India, BPO, Attrition

India: An attractive BPO destination marred by alarming attrition

An alarmingly high attrition level is hurting the India-based business process outsourcing (BPO) industry and is negatively impacting both its demand (buyers/clients) and supply (service provider) sides.

The topic of attrition is receiving daily media attention, and the complexity of the issue can be confusing to businesses that are interested in investigating offshoring work to India. This paper examines the varied and often complex causes of attrition in the context of the rapidly growing Indian offshoring industry and also suggests how some industry participants are attempting to proactively address this problem that threatens the long-term sustainability of India as an offshore destination. Based on industry research, we also provide insight into the likely scenario in the next few years. The focus of this comprehensive insight is limited to BPO attrition in the Indian context. (Though there are commonalities between attrition in the IT and BPO industries, the nuances are unique enough to warrant a separate analysis.)

Finally, in an effort to encourage service providers and buyers in reversing attrition, we present suggestions for quantifying attrition levels and for consistently measuring rates over time so that apples-to-apples comparisons of attrition rates may be made by all interested parties when planning and evaluating employee retention measures.

Download the TPI whitepaper here: TPI Whitepaper: India