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CHAPTER - I
INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Industrial relations are the relationships between employees and
employers within the organizational settings. In the field of Industrial relations
the relationship between management and workers, take place through a union
which is represented by elected representatives among the employees.
In fact, Industrial relations are basically the interactions between
employers, employees and the government on the one hand, and the institutions
and the associations through which such interactions are mediated on the other.
The term “industrial relations have a broad as well as a narrow outlook”
indeed, industrial relations are broadly defined as the relationships and
interactions between employers and employees. From this perspective,
industrial relations cover all aspects of the employment relationship, including
human resource management, employee relations and union-management (or
labour) relations. Now its meaning has become more specific and restricted”.
Accordingly, “industrial relations pertain to the study and practice of collective
bargaining, trade unionism and labor- management relations, while human
resource management is a separate, largely distinct field that deals with non-
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union employment relationships and the personnel practices and policies of
employers”1
In the words of Lester, “Industrial Relations involve attempts at arriving
solutions between the conflicting objectives and values; between the profit
motive and social gain; between discipline and freedom, between authority and
industrial democracy; between bargaining and co-operation; and between
conflicting interests of the individual, the group and the community”2 This
implies that, the term ‘industrial relations’ refers to various aspects of the
organisations in its developmental activity. This interpretation has been
confirmed by Dale Yoder who defines Industrial Relations as follows:
Dale Yoder defines Industrial Relations as, “Relationship between
management and employees, or among employees and their organisations, that
characterize or grow out of employment”. Further he has also defined the term
as “the designation of a whole field of relationship that exist because of the
necessary collaboration of men and women in the employment of process of
industry”.3
1 www.industrialrelations.naukrihub.com
2 www.industrialrelations.naukrihub.com
3 Dale Yoder :“Personnel Management and Industrial Relations”, Prentice – Hall of India,
New Delhi, 1972, P.5
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John Dunlop adds a new dimension of inter-relations in defining
Industrial Relation by associating the society and the productive organisations
– “Industrial societies necessarily create industrial relations defined as the
complex of inter-relations among workers, managers and government”.4
Casselmen’s Labor dictionary defines the term Industrial Relations as,
“the relations between the employers and employees in industry. In the broad
sense, the term also includes the relation between various unions, as well as
those between the employers and the Government.”5
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, it is used to denote, “Relations of
all those associated in productive work including industry, agriculture, mining,
commerce, finance, transport and other services. The main aspects are the
establishment of conditions under which proceeds the work are divided as
dividends, salaries and wages between shareholders, employer and
management and work people of various grades – manual, clerical and
technical.”6
4 Dunlop John, T: “Industrial Relations System”, Henry Holy and Company, New York,
1958 (Preface P.VIII). 5 Casselman’s Labour Dictionary, P.197 6 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol.12, Williams Bentan Publishers, Chicago, 1969, P.297.
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Therefore, Industrial relations, employment relations, labour
management relations, employer-employee relations are some of the terms,
which are used interchangeably. Thus different writers have defined the term
‘Industrial Relations’ differently.
Despite the differences in words, the basic feature of various definitions
remains the same. It has evolved because of people or human factor in
employment. It seeks to study how people get on together at work, what
difficulties arise between them, how their relations including wages and
working conditions are regulated and what organisations are set up for the
protection of different interests.
In the light of the discussions above, “industrial relations” may be
viewed as follows:
The relationship that exists between the employer and employees or their
unions on the one hand and the relationship between the management and
employees at the floor level, on the other.
Employee retention refers to the ability of an organization to retain its
employees. Employee retention can be represented by a simple statistic (for
example, a retention rate of 80% usually indicates that an organisation kept
80% of its employees in a given period). However, many consider employee
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retention as relating to the efforts by which employers attempt to retain
employees in their work.
In a Business setting, the goal of employers is usually to decrease
employee turnover, thereby decreasing training costs, recruitment costs and
loss of talent and organisational knowledge. By implementing lessons learned
from key organizational behavior concepts employers can improve retention
rates and decrease the associated costs of high turnover. However, this isn't
always the case. Employers can seek "positive turnover" whereby they aim to
maintain only those employees who they consider to be high performers.
Retention Strategies
In order to retain employees and reduce turnover managers must meet
the goals of employees without losing sight of the organization's goals, thereby
creating a "win-win" situation. Valance and expectancy theories provided some
of the earlier guidance for retaining employees.
Valence is the degree to which the rewards offered by an organization
align with the needs employees seek to fulfill. High valence indicates that the
needs of employees are aligned well with the rewards system an organization
offers. Conversely, low valence is a poor alignment of needs with rewards and
can lead to low job satisfaction and thereby increase turnover and decrease
retention.
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Expectancy theory details have several factors that can lead to high job
satisfaction and high retention rates for organizations. Increasing expectancy in
an organization can be done by training employees and thereby making them
more confident in their abilities. Increasing instrumentality within an
organization will be part of implementing an effective rewards system for
attainment of specific goals and accomplishments.
However, while these theories may be valid they provide little practical
assistant for business managers or human resource practitioners. More modern
studies relating to employee engagement demonstrate that by developing a
range of strategies that address various drivers of engagement, many positive
outcomes can be achieved. These outcomes include higher profitability,
improved customer satisfaction, lower absenteeism and lower accident rates as
well as higher employee retention.
Retention and Motivation Theory
Retention has a direct and causal relationship with employee needs and
motivation. Applying a motivation theory model, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs, is an effective way of identifying effective retention protocol.
Each of the five tiers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs relates to optimal
retention strategy. Since Maslow’s introduction of his motivation model,
organizations have been employing strategies attempting to stimulate each of
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the five humanitarian needs described above to optimize retention rates. When
applied to the organizational model, meeting the self-actualization and esteem
needs of an employee tend to correlate to better retention. Physiological, safety,
and social needs are important as well, however, and must be addressed to
better the work environment. While implementing a retention strategy is ideal,
successful satisfying all five needs of employees is not only difficult, but also
expensive. That being said, managers who attempt to maximize employee need
coverage tend to be more concerned with employee satisfaction.
Herzberg's Theory
An alternative motivation theory to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is the
Motivator-Hygiene (Herzberg’s) theory. The theories have overlap, but the
fundamental nature of each model differs. While Maslow’s Hierarchy implies
the addition or removal of the same need stimuli will enhance or detract from
the employee’s satisfaction, Herzberg’s findings indicate that factors garnering
job satisfaction are separate from factors leading to poor job satisfaction and
employee turnover. Herzberg’s system of needs is segmented into motivators
and hygiene factors. Like Maslow’s Hierarchy, motivators are often
unexpected bonuses that foster the desire to excel. Hygiene factors include
expected conditions that if missing will create dissatisfaction. Examples of
hygiene factors include bathrooms, lighting, and the appropriate tools for a
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given job. Employers must utilize positive reinforcement methods while
maintaining expected hygiene factors to maximize employee satisfaction and
minimize retention.
