The Paradox of Employee Poaching in India
The Paradox of Employee Poaching in India
“Some 1.3 million people applied to tech-services giant Infosys Technologies Ltd. in 2006, but the company says only 2% of those were employable.”
“According to a 2005 McKinsey study, only 25 per cent of our engineering graduates, 15 per cent of our finance and accounting professionals and 10 per cent of professionals with any kind of degrees, in India, are suitable for working in multinational companies.”
In such a situation what should a company do? With all the head hunters vying for the same minuscule coveted population, employers face a perilous predicament –to steal Talent from rivals or to incur additional costs in employee training which in turn again faces the risk of being poached.
The term 'employee poaching' can be defined as an act of enticing key employees to move from one firm to a competitor. It has emerged as the biggest HR challenge for both the big fish and the small fish , across all industry verticals.
Poachers justify their absence of compunction on this issue by citing examples of their employees who were once hunted down by their rivals. “Everyone wants a high-performing employee who can deliver from day one. Hence poachers target the smartest and most experienced people in their rival’s organization especially during the peak season.” says Mr. Ashwini Kumar of Catmoss.
But stealing scarce talent from rivals isn’t a strategy for the long run. It adds to the salary burden of the company as it’s the same set of people who keep moving from one company to another and with an increased compensation with every move. “Many times you retain a good employee by hiking his salary to match the vendor's offer. By doing so you also have to increase salaries of other employees working at the same level." Adds Kumar
In some situations it can become a vicious game of employee swapping, which then hurts both companies Given that there is a big supply-demand gap in the talent market, Sooner or later,
“Some 1.3 million people applied to tech-services giant Infosys Technologies Ltd. in 2006, but the company says only 2% of those were employable.”
“According to a 2005 McKinsey study, only 25 per cent of our engineering graduates, 15 per cent of our finance and accounting professionals and 10 per cent of professionals with any kind of degrees, in India, are suitable for working in multinational companies.”
In such a situation what should a company do? With all the head hunters vying for the same minuscule coveted population, employers face a perilous predicament –to steal Talent from rivals or to incur additional costs in employee training which in turn again faces the risk of being poached.
The term 'employee poaching' can be defined as an act of enticing key employees to move from one firm to a competitor. It has emerged as the biggest HR challenge for both the big fish and the small fish , across all industry verticals.
Poachers justify their absence of compunction on this issue by citing examples of their employees who were once hunted down by their rivals. “Everyone wants a high-performing employee who can deliver from day one. Hence poachers target the smartest and most experienced people in their rival’s organization especially during the peak season.” says Mr. Ashwini Kumar of Catmoss.
But stealing scarce talent from rivals isn’t a strategy for the long run. It adds to the salary burden of the company as it’s the same set of people who keep moving from one company to another and with an increased compensation with every move. “Many times you retain a good employee by hiking his salary to match the vendor's offer. By doing so you also have to increase salaries of other employees working at the same level." Adds Kumar
In some situations it can become a vicious game of employee swapping, which then hurts both companies Given that there is a big supply-demand gap in the talent market, Sooner or later,