Saturday, September 16, 2006

Market Vs Loyalty

All the below discussion is based on IT sector in India.

Boom in .com (IT) sector. The growth in this sector to me looks like exponential and not sequential. Many of them have started looking at its saturation point. But does it really have a saturation point? The growth also depends on how far is a sector linked to the other sectors. This IT sector due to its "healthy" link with other sectors (Banking, Telecom, Retail etc) made me to think about the existence of saturation point.

The IT linked sectors experiencing excellent growth and hence IT boom still exists. But what does this boom does? Is it a boon for economic growth in revenue terms or is it a curse to loyalty in Human Relations terms? I took some time to look in what happens in this sector as it is always dynamic. I feel the following could be the reason.

1) The growth % acheived on QoQ (Quarter on Quarter) basis is extra-ordinary. You will not see this type of growth in other sectors. This is true in case of revenue guidelines they project for the subsequent year and you will find they are beating the same.
2) Attrition rate - Currently it stands at an average of 11% in India. This 11% is per quarter. This is surely not the case in other sectors.
3) Earning capacity - If you look at economics around the place where these IT companies they have made to grow other areas also (Real estate for example, cuisines, clubs etc). The average salary of all IT employees may atleast be 3-4 times greater than the average salary of all employees in other sectors.

Some of these points looks positive. But if you raise a question why 11% attrition is seen per quarter you may end up in looking at cons of this sector in terms of loyalty towards the company. In reality only few % (may be less than 1%) in that 11% is due to fair reasons (like higher studies, social life, health conditions) etc. Then where does the remaining 10% go? Of course they are not jobless. They join in other companies. But why? There could be many reasons for this. But i would like to concentrate on the reason - "Pay hike".

Why is this market is capturing people from other companies paying more than they are getting? If you say it is because of the individuals talent - I will agree if and only if you dont find any one who is equivalent of the same talent in your company. And there are some more questions for you below.

Try to get what you deserve: In my opinion this statement has become meaningless due to the above boom. Any one who moves out of a company and joins a new one is getting considerably more than what he deserves. He himself knows that he doesnt deserve that but why should tie your hands when someone is ready to offer you more.

Talent reflects everywhere. If this is true then there is a serious question on why the talent is rated low at his x-company and why it is over rated in his new company? But does the company really seeks benefit out of his new employee. This is a different story and it needs a separate discussion.

Every employee in an organisation delivers his best to improves his organisation - be in terms of revenue, ethics, work culture etc. But the above said market boom may ruin the vision of an employee towards his organisation. They will see the organisation being unfair towards him if such trend proceeds. The unfair here i mean organisation not providing the same status (this includes power, pay etc) to its own employee as that of newly recruited one - both having the same talent of course. They will start suspecting the loyalty.
A concise question like this may raise in thier mind.
Does "Be smarter" means utilize the oppurtunity, ping-pong and get the best out of bargaining and not giving any damn about loyalty, Organisation vision etc?

What could be the solution to this? I am looking for the answer but in the mean time some one can help me if they have one.

I am not in any way a victim as an loyal employee in an organisation but just have a curiosity in finding the answer.