Equity Theory
Equity Theory realizes the humanitarian concern with fairness and
equality. While one party may be given motivational rewards and
opportunities, the individual will assess the work-reward ratio based on similar,
external positions. If the individual feels the rewards and motivators do not
meet the standard, the employee will lose motivation, request more
compensation, or leave their current position in search of more favorable
benefits. Because of this, firms must not only recognize internal obligations,
but also attempt to equalize or outperform competition in meeting employee
needs.
The following concepts and framework are related to the employee
retention strategies, myths, significance and the methods by which the
employee retention can be had in the organization.
Organization
A set up where individuals come together and work in union to achieve a
common goal is called as organization. Individuals working together in an
organization to earn their bread and butter as well as make profits are called
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employees. Employees are the lifeline of an organization and contribute
effectively to its successful running and profit making.
Reasons to Leave the organisation
Research says that most of the employees leave an organization out of
frustration and constant friction with their superiors or other team members. In
some cases low salary, lack of growth prospects and motivation compel an
employee to look for a change. The management must try its level best to
retain those employees who are really important for the system and are known
to be effective contributors.
It is the responsibility of the line managers as well as the management to
ensure that the employees are satisfied with their roles and responsibilities and
the job is offering them a new challenge and learning every day.
Employee retention techniques go a long way in motivating the employees for
them to enjoy their work and avoid changing jobs frequently.
Qualities in an Organization for a Better Employee Retention
Employee Retention refers to the various steps involved to retain the
outgoing employees. Hiring is a cumbersome process and it is really not easy
to find an employee who is loyal towards the organization and looks forward
towards achieving its targets. An organization must encourage the employees
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to stick to it for a good amount of time and contribute effectively in their
respective areas.
Every individual strives hard to give his hundred percent to the
organization and expects the same in return. An individual must feel attached
to his workplace to enjoy his work and learn something new each day. The
organization must promise opportunities for further growth to all the
employees and each one should foresee a bright future there.
Every individual expects peace and healthy working conditions to
deliver his level best. A shady background and poor financial condition of the
organization are the major factors leading to unrest amongst the employees. No
individual likes to work with an organization running into losses. A sick unit is
unable to pay salaries on time, making it difficult for the employees to work
with it for a long time. An organization must be financially stable for the
employees to feel safe and secure.
Rules and regulations are formulated for the benefit of the employees
and thus should not be too rigid. An organization must have employee friendly
policies for the individuals to stay motivated. The management must take into
consideration the genuine problems of the employees to make the organization
a better place to work. Leave policies and compensation structure should be
designed in a manner to satisfy the needs of the employees.
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Monetary satisfaction is one of the major reasons as to why an
employee sticks to an organization for a longer duration. Incentive
plans, perks and other benefits should meet the expectations of the
employees and should be directly proportional to the hard work put by
the individuals. The high potential employees should be rewarded
suitably to make them feel indispensable for the organization and to
expect the same from them every time.
An organization must have a simple hierarchy and the functional
areas of each team should be well defined. Complicated hierarchies
lead to confusions and unnecessary disputes amongst team members. It
is essential to maintain transparency at all levels. The team size should
be restricted to 5 or 6 members for smooth flow of information and
better output. Every team ideally should have a single leader willingly
chosen by the team members to act as a strong support system for them.
The superiors must be accessible to the team members in case of queries
and must monitor the team’s performance from time to time. The team
leader should act as a role model for his team.
Freedom of expression is of utmost importance at the workplace to
retain employees. Individuals should have the liberty to express their
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ideas and discuss issues on an open forum. This way employees do not
crib among themselves and come closer to each other.
The organization must encourage employees to celebrate major
festivals at the office premises itself. Ask them to bring their families
as well. Such activities go a long way in strengthening the bond among
the individuals and retaining them.
It is important for the organization to have stringent policies for non
performing employees. Strict action must be taken against those who
come to organization just for fun and are just not bothered about their
own work. The performers must get an extra edge and should be entitled
to exclusive benefits.
An organization must offer a positive ambience to its employees to
expect a consistent performance from them. The workplace should be
free from all sorts of disputes, nasty politics, and controversies and
blame games which go a long way in de-motivating an employee and
prompting him to look for a change. Healthy competition is essential at
the workplace to encourage the employees to perform up to the mark
every time.
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How to Retain the Best Employee
The management must understand the difference between a dedicated
employee and an employee who comes to office just for the sake of fun. The
employees who really are concerned about the organization must be retained
for better output and a healthy environment at the workplace.
Let us go through few steps to avoid talent drain:
Work should never become monotonous and must offer a new
learning each day. An employee should be able to upgrade his skills
and enhance his knowledge at the workplace. Employees leave the
organization whenever there are no chances of further growth. An
individual must be made to do something which really excites him and
most importantly matches his background. The employees must be asked
to accomplish the tasks in the most innovative way for them to enjoy
their work. No one should be asked to do anything out of compulsion.
The team leader must not force anyone to work. Let them accept
assignments willingly. The moment work becomes a burden for the
employees, they look for a change.
Every individual should enjoy privacy at the workplace. The
superiors must ensure that no employee interferes in each other’s work.
Team members sitting at adjacent desks should not overhear their
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colleague’s conversation or check any confidential documents. These
things lead to severe de-motivation and prompt an individual to look for
a change. Discussion is important but one should not irritate anyone. The
team manager should also not make his team member’s life hell. Just
give them deadlines and ask them to complete the assignments within
the desired time frame. Motivate them to deliver their best but don’t be
after their life. Remember everyone is mature enough to understand that
work comes first, and everything later.
The seniors must be reachable to their subordinates in case of
queries. The hierarchy should not be too complicated and transparency
in communication is important at all levels. Manipulation of truth should
be strictly avoided as it leads to severe misunderstandings and eventually
conflicts. Employees look for a change when there are unnecessary
disputes at the workplace. The team leader once in a week must make
sure to meet all the team members on an open forum to address their
concern. The meeting should not be made too formal. Everyone should
be allowed to bring their cups of coffee. Such interaction strengthens the
bond among the employees and also avoids friction among individuals.
It is essential to have a positive ambience at the workplace for people to
stick to it for a longer time.
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Every employee should be treated as one irrespective of his
designation. Sexual harassment is against the law and is a strict at the
workplace. The male workers should respect their female counterparts
and make them feel comfortable. Don’t ask any female employee to stay
back late. Leg pulling, back stabbing, lewd remarks must be avoided at
the organization to retain the employees.
The management must formulate employee friendly policies. The
employees must be allowed to take one or two leaves in a month so that
they get time to rejuvenate. Don’t call the employees on weekends. Let
them enjoy. The human resource department must take the initiative to
celebrate birthdays of employees at the workplace. This way people
come closer, make friends, develop trust and are thus reluctant to go for
a change. Major festivals should also be celebrated at the organization
for employees to get attached to the organization.
