The best companies to work for in India
Six months of survey and analysis, 94 final participants, and hundreds of man-days of reporting is what it took to bring you the stories of India's best employers. It's a list still dominated by IT companies, but that's fast changing. A BT-Mercer-TNS study.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, they say. Indian IT's iconic employer, Infosys Technologies, should know exactly how that feels. In the six Best Companies to Work for In India surveys that have preceded this, the Bangalorebased tech giant has topped four of them. This year, it has stumbled.
Rather, it's been tripped up; partly by the sheer scale-up in its workforce and partly by the soaring aspirations of its young employees. So, the former Numero Uno stands humbled at #5. Instead, there's a new #1 on our list.
It's a surprising topper, simply because, although it's a household name around the world, misty-eyed affection isn't what its name evokes.
We are, of course, talking about Microsoft. However, employees in its six different units in India seem to be in love with the software giant. Elsewhere in this issue, we tell you why.
In a list dominated by IT companies, it takes a lot for non-IT players to break into the top ranks (this year, based on participant feedback, we have decided to feature the top 15 companies, instead of the usual 10.
As usual, the identity of the other participants will be kept confidential, although we would be happy to provide them with feedback on their performance in a limited way).
THE BEST COMPANIES: OVER THE YEARS | |||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
1 | Infosys | Infosys | P&G | Sasken | Infosys | Infosys | Microsoft India |
2 | P&G | P&G | American Express | Infosys | Sasken | MindTree | MindTree Consulting |
3 | HP | HP | NTPC | Thermax | Genpact | Satyam | Johnson & Johnson |
4 | ICICI | SKBCH* | J&J | HCL Comnet | HCL Comnet | Dr Reddy's Labs | Sapient |
5 | Hughes Software | Satyam | GSKBCH* | HDFC | NTPC | Sapient | Infosys Technologies |
6 | LG | Agilent | Tata Steel | NTPC | HSBC | Agilent Technologies | iGate |
7 | HLL | BHEL | Colgate Palmolive | Dr Reddy's | Sapient | Johnson & Johnson | Agilent Technologies |
8 | Compaq | American Express | Wipro | Satyam | Covansys | Covansys | HCL Comnet |
9 | Asian Paints | Colgate-Palmolive | IOC | Patni Computers | HDFC Bank | HCL Comnet | Accenture |
10 | Bharat Petroleum | Gillette | TCS | Hughes Software | MindTree | HSBC | Dr Reddy's Labs |
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| *SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare | *GlaxoSmithKline Beecham Pharma |
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So, Johnson & Johnson, Dr Reddy's Labs, Marriott Hotels India, and Godrej Consumer Products, take a bow. Finally, you'll find that some of the survey features run into four pages, while the others are two-pagers. There's a simple reason behind it: all the new entrants (seven of them) get a more in-depth treatment, while the others, who have featured previously, get a sharply-focussed look. The only exception is Infosys, which, because of its surprising fall from grace, gets a longer pat-down.
I Microsoft India - A vista unlike any other
The software giant from Redmond makes a stunning entry into BT's Best Companies to Work for in India list at #1. Quite a feat for a corporation that runs six different units in India.
Microsoft's secret sauce |
| Leadership development: The company spots and develops youngsters into leadership roles early in their careers and spends a large amount of time and money preparing them for the job ahead. |
| Internal transfers: Microsoft India employees can seamlessly transfer among the six business groups if they feel that they are stagnating in their current job. |
| Transparent compensation: The system of pay and appraisals are open and transparent inside the company, and employees know what they have to do to get to the next grade. |
| Mentoring: The mentoring system inside the company is one of the best. Mentors and their wards meet regularly and have an open and frank dialogue. And this relationship is not just a oneway street, Mentors often learn from their wards as well. |
| Recruitment: New employees are given a 'Buddy' to help them assimilate into the company. The company also helps in finding employees accommodation by having a real estate consultant. |
If you want to know what it feels like to work for Microsoft's India Development Centre in Hyderabad, just ask Ravi Jaiswal. Six months ago, the software design engineer quit another IT multinational and joined Microsoft. And for Jaiswal, it was love at first sight. "I walked into this building and the reception was expecting me.
I had a cabin, my e-mail was already configured, a 'buddy' had been nominated to help me assimilate, and there was a real estate consultant on the campus to help me look for a place. All that was a pleasant surprise," says Jaiswal.
A starry-eyed newcomer? Perhaps, but don't be too sure. Sreenivas Simhadri, a Microsoft veteran of 12 years, will tell you that Microsoft India really rocks. "I only just relocated to Hyderabad from Redmond, and I honestly feel that the buzz and excitement around this place right now is similar to what I experienced when I joined Microsoft in 1995 at Redmond," says Simhadri, a General Manager at Microsoft IT (MIST), which makes software for the technology giant's own use. "I will work with Microsoft as long as it will have me," quips Nagender Vedula, also a GM at MIST.
| Chairman Q&A: "Innovation Is Our Engine" |
| Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India, is the face of a united Microsoft in India. He spoke to BT's Kushan Mitra on what keeps the company going in the country. Excerpts: |
Is that why people stay on? But some people argue that Microsoft in India is doing the development work that people in Redmond don't want to do and the sales team is only concerned about selling licences? Is the Microsoft 'brand' a huge advantage in attracting talent? You have always argued that India's educational system will need a drastic overhaul if India has to retain its advantage. How should this be done? The lowest score Microsoft received in the internal employee survey was in pay, but that was universal across almost every company. Why do you think people are unhappy with pay everywhere? |
On a recent Wednesday, the campus' two large cafeterias are noisy and busy, since the centre has just inducted several hundred fresh graduates. "I like this company, it still has a college campus feel to it, I don't think any other large company is like this," says one of them. Over the last four years, when Ravi Venkatesan joined as Chairman of Microsoft's India operations, the software giant has grown at a frenetic pace.
Headcount has quadrupled to over 5,000 and revenues have jumped five times (Microsoft does not publicly disclose India-specific financial numbers). "Growing the company is not a challenge, but growing the people inside the company is," says Venkatesan, who has played a key role in unifying Microsoft's disparate business units in India and giving them a common corporate face. "Because of our growth rate, the thing I worry about is that the job a person does is growing faster than they can handle it."Coping with Growth To be sure, that's not a problem unique to Microsoft (other Indian companies, not just in IT, are faced with a similar problem), but some of the solutions it employs to deal with it are unique. "Many companies claim to have a mentor system, but ours works," says Srini Koppolu, MD, MSIDC, who predates Venkatesan at Microsoft and set up the Hyderabad development centre. Not surprisingly, the IT tools for the mentoring system were developed by MSIT at Hyderabad.
