How Companies Tackle The Problem Of Prized Professionals Leaving!

How companies tackle the problem of prized professionals leaving for greener pastures in droves.

- Sonal Khetarpal

It happens all the time, in every expanding sector. Whenever a new player enters the field – especially a well known brand – or an existing one scales up, the competition feels the pinch in terms of personnel. People in key positions simultaneously hop jobs in substantial numbers, often from a single company. In October this year, it was reported that global audit giant Deloitte will take away 300 executives from rival KPMG in India. (BT could not independently verify this news as both the companies declined to comment.) “Losing people hits companies in two ways,” says Shailja Dutt, Founder and Chairperson of executive search company, Stellar Search. “First, there are the vacancies to fill. Second, losing people to the competition could lead to a dip in the company’s market share and increased revenue for the competitor.”

After infrastructure finance company IDFC obtained Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permission to start a bank and began operations in 2015, for example, it reportedly recruited 1,500 bankers to man its numerous branches. “Obviously it hired from other banks,” says a recruiting company head who prefers not to be named. Companies facing difficulties invariably confront a double whammy – as their problems mount, so do their vacancies. Tech Mahindra, for instance, discovered a crisis when it took over the scam-tainted Satyam Computer Services in 2009. “In the wake of the Satyam scandal, rivals like Wipro and Cognizant had taken away the best employees,” says a senior executive, preferring anonymity. “Key customers had pulled out, too. It took us four years to recover and get the right people back.”

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