Employee Poaching and Career Advancement: A Study on CUSAT Alumni’s

International Journal of Scientific Research and Review ISSN 2279-543x
Employee Poaching and Career
Advancement: A Study on CUSAT Alumni’s
* Nimisha.M.N.
Ph.D Scholar
Department of Public Administration and Policy Studies
Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod
Kerala -671316
Abstract: Picking the best performer from a rival firm is a recruitment strategy to deal with
the cut-throat competition in the corporate world. Employee Poaching is an aggressive hiring
tactic in the IT sector, as the industry needs advanced or specialized skills. In most cases,
poaching is done to get an insight into the competitor’s operations and the question of ethics
arises several times. This paper aims to find out how organizations and employees perceive
‘Employee Poaching’ and how it affects the career advancement and morale of the employees.
Questionnaire and interview methods are used to explore the emotional dispositions of
poachers and poached candidates. Qualitative software NVivo is used for data analysis.
Employee poaching, organizational climate, succession management, and employee morale are
investigated. Employee poaching practices may seem to be fruitful for the candidates in the
short run but cannot be adopted as a career strategy as it gives an image of half-hearted and
disloyal.
Keywords: Employee Poaching, Ethics, Organizational Climate, Employee Morale
Cite This Study: N, Nimisha. "Employee Poaching and Career Advancement: A Study on
CUSAT Alumni’s". International Journal of Scientific Research and Review, vol 8, no. 2, 2019,
pp. 235-243.

INTRODUCTION
Employee Poaching is a corporate scenario in which an organization hires the key employee(s)
of rival companies by offering better pay packages (Lazear). Employee poaching is common
in the IT industry, as the sector demands technically skilled employees (Kim). Candidates
having higher degrees are more in number, but to find real talent is a herculean task
(Muehlemann). Due to cut-throat competition, every firm wants to recruit the best talent
(Coetzee).To deal with the situation recruiters usually prefer candidates who have some
industrial experience (Kong &Thomson). Employee poaching is a cost-efficient strategy to hire
the best performers from a rival firm (Doyle). By appointing experienced employees, selection,
induction and training costs can be saved (Panagiotakopoulos).
Employee poaching is not a new phenomenon in India. When PepsiCo was launched in India,
employees were poached from Hindustan Unilever (Sethi). Employee poaching is also known
as lateral hiring, predatory hiring, employee raiding and talent leaching. A raiding firm, Victim
firm and the employees are the three major parties are involved in employee poaching (Doyle).
Availability of resources, the vision of management and legal requirement can impact poaching
decision (Blanchflower).Poaching can be done by giving better career opportunities, flexible
work hours, a healthy work environment, and leisure facilities (Rashmi).
Nature of career and demands of employees are changing (Pedneault). Insurance Business
America’s engagement report reveals that every employee expects a 10% hike in their salary
every year. By offering better pay packages, impressive titles and additional perks any
organization can snatch employees (Doyle). Employee poaching can be observed as a zero-
sum game, where the gain of one firm is equal to the loss of another firm (Arthur). Firms
compete for a small pool of talents (Blanchflower ). Efficiency wage theory is a strategy to
give more amount than the prevailing market rate to its employees to persuade them. It is used
to increase employee satisfaction and to reduce the attrition rate, which is otherwise known as
‘economy of high wages’. While doing the recruitment, recruiters should be very careful about
the pre-hire and post-hire outcomes (Breaugh et al).
ETHICS OF EMPLOYEE POACHING
The poaching strategy has always been a topic for debate for its ethical issues. In a growing
economy, recruiters will poach or laterally hire talented people (Pofeldt). NASCOM (National
Association of Software and Services Companies) is the highest trade association of Indian IT
and BPO industry, which plays a crucial role in public policymaking in the software industry.

