Bridging Research Gaps in Employee Relationship Management (ERM) and Retention in IT/ITES Organizations: A Review and Future Directions

ERM is an important factor in determining the retention of employees within IT and ITES companies. Although extensive literature has addressed the ERM practices, there are still several gaps, such as the absence of longitudinal studies, scarce knowledge about AI and automation in ERM, inadequate cross-cultural comparisons, and absence of quantitative models connecting ERM KPIs with retention metrics. This review methodically focuses on these gaps and gives future research directions, which focus on the idea of mixed-method methods, global comparisons, and the use of technology in enhancing ERM. Moreover, the managerial implications are presented, and recommendations are provided on what HR leaders, policymakers, and HR technology vendors can and should do to create effective, evidence-based, and sustainable retention strategies. The paper highlights that leadership development, employee engagement, and analytics-based decision-making are important elements of modern ERM systems.