Incentives, cash prizes, trophies, perks should be given to deserving
employees to motivate them to perform up to the mark every time.
The salaries of the high potential employees must be appraised from
time to time as monetary dissatisfaction is one of the major reasons for
employees quitting their jobs. The hard work of the workers must be
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appreciated. The slow learners must not be criticized but should be
inspired to gear up for the next time.
The performers must be made to participate in the decision making
process. They should have a say in the major strategies of the
organization for them to feel important and trust the management.
Discipline is a must at the workplace. If the office timing is 9.30 am,
every employee regardless of designation must punch his card at 9.30
am sharp or before that. No relaxation should be given to anyone.
Partiality is something which does not work in the corporate world. It is
important to maintain the decorum of the office to make the organization
a better place to work.
Role of HR in Employee Retention
An organization can’t survive if the top performers quit. It needs
employees who are loyal and work hard with full dedication to achieve the
organization’s objective. It is essential for the management to retain its
valuable employees who think in favour of the organization and contribute
their level best. An employee who spends a longer duration at any particular
organization is familiar with the rules, guidelines and policies of the
organization and thus can adjust better.
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The Human Resource team plays an important role in employee retention. Let
us find out their role in the same:
Whenever an employee resigns from his current assignments, it is
the responsibility of the HR to intervene immediately to find out the
reasons which prompted the employee to resign. No one leaves an
organization without a reason. There has to be one and the human
resource team must probe into it. There can be innumerable reasons for
an employee to leave his current job. The major ones being conflict with
the superiors, lesser salary, lack of growth, negative ambience and so on.
It is the duty of the HR to sit with the employee and discuss the
various issues face to face. Understand his problems and listen to his
side of the story as well. Remember the HR should not focus on
conducting exit interviews, rather more emphasis should be laid on
retaining the employees.
To provide a solution to his problem. Hiring is a tedious process and it
is really very difficult to recruit the right candidate and train him once
again. Do check the track record of the employee who wishes to move
on. It is really essential for the management to retain those employees
who have the potential and are really indispensable for the organization.
If they leave and join the competitors; the organization would be at loss.
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If one feels that the employee is not very happy with his team leader, try
to shift him to a new team. If the employee feels his salary is not
justified, try to give him a hike but make sure he is worth it and you
don’t end up upsetting others.
The HR person must ensure that he is recruiting the right employee
who actually fits into the role. A right person doing the wrong job
would never find his job interesting and certainly look for a change.
Make sure every individual has been assigned responsibilities according
to his specialization and interest. The employees must be clear with their
KRAs from the very beginning. Every individual works for money and
the HR must quote a justified salary acceptable to the other person.
Don’t compel anyone to join at a lesser salary. He might join at that
moment but would most likely quit after sometime. The hike should be
on the present salary and must match the market trends and the
expectations of the individual.
The human resource department must conduct motivational
activities at the workplace. Organize various internal as well as
external trainings which help the employees to learn something extra
apart from their routine work. Make them participate in extracurricular
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activities important for their overall development. Encourage them to
interact with each other so that the comfort level increases.
The HR must launch various incentive schemes for the top
performers to motivate them. This way the employees feel important
for the organization and strive hard to perform even better the next time.
The employees who show promise should be awarded with cash prizes,
lucrative perks and certificates to make the individual stand apart from
the crowd. Send a mail wishing the employees on their birthdays or
congratulating them when they perform exceptionally well or come out
with something innovative. Arrange a small bouquet for them as a gift
from the organization’s side. This way the employees feel attached to the
organization and are reluctant to look for a change. A friendly
atmosphere is essential for the employees to feel safe and secure. Make
them participate in various management decisions making.
Performance reviews are a must. The HR along with the respective
team leaders must monitor their team member’s performance to ensure
whether they are enjoying the work or not. The employees look for a
change only when their job becomes monotonous and does not offer any
growth or learning. Job rotation can be one of the effective ways to
retain employees.
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The HR professional must try his level best to motivate the employees,
make them feel special in the organization so that they do not look for a
change.
Employee Retention
Employee retention refers to the various policies and practices which let
the employees stick to an organization for a longer period of time. Every
organization invests time and money to groom a new joiner, make him a
corporate ready material and bring him at par with the existing employees. The
organization is completely at loss when the employees leave their job once they
are fully trained. Employee retention takes into account the various measures
taken so that an individual stays in an organization for the maximum period of
time.
It is the process in which the employees are encouraged to remain with
the organization for the maximum period of time or until the completion of the
project. Employee retention is beneficial for the organization as well as the
employee.
Employees today are different. They are not the ones who don’t have
good opportunities in hand. As soon as they feel dissatisfied with the current
employer or the job, they switch over to the next job. It is the responsibility of
the employer to retain their best employees. If they don’t, they would be left
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with no good employees. A good employer should know how to attract and
retain its employees.
Retention involves five major things:
1. Compensation
2. Environment
3. Growth
4. Relationship
5. Support
Employee retention would require a lot of efforts, energy, and resources
but the results are worth it.
Compensation
Compensation constitutes the largest part of the employee retention
process. The employees always have high expectations regarding their
compensation packages. Compensation packages vary from industry to
industry. So an attractive compensation package plays a critical role in
retaining the employees.
Compensation includes salary and wages, bonuses, benefits, perquisites,
stock options, bonuses, vacations, etc. While setting up the packages, the
following components should be kept in mind:
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Salary and monthly wage: It is the biggest component of the compensation
package. It is also the most common factor of comparison among employees. It
includes
o Basic wage
o House rent allowance
o Dearness allowance
o City compensatory allowance
Salary and wages represent the level of skill and experience an
individual has. Time to time increase in the salaries and wages of employees
should be done. And this increase should be based on the employee’s
performance and his contribution to the organization.
Bonus: Bonuses are usually given to the employees at the end of the year or on
a festival.
Economic benefits: It includes paid holidays, leave travel concession, etc.
Long-term incentives: Long term incentives include stock options or stock
grants. These incentives help retain employees in the organization's startup
stage.
Health insurance: Health insurance is a great benefit to the employees. It
saves employees money as well as gives them a peace of mind that they have
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somebody to take care of them in bad times. It also shows the employee that
the organization cares about the employee and its family.
After retirement: It includes payments that an employee gets after he retires
like EPF (Employee Provident Fund) etc.
Miscellaneous compensation: It may include employee assistance programs
(like psychological counseling, legal assistance etc), discounts on company
products, use of a company cars, etc.
Growth and Career
Growth and development are the integral part of every individual’s
career. If an employee can not foresee his path of career development in his
current organization, there are chances that he’ll leave the organization as soon
as he gets an opportunity.
The important factors in employee growth that an employee looks for
himself are:
Work profile: The work profile on which the employee is working should be
with his capabilities. The profile should not be too low or too high.
