Attrition | Meaning and Definition

Attrition Meaning:

Attrition at the workplace refers to a situation when employees leave the organization and recruiters are not able to find their replacement. Higher rates can impact the productivity of business operations and increase the workload on remaining employees. 

Types of Attrition: 

It can be categorized into two types: 

1- Voluntary Attrition: It refers to a situation where employees decide to leave the organization of their own will. 

2- Involuntary Attrition: When an organization or employer decides to cut off the workforce.

Reasons For Employee Attrition 

Attrition is an unavoidable situation in every business. It happens for a variety of reasons, such as: 

  • Employee Retirement 
  • Employee leaving to pursue higher education 
  • Employee relocation to some other place 
  • Employees find better opportunities somewhere else
  • Unfair pay 
  • Poor management 

Retaining the employee to the organization is not always in HR’s control, but it is important to find the replacement as soon as possible. However, there are times when organizations deliberately leave vacancies unfilled. For example, if an organization is struggling financially, it may not have any other option but to cut the cost of hiring new employees. However, there are times when organizations deliberately leave vacancies unfilled. 

How To Stop Attrition? 

There are many ways to stop attrition in a company. Here are some ways by which you can stop it at the workplace: 

  • Engaging employees 
  • Offer employee benefits and perks 
  • Offer awards and recognition programs 
  • Offer flexibility to employees 
  • Provide fair compensation 
  • Implement a feedback culture 

HR executives should adjust to the dynamics of the job market by studying and gathering data to plan for various kinds of work inside the organization to guarantee attrition benefits the company. Others can be employed as contingent workers or independent contractors, while critical core staff can become comprehensive employees. As always, HR directors should think about the business size as well as the needs of individual employees.

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