A THESIS ON

A STUDY ON THE ATTRACTION AND RETENTION

STRATEGIES OF EMPLOYEES IN MILMA:KANNUR

BY
NIMISHA JANITH
(7NBKN034)

KANNUR
 A THESIS ON

A STUDY ON THE ATTRACTION AND RETENTION

STRATEGIES OF EMPLOYEES IN MILMA:KANNUR

BY
Nimisha Janith
(7NBKN034)
MBA 2007-09

A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of

THE MBA PROGRAM (2007-09)

INC, KANNUR

Faculty Guide : Mr.Ratheesh

INC Center : Kannur
 DECLARATION

I, Ms. Nimisha Janith, hereby declare that this project work

titled “A study on the attraction and retention strategies of employees in
Milma: Kannur" is the result of my own work done at Milma under the
guidance of Mr. Ratheesh, Faculty Guide, INC Center Kannur and it has
not formed the basis for the award of any degree or diploma either to this
university or elsewhere.

Place: Kannur Signature of the Student

Date: (Nimisha Janith)

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
 Acknowledgement…………………………………………..

 Introduction…………………………………………………

• Management Thesis Title………………….

• Objectives and Limitations…………………………...

• Methodology………………………………………..

 Industry profile………………………………………………

• Employee Retention Strategy……………………………..

• Benefits of Employee Retention…………………………

• Reasons why employee leave the organization……

 Company Profile…………………………………………….

• Product profile……………………………………….

• Attracting and Retaining of employees in Milma…..

 Conclusion………………………………………………..

 Questionnaire………………………………………………
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It gives me great pleasure to thank and acknowledge all the concerned
people who helped me and are helping me in continuing this project work
successfully.
I extend my sincere gratitude to Mrs. Nishi Rejan (Principal, INC Kannur),
Mr.Ratheesh (Faculty Guide, INC Kannur), for his valuable guidance in steering
the course of the study and in the preparation of this report.
Last, but not the least my heartfelt gratitude to all the employees of
Milma, Kannur and friends for their constant encouragement, support, help and
valuable advice to make this project in the way of success.

Name: NIMISHA JANITH

Enrollment No:
7NBKN034
 INTRODUCTION
Employees are the heart and soul of a business, they are the mechanism that makes
a business run, they are the breath of life that enables a business to be something
more than an idea. Employee retention involves taking measures to encourage
employees to remain in the organization for the maximum period of time.
Corporate is facing a lot of problem in employee retention these days. Hiring
knowledgeable people for the job is essential for an employer. But retention is even
more than hiring. There are no of opportunities for a talented person. There are
many organizations which are looking such employees. If a person is not satisfied
by the job he’s doing, he may switch over to some other more suitable job. In
today’s environment it becomes very important for the organizations to retain their
employees.
In a competitive environment market environment, talented employees are
valuable asset. These employees in turn, are trying to make the best of their career
opportunities. Therefore, an organization that shows concern for the employee’s
future by providing them the best opportunities can attract and retain talented
people. As the number of people who seek challenging jobs, greater responsibility
and better opportunities increases, career planning becomes all the more essential.
Moreover, employees seek jobs that are compatible with personal and family
interests and commitments. Career development results in lower employee turnover
by matching aspirations with organizations needs.
MANAGEMENT THESIS TITLE:
“A study on the attraction and retention strategies of employees in Milma: Kannur”

OBJECTIVES
• Primary objectives
 To find out the attraction and retention strategies of employees in Milma

• Secondary objectives
 To find out the methods to minimize the level of attrition in an organization
 To analyze how far the workers are satisfied with their job.
 To find out whether adequate working conditions are provided to the workers.
 To find out the compensation programs and other benefits provided to the
workers.
 To find out the training program provided to employees and whether the
company reward them for their efforts.
 To find out the recruitment and selection procedures in selecting the right
candidates.
 To find out the relationship with their co-workers and superiors.

LIMITATIONS
 The duration of the project is short and hence difficulty in conducting in-depth

study
 As the study is based on retention, the information is received from the

questionnaire; there is no other technique for evaluating attrition.