"The mentor-mentee relationship is one of the cornerstones of Microsoft," says Venkatesan. "And it is not about a wisened elder forking out knowledge, I learn from my mentees too. In fact, I learnt a lot of technical stuff from one of my first mentees," adds Venkatesan, a Harvard alumnus, who was Chairman of Cummins India before joining Microsoft.
The two-way learning apart, Microsoft allows its employees to switch roles. Almost all the employees-at marketing, development, R&D-that this writer met, mentioned the ability to change roles as one reason why they enjoy working for Microsoft. "India is the only country in the world that has six business groups, so if a person feels that his or her career is stagnating, then they can ask to switch to any other business group," says Joji Sekhon Gill, Director (Human Resources), Microsoft India. Needless to say, that helps Microsoft retain talent within the group.
But no matter how good the HR practices at Microsoft, the thrill for most of the engineers here boils down to something simple. "Whenever I see a PC, I can say that some of the fundamental work I did a long time ago is inside, and that is quite a kick!" says Koppolu. Then, having been a developer-focussed company traditionally, Microsoft goes out of its way to find good talent and retain it. Apparently, one doesn't need to be a hardcore software engineer to land a job at Microsoft, as long as one has some exceptional talent. "One of my fellow developers actually has a bachelor's in Hindi. He is a brilliant fellow, but I don't know too many other companies that would have given him a job,' says Jaiswal.
Agrees Murli Krishna K, Senior Director, MSIT: "This is a highly people-focussed company and that is why we get such good people." Wanted: More Women Despite Microsoft's efforts at diversity, its male-female ratio is surprisingly low. At one woman employee to every eight male employees, Microsoft India has one of the lowest ratios in the survey. However, what's equally surprising is that Microsoft has three women in its 11-member India Leadership Team, including Neelam Dhawan, MD, Microsoft India, Gill, and Meenu Handa, Head of Corporate Communications. "We take this issue seriously," says Gill.
"We are working to improve this ratio not just by doing things to make sure women stay with us, but also by sending out the message that Microsoft is a great place to work for women." Responsible corporate citizenship is something else Microsoft promotes in India. It has a 'giving month' every October when employees are encouraged to contribute money (the company makes a matching contribution) and time. Each employee gets three paid days every year to go and work on any social cause or at any NGO of his or her choice. They can even auction old household items or their own services to raise money for their causes. "I cooked meals for the five highest bidders," says Koppolu, adding that he is a good cook.
Venkatesan says such initiatives are important not just for social reasons but to create a happy workplace. "At the end of the day, what we are doing in India is trying to make a difference.
We might get people because of the Microsoft brand and because of Bill Gates, but people will not stay because of that. We have to highlight that Microsoft is not just about selling (software) licences or just creating software," he says. It's just the sort of higher goal companies need to become a best employer.
- Kushan Mitra
Read about MindTree Consulting
II MindTree Consulting - A School for leaders
MindTree walks the extra mile to empower its employees and care for them.
Two Months After MindTree Consulting was formed in August 1999, it recruited its 27th employee, Bhageerathi D.R, and in the following week its 33rd employee, Babuji Abraham. They are still with the company; and they are not alone in choosing to stay with MindTree. Only five of its 50 senior managers have left the company since inception.
The company, like most others on our list, has institutionalised practices to make itself employeefriendly. "We seek feedback from people within the company on areas that are working well and also on those that need improvement. Secondly, we identify and adapt best-in-class practices from globally admired organisations to help increase the engagement levels," says Soota.
MindTree's impressive 13-acre campus in Bangalore's Global Village will notice the efforts the company is making to look into small but crucial employee needs. Today, 23 per cent of its employees are women and growing; in the last round of hires from campuses, it was 40 per cent, up from 18 per cent three years ago.
Women are now allowed to take up to one year of leave for every six years of service to balance commitments between work and family. This can be availed for extended maternity, accompanying their spouse on travel, caring for dependent family members and taking care of small children.
Then, it has launched Dhriti, a MindTree Women's Network, as a support system to facilitate knowledge sharing, learning, mentoring and networking.
Says Sonal Sharma Mathur, Senior Engineer, who gets her one-year-old son Nalin to campus: "I joined MindTree in January 2005 as an engineer, and quit after the birth of my son to take care of him. Later, when I thought of joining back, the company welcomed me with immense understanding and fullest support."
These initiatives have allowed the company to keep attrition levels under control, though it is rising. It has risen to 15.7 per cent, from 12 per cent in 2005-06, compared to the industry average of about 25 per cent. But, there is a feeling that MindTree is not a good paymaster.
Puneet Jetli, Vice President & Head, People Function, at the company, denies this. "We peg our compensation at the 75th percentile in the industry (this means its compensation will be higher than 75 per cent of companies in the industry). And this year, our average compensation increase has been higher than the industry average."
In order to remove misgivings, he says the company undertook an extensive communications and benefits roadshow to communicate this to employees. He adds that the rising attrition level, though not alarming, needs to be watched closely and reduced.
The reasons, he feels, could range from misplaced perceptions on compensation, a desire to relocate to other regions and the pursuit of higher education. To retain talent, MindTree has launched an internal job postings system to help employees align their aspirations with available opportunities.
And it's working. Even employees who have left the company have nice things to say about it. V. Ramakrishna, who recently quit MindTree after a seven-year stint, says: "MindTree is a young company, so, one gets the opportunity to take on challenging roles early on."
And though it now has 5,500 people on its roles, Soota and Jetli are determined to retain the nimbleness and soul of a small company. "We have consciously worked on introducing several new practices to further reinforce our people brand," says Soota. No wonder MindTree Minds love their workplace.
- E.Kumar Sharma
III Johnson & Johnson - Some check out, but few ever leave
From being among the top 10 best companies to work for last year, Johnson & Johnson (Consumer Products) leapfrogs into the top five in its 50th year in India.
Such banter right from the corner room to the cubicles and corridors flows thanks in the main to a strong emotional connect that employees at J&J have with the company. It's a connect that's been built over time.