Personal growth and dreams: Employees responsibilities in the organization
should help him achieve his personal goals also. Organizations can not keep
aside the individual goals of employees and foster organizations goals.
Employees’ priority is to work for them and later on comes the organization. If
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he’s not satisfied with his growth, he’ll not be able to contribute in organization
growth.
Training and development: Employees should be trained and given chance to
improve and enhance their skills. Many employers fear that if the employees
are well trained, they’ll leave the organization for better jobs. Organization
should not limit the resources on which organization’s success depends. These
trainings can be given to improve many skills like:
Communications skills
Technical skills
In-house processes and procedures improvement related skills
Customer satisfaction related skills
Special project related skills
Need for such training can be recognized from individual performance
reviews, individual meetings, employee satisfaction surveys and by being in
constant touch with the employees.
Support
Lack of support from management can sometimes serve as a reason for
the employee to go for another organisation. Supervisor should support his
subordinates in a way so that each one of them will be in success. Management
should try to focus on its employees and support them not only in their difficult
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times at work but also through the times of personal crisis. Management can
support employees by providing them recognition and appreciation.
Employers can also provide valuable feedback to employees and make
them feel valued to the organization.
The feedback from supervisor helps the employee to feel more
responsible, confident and empowered. Top management can also support its
employees in their personal crisis by providing personal loans during
emergencies, childcare services, employee assistance programs, counseling
services etc.
Employers can also support their employees by creating an environment
of trust and inculcating the organizational values into employees. Thus
employers can support their employees in a number of ways:
Importance of Relationship in Employee Retention Program
Sometimes the relationship with the management and the peers becomes
the reason for an employee to leave the organization. The management is
sometimes not able to provide an employee a supportive work culture and
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environment in terms of personal or professional relationships. There are times
when an employee starts feeling bitterness towards the management or peers.
This bitterness could be due to many reasons. This decreases employee’s
interest and he becomes de-motivated. It leads to less satisfaction and
eventually attrition.
A supportive work culture helps grow employee professionally and
boosts employee satisfaction. To enhance good professional relationships at
work, the management should keep the following points in mind.
Respect for the individual: Respect for the individual is the must in the
organization.
Relationship with the immediate manager: A manger plays the role of a
mentor and a coach. He designs ands plans work for each employee. It is his
duty to involve the employee in the processes of the organization. So an
organization should hire managers who can make and maintain good relations
with their subordinates.
Relationship with colleagues: Promote team work, not only among teams but
in different departments as well. This will induce competition as well as
improve the relationships among colleagues.
Recruit whole heartedly: An employee should be recruited if there is a proper
place and duties for him to perform. Otherwise he’ll feel useless and will be
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dissatisfied. Employees should know what the organization expects from them
and what their expectation from the organization is promised.
Promote an employee based culture: The employee should know that the
organization is there to support him at the time of need. Show them that the
organization cares and he’ll show the same for the organization. An employee
based culture may include decision making authority, availability of resources,
open door policy, etc.
Individual development: Taking proper care of employees includes
acknowledgement to the employee’s dreams and personal goals. Create
opportunities for their career growth by providing mentorship programs,
certifications, educational courses, etc.
Induce loyalty: Organizations should be loyal as well as they should promote
loyalty in the employees too. Try to make the current employees stay instead of
recruiting new ones.
Organization Environment
It is not about managing retention. It is about managing people. If an
organization manages people well, employee retention will take care of itself.
Organizations should focus on managing the work environment to make better
use of the available human assets.
People want to work for an organization which provides
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Appreciation for the work done
A feeling that the organization is second home to the employee
Organization environment includes
Culture
Values
Company reputation
Quality of people in the organization
Employee development and career growth
Risk taking
Leading technologies
Trust
Types of environment the employee needs in an organization
Learning environment: It includes continuous learning and
improvement of the individual, certifications and provision for higher
studies, etc.
Support environment: Organization can provide support in the form of
work-life balance. Work life balance includes:
o Flexible hours
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o Telecommunication
o Dependent care
o Alternate work schedules
o Vacations
o Wellness
Work environment: It includes efficient managers, supportive co-
workers, challenging work, involvement in decision-making, clarity of
work and responsibilities, and recognition.
Lack or absence of such environment pushes employees to look for new
opportunities. The environment should be such that the employee feels
connected to the organization in every respect.
Importance of Employee Retention
Now that so much is being done by organizations to retain its employees,
why is retention so important? Is it just to reduce the turnover costs? Well, the
answer is a definite. It’s not only the cost incurred by a company that
emphasizes the need of retaining employees but also the need to retain talented
employees from getting poached.
The process of employee retention will benefit an organization in the
following ways:
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1. The Cost of Turnover: The cost of employee turnover adds hundreds
of thousands of money to a company's expenses. While it is difficult to
fully calculate the cost of turnover (including hiring costs, training costs
and productivity loss), industry experts often quote 25% of the average
employee salary as a conservative estimate.
2. Loss of Company Knowledge: When an employee leaves, he takes with
him valuable knowledge about the company, customers, current projects
and past history (sometimes to competitors). Often much time and
money has been spent on the employee in expectation of a future return.
When the employee leaves, the investment is not realized.
3. Interruption of Customer Service: Customers and clients do business
with a company in part because of the people. Relationships are
developed that encourage continued sponsorship of the business. When
an employee leaves, the relationships that employee built for the
company are severed, which could lead to potential customer loss.
4. Turnover leads to more turnovers: When an employee terminates, the
effect is felt throughout the organization. Co-workers are often required
to pick up the slack. The unspoken negativity often intensifies for the
remaining staff.
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5. Goodwill of the company: The goodwill of a company is maintained
when the attrition rates are low. Higher retention rates motivate potential
employees to join the organization.
Regaining efficiency: If an employee resigns, then good amount of time is lost
in hiring a new employee and then training him/her and this goes to the loss of
the company directly which many a times goes unnoticed. And even after this,
expectation of the same efficiency can not assured from the new employee.
Retention Myths
The process of retention is not as easy as it seems. There are so many tactics
and strategies used in retention of employees by the organizations. The basic
purpose of these strategies should be to increase employee satisfaction, boost
employee morale hence achieve retention. But some times these strategies are
not used properly or even worse, wrong strategies are used. Because of which
these strategies fail to achieve the desired results. There are many myths
related to the employee retention process. These myths exist because the
strategies being used are either wrong or are being used from a long time.
These myths prevent the employer from successfully implementing the
retention strategies. Let us learn about some of these myths.
1. Employees leave an organization for more pay: Money may be the
motivating factor for some, but for many people it is not the most
32
important factor. Money matters more to the low-income-employees for
whom it’s a survival issue. Money can make an employee stay in an
organization but not for long. The factors more important than money
are job satisfaction, job responsibilities, and individual’s skill
development. The employers should understand this and work out some
other ways to make employees feel satisfied. When employees leave,
management tries to retain them by offering more money. But instead
they should try to figure out the main reason behind it. Issues that are
mainly the cause of dissatisfaction are organization’s policies and
procedures, working conditions, relationship with the supervisor and
salary, etc. For such employees, achievement, growth, respect,
recognition, is the main concern.
