The attrition rate at tech behemoth Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for July to September period continued to jump for the sixth consecutive quarter to 21.5 percent but the firm says the peak has been reached even as quality talent supply continues to be a concern.

“We believe our quarterly annualised attrition has peaked in the September quarter and should see it taper down from this point, while compensation expectations of experienced professionals moderate,” Milind Lakkad, Chief HR Officer, said as the company released its financial results.

Lakkad pointed out that US attrition was high but not as much when compared to other geographies, so he doesn't see it as much of a challenge. From a wage standpoint, there is a slight increase in wages in the US, but that can be managed through a proper mix, he said, adding the company is getting a significant number of trainees in the US nowadays.

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In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, N Ganapathy Subramaniam, TCS COO and ED, said that in all onsite markets, be it the US, Europe, or the UK, there are supply constraints. Therefore, depending on the quality of resources, people with market knowledge, client knowledge, and industry knowledge will always come at a price point. “Our model is about constructing a team of multi multidisciplinary skills that are required to execute the project,” he said.

Speaking about hiring at TCS, Lakkad said the tech giant had 100,000 plus trainees last year, it has 35,000 at present and is already looking for another 12,000, honouring all the offers across the board, not just in India but across geographies. During the September quarter, TCS saw a net headcount addition of 9,840 employees taking the total workforce strength to 616,171, the firm said.

TCS plans to hire a total of 47,000 freshers in 2022-2023, which means the target of 12,000 is still in the pipeline. “We will decide at the end of quarter three and the beginning of quarter four if we need to do more,” Lakkad told CNBC-TV18.

TCS has also decided to reward 70 percent of its employees with full variable pay while 30 percent of them will get it based on business unit performance.

The company also made its stance clear on moonlighting, calling it an ethical issue, which is against the firm’s “core values and culture". The company's Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Rajesh Gopinathan said that an employee is barred from working for any other organisation as part of the service contract.

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Reflecting on the margin and cost, the firm’s chief financial officer Samir Seksaria said the immediate priority is to exit quarter four at a 25 percent margin, irrespective of where the rupee goes.

“There will be a combination of things that will play out in FY24. We would have our usual increments coming in, and we would have discretionary expenses also coming back. We'll have to balance that off with either productivity, utilisation improvement, or realisation improvement, and that is something that, over the years, we have been able to manage. And that's a task on hand,” he said.

Meanwhile, TCS CHRO said the company expects sub-contracting costs to reduce in the coming quarters even as visas in the US are still a challenge, other geographies are doing better.

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(Edited by : Kanishka Sarkar)