METHODOLOGY
The objective of research work is to follow systematic procedure from the
statement of objectives to the analysis and reporting of data and findings. The
survey process adopted in the present study consisted of the following stages: -

 Defining the problem and the research objective: The objective states
what information is needed to solve the problem. The objective of the research
was to find out the “A study on the attraction and retention strategies of
employees in Milma: Kannur”

 Developing the research plan: Once the problem is identified, the next step
is to prepare a plan for getting the information needed for the research. The
exploratory approach wherein there is a need to gather large amount of
information before making a conclusion.

 Sources and Collection of data: two kinds of data, i.e., primary data and
secondary data

DATA COLLECTION
• Primary data collection: The primary data will be collected through
questionnaire among the workers of Milma. Primary data are collected
expressively to help and solve the problem at hand. Questionnaires are
formulated instrument for asking information directly from a respondent
concerning behavior, demographic characteristics level of knowledge and or
attitudes, beliefs and feelings
• Secondary data collection: The data related to compensation policy
formulated are collected from official records and through the websites.
Secondary data were collected for some purpose other than helping to solve the
 current problems. Secondary data are virtually collected first because of time
and cost advantage.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

• Sample Size : The total sample size is 50.

• Sample Method : Judgment sampling method.
• Sample Area : Respondents from the employees of Milma.

Statistical tools used for analysis of data.

Codification and analysis: the primary data collected has no use unless it
is codified and analyzed. After collecting data through questionnaire, it has
been codified and presented in tabular form using statistical tools. The
findings of research works will be analyzed and presented in the graphical
form.

After collecting data using various research instruments, it is to be

classified and tabulated. Then only further analysis can be made. Classification
of Data is the process of arranging data in to sequences and groups according
to their common characteristics. The collected data can be represented
graphically with the help of Graphs and charts such as lines charts, bar
diagram, pie charts etc. by using the sample
 INDUSTRY PROFILE

Dairy is a place where handling of milk and milk products is done and technology
refers to the application of scientific knowledge for practical purpose. Dairy
technology has been defined as that branch of dairy science, which deals with the
processing of milk and manufacture of milk products on an industrial scale.

In India, dairying has been practiced as a rural cottage industry since the remote
past. Semi-commercial dairying started with the establishment of military dairy
farms and co-operative milk unions throughout the country towards the end of the
nineteenth century.

During the earlier years, each household in those countries maintained its ‘family
cow’ or secured milk from its neighbor who supplied those living closed by. As the
urban population increased, fewer households could keep cow for private use. The
high cost of milk production, problems of sanitation etc, restricted the practice and
gradually the family cow in the city was eliminated and city cattle were all sent
back to the rural areas.

Gradually farmers within easy driving distance began delivering milk over regular
routes in the cities. This was the beginning of fluid milk-sheds which surround the
large cities of today. Prior to the 1850s most milk was necessarily produced within
a short distance of the place of consumption because of lack of suitable means of
transportation and refrigeration.
The Indian dairy industry has made rapid progress since Independence. A large
number of modern milk plants and products factories have since been established.
These organizes dairies have been successfully engaged in the routine commercial
production of pasteurized bottle milk and various Western and Indian dairy
products. With modern knowledge of the protection of milk during transportation,
it became possible to locate dairies where land was less expensive and crops could
be grown more economically.

In India, the market milk technology may be considered to have commenced in

1950, with the functioning of the Central Dairy of Aarey Milk Colony and milk
product technology in 1956 with the establishment of AMUL Dairy, Anand. The
industry is still in its infancy and barely 10% of our total milk production

The most valuable resources that a dairy business can have are reliable and
productive workers. Today’s tight labor market means that workers have many
employment choices. Dairy producers need to do all they can to keep their best
employees and attract other excellent workers to their team.

Employee Retention Strategies

• Hire the right people in the first place.

• Empowers the employees: Give the employees the authority to get things done.

• Make employees realize that they are the most valuable asset of the organization.

• Have faith in them, trust them and respect them.

• Provide them information and knowledge.

• Keep providing them feedback on their performance.

• Recognize and appreciate their achievements.

• Keep their morale high.

• Create an environment where the employees want to work

BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION

 Cost of turnover: The cost of employee turnover adds hundreds of
thousands of money to a company’s expenses. While it is difficult to fully
calculate the cost of turnover including hiring cost, training costs and
productivity cost.

 Loss of company knowledge: When an employee leaves, he takes with him

valuable knowledge about the company, customers, current projects and
history. Often much time and money has spent on the employee in the
expectation of future return.

