddies/friends of the existing employees. Company will get double benefit of getting an employee as well as retention of existing employees.

 Encourage higher learning: Company should create opportunities for its key performers and technologists to grow and learn. They should encourage every employee to learn at least one thing every week. This way they will create a work force that is excited, motivated and committed. Provide adequate advancement opportunities: To foster employee loyalty, Company should implement a career ladder and make sure employees know what they must do to earn a promotion. Also they should conduct regular performance reviews to identify employees' strengths and weaknesses, and help them improve in areas that will lead to job advancement. A clear professional development plan gives employees an incentive to stick around. Make someone responsible: They should make someone accountable for retention. They should also measure the turnover rate and hold someone responsible for reducing it. In too many workplaces, no one is held accountable when employees leave, so nothing is done to encourage retention. Be flexible: Today's employees have many commitments outside their job, often including responsibility for children, aging parents, chronic health conditions and other issues. They will be loyal to workplaces that make their lives more convenient by offering on-site childcare centres, on-site hair styling and dry cleaning, flexible work hours, part-time positions, job-sharing or similar practices. For example, employees of school-age children might appreciate the option to work nine months a year and have the summers off to be with their children. Give people the best equipments and supplies possible: No one wants to work with equipment that's old or constantly breaking down. Company should ensure that employees equipments are properly maintained, and regularly upgrade machinery, computers and software. In addition, they should provide employees with the highest quality supplies they can afford. Cheap, leaky pens may seem like a small thing, but they can add to employees' overall stress level.

CHAPTER 9 9. Conclusion In the current scenario where every organisation wants to be at its competitive best, high attrition rate can really act as a threat to success. Attrition is a very serious challenge especially to rapidly growing organizations. Before it explodes, the organizations should seriously workout strategies to reduce the turnover so that the organizations should not suffer. Organisations planning for the future should be giving close attention to why attrition is occurring in the present. Attrition is not bad always if it happens in a controlled manner. Some attrition is always desirable and necessary for organizational growth and development. The only concern is how organizations differentiate good attrition from bad attrition.

APPENDICES Annexure I Questionnaire Name : Age : Gender : Experience at Bharti Airtel : 1. Your employment/engagement following your exit at Bharti Airtel.

_______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 2. What percentage hike in salary was followed by your immediate employment after leaving Bharti Airtel?

3. Please indicate the prime reason(s) for leaving your current position at Bharti Airtel. Better Career opportunity Higher Compensation Work Life Balance Interpersonal Issues with Managers Interpersonal Issues with Co workers Relocation Health Issues Job Dissatisfaction Family Circumstances Pursuing Higher Education or Training Others, Please Specify

_______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 4. Please mention any event/decision/interaction which triggered you to consider exploring options outside Bharti Airtel. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________ 5. What would have been a compelling counter offer for you to re-consider your decision to exit? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 6. Given an opportunity, would you reconsider working with Bharti Airtel? Yes No

JOB SATISFACTION 7. Your skills & experience were put to good use. Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

8. Your opinions were valued and your work was appreciated. Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

WORK RELATIONSHIPS 9. Your supervisor provided you timely & helpful feedback on your performance. Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

10. There was a good sense of collaboration and team work in your team. Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral

Agree Strongly Agree

TOTAL REWARDS & RECOGNITION 11. You believe you were paid fairly/competitively for the work you did. Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

12. The compensation/incentive plans of Bharti Airtel reward outstanding job performance. Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

Thanks for your cooperation

BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] Chawla, Deepak & Sondhi, Neena. (2011). Research Methodology concepts and cases. Noida New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House PVt.LTD. [2] Narkhede & Chaudhary. Attrition Trends in India: Issues & Implications. Retrieved February 22, 2014 from http:// www.researchgate.net [3] http://www.citehr.com/human-resource-articles.html [4] http://www.airtel.in [5] http://www.google .com