2. Incentives can increase productivity: Incentives can surely increase
productivity but not for long term. Cash incentives, volume work targets
and speed awards are old management beliefs. They can generate work
speedily and in volumes but can’t boost employee commitment. Rather
speed can hamper the quality of work produced. What really the
employees expect to their work and organization is quality work,
meaningful responsibilities, recognition, respect, growth opportunities
and friendly supervisors.
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3. Employees run away from responsibilities: It is a myth that employees
run from responsibilities. In-fact employees feel more responsible if they
are given extra responsibilities apart from their regular job. Employees
look for variety, greater control on the processes and authority to take
decisions in their present job. They want opportunities to learn and grow.
Management can assign extra responsibilities to their employees and
appreciate them on the completion of these tasks. This will induce a
sense of pride in the employee and will improve the relationship between
the management and the employee.
4. Loyalty is a thing of the past: Employees can be loyal but what they
need is an employer for whom they can be loyal.
Taking measures to increase employee satisfaction will be
expensive for the organizations: The things actually required to improve
employee satisfaction like respect, career growth and development,
appreciation, etc. can’t be bought. They are free of cost. An employer or
management that reacts well to the employee’s ideas and suggestions is
enough for the employees to be retained.
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Managing Employee Retention
The task of managing employees can be understood from three stage
process:
1. Identify the cost of employee turnover
2. Understand why employee leave
3. Implement retention strategies
Identify the cost of employee turnover:
The organizations should start with identifying the employee turnover
rates within a particular time period and benchmark it with the competitor
organizations. This will help in assessing whether the employee retention rates
are healthy or not in the company. Secondly, the cost of employee turnover can
be calculated.
According to a survey on an average attrition costs is a company’s 18
months’ salary for each manager or professional who leaves and 6 months’ pay
for each hourly employee who leaves. This amounts to major organizational
and financial stress, considering that one out of every three employees plans to
leave his or her job in the next two years.
Understand why employees leave:
Why employees leave often puzzles top management. Exit interviews
are an ideal way of recording and analyzing the factors that have led employees
35
to leave the organization. They allow an organization to understand the reasons
for leaving and underlying issues. However employees never provide
appropriate response to the asked questions. So an impartial person should be
appointed with whom the employees feel comfortable in expressing their
opinions.
Implement retention strategy:
Once the causes of attrition are found, a strategy is to be implemented so
as to reduce employee turnover. The most effective strategy is to adopt a
holistic approach to dealing with attrition. An effective retention strategy will
seek to ensure:
Attraction and recruitment strategies enable selection of the ‘right’
candidate for each role/organization.
New employees’ initial experiences of the organization are positive.
Appropriate development opportunities are available to employees, and
that they are kept aware of their likely career path with the organization
The organization’s reward strategy reflects the employee drivers.
How to Increase Employee Retention
Companies have now realized the importance of retaining their quality
workforce. Retaining quality performers contributes to productivity of the
organization and increases morale among employees
36
Four basic factors that play an important role in increasing employee
retention include salary and remuneration, providing recognition, benefits and
opportunities for individual growth. But are they really positively contributing
to the retention rates of a company? Basic salary, these days, hardly reduces
turnover. Today, employees look beyond the money factor. Employee
Retention can be increased by inculcating the following practices:
1. Open Communication: A culture of open communication enforces
loyalty among employees. Open communication tends to keep
employees informed on key issues. Most importantly, they need to know
that their opinions and that management is 100% interested in their
input.
2. Employee Reward Program: A positive recognition for work boosts
the motivational levels of employees. Recognition can be made explicit
by providing awards like best employee of the month or punctuality
award. Project based recognition also has great significance. The award
can be in terms of gifts or money.
3. Career Development Program: Every individual is worried about
his/her career. He is always keen to know his career path in the
company. Organizations can offer various technical certification courses
which will help employee in enhancing his knowledge.
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4. Performance Based Bonus: A provision of performance linked bonus
can be made wherein an employee is able to relate his performance with
the company profits and hence will work hard. This bonus should strictly
be productivity based.
5. Recreation facilities: Recreational facilities help in keeping employees
away from stress factors. Various recreational programs should be
arranged. They may include taking employees to trips annually or bi-
annually, celebrating anniversaries, sports activities, et al.
6. Gifts at Some Occasions: Giving out some gifts at the time of one or
two festivals to the employees making them feel good and understand
that the management is concerned about them.
Manager Role in Retention
When asked about why employees leave, low salary comes out to be a
common excuse. However, research has shown that people join companies, but
leave because of what their managers’ do or don’t do. It is seen that managers
who respect and value employees’ competency, pay attention to their
aspirations, assure challenging work, value the quality of work life and
provided chances for learning have loyal and engaged employees. Therefore,
managers and team leaders play an active and vital role in employee retention.
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Managers and team leaders can reduce the attrition levels considerably
by creating a motivating team culture and improving the relationships with
team members. This can be done in the following ways:
Creating a Motivating Environment: Team leaders who create
motivating environments are likely to keep their team members together
for a longer period of time. Motivation does not necessarily come
through fun events such as parties, celebrations, team outings etc. They
can also come through serious events e.g. arranging a talk by the VP of
Quality on career opportunities in the field of quality. Employees who
look forward to these events and are likely to remain more engaged.
Standing up for the Team: Team leaders are closest to their team
members. While they need to ensure smooth functioning of their teams
by implementing management decisions, they also need to educate their
managers about the realities on the ground. When agents see the team
leader standing up for them, they will have one more reason to stay in
the team.
Providing coaching: Everyone wants to be successful in his or her
current job. However, not everyone knows how. Therefore, one of the
key responsibilities will be providing coaching that is intended to
improve the performance of employees. Managers often tend to escape
39
this role by just coaching their employees. However, coaching is
followed by monitoring performance and providing feedback on the
same.
Delegation: Many team leaders and managers feel that they are the only
people who can do a particular task or job. Therefore, they do not
delegate their jobs as much as they should. Delegation is a great way to
develop competencies.
Extra Responsibility: Giving extra responsibility to employees is
another way to get them engaged with the company. However, just
giving the extra responsibility does not help. The manager must spend
good time teaching the employees of how to manage responsibilities
given to them so that they don’t feel over burdened.
Focus on future career: Employees are always concerned about their
future career. A manager should focus on showing employees his career
ladder. If an employee sees that his current job offers a path towards
their future career aspirations, then they are likely to stay longer in the
company. Therefore, managers should play the role of career counselors
as well.
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Transparent Work Culture
In today’s fast paced business environments where employees are
constantly striving to achieve business goals under time restrictions; open
minded and transparent work culture plays a vital role in employee retention.
