Indian workforce are impacting UAE construction boom

Why would anyone want to leave there homeland and go abroad when the opportunity and remuneration offered to the workforce is at par. The boom in Indian economy has opened the doors of opportunity in few industries at homeland and the construction industry is one among them.

The UAE construction industry is facing brunt of the rapid economic growth, improved career opportunities and higher wages in the Indian construction industry. The UAE construction industry is facing an acute shortage of construction workforce as Indian workers, as a result of economic boom and rising salaries prefer to stay home. This has impacted UAE construction industry in a big way as roughly 43 per cent of all foreign workers in the UAE are Indians.

The regional and international players in India are trying to attract the talent pool by offering attractive salaries and benefits. The salary in Indian construction industry is increasing at roughly 14- 15 percent in comparison to the UAE construction industry where its growing at 10-11 percent. Moreover the declining value of the UAE Dirham against the Indian Rupee is adding to the wages issue.

The UAE construction companies have to offer much more attractive salaries and benefits to the Indian workforce, to attract them, to retain them। It’s high time, acknowledge the change.

Reference: http://www.financialexpress.com, Shortage of Indian workers hits UAE construction boom, July 17, 2008

Attrition in hospitalityIndustry

A study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India reveals that the attrition rate in the hospitality industry in India is set to double to nearly 50% by 2010, up from the earlier 25% growing at an alarming rate of 10% per annum.

The hospitality industry is facing attrition problem from the growing hospitality industry in India and talent pool in India eager to test foreign waters for more lucrative opportunities. Moreover, the hospitality industry talent pool is also exploring better opportunities in industries like BPO, Banking, Call centers etc

The rising attrition rates are posing a major threat to the hotel groups. As per estimates about 80% of people prefer going to UK and Dubai to join the food and retail industry. These are the preferred destination for the hospitality industry professionals to start a career in hospitality industry.

The government and education institutions are working towards bridging the gap but top level management of the hospitality industry should also work towards solving the problem. The hospitality industry to retain people should work on the deferred compensation schemes, improved salary packages, better incentives, attractive perks etc.

Reference: http://www.financialexpress.com, High attrition hits hospitality sector, February 18, 2008

Attrition Hits the Cement Industry

Any fast growing industry has its own flip side and attrition is one of them. The same is true for the Indian cement industry.

Capacity expansion of existing companies and entrance of new players have added fuel to the job market. This is the dream time for professional working in the cement industry. The professionals are happy with the emerged situation as they are in position to demand good compensation and benefits but the employers are facing problem to retain and attract good talent. Attrition in cement industry has increased in recent times. The attrition in junior level employees is high in comparison with the middle and senior level employees. The attrition rate at Ambuja Cements is up to 15 per cent and at UltraTech Cement attrition is around 15-18 per cent. The situation is almost same with other cement manufacturers in India.

The 189-million tonne domestic cement industry is gearing up to tackle attrition in the industry. Ambuja Cements to put a check on the high attrition has increased compensation packages and are even inducting graduate engineers and diploma-holding engineers as trainees. UltraTech Cement has introduced deferred compensation schemes and improved salary packages. Moreover, to beat the attrition and talent crunch in the industry, In the last two years, Ambuja Cements hired over 300 engineers from regional colleges across the country and allocated them to different units.

Reference: http://www.business-standard.com Cement firms gear up to tackle attrition, Chandan Kishore Kant / Mumbai May 13, 2008

Exit interview is important

In current business environment when attrition rate is high, in few cases like BPO it is as high as 30 percent, companies are curious to know why employees make that final decision.

Human resources departments, to understand the reasons behind attrition conduct exit interviews. These exits interviews help them gather data which are effectively used in improving working conditions and retaining employees. This is an effort to understand why employees leave an organization. Companies across globe are taking exit interviews seriously and making effective changes on the feedback. Some companies are even taking services of specialized HR companies to conduct exit interviews. Interestingly, the outgoing-employees tend to be more open and speak their mind when a third-party conducts exit interview.

Feedback from exit interviews is helping companies come up with systemic remedies. A few basic exit interview questions which are asked by human resources managers:
Why are you leaving?
What did you like least about your position?
What did you like most about your position?
How do you feel about the company operations?
How do you feel about the company management practice?
Under what conditions would you have stayed?
How did you feel about your pay and other benefits?
How did you feel you were managed during your length of employment?

Exit interviews reveal a lot about the culture of a company, the management style, the compensation and opportunities for growth. A hidden purpose is to help employers avoid costly litigation down the road, caused by “disgruntled” employees.