Attrition levels to haunt firms: survey

The attrition levels in Bangalore are set for a steep increase during this quarter (January to March, 2011). This is perhaps an indication of the hiring picking up in the city. Hiring in IT/ITeS, heathcare and pharma sectors has been more than that in the other sectors.

The attrition today stand at 17.24 points, according to the Employment Outlook Report for the January-March quarter of 2011 brought out by the TeamLease Services Private Limited, India's largest staffing company.

On the other hand, according to the report, there is no significant difference in hiring, except for the IT and ITeS sectors, as employers are still cautious despite the improvement in business outlook.

The Employment Outlook for the quarter has moved up 1 per cent and stands at 69 per cent. The Business Outlook Index has risen by 2 per cent to 73 index points.

Going by the previous three quarters' outlook, sentiments have sobered on both business and employment outlook.

According to the report the past two quarters have shown impressive GDP growth of around 8.9 per cent despite inflationary pressures.

"So, while inflation continues to be a cause of concern, business sentiments among India Inc remains positive. This is also evident from the reasonably good Q3 numbers being reported by many companies," the report said.

This is expected to have a positive impact on the hiring outlook for the coming quarters while the present quarter (Q4) remains more or less steady compared to the previous quarter.

Interestingly, hiring initiatives are likely to accelerate in tier-II cities while metros and tier-III towns keep up the healthy sentiment of the previous quarter.

TeamLease releases the Employment Outlook Report every quarter after a survey conducted with HR managers and senior management of leading companies in India.

The study, which covered 624 companies in the latest round, focuses on the employment growth potential, the business outlook and hiring forecasts with relation to the location and the company profile.