Companies invest very many hours and monies in training and educating
employees. These companies are severely affected when employees check out,
especially in the middle of some big company project or venture. Although
employees most often prefer to stay with the same company and use their time
and experience for personal growth and development, they leave mainly
because of work related stress and dissatisfactions.
More and more companies have now realized the importance of a
healthy work culture and have a gamut of people management good practices
for employees to have that ideal fresh work-life. Closed doors work culture can
serve as a deterrent to communication and trust within employees which are
potential causes for work-related apathy and frenzy.
A transparent work environment can serve as one of the primary triggers
to facilitate accountability, trust, communication, responsibility, pride and so
on. It is believed that in a transparent work culture, employees rigorously
communicate with their peers and exchange ideas and thoughts before they are
finally matured in to full-blown concepts. It induces responsibility among
41
employees and accountability towards other peers, which gradually builds up
trust and pride. More importantly, transparency in work environment
discourages work-politics which often hinders company goals as employees
start to advance their personal objectives at the expense of development of the
company as a single entity.
Employees comprise the most vital assets of the company. In a work
place where employees are not able to use their full potential and not heard and
valued, they are likely to leave because of stress and frustration. In a
transparent environment while employees get a sense of achievement and
belongingness from a healthy work environment, the company is benefited
with a stronger, reliable work-force harboring bright new ideas for its growth.
Quality of Work
The success of any organization depends on how it attracts, recruits,
motivates, and retains its workforce. Organizations need to be more flexible so
that they develop their talented workforce and gain their commitment. Thus,
organizations are required to retain employees by addressing their work life
issues.
The elements that are relevant to an individual’s quality of work life
include the task, the physical work environment, social environment within the
42
organization, administrative system and relationship between life on and off
the job.
The basic objectives of a QWL program are improved working
conditions for the employee and increase organizational effectiveness.
Providing quality work life involves taking care of the following aspects:
Occupational health care: The safe work environment provides the basis for
the person to enjoy working. The work should not pose a health hazard for the
person. The employer and employee, aware of their risks and rights, could
achieve a lot in their mutually beneficial dialogue.
Suitable working time: Organizations are offering flexible work options to
their employees wherein employees enjoy flexi-timings for dedicating their
efforts at work.
Appropriate salary: The appropriate as well as attractive salary has always
been an important factor in retaining employees. Providing employees salary at
par with the other counterparts of above that what competitors are paying
motivates them to stick with the company for long.
QWL consists of opportunities for active involvement in group working
arrangements or problem solving that are of mutual benefit to employees or
employers, based on labor management cooperation. People also conceive of
QWL as a set of methods, such as autonomous work groups, job enrichment,
43
and high-involvement aimed at boosting the satisfaction and productivity of
workers. It requires employee commitment to the organization and an
environment in which this commitment can flourish.
Providing quality at work not only reduces attrition but also helps in
reduced absenteeism and improved job satisfaction. Not only does QWL
contribute to a company's ability to recruit quality people, but also it enhances
a company's competitiveness. Common beliefs support the contention that
QWL will positively nurture amore flexible, loyal, and motivated workforce,
which are essential in determining the company's competitiveness.
Supporting Employees
Organizations these days want to protect their biggest and most valuable
asset and they want to do this in a way that best suits their organizational
culture. Retaining employees is a difficult task. Providing support to the
employees acts as a mantra for retraining them. Employers can also support
their employees by creating an environment of trust and inculcating the
organizational values into employees.
The management can support employees directly or indirectly. Directly,
they provide support in terms of personal crises, managing stress and personal
development. Management can support employees, indirectly, in a number of
the following ways.
44
Manage employee turnover: Employee turnover affects the whole
organization in terms of productivity. Managing the turnover, hence, becomes
an important task. A proactive approach can be adopted to reduce attrition.
Strategies should be framed in advance and implemented when the times
arrives. Turnover costs should also be taken into consideration while framing
these strategies.
Become employer of choice: What makes a company an employer of
choice? Is the benefit it offers or the compensation packages it gives
away to its employees? Or is it measured in terms of how they value
their employees or in terms of customer satisfaction? Becoming an
employer of choice involves following a road map which tells where to
go as a brand.
Engage the new recruits: The newly hired employees are said to be
least engaged in the organization. Keeping them engaged is an important
task. The fresh talent should be utilized to maximum before they start
feeling bored in the organization.
Optimize employee engagement: An organization’s productivity is
measured not in terms of employee satisfaction but by employee
engagement. Employees are said to be engaged when they show a
positive attitude toward the organization and express a commitment to
45
remain with the organization. Employee satisfaction also comes with
high engagement levels. So, organizations should aim to maximize the
engagement among employees.
Coaching and mentoring: Employees whose work performance suffers due to
poor interpersonal relationships or because of lack of interpersonal skills
should be provided proper coaching by their superiors. Planned coaching
sessions help an individual to work through issues, maximize his potential and
return to peak performance.
Feedback
Feedback acts as a channel of communication between the employee and
his manager. The amount of information employees receive about how well or
how poorly they have performed is what we call feedback. It is a dialog
between a manager and an employee which acts as a way of sharing
information about the performance.
Managers can provide either positive feedback or negative feedback to
employees. This feedback helps the employee assess his performance and
identify the improvement areas.
Positive feedback communicates managerial satisfaction. Positive recognition
for good performance boosts up morale of employees and results in
performance improvement to a higher productivity level. It is believed that
46
positive feedback is the only type of feedback that generates performance
above the minimum acceptable level.
Negative feedback obviously communicates manager’s dissatisfaction.
However, negative feedback sometimes make employee to put more efforts to
improve his performance. But such times are very rare. Moreover this
improvement is short term.
Some managers do not provide any kind of feedback to their employees.
Due to no feedback, employees may assume that they are performing
productively or they may feel that the manager is satisfied with their
performance. Studies reveal the performance tends to be same or even
decreases if no feedback is provided.
Thus, feedback is necessary because:
It builds trust and enhances communication between manager and
employee.
It gives managers and employees a way to identify and discuss skills and
strengths.
Positive feedback leads to employee retention and motivation.
It helps in identifying performance areas that need improvement and
specific ways to improve them.
47
It acts as an opportunity to enhance performance by identifying
resources for skill development.
It is an opportunity for managers and employees to assess and identify
career and advancement opportunities.
It helps employees to understand the effectiveness of their performance
and contributes to their overall knowledge about the work.
Managers have tendency to ignore good performances of their
employees. Providing no feedback may de-motivate employees and may lead
to employee absenteeism. Input from manager’s side is necessary as it help
employees to improve their performance and increase productivity.
Communication between Employee and Employer
Communication is a process in which a message is conveyed to the
receiver by the sender. The message may be or may not be in a common format
or language that both the sender and receiver understand. So there is a need to
encode and decode the message in the process. Encoding and decoding also
helps in the security of the message. The process of communication is
incomplete without the feedback.
