'Customers must be retained'
Finally, an employee perspective on the Satyam debacle. Priscilla Nelson
was the Global Director of People Leadership, while Ed Cohen was the
chief learning officer at the beleaguered company during the crisis. The
husband-wife duo spoke to BT's Shalini S. Dagar.
Finally, an employee perspective on the Satyam debacle. Priscilla Nelson was the Global Director of People Leadership, while Ed Cohen was the chief learning officer at the beleaguered company during the crisis. The husband-wife duo spoke to BT's Shalini S. Dagar. Edited excerpts:
"We had these 30-, 60- and 90-day plans in place within 48 hours of the news break. We looked at what was known, what was not known and what was possible. And we worked out multiple scenarios. The new 'lights on' strategy was more about getting through each day. We began the arduous process of selecting essential services to continue, new services that were necessary, and services that needed to be curtailed. The basic lesson here is that while an organisation is on the first 90-day journey through a crisis, its customers need to be retained, its revenues must be earned and its projects must continue to be delivered.
"When Anand Mahindra was interviewed after the sale, he said our two priorities were governance and profitability. From my perspective, that was a big mistake, because he forgot that there were thousands of people working to put the company back together."
"We had these 30-, 60- and 90-day plans in place within 48 hours of the news break. We looked at what was known, what was not known and what was possible. And we worked out multiple scenarios. The new 'lights on' strategy was more about getting through each day. We began the arduous process of selecting essential services to continue, new services that were necessary, and services that needed to be curtailed. The basic lesson here is that while an organisation is on the first 90-day journey through a crisis, its customers need to be retained, its revenues must be earned and its projects must continue to be delivered.
"When Anand Mahindra was interviewed after the sale, he said our two priorities were governance and profitability. From my perspective, that was a big mistake, because he forgot that there were thousands of people working to put the company back together."
