Sri Lanka's staff retention is better than that of India - IFS President

IFS, the global enterprise applications company with the target of increasing its staff base from 700 to 1000 in Sri Lanka, has commended Sri Lanka saying the employee retention here is better than in India.

At a media briefing organized by the company to celebrate 19 years of presence in Sri Lanka at the Cinnamon Lakeside in Colombo last week, IFS Group President and CEO Alastair Sorbie made this comment to the Business Times.

He said, "The staff retention in Sri Lanka is better compared to India which is much lower." People move jobs and hop all over the place in India, he added.

Mr. Sorbie elaborated that in Sri Lanka IFS has a mature and well established technical operation. "We are pleased with the local people and the things they pick up on the new innovative technology through the labs and real products. Our main aim here is to stimulate the universities by training staff and growing our competence."

"We have planned to increase our staff by working closely with the universities in Sri Lanka and recruiting graduates from those universities.

Then we allow them to travel around the globe, meet the IFS customers and staff there and get exposure." Sri Lanka is not just an island working on its own but is a part of a global community, he stated.

He said that IFS was present in Sri Lanka even amidst the civil war that was prevailing in the country. There was criticism why IFS was investing in a country that has a big civil war. But today the company has made a milestone in the country that many institutions are prepared to work with. "We will continue to invest in this country," he noted. Today IFS is present in more than 60 countries globally.

During the media briefing, Mr. Sorbie emphasized on how the industry can take control of infinite possibilities, with an overview of IFS' vision and its relentless pursuit to develop software that puts you in control so you can stand out in challenging business environments.

Technology is never static hence innovation cannot exist in isolation.

Creating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship benefits both the industry and nation at large. IFS takes an open and flexible approach to businesses to ensure that its products are innovative and cutting-edge. The company also believes that investing and committing to build smart partnerships would actively contribute to the growth of the company, he added.

IFS Sri Lanka President and CEO Jayantha De Silva said, "Our main emphasis is to make our applications very simple and innovative. We spend a lot of our resources to make our applications mobile to make it possible to interact with the system from anywhere. Today people demand mobility and we go to great lengths to cater to that demand."

As a company that has implemented some of the largest IT infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka, IFS has greatly expanded its horizons in leading and

shaping the frontiers in Information Technology, added Mr. Silva.