Communication is the solution to almost everything in this world. Same
applies to employee retention also.
48
Straight-from-the-shoulder communication is what the employees need
from their employers. Employees look for organizations where communication
and process are transparent. Nothing is hidden and shared with the employees.
There are 3 categories of employees:
A: Who will leave their current employer in 3 years of their employment
B: Who have a probability of leaving their current employer in next 3
years
C: Who will stay with their current employer in the next 3 years
Category A: These are the employees who lack communication with their
employers.
Category B : These are employees who have no proper communication with
their employers.
Category C: These are the employees who have proper, well structured
communication with their employers.
Communication is also the way to win the employees trust in the
organization. Employees trust the employers who are friendly and open to
them. This trust leads to employee loyalty and finally retention. Employers also
feel that the immediate supervisors are the most authenticated and trusted
source of information for them. So the organizations should hire managers who
are active communicators.
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Communication mediums
Open door policy: Organizations should support open door policies so
that the employees feel comfortable and are able to express their doubts
and feeling to their employers.
Frequent meetings and Social gatherings
Emails, Newsletters, Intranet and many more
So there should be effective communication across the organization and
this communication should be two-way. Communication alone can lead to
unimaginable heights of employee retention.
Employee Retention Strategies
The basic practices which should be kept in mind in the employee retention
strategies are:
1. Hire the right people in the first place.
2. Empower the employees: Give the employees the authority to get things
done.
3. Make employees realize that they are the most valuable asset of the
organization.
4. Have faith in them, trust them and respect them.
5. Provide them information and knowledge.
6.Keep providing them feedback on their performance.
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7. Recognize and appreciate their achievements.
8. Keep their morale high.
9. Create an environment where the employees want to work and have fun.
These practices can be categorized in 3 levels: Low, medium and high
level.
Low Level Employee Retention Strategies
-you cards from supervisors
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-cards or cards sent to spouses/families
personal significant events
Wedding gifts
Anniversary gifts
New born baby gifts
Scholarships for employee’s children
Get well cards/flowers
Birthday cards, celebrations and gifts
o Home insurance plans
o Legal insurance
o Travel insurance
o Disability programs
o Discounts in cinema halls, museums, restaurants, etc.
o Retail store discounts
o Computer peripherals purchase discounts
52
o On-site ATM
o On-site facilities for which cost is paid by employees
laundry facility for bachelors
Shipping services
o Assistance with tax calculations and submission of forms
o Financial planning assistance
o Casual dress policies
o Facilities for expectant mothers
Parking
Parenting guide
Lactation rooms
Flexi timings
o Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, promotions, etc
o Holiday parties and holiday gift certificates
o Occasional parties like diwali, holi, dushera, etc
o Organize get together for watching football, hockey, cricket matches
o Organize picnics and trips for movies etc
o Sports outings like cricket match etc
53
o Indoor games
o “Casual dress” day
o “Green is the color” day
o Handwriting analysis
o Tatoo, mehandi, hair braiding stalls on weekends
o Mini cricket in office
o Ice cream Fridays
o Holi-Day breakfast
o Personal loans for emergencies
o Childcare and eldercare services
o Employee Assistance Programs ( Counseling sessions etc)
o Emergency childcare services
Medium Level Strategies for Employee Retention
Appreciating and recognizing a well done job
Special bonus for successfully completing firm-sponsored certifications
Benefit programs for family support
Child adoption benefits
Flexible benefits
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Dependents care assistance
Medical care reimbursement
o Sabbatical programs
o Professional skills development
o Individualized career guidance
High Level Strategies
Promoting Work/Life Effectiveness
-time schedules
-site day care facility etc.
style and culture
Appreciate new ideas and reward risk-taking
55
Show support for individual initiative
Encourage creativity
opportunities: It can be done through:
o Mentoring programs
o Performance feedback programs
o Provide necessary tools to the employees to achieve their professional
and personal goals
o Getting the most out of employee interests and talents
o Higher study opportunities for employees
o Vocational counseling
o Offer personalized career guidance to employees
nt and
effective way to develop trust.
o Suggestion committees can be created
o Open door communication policy can be followed
o Regular feedbacks on organization’s goals and activities should be taken
from the employees by:
Management communications
56
Intranet and internet can be used as they provide 24X7 access to
the information
Newsletters, notice boards, etc.
employee retention is not a
process that begins at the end. The process of retention begins right from the
start of the recruitment process.
o The new joinees should fit with the organization’s culture. The
personality, leadership characteristics of the candidate should be in sync
with the culture of the hiring organization.
o Referral bonus should be given to the employees for successful hires.
They are the best source of networking.
o Proper training should be given to the managers on interview and
management techniques.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Industrial relations are a delegate problem in nature and industrial
relations in public sector undertakings are still more complex. Its complexity is
largely attributed to the human beings at work in the private sector
undertakings like Tube Investments of India Limited, Chennai. It is a tough job
to deal with the employees of public sector undertaking, when compared to the
private sector employees. The employees of public sector undertaking are well
57
protected by the rules and regulations and job security. Further industrial
relations are destined by the existence of strong trade unionism. Both workmen
and staff have strong unions representing the interest of such groups. The
employees’ unions and the management arrive at bipartite settlements on all
issues concerning employees and the management through the process of
collective bargaining.
The issues of common concern to all the Tube investments of India
Limited employees include pay, allowances, welfare, grievances, promotion
and workers participation among other things, smooth sailing industrial
relations are attributable not only to the amicable settlement of issues having
common concern but also to the satisfactory level of management practices in
the day to day management of Tube investments of India Limited.
In the light of these issues, several questions arise: what are the
determinants of employment relations between the management and employees
in Tube investments of India Limited? What are the factors that influence the
employment relations among officers, staff and workmen in Tube investments
of India Limited? To what extent do the personal characteristics of the Tube
investments of India Limited employees’ affect employment relations in
industries? How do the Tube investments of India Limited management and
58
the employees unions arrive at bipartite settlements through the collective
bargaining process?
Thus the above mentioned factors provided necessary impetus to
undertake research in Tube investments of India Limited. The major focus of
study is identifying the aspects which facilitate the industrial relations as well
as the employee retention and to suggest measures to overcome the problems.
1.3 OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
The different terms that are used in this study have been
conceptualized and given in the form of definitions below:
Employees:
The term “employees” in this study refers to Executives, Staff and
Workmen of the Tube Investments of India Limited.
Executives:
The term “executives” means officers, include Chief General
Manager, General Manager, Deputy General Manager, Assistant General
Manager, Senior Manager, Manager, Deputy Manager, Assistant Manager,
Officer and Assistant Officer and other supervisory staff in the designation of
officers working in Tube Investments of India Limited.
