Wipro Sees Attrition Easing, Moonlighting Is Still A Worry

Saurabh Govil, chief human resources officer of Wipro, however, said moonlighting in the IT industry remains “a concern".

The Bengaluru-based IT services firm expects to hire about 8,000 freshers from campuses in the second half of this financial year—3,000 in Q3 and 5,000 likely in Q4. The hiring may spill over to the next financial year, Govil said.

“We have seen attrition go down over the last four quarters and it will go down in the fourth quarter (January-March). (Job) market and opportunities have slowed and remain tight now," said Govil. Wipro had rolled out about a 10% pay hike a quarter ago but Govil highlighted that while overall hiring frenzy has moderated, some jobs still see high demand.

Wipro’s attrition rate in the December quarter was 21.2%, falling from 23% in the September quarter. Though attrition rates in the IT sector remain high, Wipro’s rivals, too, have seen lower employee exits.

Infosys clocked a 24.3% attrition rate in Q3, compared with 27.1% in Q2, while HCL’s fell from 23.8% in Q2 to 21.7% in Q3. Tata Consultancy Services’ attrition fell from 21.5% in Q2 to 21.3% in Q3. Tech companies have struggled with counter-offers, out-of-turn raises, and promotions for almost a year.

Wipro had hired 15,000 freshers from campuses in the fiscal first half. Campus hires represent the largest group of new recruits for most IT firms.

On moonlighting, Govil said Wipro has regularly found cases of workers who take advantage of remote working and do moonlighting. The IT sector has been plagued by workers who were found to moonlight, which is against the employment contract for most firms.

From October, Wipro has asked employees to work from offices three days a week, and Govil said there are clients who are asking for full attendance in office.

Meanwhile, Wipro has promoted a record 12 executives to senior vice-president and 61 to vice-president positions in an effort to bolster its leadership team. The company now has 200 vice-presidents and 32 senior vice-presidents working under CEO Thierry Delaporte after key senior exits from the company.

A boost in senior teams comes at a time when promotions are becoming essential to retain senior executives.

Last year, senior executives overseeing Wipro’s operations in four countries exited. They are Douglas Silva who was incharge of Brazil; Tomoaki Takeuchi, who joined as head of business for Japan; Sarah Adam-Gedge, who took over as managing director of Australia and New Zealand; and Wipro’s head of business for the Middle East region, Mohammed Areff.