Recalls Vikas Srivastava, Vice President (Customer Development & Exports), who has been with the company for 13 years: "I had left the company after almost two years to join a partnership, but soon realised the difference in the work culture and approached J&J. My wife was pregnant at around the same time I was to rejoin the company. Not only did they tell me to delay the joining till my wife's first trimester was over, but they also gave me a month's leave at the time of delivery."
The standard menu of employee welfare is visible all over. This includes career counselling for employees' kids and a confidential helpline-J&J Mitr-for employees wanting advice on personal problems. As Trupti Mohan, General Human Resource Manager, says, working for J&J is just one aspect of an employee's life. It's a vital part, as the workforce isn't one that leaves the company in a hurry-the average tenure of an employee at J&J is well over 11 years. The annual attrition rate? 10 per cent.
But that's hardly something that makes Ambwani complacent- not at a time when there's a talent crunch of sorts out there; and when companies, particularly those in high-growth sectors, are pushing the envelope on the recruitment front. "It's a major challenge to match the compensation packages offered in today's job market. One is not pitted against just fellow FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies but also sunrise industries like retail, telecom, realty and aviation where marketing talent is much in demand," reveals Ambwani.
But if J&J, 35-40 per cent of whose local revenues is estimated to come from consumer products, doesn't dole out that extra bit in wages, it tries to make up by loosening the strings of opportunity. For example, when the company identified competency gaps in two new areas-modern trade and the skin and beauty care business-it focussed on building a critical mass of people from within the organisation. "To understand the complexities of modern trade, we sent a person from here to the US where J&J has a strong association with retail giant Wal-Mart," points out Ambwani. For skin care and beauty products, where J&J is planning a launch, it has identified talent for training at its Australian unit.
Meantime, J&J managers are much in demand in foreign markets. An erstwhile marketing head, Swami Raote, is currently heading J&J in Indonesia; and last year Vice President (Marketing) Elkana Ezekiel was co-opted by J&J Singapore to take charge of its baby care products division as Franchise Director (Asia Pacific). Ambwani may have his concerns about his employees being poached, but a few more people like Srivastava would help allay some of those fears. "On a Monday morning if I don't feel like coming to work, something is definitely amiss," quips the J&J veteran. He hasn't felt that way in the past 13 years.
- Tejeesh N.S. Behl
IV Sapient - Very open, very fair
At Sapient, transparency and people focus combine to form a unique work culture .
Ask him what makes the company so special to work for, and he tells you in all earnestness that it "is because we are truly open." He presses the point further: "Almost every company says that it is open; it's a word that you must use. But Sapient really is."
It is a philosophy that runs through the company (right from its US headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts), one of total transparency, one that even the company's new MD, Sandeep Dhar, loves. "Sapient has a unique culture of 'people success', because that role is defined in this company."
But Dhar appreciates that the 'culture' that he and his management hold dear also nurtures a high turnover of employees. "Fair enough, we have a high attrition rate," says Dhar. (At the time of the survey, this number was 20.9 per cent, though according to Binoo Wadhwa, Director, People Strategy, it currently stands at 16.9 per cent. But he quickly adds: "Most people who leave, leave the company soon after they join because they feel they cannot adjust to the culture." (Sapient has an average tenure among employees of just 2.42 years).
To overcome adjustment issues, Wadhwa has instituted 'Career Week' in the company, where freshers and new-comers are given counselling by more experienced people. "Confusion as regards careers is a huge problem we have to deal with among freshers," admits Wadhwa.
But the same 'culture' is credited with helping immensely during recruitment. Says Prashant Bhatnagar, Director, Recruitment: "Last year, we hired approximately 2,000 people. Referrals from our existing employees and alumni accounted for over 800 people. That is a large number, and we have noticed these people already know what to expect because their friends have already told them."
That said, Bhatnagar does admit that the cost of recruitment has gone up. "The average cost of recruiting a new person, including what we pay in-house staff and recruiters is between $1,000 and $1,400." And with Sapient planning to grow to over 5,000 employees in a couple of years from 3,500 today (3,160 at the time of the survey), as it expands to new centres in Bangalore and Noida, Bhatnagar has his work cut out.
The survey findings show salary as a sore point with Sapient employees who otherwise are happy with the work culture, management quality and the work-life balance. "Are we the best paymaster in the industry? No," says Dhar answering his own question.
"What we do offer people is a competitive pay packet as well as great options for career growth." Yet, several people have come back to Sapient, taking a cut in their salary, as Meenakshi Setia, Director, Programme Management, points out. "The work atmosphere here is very good and with new systems of telecommuting and flexible hours coming into place, it will get a bit easier." Prineet Bindra, Senior Manager, People Success, also mentions these new schemes that will allow employees more flexible timings and location choices. "You know one statistic we are really proud of? Not a single woman has quit us after maternity leave," Bindra says.
With Sapient entering the interactive space aggressively and Dhar talking about servicing domestic clients in 2008, the company has big plans for India. But, while they expand, they do not want to become mired in bureaucracy. "Yes, my job is to grow Sapient, but it is also to keep the company's employee culture intact, and that is what I plan to do," says Dhar.
- Kushan Mitra
Read about Infosys Technologies
V Infosys Technologies - The crown slips
Job applications still pour in at Infosys, but its young employees aren't entirely happy. Result: The Numero Uno tumbles down our rankings this year.
For Infoscions looking for a quick byte on life and work from the company's founder, this may be their best opportunity and several of them are quick to seize the opportunity, sidling up for a quick chat or handshake with one of the Indian IT industry's icons.
Why Infosys fell |
| Growing scale: Harder for a company with over 80,000 people to be as agile with people practices as smaller rivals. |
| Inadequate communication: Slow to communicate emerging company philosophy to employees. |
| MNC competitors: Emergence of MNCs in India has dented its reputation as among the best paymasters. |
| HR lag: Yet to put in place a comprehensive HR policy to deal with a global organisation. |
| Slow promotions: Yet to address issues of slower promotion and a perceived glass wall. |
"These youngsters are the lifeblood of the organisation and they are the ones who will carry Infosys into the next decades," says Murthy a touch grandly. Five years after he handed over day-to-day control of the organisation and stepped away from the spotlight, he continues to be among the most popular faces in the best-known brand in Indian IT.
Elsewhere, Infosys is also doing its bit to enhance its perception as not just a preferred, but even a caring employer in the highly competitive Indian IT industry.
