Recruitment, Employee

Engagement and
Retention: ZS Associates
- A Company based study
Group 2

What connects the three

aspects?
Employee engagement is the primary tool

that drives retention, and subsequently,

recruitment
Attrition is especially high in the Consulting/IT
domain
Factors driving attrition in these firms:
Higher studies
Change of job profile
Change of industry
Poaching

What Employees Expected

(2009)
Area of Expectation

Percent

Challenging and interesting work

38%

Free and bilateral mode of communication

26%

Growth and development opportunities and tools

17%

Realistic Performance Management

12%

Work-Life Balance

8%

What Employees Expect

(2014)
Area of Expectation

Percent

Challenging and interesting work

47%

Work-Life Balance

22%

Growth and development opportunities and tools

16%

Realistic Performance Management

9%

Free and bilateral mode of communication

6%

Factors affecting Employee

Engagement
How to make it easier for people to successful

at their work?
Key to holding an employee:
Work that delivers value to organisation
Involves engaging with challenging, innovative

technology
Interacting with a team of bright and talented
people
Obtaining recognition for the work done
Atmosphere conducive to excel

Looking at ZS Associates
Completed 30 years of operations
Rated top 10 consulting firms to work for, with

the likes of Booz, McKinsey, Bain, etc. by Vault

Magazine
Rated in the top 3 pharmaceutical consulting
firms
18 offices in 12 countries
Workforce of ~1500 in India, which constitutes
75% of the entire companys personnel

Employee Engagement @ ZS
Challenging work offered by some of the blue-

chip firms of the healthcare industry

Open-door culture : Any level of hierarchy is
freely accessible
Each employee is assigned a Professional
Development Manager (PDM)
Regular office outings/social drives to boost
internal cohesion
Freedom to choose from variety of trainings
for which another employee becomes the
trainer

Retention @ ZS
Rate of retention has risen drastically since

inclusion of new initiatives

Quick opportunities to deal on the front end
International Exposure
H1B Secondment offers
Tie-ups with ISB and Kellogg School of
Management
Bonus programs which are strategically
spaced out:
Deferred Bonus Program (DBP)
Emerging Leaders Reward Program (ELRP)

Comparison between DBP & ELRP

payouts
700000
600000
500000
400000
ELRP
DBP

300000
200000
100000
0
24

30

36

42

48

54

60

Recruitments @ ZS
Tier-based system : Pay based on past

experience and/or education

Various modes of recruitment
Campus Hiring
Lateral Hiring
Referrals

Although retention rate is up, recruitment

drive is expanding due to booming business

requirements
Campuses are ranked into different levels and
each level is assigned a tier of hiring

Conclusion &
Recommendations
Certain key points that we can pick up from

smaller firms and try to apply them with

organizations of a larger scale
For eg: Infosys has a massive workforce in
which a few of these employee engagement
tactics can be implemented to diminish the
attrition rate and help them to retain their
employees

Conclusion &
Recommendations
Having a professional development manager,

who can track the career growth of a set of

individuals. This would also help streamline the
performance appraisal system, since the person
will be up to speed on the career growth of an
employee and can suggest strength areas for
capitalization and focus areas for improvement
Involving bonus incentive programs, which
would give employees the motive to stay on
further with the organization

Conclusion &
Recommendations
Providing them with opportunities of

international exposure which would help them

deal directly with the client, and help them build
confidence to deal with people of diverse
backgrounds
Introduce tie-ups with institutions providing
options for higher studies so as to provide a
route for interested employees to exercise it.
Since the facility will be available to top
performers, it would raise the standard of work
and ensure that an employee can contribute to
the fullest of his/her potential

Conclusion &
Recommendations
Since Infosys is into mass recruiting from

different colleges, the tier-level package

system can be implemented, which the
employees would understand that they will be
paid according to their pedigree at the time of
hiring. Further bonuses/raises will completely
depend upon their performance in the
company

References
Ho, Joanna L.Y.; Lee, Ling-Chu; Wu Anne: How Changes in Compensation

Plans affect Employee Performance, Recruitment and Retention available

at
http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?
T=P&P=AN&K=37318344&S=R&D=bth&EbscoContent=dGJyMMvl7ESeqLA
4wtvhOLCmr0yep65Srqe4SLKWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGsr1G0q
7VPuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA
Herrera, Fred: Demystifing Hiring and Retention available at
http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6f3cea15-e6ce4dff-929a-a4bc52c3b139%40sessionmgr198&vid=1&hid=107
Birchfield, Reg: Talent Attack: Finding, capturing and keeping the best
people available at https://www.management.co.nz
Bradley, Diana (March 2014) : Employee engagement, not benefits or
luxury perks, crucial to staff retention available at PRWeek (US),
Haymarket Business Publications Ltd.
Herrera, Fred: Demystifying Employee Motivation available at
http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=282e8677-56c7496b-b562-3eaab32a9f9a%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=107