All that Glitters is not Gold: Employee Retention in Offshored Indian Information Technology Enabled Services

Abstract

Increasing offshoring of customer contact services to destinations such as India is underpinned by the availability of low cost and high quality workforce. But this competitive advantage is under threat with talent shortages, wage increases, and, most importantly, high employee attrition. Based on empirical studies and person-organization fit literature, this paper identifies and addresses some of the key issues and challenges in retaining talent in the Indian business process outsourcing sector, such as pay satisfaction, work organization, employment branding, and longer-term career advancement opportunities. It recognizes the need for multi-pronged retention strategies in a highly competitive, changing, and fast-growing part of the global services sector.