For example, the company set up a volunteer helpdesk during the Mumbai blasts to help families track the whereabouts (and safety) of their employees, paid for an experimental drug for a chronically ill patient when conventional therapy stopped working and his insurance company wouldn't pay for this novel mode of treatment and, in another instance, arranged to have an employee's family flown to his bedside in a US hospital (and when he passed away, flown home).
"Taking care of our employees is not just about their welfare at work; we want to set the standard for employee care in the industry," Kris Gopalakrishnan, Infosys CEO, recently told BT.
Now, it gets harder
While Infosys may have set the standard in the Indian IT industry with its swish training campus in Mysore (spread across 200 acres and tutoring some 16,000 fresh recruits annually), compensation and recreational facilities, the Bangalore-headquartered company faces the fight of its three-decadeold existence on the people front.
| CEO Q&A - "Attrition Is Not A Major Problem" |
| In between meetings with clients and employees in New York, S. 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan, Infosys' recently appointed CEO & MD, found time to speak to BT on a range of people issues. Excerpts: |
What are the people challenges for a globalising company like Infosys? How has the growth of MNCs affected Infosys? How has the shortage of employable talent affected Infosys? Infosys invests heavily on training. What are the pay-offs? Despite these statements Infosys is often called a closely-controlled company.Comment. |
At a very basic level, the firm no longer sets the benchmark in Indian IT in terms of salary and other forms of compensation, with MNCs and niche companies in areas such as chip design pulling ahead on this front. "Large MNCs such as IBM and Accenture are playing catch up and they can afford to spend heavily to lure the best talent from the likes of Infosys, who can help hasten their offshore presence," says Venkat Shastry, Partner at Stanton Chase, an executive search firm.
According to some industry estimates, MNC competitors could pay at least 25 to 30 per cent more for experienced talent and offer a much broader geographical breadth of jobs to lure them away from well-known names such as Infosys. "We don't see Infosys on the really big global deal and this is an edge for us," says Sandeep Arora, Lead Executive, Accenture Centre for Delivery, India, which has grown from 250 to 35,000 people in six years in India alone.
The booming Indian IT industry, which is galloping ahead at 30 per cent annually, has also enabled other companies in areas as diverse as chip design and outsourced product development to rapidly expand their presence, often at the cost of the best talent in companies such as Infosys.
"We offer a much more lucrative career, since employees will be responsible for complete product development and it isn't about just a low-value services contract," says Gordon Brookes, CEO, Symphony Services, an outsourced product development company.
Others argue that Infosys' decline in this year's rankings could also be reflective of how difficult it has found it to manage a much larger (and more complex) organisation. "We have added around 30,000 people in the last 12 months and we're coming to grips with our transformation into a global entity," says T.V. Mohandas Pai, Director-HR for Infosys. An issue like work-life balance-given top billing in the West-is not yet recognised with the same passion back home.
A buoyant job market also keeps HR managers on the edge, since top talent is in demand across the industry and both financial and other factors need to be tweaked to keep employees happy. "Not everyone wants to be employee number 80,001 in their organisation. Defining career path and growth has become much more important in today's job market, besides discussing pay alone," says Ashok Soota, MD of MindTree, which ranks #2 on our survey. "Also, several global giants such as Accenture offer employees the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology projects," says Arora.
Hurt by size
A soaring headcount has compelled Infosys to re-look at the way it deals with people, by setting up a two-tier HR structure and pushing line or unit managers to evolve their people management skills. "The top layer will deal with broad HR policy areas and individual units to minutely manage individual or team HR requirements. We are in the middle of a complete internal overhaul," says Pai.
Running a scale business (where increased revenue is linked to higher headcount) also means that Infosys fares poorly on promotions (a clear link to efficiency and productivity of employees), even though it has a comprehensive 360-degree evaluation process in place. "We are a fair and generous employer," says Pai, refuting claims that the firm is not quick enough on the draw on this front.
According to him, Infy is working on improving communication between the top management and employees to try to enhance its image. "This is an area we could do much better; we want employees to be aware of policies and processes within the company," says Pai.
Rather than internal issues, part of the disillusionment at Infosys may be because the company has got too big and processdriven and is unable to make quick changes or innovate. While the company is a pioneer with the use of technology with initiatives such as K-shop (its knowledge management repository) former employees complain that an overt focus on processes takes out any innovation challenges involved with their work.
However, it isn't all bad from what remains one of India's best recognised IT names. The company spends heavily on training, investing around Rs 3 lakh per candidate on training and driving all fresh recruits to the Infosys Leadership Institute, Mysore, for a gruelling four-week programme. "There is killer competition for talent in the Indian market. We have to show fresh recruits that Infosys will be the best employer in the country," says Pai.
While strong branding helped Infosys remain the preferred employer for years, its impenetrable shield has been dented recently by growing competition for people. Attrition has risen and the company has been forced to raise salaries, inflating its HR bills. "Attrition remains a bugbear for us and we need to find newer and more innovative ways to keep the best talent," says Pai. What has hampered his plans is rising involuntary attrition, with many recruits using Infosys as a launch pad for post-graduate academic programmes.
"Around 1,300 people left us in the last 12 months, compared to 980 in the previous year," says Pai. Infosys, he adds, will have to find ways out of this predicament, by offering employees the opportunity to take a break from work and sponsor or part-finance these higher education programmes. Despite its fall in this year's rankings, there is little doubt that the company remains among the most sought after destinations for techies in India. For instance, it received 1.3 million applications last year. Infosys is also working on building a set of high-performers and has built a complex succession plan for its management in place as part of a robust HR structure.
Finally, its recent reorganisation may create greater opportunity for young talent to rise.
