The Great Resignation in India: How to Retain Top Performers Amidst Global Trends

The COVID-19 pandemic led to drastic work culture shifts. Companies in India had to pivot a major global challenge to remain competitive. To sustain their businesses, leaders resorted to strategies like large-scale employee pay cuts, layoffs, and extended work hours. Changing priorities and dissatisfaction among workers led to the infamous Great Resignation phenomenon. 

Also known as the Big Quit, it refers to the mass voluntary departure of employees from their jobs due to a combination of factors, including a desire for better work-life balance, discontent with wages, and a lack of career growth opportunities. 

The Great Resignation started in America and soon seeped into India’s corporate sector. Since 2021, companies have had to respond to the financial strain caused by the pandemic by imposing stricter work conditions and cutting costs in key areas. The rift between the employees and their employers, therefore, keeps getting bigger with no mechanisms in place to correct this. 

The blog aims to highlight the factors driving the Great Resignation in India, its negative implications for organizations and employees alike, and potential strategies to make corrective efforts.

Key Drivers of the Great Resignation in India

Understanding the key drivers for this phenomenon is crucial for companies that aim to foster long-term employee relationships. The top factors that trigger resignation among workers in India are:

1. Demand for Flexibility 

Workers increasingly prefer flexible work arrangements. According to Forbes, around 12.7% of Indian employees work from home, and 28.2% function in a hybrid model (Forbes, 2024). When workers enjoy benefits like a healthy work-life balance, they are more likely to remain loyal to the organization, reducing resignation rates. 

 2. Global Opportunities and Pay Gaps 

Due to remote work, Indians are now competing with international talent. The lack of abundant talent in India is lucrative for companies operating abroad as well. Many Indian employees often relocate to international regions to switch job roles with better compensation and benefits. 

3. Lack of Career Growth 

Lack of promising growth opportunities can lead to dissatisfaction and higher attrition. Even highly qualified professionals are frequently caught in the crossfire. Since there is no clear blueprint for career advancement, they are forced to seek better job opportunities in the market and leave their current companies.

It compels even highly qualified employees to seek better job opportunities in the market, leading to higher resignation rates. 

 4. Burnout and Stress

The post-pandemic landscape in India’s corporate sector is very dynamic. The increased focus on remote work frequently blurred boundaries between an individual’s work time and personal time. This creates challenges related to overwork and heavy workload, primary contributors to employee stress. Over time, this has resulted in unprecedented burnout within high-demand sectors. These situations of burnout and stress force employees to reassess their career choices.

Strategies to Retain Top Performers 

To counter the Great Resignation, an organization needs to be proactive and holistic in its approach to employee retention. Here are the critical strategies tailored for Indian workplaces: 

1. Prioritize Employee Well-being 

Burnout and stress are the leading causes of attrition. Organizations must invest in mental health support and wellness programs. Here are some tips that can help improve employee well-being:

• Include mental health counseling and encourage work-life balance. 

• Implement flexible working hours to allow workers the time to attend to personal obligations. 

• Acknowledge efforts made by employees periodically to maximize morale. 

Making these small operational adjustments can improve employee well-being and counter the negative factors driving resignation. 

    2. Provide Clear Career Growth Blueprints 

Clear career pathing and upskilling initiatives may enhance employee engagement and loyalty. Here’s how companies can go ahead with this initiative:

• Develop continuous learning programs that are in line with employee expectations. 

• Design internal mobility programs to allow employees to explore other roles without having to switch to another company.

• Develop mentorship opportunities that help guide employees on their growth journeys. 

When career development blueprints are clear, employees are more likely to remain motivated and strive to achieve better roles in the future. 

    3. Foster an Inclusive Work Culture 

A positive and inclusive workplace culture is a must for retaining diverse talent. The following strategies can drive meaningful inclusion within organizations: 

• Provide equal opportunities in all aspects by encouraging inclusion and diversity.

• Take feedback from the employee by conducting regular surveys among them and address their grievances before getting time.

• Celebrate teams' success and take activities to give them a feeling of ownership.

Inclusivity allows employees to feel closer to the organization and improves satisfaction. This is important for discouraging employees from resigning due to unhappiness. 

   4. Competitive Compensation and Benefits

Organizations should ensure that the compensation packages align with market standards to retain high-quality talent. Here’s how they can achieve this: 

• Implement salary benchmarking mechanisms to compare with industry standards for designing attractive packages.

• Promote non-monetary incentives like wellness programs, flexible leave policies, and childcare support. 

• Provide long-term service incentives in the form of bonuses or stock options to encourage employee loyalty.

When benefits are attractive, it is likely that employees will choose to stay with their companies for longer periods. 

  5. Leadership and Employee Relationship 

Good leadership has a direct impact on employee retention. Managers who inspire, communicate well, and help their employees are well-equipped to address high attrition rates. Companies should follow these tips to ensure healthy leadership and employee relationships. 

• Leaders should be trained to adopt an approach where they coach employees on a more personal level to make them feel more connected and valued. 

• Communication channels must be open and accessible at all times to ensure healthy correspondence between employees and leadership. 

• Employee expectations are ever-evolving. Leaders should adapt to them by regularly aligning leadership practices with employee expectations. 

With a strategic system in place with well-equipped leaders at the helm to support it, employees are likely to connect more closely with the organization. This decreases the likelihood of them resigning over the long run. 

Bottomline

The Great Resignation in India highlighted the relevance of retaining and engaging employees. Companies implementing initiatives related to well-being, career development, inclusivity, and proper compensation are better poised to attract and retain the top talent available in the market. 

With India’s workforce evolving, there is a dire need for organizations to consider it a strategic imperative to reduce resignation rates by focusing on employee-centric initiatives. This builds an organization’s employer brand and helps them achieve long-term success. 

References

Forbes Advisor. (n.d.). Remote work statistics: Trends and insights for businesses. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/in/business/remote-work-statistics/