NASCOM advised IT companies to follow certain ethical corporate behaviour while recruiting
(Kumar). Employees are free people; they have every right to reject an offer and venturing out
of the organization. Employee Poaching is ethical as long as the intentions are not to disrupt
the business activities of rivals.
In most cases, poaching is done to get an insight into rivals (Lazear). Organization’s secrets,
confidential documents and competitive intelligence will be affected by employee poaching
(Doyle). Poached candidates have no ties to the company which makes longer orientation time
for them to get adjusted (Li). Employee poached today may be a target of some other firm
tomorrow. Consulting an employment lawyer is the best option to avoid a lawsuit and to weigh
the risks and rewards associated with poaching ( Kim).
NON-POACHING AGREEMENT
In knowledge-driven industries, the poaching of the skilled workforce is a necessity (Li).
Organization widely adopt bonding agreements to countermeasure employee poaching in
which a specific time period is mentioned which the employee made to work mandatory. Non-
poaching protects the investment employer makes on an employee (Deb). Unwritten non-
poaching agreements are common among Silicon Valley companies, which is informal in
nature. Confidentiality clauses prevent employees from joining to rival (Arthur). Employees
need to sign a six months non-competing agreement in case if they got terminated from Infosys
while accepting their annual increments (Puri). Some companies did not train their employees
by the fear of losing them (Moen).
The non-poaching agreement creates trust issues and limits employees desire to pursue better
career opportunities (Cappelli). There are several legal issues, for example in the case of
Beckman Coulter International, a long-time partner of Wipro Limited wanted to expand its
operations in India. For this purpose, they issued an employment advertisement. Preferences
were given to the candidates who have prior experience of handling respondents or similar
products. Wipro Biomed filed a case stating that Beckman Coulter International poached their
23 employees whom they gave specialised training in Switzerland. Wipro alleged that
Beckman Coulter International breeched no-poaching clause and won the order from Delhi
High Court, which restrains Beckman Coulter International from giving alluring offers to
Wipro employees (Anand).

Statement from U.S Department of justice expressed that freedom and prospects of an
employee cannot be curtailed. If an employee directly applies for a general call given for any
vacancy in a rival company, it would not be considered as poaching (Kim). An organization
could not practice ‘cold calling’, which means lobbying each other’s employee
(Panagiotakopoulos). Restrictive contracts are valid only if the organization can prove that the
no-poaching clause is essential to the survival of the firm (Kong). Imposing a levy on the
employee who has been poached is usual practice, hefty amount as fine is needed for
settlements sometimes (CHEW).
RESEARCH DESIGN
The study is conducted among more than 500 CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and
Technology) B.Tech Computer Science alumni’s. The research design adopted for this research
is explanatory in nature. The study starts with the observation of frequent edits on the Current
employer column of CUSAT alumni’s. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the reliability
and feasibility of the research. Questionnaire and interview methods are used to conduct this
study. Electronic methods are also used to collect data. Secondary data is obtained from
CUSAT placement records, performance appraisal reports of employees and annual reports of
organizations. Data regarding the recruitment and selection process were collected and
analysed to understand the composition of the staffing system.
Questionnaires had five sections. Respondents perception of employee poaching,
Organizational philosophy, work atmosphere, organizational climate, succession management
and employee morale are explored through open-ended questions. Abductive approach is
chosen for this study. Qualitative software NVivo is used for data analysis. The interview
method is used to explore Career advancement, employee morale and organizational climate
are investigated. Different recruitment options, selection methods, personnel retention
strategies along with this are also found out. Qualitative tool Dedoose is used to code and
transcribe interviews. Emotional dispositions of poachers and poached candidates were
examined. The relationship between employee poaching and career advancement are explored
in this research.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Effective recruitment strategy starts with effective personnel retention action (Taylor). The root
cause of employee poaching is dissatisfaction in the existing job or lack of engagement
(Sarma). HR manager’s inability to understand the driving factors of attrition is the reason for