- Rahul Sachitanand
VI iGATE - Caring, yet challenging
In a scale-driven and brand-obsessed IT services market, iGate has proved that there is space for a mid-tier, niche operator with well-rounded people policies.
iGATE'S secret sauce |
| More opportunities: Junior and mid-level employees get more clientfacing opportunities. This inculcates a greater sense of ownership along the entire hierarchy. |
| Reward system: Meritorious employees across all levels are granted restricted stock options, thus, providing an incentive to remain with the company till they become due. The company, though, is an average paymaster. |
| Easy access to top management: Top executives, including Phaneesh Murthy, try and make time to meet with and discuss employee issues. |
| Exposure to multiple clients: Rather than a traditional IT services model, iGators can leverage a single technology platform to work with a diverse set of clients. |
| Innovation: iGate is less process-centric than most of its peers; this gives employees greater room to be innovative and individualistic. |
| Early responsibility: Employees with just three years of experience are given management and customer-facing roles. |
Part of the attraction of working for an emerging company like iGate stems from the fact that it is giving techies an option beyond the Big Boys. "Lots of people don't want to be employee #80,001; here, they get more opportunities to learn about new businesses and work in customerfacing roles," says Mohan Sekar, Head (Delivery), iGate. This, obviously, is a big draw for employees who get to develop a more well-rounded view of their industry than in other IT companies.
"Unlike most large offshore-centric companies, middle and junior managers have much more contact with clients and this increases the attraction of working with us," says Jagadish Iyengar, Associate Vice President, iGate.
The relative lack of scale has worked well for iGate, since it has allowed its top management to build a personal connection with employees across the board, thus, enhancing the sense of belonging among iGators. "We want people to be able to walk into our offices and discuss any problem," says Sekar. For instance, an iGator with around five years of experience can be visible all the way to the top management, including Sekar and perhaps even Murthy.
According to Kandula, the firm organises regular "town hall" meetings for all its employees where employees are encouraged to use the forum to address grievances and make suggestions on their unit or any other business unit. While Murthy attends these meetings around twice a quarter, Sekar usually attends them once a month. "Attention of top management is much higher in a company like iGate and this helps inculcate a sense of belonging among employees who often feel left out in large organisations," says Iyengar.
But despite this, iGate still has to compete for the same people as its (larger) peers and, thus, has had to find other unique methods to try and attract and retain people. "We are among the few IT companies to offer a lucrative restricted stock exchange plan to meritorious employees," says Kandula. This, too, makes iGate an attractive employer.
"iGate is a company in the midst of a turnaround and there is exponential growth potential for the company and its stock. Few companies can lay claim to this," says Iyengar. "We want our employees to be part of our growth strategy over the next few years," says Sekar.
However, several employees BT spoke to say that iGate could be a more generous paymaster. "We will need to relook at areas such as compensation and benefits," says Kandula. But iGate is clearly looking at the longer term and is hoping that the prospect of a stock option windfall over the longer term will offset the perceived lower pay. "Our RSUs (restricted stock units) are strictly quality-based; we don't expect many employees to cash in on their rewards just now, since there is so much potential in the company," boasts Kandula, adding "The fact that a sizeable chunk (30 per cent) of our recruitment takes place through referrals proves that employees find us an attractive place to work in."
With employable talent at a premium, iGate has had to extend a full suite of employee benefits to keep its employees happy. These include flexi-hours, working from home (depending on the job role) and paternity leave. It also hosts "Thank God its Monday" every week to help employees cope with post-weekend blues. Every quarter, employees are taken on retreats near Bangalore and spend time not just on critical business development, but also on any significant personal issues. "We invite top management to these events so that our employees can spend time with them away from the workplace," says Kandula.
But despite these measures, mid-tier companies such as iGate still remain at a disadvantage vis-vis the Big Boys of Indian IT when it comes to recruiting junior and fresh executives, since a strong brand plays a key role in attracting the best talent. "iGate has massive hurdles on campuses where the larger companies, by virtue of being there on Day Zero, effectively get first right of refusal on the best talent," says Gautam Sinha, CEO, TVA Infotech, a Bangalore-based HR consultancy.
Tier I players like Infosys and Cognizant hire 500 to 1,000 people on Day Zero itself, making it much harder for others to get a look-in. "Entry level talent is definitely an area of concern, but we have made progress in the last couple of years, but believe there is plenty of talent that doesn't want to get lost in a large company," says Kandula.
| CEO Q&A- "iGators are at the centre of our remake" |
| Four years after taking over as Chief Executive of iGate, a NASDAQ-listed IT and BPO solutions company, Phaneesh Murthy, 44, says that people are at the centre of the firm's transformation from a body-shopping outfit into an output- and transaction-based player. Excerpts: |
Is it easy to attract the best talent in the industry? How can iGate compete with the big brands in Indian IT? Yet, every executive talks of rising salaries and attrition… What is iGate's USP in this crowded market? |
"Our focus is to hire bright talent who can then be trained. We, therefore, look at science and commerce graduates for several roles," he adds. Unlike many of its peers, all employees at iGate have constructed their own skill enhancement programmes with Murthy and Sekar themselves acting as executive coaches. While there are compulsory behavioural programmes for all employees, middle and senior management is also put through intensive lessons on domain and technology development.
According to company executives, attrition (14 per cent) continues to be an area of worry, though not a big one, since big banner companies such as IBM or Accenture have much better brands (and pay) and can offer employees more desirable overseas postings. At the same time, competitors also point out that the company also loses people to large Indian firms like Infosys. "We want our employees to build careers at iGate and we will look at pay and other benefits more carefully to remain competitive," says Kandula.
However, he is quick to point out that employees get promoted more often than the industry average and are given customer-facing roles much earlier in their careers. "I was promoted within months of joining iGate," says Rupashree Biligiri, an Associate Training Manager at the firm.
Part of the reason iGate is on this list is its ability to give relatively young talent more management responsibility than they would have had in a large company.
According to senior company executives, employees with as little as two or three years of experience can expect to be given such roles. "iGate is great at enabling junior employees and challenging them to decisions independently," says Rupashree Biligiri.
As the IT industry continues on its rapid growth and iGate on its gradual business transformation, there are several issues that the company needs to address if it wants to keep its place (or climb) in this listing. For one, industry observers say the company needs to increase its investment in training, if it is to match the likes of Infosys or MNCs such as Accenture that set the bar in this area. The firm may also have to work on key metrics like promotions, since keeping talent could be challenging if they are denied promotions and other increments.
For now, though, it can savour the satisfaction of beating many of its more established rivals to this exclusive list.
- Rahul Sachitanand
Read about Agilent Technologies
VII Agilent Technologies - Building competencies
At Agilent, the philosophy is to learn and grow and help others do the same.
Perfectly manicured lawns, well maintained playgrounds and modern architecture... You cannot help but feel good as you enter the campus of Agilent India-an arm of the California-headquartered measurement technology company- in Gurgaon near Delhi.
