Employees in India don't see growth opportunities in their workplaces: Microsoft Work Trend Index

Almost 60% of employees in India believe that there is not enough growth opportunities in their companies to stay long term, and if people cannot learn, they prefer to quit their current employer, according to the findings of Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Pulse Report 2022 published today. 

The study indicates that upskilling and reskilling are the best ways to attract and retain employees. While, reskilling is the process of learning new skills with the goal of finding a different job or career path, upskilling focuses on improving current employees’ skill sets, usually through training, so they can advance in their jobs and find different roles and opportunities within the company.  

The report is based on a study of 20,000 people in 11 countries, including India. It further showed that as a whopping 90% of employees in India (versus a global average of 76%) say that they’d stay at their company longer if they could benefit more from learning and development opportunities, making upskilling and reskilling powerful retention tools.    

The study showed that at present, 66% of employees in India say the best way to develop their skills is to change companies. Notably, 84% of Gen Z (19- to 27-years old) and millennial employees (28-30 years old) — said they would stay longer at their company if it was easier to change jobs internally. 

“In a tight labour market, re-recruiting people and investing in their careers for the long run could be the difference between a successful and a struggling organisation,” the report said.   

Bhaskar Basu, Country Head – Modern Work, Microsoft India, said that the need for employee reskilling and upskilling has become more urgent for the successful future of companies and their employees. “Companies should focus skilling employees through training, coaching and mentoring, etc., based on their interests and aptitude is paramount in today’s hybrid era,” he said. “Employers must also realise that work is no longer just a place, but an experience that needs to keep employees engaged and connected, no matter where they are working from,” he further added.   

Another study published today by tech staffing firms, TeamLease Digital, titled ‘Talent Exodus Report’, also showed that if employees are not given ample opportunities to learn new skills and do not get enough flexibility at work, they consider quitting their well-cushioned jobs in the mid-way. The study, debunks the misconception that “a salary increase would improve performance and boost job satisfaction” and said proper skilling in the form of training and collaboration can improve the situation.   

These trends also point towards a greater attrition level in the industry.  As per Xpheno data shared with Mint, in the IT services sector itself, 23% of talent has had one or more career movements over the last 12-month period. With the tech sector recording heightened attrition rates across all major players, ranging from 8% to 37%, the talent movement rate of 23% is in line with the average attrition rates seen in the Industry, it said. Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno, a staffing solutions company, said that companies need to re-evaluate their “hiring and retaining strategies to check high attrition and retain employees”.