 Turnover leads to more turnovers: When an employee terminates, the

effect is felt throughout the organization. Co-workers are often required to pick
up the slack. The unspoken negatively often intensifies for the remaining staff.

 Goodwill of the company: The goodwill of a company is maintained when

the attrition rates are low. Higher retention rates motivate potential employees
to join the organization.

 Regaining efficiency: If an employee resigns, then good amount of time is

lost in hiring a new employee and then training him/her and this goes to the
loss of the company directly which many a times goes unnoticed
Reasons for leaving the organization
Employees do not leave an organization without any significant reason. There are
certain circumstances that lead to their leaving the organization. The most reasons
can be:

 Job is not what the employee expected to be: Sometimes the job
responsibilities don’t come out to be same as expected by the employee.
Unexpected job responsibilities lead to job dissatisfaction.

 Job and person mismatch: a candidate may fit to do a certain type of job
which matches his personality. If he is given a job which mismatches his
personality, then he won’t be able to perform it well and will try to find out
reasons to leave the job.

 No growth opportunities: No or less learning and growth opportunities in

the current job will make employees and career stagnant

 Lack of appreciation: If the work is not appreciated by the supervisor, the

employee feels de-motivated and loses interest in job.

 Lack of trust and support in coworkers, seniors and management: Trust

is the most important factor that is required for an individual to stay in the job.
Non supportive co-workers, seniors and management can make office
environment unfriendly and difficult to work in.

 Stress from overwork and work life imbalance: Job stress can lead to
work life imbalance which ultimately may times lead to employee leaving the
organization.

 Compensation: Better compensation packages being offered by other

companies may attract employees towards themselves.
  New job offer: An attractive job offer which an employee thinks is good for
him with respect to job responsibility, compensation, growth and learning etc.
can lead an employee to leave the organization.

COMPANY PROFILE
Milma is the popular name given to Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing
Federation (KCMMF).Milma started its operation in 1980 with its head office at
Thiruvananthapuram. It was started under the Indo-Swiss project. The project was
launched in 1963 on the basis of a bilateral agreement executed between the Swiss
Confederation and the Government of India. The project has made great strides in
the improvement of livestock farming in the state. One of them is the development
of Swiss Brown, a cross breed suited for the states conditions. The project is now
managed by the Kerala Livestock Development and Milk Marketing Board. It main
motive was to implement the Operation Flood programme started by the National
Diary Development Board (NDDB) in Kerala.

The project impact was so widespread that close to about 83%of the adult cattle to
the state got converted to the new breed- Sunandini, the milk production increased
by over ten times and the availability of milk increased by over 7 times with over a
million families dependant on milk production. The project has succeeded in
integrating better technology and management to the traditional small holder
production system. It also demonstrated how the high productive, semi stall fed
cows led to a spontaneous decline in the total bovine population of the state from
34.6 lakh in 1977 to 21.86 lakh in 2003when the total bovine population of India
went through an upsurge. This contributed immensely to environmental
sustainability. By demonstrating a growth model for productivity enhancement, the
productivity enhancement, the project not only impacted the million small
livestock in Kerala, but also millions outside the state.

The project demonstrated revolutionary institutional changes beginning with the

Indo Swiss project of Kerala, an autonomous institution under the government of
Kerala Livestock Development Board, with the formidable dairy cooperative

System under the Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (MILMA), under
the able guidance of its first managing director S. Nagarajan IAS, spun off as
successful an independent entity. The name Milma represents:-

 2,702 primary milk co-operative societies

 7.78 lakhs farmer members

 Three Regional Co-operative Milk Producers' Union

 Eleven Dairies capable of handling 9.90 lakhs litres of milk per day

 Thirteen Milk Chilling Centres

 Two Cattle Feed Plants with cumulative capacity of 600MT per day

 One Milk Powder Plant of 10MT per day capacity

 A well established Training Centre

 5,200 retail outlets

  Over 32,000 people working either directly or indirectly for the functioning
of Milma.

The Kannur diary is situated in the heart of the city nearly 4kms from Kannur
town. Kannur diary is headed by one diary manager who looks after the entire
process in the Kannur. Daily transportation of milk packets to various parts of
Kannur. Twice a day milk collection trucks go to the societies and collect milk. In
areas where which are not accessible by road, other means of collection are
employed.