You amble past meeting rooms named after places and people such as Corbett, Everest, Amartya Sen, Mother Teresa until you are ushered into the one named Kaziranga for a rendezvous with Venkatesh Valluri or Venky, the President and Country General Manager of Agilent India. You goad him by sounding a bit skeptical at first about this whole bit about the best workplaces. How is Agilent any different from other tech companies? After all, they all operate in a very competitive global market and have no choice but to be nice to their techie employees who are in short supply globally?
"Even when the economy is growing as greatly as India's, you have to create products that are relevant to the market you are serving. So you need a team that not only understands the market dynamics but also has a culture of innovating something for that market. And remember you are operating in an economy where dozens of other technology companies are chasing the same market," says Venky.
So the inescapable challenge before a company like Agilent, Venky says, is to put in place a team that will not only build innovative and market-relevant products for the company but also be greatly happy working for it. "Even if you are a great, global company, you still have to painstakingly build competencies and constantly try to remain at the top of your HR practices," says Venky.
Ashuma Sachdeva, Learning Specialist at Agilent, says one of the philosophies of the company is to give people the right tools and resources to develop themselves, so there is an accent on learning. "Whether you talk about class room interventions, simulations or leaders teaching other leaders, you will find people investing time in others and ensuring that they get developed," she says. The company's succession planning also ensures that all employees have a go at realising their leadership potential. All employees are communicated what is expected of them and their performance monitored through the My Accountability and Performance Standards (MAPS) programme, says Sunil Pathak, Senior Manager, Human Resources, Agilent.
"The area where leadership (top management) really comes into play is in making the HR processes highly effective," says Pathak. Adds Venky: "If you ask me what is the leadership of this company doing in its working hours, I'll tell you they are spending 80 per cent of their time engaging with employees-coaching, developing, innovating-and only 20 per cent in managing their operational beats. That really makes the big difference."
It's time to confront Venky with some of the survey findings. Why has Agilent slipped considerably this year-from 70 to 60- in the HR metrics quadrant, resulting in a down-rating from 6 to 7? "In our internal Be Agilent surveys, between 2006 and 2007, we have actually advanced by about 5 points in HR metrics. And our annual survey has shown that India has been the number one performer in HR metrics among all Agilent subsidiaries globally.
So it's difficult for me to believe that somehow things like employee satisfaction levels have gone down. But certainly we will take a look at our ranking this year."
Since last year, Agilent is very actively pursuing the work-life balance issue. "The way this organisation is moving, I see the company increasingly supporting its employees' ability to work from home," Venky says. The great challenge before the company is to increasingly allow people to work from home and yet maintain its culture, he adds.
- Kapil Bajaj
VIII HCL Comnet - All for employees
When it comes to innovative HR practices, HCL Comnet has few peers.
That's a pretty telling statement about a homegrown company whose unique employee focus has made it an incubating ground for transformational ideas and processes that have applicability across the HCL group (HCL Comnet is a whollyowned subsidiary of HCL Technologies).
The company's focus on people processes and development is also evident from the relatively high budget allocation for people-related activities. Comnet's HR and training costs are also way above the industry average.
Perhaps, it is this value system that has enabled the company to grow from a mere 20 employees in 1993 to a headcount of 5,400. Unlike its peer, Comnet had a growth strategy as well as employee-focussed themes from as early as 1995. The theme for the first phase (1995-1998) of its growth was "Creating an Identity" and for the workforce it was '"Smile in the eyes of the Employee".
"During 1998-2001, we decided to focus on 'Creating new businesses' and for the employees, our theme was 'My Comnet'- which was about facilitating employee ownership of the organisation," Gupta says.
Phase three (2001-2004) entailed "Creating new paradigms" in respect of creating a niche for itself and the employee strategy this time was "Force of One"-a campaign which positioned the employees as the agents of change and innovation. Gupta says passion for growth is the company's latest mantra and the "Employee First" campaign, which was incubated in 2004, is a culmination of all those ideas.
HCL Comnet is now encouraging job rotation every 18-24 months. "We believe in giving exposure and experience to our employees. By presenting them with a new challenge, we try to do away with monotony, thus inducing greater engagement and motivation. As a company, we encourage cross-functional movements.
It has encouraged people to not only assimilate knowledge in their area of operation but to widen the bandwidth and learn other areas," says Piyush Dutt, Head (HR), HCL Comnet.
Over the years, the company has used innovative initiatives to empower its employees to make quick decisions and achieve greater efficiencies. The Smart Service Desk (SSD) is an automated troubleticketing tool for employees to raise online tickets related to their transactional issues with HR, Finance, the IT team, etc. The company has recently launched SSD Voice. Besides, the company has a 360-degree performance evaluation process that focusses on self-determination and self-assessment while "I4Excel" allows employees to do their own selfevaluation.
"MyXtraMiles" is a loyalty point system that gives 'mileage' to employees who receive appreciation from any of the following four sources: peers, subordinates, managers and customers. The points can be redeemed for attractive gifts, including trips abroad. The EHD team comprising HR and finance professionals aids the employees in solving their day-to-day transactional needs. Its mascot "Natasha" is positioned as the employees' personal assistant for policy and information dissemination and communicates with them on a much personal level. The employees are encouraged to post their feedback and suggestions on company issues on its sub-portal iGen, while through the "U&I" feature they can get their queries answered directly by the CEO.
For maintaining work-life balance, HCL Comnet organises games, birthday and achiever parties. Besides, it has started a club for the employee's children called the "Little Comnetians Club", wherein regular events are held for them, informs Dutt.
The company has various recognition-led-incentive programmes/awards too like WYGIWYG Certificates and COO's Party Vouchers. Each year, the employee who has been a consistent star performer is honoured with the "Top Gun" award at the company's annual function. Employees who refer their friends and acquaintances are given financial incentives, and an annual award called the "Top Gun Comnet Builder" is presented to the employee who provides the highest number of references. With the company doing so much for its employees, it's hardly surprising that it is becoming a permanent fixture on our annual listing of Best Companies to Work for in India.
- Pallavi Srivastava
IX Accenture - A global playground
Accenture's focus on training, and its policy of providing cross-geographical mobility, make it an employer of choice.
