Employee Turnover in India: Insights from the Public–Private Debate

Abstract

The “war for talent” is not limited to developed economies but has become a common feature in emerging economies such as India. From the sociocultural perspective, India represents one of the oldest cultural heritages with distinct cultural values. The cultural difference may contribute to explain organizational practices toward talent retention. In the present chapter, the authors focus on the institutional, legal, and cultural context and highlight their uniqueness with respect to the Indian context. Within the institutional context, the authors found that prior to liberalization (which happened in 1990s), the Indian business scene was dominated by public firms or a small enclave of private firms. For both types of organization, turnover hardly mattered, and turnover was indeed negligible. Employees saw firms as “employers for life”: in such a context, voluntary turnover was extremely rare. Further, in the early legal context, it was hard for any private firm to “fire” an employee. Therefore, involuntary turnover was close to nil as well. Things began to change post-liberalization when the Indian scene was dominated by an influx of private players. The Indian mind too accepted turnover to be a part of the corporate life. In the present chapter, the authors provide a snapshot of what, why, and how of employee turnover in the Indian context. The authors specifically focus on what motivates employees to remain with the organization or why do they leave the organization. The authors close the chapter with insights relevant to both academicians and practitioners.

Citation

Kumar, K.K., Mishra, S.K. and Budhwar, P. (2021), "Employee Turnover in India: Insights from the Public–Private Debate", Allen, D.G. and Vardaman, J.M. (Ed.) Global Talent Retention: Understanding Employee Turnover Around the World (Talent Management), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 213-238. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-293-020211011