PRODUCT PROFILE

 Milk: Pasteurized Milk, Sterilized Flavored Skimmed Milk

 Fat products: Ghee, Butter

 Curd: Sambharam, Curd, Lassi

 Ice Creams

 Beverages: Tetra pack flavored Milk, Refresh,

 Sweets : Peda, Cream Roll, Milma sip

 Cattle Feed

Attracting and Retaining of employees in Milma

CLASSIFICATION OF WORKERS
 Permanent
  Probationers
 Temporary
 Casual
 Employees on contract basis / deputation basis ( i.e. for a specified period)
 Apprentice/Trainee/ Learner

WORKING HOURS
Workers are working mainly in 3 shifts. They are:
 10:00 a.m- 5:00 p.m (office and administration hours)
 8:00 a.m- 4.00 p.m (1st shift)
 4:00 p.m – 8:00 p.m (2nd shift)
 From 8p.m night shift for laborers.

LABOUR WELFARE
Key factors success of any firm is labour welfare. MILMA provides:
• ESI Schemes
• Canteen Facilities
• Travelling Allowances
• Medical reimbursement facility
• Rest shelter
• Medical Facility

Human Resource Development

 Milma, Kannur family has 167skilled, efficient and qualified personnel and
has an excellent labour relationship
  Takes active role in framing personnel policies and service rules

 Finalize long term wage settlement, bonus etc.

 Placement and career development activities.

Training Centre
In keeping with the ideology of placing the instruments of progress in the hands of
the farmers themselves, an orientation programme was started way back in 1984
and the training needs were met from a rented building at Edappally in Ernakulam
District.

ANNEXURE
I am Nimisha Janith, MBA student from ICFAI National College, Kannur, doing
my project on “A study on the attraction and retention strategies of employees.”
Please fill in the Enclosed

QUESTIONNARE

Personal data:
1. Name:
2. Age:
3. Sex: Male ( ) Female ( )
4. Marital Status: Married ( ) Single ( )
5. Occupation
Permanent ( ) Probationers ( )
Temporary ( ) Casual ( )
Badli ( ) Apprentice ( )
6. Length of service in the present organization
Below 2 years ( ) 2 to 4 years ( ) Above ( )
7. What is the nature of your job?
Officer ( ) Staff ( ) Worker ( ) Other ( )

8. Educational Qualification:

Matriculation ( ) Plus Two ( )

Graduation ( ) Post Graduation ( )
9. Wages & salary that you get in a month
1500-3000( ) 3000- 4500( )
4500-6000( ) Above ( )

10. Are you satisfied with the salary or wages given by this organization?
Very Satisfied ( ) Satisfied ( )
Neutral ( ) Dissatisfied ( ) Very Dissatisfied ( )
11. Are you satisfied with regard to the job now doing?
Very Satisfied ( ) Satisfied ( )
Neutral ( ) Dissatisfied ( ) Very Dissatisfied ( )
12. Do you feel your organization is concerned about your well being?

Yes ( ) No ( )
13. What are the reasons you STAY at your present job?
Healthy working conditions ( ) Welfare facilities ( )
Compensation ( ) Good management system ( ) Good wags ( )
14. How would you rate the supervisors you work for now?
Very Satisfied ( ) Satisfied ( )
Neutral ( ) Dissatisfied ( ) Very Dissatisfied ( )
15. Do you think you have job security in your factory?

(a) Yes (b) No

16. Are you satisfied with the promotional avenues in the company?
Very Satisfied ( ) Satisfied ( )
Neutral ( ) Dissatisfied ( ) Very Dissatisfied ( )
17. Are you satisfied with the working hours?

(a)Yes (b) No

18. Are you satisfied with the training facility provided by the company?

(a)Yes (b) No

19. Are you satisfied with the recruitment and selection procedure of the company?

(a)Yes (b) No

SCHEDULE

NOV 17, 2008 (MONDAY) Commencement of Management Thesis

NOV 18-19, 2008 Review of MT-1 insights and learning;
ideas for improving the quality of MT-2. A
brainstorming session with students and
faculties.
NOV 26-29, 2008 (WEDNESDAY to Evaluation and approval of title and

SATURDAY) synopsis

DEC 18-27, 2008 (THURSDAY Interim Evaluation

to SATURDAY)
FEB 12-20, 2009 (THURSDAY Final Evaluation
to FRIDAY)
FEB 21, 2009 (SATURDAY) End of Management Thesis