Accenture's secret sauce |
| Global opportunities: Employees can move across business verticals and geographies globally |
| Reward system: It is among the best paymasters in the industry and its compensation policy is perceived to be better than those at Indian Tier I vendors |
| Education initiatives: There's a massive focus on education and training with 16,000 online courses for employees across all levels. It offers courses in association with the likes of MIT to upgrade employee skills |
| Career mobility: Employees are allowed to make their own career choices; there is no compulsion to choose the orthodox vertical approach |
| Empowered employees: Even though it is a global giant, Accenture allows employees to take autonomous decisions and gives them budgets to manage too |
"We have monitored and measured employee engagement across the globe and Accenture India topped the survey across 49 locations," boasts Varma. His biggest challenge has been to sort through the thousands of employees at Accenture India and identify young employees with future leadership potential and begin grooming them for future roles. All Accenture employees get career counsellors, typically two levels above them in the hierarchy, who are given a budget and specific time to mould the career of their wards. "This is not an activity we take lightly; we measure their competence and help our employees find the right path," says Varma.
Rather than shackle employees to a single industry, Accenture has a Cross Entity Leadership Program to allow people to switch between businesses, and all openings are posted on internal portals. "We don't believe that everyone should have a straight career path. There may be some employees who have a different way of doing things and we're happy to accommodate them," says Manglik, adding that when Accenture started its technology practice in India, it could seed leadership internally and kickstart the initiative.
Training and developing the best talent in the country is accorded top priority and unlike many of its peers in the industry that lean heavily on classroom sessions, Accenture has evolved a different model. "We have 16,000 courses on Accenture's My Portal, which is, perhaps, the largest such collection in the world and is open to all employees of Accenture," says Varma.
The company has also tied up with MIT's Office of Professional Education Programs to run the Accenture Solutions Delivery Academy. Accenture's two-year collaboration with MIT PEP includes ongoing review of Accenture Academy of Leadership Excellence's educational content, student assessments, and overall programme design by several MIT School of Engineering faculty.
Then, it has unveiled a raft of initiatives targeted at its women employees. Accenture runs focussed employee campaigns to attract the best female talent, has regular programmes to sensitise employees about gender differences and a network to let women network among their peers in senior management to ensure the visibility of women achievers across the company.
| Chairman Q&A - "We Draw On Our Global Talent Pool" |
| After spending three decades in the US, Harsh Manglik relocated to India in September last year to take over as Chairman, Accenture India. In a relaxed chat, he says that the firm provides opportunities across the technology, BPO and consulting verticals to its employees and despite its size, all top managers remain accessible to employees. Excerpts: |
Is it good to be an MNC in this market? How have you become a preferred employer? Why is Accenture also focussing on expanding India's labour pool? How does Accenture manage training and development? How does Accenture manage the ongoing war for talent? |
Being a late comer to this market has put additional pressure on Accenture to be seen not just as a generous employer, but also a caring one. It allows employees to work from home and also work part time. "We need to recognise the different needs of our employees and adapt to them accordingly," says Varma.
Menon adds that while gender is only the first initiative, the company is working on introducing several other programmes under the diversity umbrella. "We must be able to cater to a wider audience with our programmes and be seen as an empathetic employer," she explains.
As part of its efforts to engage more meaningfully with employees, Accenture has set up an inhouse event management arm and employees who take part in clubs and special interest groups are expected to conceive and run programmes for each of these initiatives, ranging from sports to corporate social responsibility.
"Communities foster social collaboration and help our employees network with people outside their business units," says Varma. Like some of its largest competitors in the industry, Accenture, too, offers several recreational facilities and well-being initiatives to keep its employees healthy and alert.
At work, employees at relatively junior levels are empowered to take decisions and managers running even 100-person units are allocated budgets to run their businesses. "This is very important to unit heads and gives them a sense of autonomy and facilitates quick decision making, which is often missing in large and bureaucratic companies," says Satish Kumar Nuggu, Manager, Products Group, Accenture Delivery Center for Technology, who moved to Accenture a year ago, after spending 10 years at arch-rival IBM. Other employees say that the top management delegates much of the day-to-day work to line managers and this brings a sense of entrepreneurship and drive to what is perceived externally as a slow moving behemoth.
To dispel these notions, top management, including Manglik, makes sure it is accessible to employees and communicates with them through e-mail and meetings called Town Halls. Manglik, for one, can often be found perched on a stool in the cafeteria, chatting with employees to get an on-the-ground understanding of their requirements. Others like Sandeep Arora, Lead Executive, Accenture Delivery Center for Technology, India, have even more unique ways of keeping in touch with employees.
"I reply to every e-mail I get from employees and at every town hall, I promise to pay Rs 1,000 on the spot if anyone has unanswered mail. So far, I haven't lost any money," he says. According to Shekhar Tiwari, Resource Management Group Lead, Accenture, who worked with PepsiCo for 11 years in the supply chain function before moving to Accenture: "While problem resolution is given top priority at Accenture, top management is accessible 24/7 to help."
Being a multinational, Accenture allows people to go overseas on projects and also relocates people across the globe. "We are one global company and Accenture India isn't an outpost for cost arbitrage work for us," says Manglik. This means employees can look beyond conventional IT services, to consulting or even innovation as they look for new career opportunities. "We are doing some cutting edge R&D work in India and have relocated expats and moved staff in India to these new units," says Varma.
According to him, the company prefers to look within, rather than hire externally for many roles. "We have evolved global leadership programmes across junior and senior management levels to try and build our talent pool," says Varma.
Part of the challenge for a firm like Accenture is to attract the best talent available. Company executives believe there is a stereotype about MNCs being good paymasters but also "hire-and-fire employers". Says Varma: "We don't like either label; Accenture pays industry-matching salaries and we don't fire people at will."
But despite these initiatives, Accenture's attrition rate (25 per cent, according to industry watchers, though the company wouldn't disclose India-specific numbers) is double that of its MNC peers. Former employees say the company is not seen as a warm and congenial place to work in. Then, despite paying higher salaries than its domestic rivals, it is not seen as generous when compared to its MNC rivals.
But these, as our survey shows, are really incidental blips on an otherwise glittering scorecard. With the growth of the Indian IT industry showing no signs of letting up, Accenture India's people story may be just unfolding.
- Rahul Sachitanand
X Dr Reddy's Labs - Nurturing global leaders
Change managers get a thumbs up at Dr Reddy's Lab.