the failure of most of the retention programs (DeCenzo). Current employees thoroughly know
the work culture who are more reliable and more likely to stay with the organization. Firms are
in the cat race and usually, don’t have the endurance to encourage personal advancement
instead they prefer best-experienced personnel to reach ( Cappelli) .
Many firms do not clearly become aware of the idea of workplace territoriality (Brown &
Werner). Territoriality can be simply defined as psychological ownership (Coetzee). A
significant portion of the lives is spent in the organization, which makes the concept noteworthy
(Fica). By allowing and encouraging territoriality in the workforce ,a sense of belongingness
can be created which in turn results in low attrition rate and an increase in productivity (Brown).
Poaching is mostly done to meet immediate needs. In most of the cases, poached candidates
require a longer adjustment period (Brown). Starting salary of employees who appointed
through employee poaching is way ahead of industrial norms, which may cause internal equity
issues (Greenwald).New hires may have a counter-culture, which may damage the
organizational climate. Such cases require orientation training and socialization to understand
the organizational culture (Coetzee) which are very expensive .
Hiring not only concerned with selecting the right candidate for the right job but also concerned
with achieving an equilibrium among employee, job and the firm (Subba Rao). Recognition,
opportunity, innovation and excitement are the guiding factors of employee poaching. An
employee being poached today may be the target of another firm in the days to come (Gardner).
Frequent switchovers give the risk of having an image of disloyal and lack of professionalism
(Kumar).Most of the time he is labelled as a job hopper and no organization is interested in
hiring a job hopper. Job-hopping obstructs employees from moving up on the career ladder
(Kong). The career of a poached employee gets destroyed in the long run. Employee poaching
may seem to be beneficial for the short run but cannot be considered as a successful career or
recruitment strategy for the long run.
REFERENCES
1. A, Adelere, and Michael Adekunle. Scribd, 2012,
www.scribd.com/document/273569659/Article-on-Staff-Poaching.
2. Anand, Varsha. "Press Conference of Wipro Won an Order From Delhi High
Court". 2006.
3. Answers Ltd. “Impact of Career Advancement on Employee Turnover in an
Organization.” UK Essays, 22 Nov. 2018,

www.ukessays.com/essays/business/impact-of-career-advancement-on-
employee.php.
4. Arthur, Diane. Recruiting, Interviewing, Selecting & Orienting New Employees.
4th
ed., AMACOM, American Management Association, 2006.
5. Blanchflower, David G., and Simon M. Burgess. Job Creation and Job
Destruction in Britain: 1980-90. Centre for Economic Policy Research, 1994.
6. Breaugh, James A. “Employee Recruitment: Current Knowledge and Important
Areas for Future Research.” NeuroImage, Academic Press, 9th
Aug. 2008,
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053482208000326.
7. Brown, Barbara B, and Carol M Werner. “Social Cohesiveness, Territoriality, and
Holiday Decorations: The Influence of Cul-De-Sacs.” Sage Journals, vol. 17, no.
5, 1 Sept. 1985, pp. 539–565.,
doi:https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0013916585175001.
8. Brown, David, et al. “Engagement.” Deloitte United States, Deloitte Insights, 29th
Feb. 2016, www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/human-capital-
trends/2016/employee-engagement-and-retention.html#endnote-1.
9. Brown, Graham, et al. “Psychological Ownership, Territorial Behavior, and
Being Perceived as a Team Contributor: The Critical Role of Trust in the Work
Environment.” Willy Online Library, 18 June 2013,
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/peps.12048.
10. Cappelli, Peter. “Talent Management for the 21st
Century.” Harvard Business
Review, Mar. 2008.
11. CHEW, Rosalind. "Economies of Training :Market Failure and Government
Intervention". Crisis Management and Public Policy: Singapore's Approach to
Economic Resilience, Sng Ying and Chia Mun, World Scientific Publishing Co.
Pvt. Ltd, Singapore, 2011,
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=JSbAb08t5AC&pg=PT98&dq=employee+
poaching&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjszv6c797fAhUJMo8KHUFQBX8Q6
AEIQzAF#v=onepage&q=employee%20poaching&f=false. Accessed 5 Jan
2019.
12. Coetzee, Melinde, and A. M. G. Schreuder. Personnel Psychology: An Applied
Perspective. Oxford University Press Southern Africa, 2010.
13. Deb, Tapomy. Managing Human Resources & Industrial Relations. 1st
ed., Excel
Books India, 2009, p. 434.