59
Staff:
The term “Staff” means Foreman, Chargemen, Senior Executives
Assistant, Executives Assistant, Senior Staff, Junior Staff and Sub-staffs.
Workmen:
The term “Workmen” means Highly Skilled, Skilled, Semi-skilled
and Unskilled regular workers working in Tube Investments of India Limited.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The importance of employees and their contribution to the
accomplishment of organisational goals cannot be underestimated. Each
organisation deals with human being at work in a variety of ways in the course
of achieving its objectives or goals. The way that employees are dealt with by
the management and the result of management practices influence the working
relationship among people. Industrial relations and the employee retention are,
therefore, the result of management practices and working relationships among
people in an organisation.7 In other words, the success of an organisation to a
large extent depends on the nature of industrial relations that exists in it. The
Tube Investments of India Limited is no exception to this phenomenon. Tube
Investments of India Limited is one of the successfully running private sector
7 Mahendra Chaturvedi:“Industrial Relations in Public Sector Undertakings – An
Overview”, Industrial Relations News & Views, Vol.5, No.2, April – June 1993, P.3
60
enterprise and its relations between the employees and the management in
Private Sector are based on the policy of the management of the company.
Therefore, it is significant to know how Tube Investments of India
Limited dealt with the employees and the practices for the retention of the
employees. What are the management practices of the Tube Investments of
India Limited? and how these influence the working relationship among the
people.
1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY
The present study has been undertaken to know the determinants of
Industrial relations in Tube investments of India Limited. The study covered
only Tube investments of India Limited in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
The study was confined to industrial relations between employees and
management. The factors influencing industrial relations were identified. The
relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and
industrial relations in Tube investments of India Limited has been studied with
a view to identifying the factors influencing industrial relations. For the
purpose of studying these aspects, primary data were collected for the period
2010 – 2011 from the personnel department of that industry.
1.6 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are enumerated below:
61
To study the profile of Tube Investments of India Limited,
Chennai
To identify the determinants of the employee retention from the
view of officers, staff and workmen in Tube Investments of India
Limited, Chennai
To study the effective welfare measures offered for the employee
retention.
To identify the overall determinants of human relations for the
retention in Tube Investments of India Limited, Chennai
To offer suggestions for improving human relations and employee
retention schemes in Tube Investments of India Limited, Chennai
1.7 HYPOTHESIS
The following hypothesis are framed and tested significantly.
There is no significant association between the category of the
respondents and their attitude towards job
There is no significant association between the category of the
respondents and their attitude towards the company.
There is no significant association between the category of respondents
and their service conditions existed in the company.
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There is no significant association between the category of respondents
and their work conditions existed in the company.
There is no significant association between the category of respondents
and welfare measures of the company.
There is no significant association between the category of respondents
and the wage and salary administration of the company.
There is no significant association between the category of respondents
and the trade union functions.
There is no significant association between the category of respondents
and the trade union functions.
1.8 METHODOLOGY
This is an empirical study based on survey method. The basis for the
study is primary data given by the respondents. Secondary data is also
collected from various sources like text books, journals, magazines, and annual
reports of Tube investments of India Limited, Government reports, prime
directory, newspapers and websites of Internet. Primary data were collected
through the questionnaire. It was prepared and circulated to all the hierarchy of
employees of Tube investments of India Limited ranging from workers in the
shop floor to the officers in-charge of administration. The data so collected
63
were supplemented with views obtained in person through personal interviews
and discussions with HR department officials, office bearers of Trade unions.
1.9 SAMPLING DESIGN
The area for the survey is very large i.e. the total manpower strength of
Tube investments of India Limited is 2524 (Executives: 432, Staffs: 868 and
Workers: 1224). The researcher had the constraint of time and resources and
hence he decided to choose 25% of respondents as the sample. To select the
sample respondents the researcher has adopted the Tippet’s Random Sampling
Table. Based on the table respondents are selected.
The instrument used for data collection was questionnaire. It was
designed to cover all aspects of industrial relations in Tube investments of
India Limited based on the objectives of the study.
64
Employees strength in Tube Investments of India Limited (as on 31/3/2010)
Sl. No. Designation Factory
A) Executives
1 Chief General Manager 2
2 General Manager 4
3 Deputy General Manager 5
4 Assistant General Manager 22
5 Senior Manager 37
6 Manager 40
7 Deputy Manager 65
8 Assistant Manager 78
9 Officer 84
10 Assistant. Officer 95
Total 432
B) Staff
1 Foremen / Asst. Foremen 50
2 Chargemen / Chargemen (UG) 25
3 Exec. Asst. 25
4 Sr.Steno / Asst. /Clerical 99
5 Jr. Staff (Technical) 79
6 Sr.Sub-staff 170
7 Sub-staff 420
Total 868
C) Workmen Highly skilled, Skilled, Semi-skilled, Unskilled 1224
Grand Total (A+B+C) 2524
Source: Official records of TI Limited
1.10 COLLECTION OF DATA
The initial questionnaire was circulated to sixty employees. In each
category of employees 20 questionnaires were distributed. The categories
comprise of Executives, Staff and Workmen. After soliciting and
incorporating their views the questionnaire was restructured and finalized.
65
1.11 DATA ANALYSIS AND STATISTICAL TOOLS
The data collected from the respondents are analyzed using various
statistical techniques like arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Chi-square test,
Multiple Regression Analysis, F-test, t-test and ANOVA, etc.
RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY TEST
The data obtained from the respondents were subjected to reliability and
validity test under Cronbach’s Alpha method. For which the number of cases
taken up for scrutiny were Executives 108, Staff : 217 and Workmen : 306.
The result of reliability and validity test were 0.8082, 0.8202, and 0.8440
respectively and quite satisfactory.
1.12 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study has the following limitations:
1. Because of time constraints, only one particular organization viz., Tube
investments of India Limited was selected for the study.
2. Since the study was confined to only one organization in the industry,
majority of findings and conclusion are applicable only to that
organization and generalization may or may not hold good for other
organizations.
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3. The samples may behave or give opinions differently at different times
because of their psychological temperament. This may have an impact
and it will affect the survey.
4. The aspects like production, marketing, finance and accounts are not
taken into consideration for this study.
1.13 SCHEME OF CHAPTERISATION
Chapter I deals with introduction with the statement of the problem,
objectives, hypothesis, statistical tools applied and limitations of the study.
Chapter II presents the overall profile of Tube Investments of India
Limited, Chennai giving a vivid description about the activities and functions
of the concern and the personnel characteristics of employees in Tube
investments of India Limited and the overall factors which are influencing the
industrial relations in Tube investments of India Limited.
Chapter III gives an overview of all the previous studies conducted in
connection with human relations and employee retention.
Chapter IV deals with the analysis of employees in Tube investments of
India Limited in connection with the attitudes toward job, service and working
conditions towards retention.
Chapter V provides with the analysis of the employees in Tube
investments of India Limited regarding welfare measures, wage and salary