Retain or Recruit?

It is generally considered prudent to retain an employee, when there are symptoms that he is going to quit  than to replace him  with a new recruit.

My experience has been on the contrary.

Once an employee settles down and the employee and employer are comfortable, the expectations are set, the employee becomes complacent.

As an employer, you assign important tasks to him  and expects him to perform. He will also do most of the time, and he also realizes that they are important for the organization.  But this works with many people in a different way.

They assume that management will not sack them and take liberties with discipline.

I feel the days of loyalty are gone. No one really bothers about a Company except the promoters. Majority of today’s employees do not have any attachment to any company and they have no patience. Who wants to see the growth after 5 years?

The fast paced life has given to fast track on career also without worrying about stability.

The IT employees expect a hike of 20% every year and eventually the employer ends up paying more for the same work output

The seasoned employees also have less initiative to learn and add to their skill set.

The new employee generally has more enthusiasm and zeal to ensure that he makes a good impression in the new environment.

I also found, that it is possible to replace the seasoned employee with a new face at a cost atleast 30% less CTC.

True, that the new employee has to settle down and there will be a small dip in project productivity etc. But the overall effect on the cost is beneficial to the employer.

So, it is not a must to hang on to your seasoned guys. ‘Old is Gold’ need not be true.

Of course, you have to take this decision in consideration with other factors like whether a customer likes the employee, what is the risk in replacing him etc.