14. DeCenzo, David A. Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 10th
Edition., John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
15. Doyle, Alison. “What is Employee or Job Poaching?” The Balance Careers, 14
June 2018, www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-employee-poaching-2061980.
16. Fica, Troi. "How to Deal with Employee Poaching from the
Competition". Glassdoor for Employers, 2018,
https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/employee-poaching/. Accessed 5
Jan 2019.
17. Is Poaching Candidates from Competitors: Wise Hiring Strategy?". 2018,
https://www.talentnow.com/poaching-candidates-competitors-wise-hiring-
strategy/. Accessed 30 Dec 2018.
18. Gardner, Timothy M. “In the Trenches at the Talent Wars: An Examination of
Competitive Interaction for Human Resources in the Software
Industry.” Brigham Young University, Center for Advanced Human Resource
Studies, 2003, pp. 3–5.
19. Greenwald, Bruce C. “Adverse Selection in the Labour Market.” The Review of
Economic Studies, vol. 53, no. 3, 1 July 1986, pp. 325–347.
20. Kim, Jin Hyuk. “Employee Poaching, Predatory Hiring and Covenants not to
Compete.” Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 12 Dec. 2017.
21. Kumar, Satishchandra, et al. “Indian Employees' Attitudes toward
Poaching.” Business Perspectives and Research, vol. 3, no. 2, 2015, pp. 81–94.,
doi:10.1177/2278533715578553.
22. Kong, Eric, and Stanley Bruce Thomson. “An Intellectual Capital Perspective of
Human Resource Strategies and Practices.” Knowledge Management Research &
Practice, vol. 7, no. 4, 19 Dec. 2017, pp. 356–364., doi:10.1057/kmrp.2009.27.
23. Lazear, Edward P. Raids and Offer-Matching. Vol. 35, National Bureau of
Economic Research, 1984.
24. Li, Shenxue & Scullion, Hugh, 2010. "Developing the Local Competence of
Expatriate Managers for Emerging Markets: A Knowledge-based Approach,"
Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 190-196, April. Handle:
RePEc:eee:worbus:v:45:y:2010:i:2:p:190-196
25. Li, Yiqiong, and Peter Sheldon. "Skill Shortages:Where Labour Supply Problems
Meet Employee Poaching". China's Changing Workplace Dynamism, Diversity
and Disparity, Peter Sheldon et al., 1st
ed., Routledge, Oxon, 2011, pp. 129-140,

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=W8OsAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&
source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Accessed 3rd
Jan
2019.
26. Moen, Espen R, and Asa Rosen. “Does Poaching Distort Training?” The Review
of Economic Studies, 1st
Oct. 2004, pp. 1143–1162.
27. Muehlemann, Samuel, and Stefan C. Wolter. “Firm-Sponsored Training and
Poaching Externalities in Regional Labor Markets.” Regional Science and Urban
Economics, vol. 41, no. 6, Nov. 2011, pp. 560–570.,
doi:10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2011.04.003.
28. Okafor, and Lawrence Chima. “Employee Poaching within the Framework of
Nigerian Work Organizations: An Exposition.” International Journal of
Managerial Studies and Research (IJMSR), vol. 4, no. 5, May 2016, pp. 42–48.
29. Panagiotakopoulos, Antonios. "Staff Poaching". Encyclopedia of Human
Resource Management, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2016, p. 412.
30. Pedneault, Stephen. Preventing and Detecting Employee Theft and
Embezzlement a Practical Guide. Wiley, 2010.
31. Pofeldt, Elaine. “How to Master the Art of Poaching Employees.” Inc.com,
www.inc.com/magazine/201405/elaine-pofeldt/how-to-poach-employees.html
32. Puri, Mahima. "Out Going CEO Signing No-Poaching Pacts". The Economic
Times,Newdelhi, 2008, Accessed 9 Jan 2019.
33. Rashmi. Recruitment Management. 1st
ed., Himalaya Publishing House, 2010.
34. Samuel , Remi, and Ademola Adeniyi. “A Study of the impact of Expatriate
Managers on Local Managerial Capacity Development in Emerging Markets: The
Case of Nigeria.” International Journal of Public Administration and
Management Research (IJPAMR), vol. 2, no. 5, Mar. 2015, pp. 1–11.
35. Sarma, A M. Personnel and Human Resource Management. Himalaya Publishing
House, 2010.
36. Sethi, Kittima, and Pacharee Pantoomano Pfirsch. The Art of Marketing and PR:
Giving You Effective Tools to Build Your Brand and Make Your Business Grow.
Brand Now, 2015.
37. Subba Rao, P. Human Resource Management: (Text and Cases). 1st
ed., Himalaya
Pub. House, 2010.
38. Taylor, Stephen. The Employee Retention Handbook. CIPD Publishing, 2002, pp.
89-90.

39. Vo, Anne. The Transformation of Human Resource Management and Industrial
Relations in Vietnam. Elsevier Science, 2009.
40. Wieringen, A. M. L. van, and Graham Attwell. Vocational and Adult Education
in Europe. Springer, 2013.
APPENDIX:
Questionnaire
My name is Nimisha.I am a PhD Scholar and as part of my dissertation, I need your
assistance in completing a survey regarding ‘Employee Poaching and Career
Advancement: A Study on CUSAT Alumni’s’. This survey is designed to explore the
career aspirations and work life of poached employees. Your participation in this study
is voluntary. Your responses will be AUTONOMOUS and will be kept very kept
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
Section A
Name : Gender : E-mail id:
Marital Status : Qualification : Current Occupation :
Work Experience:
Section B
1. Is Employee Poaching is a recognized HR challenge in your current firm?
a) Yes b) No
2. What makes you take competitors offer :
a) Mismatch in the previous job profile
b) Lack of conducive workplace atmosphere
c) Lack of career growth
d) Workload

e) All of the above
d) All of the above
3. Does your firm make it obligatory for the employees to serve a notice period?
a) Yes b) No
4. Has your firm adopted any HR strategy to counter Employee Poaching?
a) Yes b) No
If yes, Please specify --------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. What is the duration of the notice period in your firm? -------
6. What all are the objectives of the notice period in your company? Is retention is an
objective of notice period? -----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Do your firm conduct an Exit Interview of the Employees who Resign from their job?
a) Yes b) No
8. What are your views on employee poaching? Can it be adopted as a career strategy?--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Do you get any kind of orientation after being poached? -----------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. How your work life changes after being poached ?-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. How your co-workers treated you after being poached ?------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Do your organization have a practice of signing a No-Poaching Agreement? -----------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

13. What are your views on ‘No Poaching Arrangement’? Is it curtails employees
freedom? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Do you face any legal action after being poached? ------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Please suggest ways, that you may think can help in employee retention? ---------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you

Employee Poaching and Career Advancement: A Study on CUSAT Alumni’s

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Employee Poaching and Career Advancement: A Study on CUSAT Alumni’s

Similar to Employee Poaching and Career Advancement: A Study on CUSAT Alumni’s (20)

More from Nimisha Nandan

More from Nimisha Nandan (9)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Employee Poaching and Career Advancement: A Study on CUSAT Alumni’s