Consider Amit M. Patel, 32, and Cartikeya C. Reddy, 37. Both, like a few others, are seen internally as the 'quantum jump creators' and have been fast-tracked into important roles. Patel, who is Vice-President (Corporate Development and Strategic Planning), has been with the company for just four years. He has got four promotions in three years and has now been made part of the company's top executive body-the management council. Sitting in the US, he is the one who drove the company's authorised generics deal with Merck last year. The deal played an important role in pushing the company's overall North American generics business contributing to a record annual revenues of $500 million (Rs 2,000 crore) from the region.
Similarly, Cartikeya Reddy, also a Vice-President, joined the company in 2004 and has now been inducted into the management council. Reddy, who joined as a director in Biologics Development Centre, became the head of the Biologics business in just three years. He drove the initiatives that led to the launch of Reditux, Dr Reddy's brand of rituximab, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) used in the treatment of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a type of cancer.
Going forward, Prasad is certain about the prescription for growth. "We need a larger number of global leaders. Hence, the challenge is to create a cadre of leaders who can build and create new businesses to maintain this growth tempo of over $1.5 billion (Rs 6,000 crore) revenues."
Prabir Jha, Global Chief (HR) at Dr Reddy's, underlines this point and says: "Leadership development is a big agenda for us." Not surprisingly, the company is setting up a leadership academy at the cost of around Rs 15 crore in its Bachupally campus near Hyderabad.
The initiatives to nurture these leaders have, however, started in full swing already. For instance, promising young leaders are invited to share their breakthrough ideas before the management council at its quarterly meeting.
"We are taking risks on (promising) young talent and empowering them to take decisions," says Satish Reddy, Managing Director and COO of the company. In other words, they are allowed to take up challenging assignmments, which they may not have handled earlier or don't have any proven experience with, but do seem to have the potential to handle them successfully.
In a parallel effort, the company is working on correcting the gender ratio, which is still skewed in favour of men at 10:1. At the recent campus hires, 33 per cent appointed were women. This apart, the company is prodding women employees to build informal network groups and also giving greater exposure to them. A case in point is Ritha Chandrachud, who joined the organisation in 2003 in its oncology division.
She has arguably become the only woman in the Indian pharma space to head a national sales and marketing team, numbered 2,000 at Dr Reddy's. However, despite these initiatives, Dr Reddy's faces a formidable challenge in the form of employee attrition. The company witnessed a slight increase in its attrition rate at 17.5 per cent, up from 16 per cent last year.
Explains Jha: "Talent from Dr Reddy's has a very strong appeal to any headhunter. As more companies get into the space, the challenge will get more severe. We are still overall better than the industry norms." This, he feels, would be around 20-22 per cent. Also, most of the attrition challenges, he says, are in the field than in research.
- E. Kumar Sharma
Read about Marriott Hotels India
XI Marriott Hotels India - Power of one
At Marriott Hotels India, there are no employees, only associates. The associates take care of guests, the guests come back...that's good for business, and for the associates too.
What makes Marriott an employer of choice |
| Two-way communication: For new entrants, there is an event called 'Koffee with the GM' to interact with the GM and share their views over a cup of coffee. For employees too shy to talk, there is the option of anonymously calling up the Integrity Hotline, a 24X7 toll free number. |
| Employee benefit initiatives: Employees are given six offs in a month and financial support for higher education. Each and every employee on their birthday can stay in the hotel for one day with their spouse or family and can dine anywhere. |
| Knowledge initiatives: Every Marriott hotel has a learning centre that has a collection of books and videos, along with an internet connection. |
| Defined span-of-leadership: There is a Leadership Performance Process management system which defines nine competencies which a Marriott associate should have and develop. |
| Reward system: There are two kinds of awards for individuals or groups to recognise outstanding performance. Each Marriott hotel in India has its own awards. This is apart from an overall event involving all Marriott properties globally. |
Such conduct would be considered bare-faced in most organisations- barging into a head honcho's cabin and going on to address him by his first name on one's first day at the office would only invite scorn, if not the boot, at more common workplaces. But then this is Marriott Hotels, a company that prides itself for being a great employer, globally.
Marriott International, according to Fortune, is amongst the 100 best companies to work for in the world. It has made it to Fortune's list for the 10th consecutive year.
An open-door policy along with a first-name culture is just one manifestation of how Marriott connects with its workforce. There's a perfectly logical reason for such transparency: It results in quick decision-making, be it an employee-related decision or a guest-related decision.
Elaborates Jatin Khanna, a Front Office Manager at the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel, one of the brands owned by Marriott Hotels (the others are the JW Marriott, Marriott Resorts, Courtyard and Marriott Executive Apartments): "Marriott is a completely different place to work in. One does not need to seek appointments to meet the senior management. You can just walk into their room and discuss issues. An absence of the 'Sir' culture was also a big revelation for me." Khanna has spent a decade in the hospitality sector.
Adds Philip Bryson, Chairman, Marriott India Business Council and General Manager for Renaissance Mumbai Hotel & Marriott Executive Apartments: "You earn respect from the job you do and not from the position you hold in an organisation. Everyone from a line manager to a sweeper to a chef is on one platform, and we all function as one."
Chairman Q&A - "Everyone Is Considered Equal" |
| Philip Bryson, 40, Chairman, Marriott India Business Council, has been associated with the Marriott chain since 1994. He spoke to BT's Anusha Subramanian about the Marriott culture. Excerpts: |
In your words, why is Marriott Hotels one of the best places to work? How do you ensure there is a good connect between employees and the company as it grows rapidly? The biggest challenge today? How do you attract the right talent? How are employees aligned with the business? |
That power of one may sound almost Utopian, but it appears to be working like a charm at Marriott India. At the core of this approach is the belief that happy employees are good for business. Bryson recalls the words of the founder of the global hotel chain, J. Willard Marriott: "If you take care of your employees, employees take pride in their work. If they take pride in their work, they serve the customer at their best. If the customer is served well, they come back and the business is taken care of."
Trickling down from the premise is a host of initiatives that eventually all come together to make Marriott an employee's paradise. Pampering isn't a bad word in the Marriott lexicon, which is evident in the six holidays each associate gets every month (the average in the service industry is four).
The 'Marriott Way' is also to empower associates who, for instance, are allowed to give complimentary gifts to their guests. There is a high degree of pride in the unique relationships cemented with guests.
All these work in favour of the associate, who earns reward points. Marriott also follows a house system, just like it is in schools. All associates, right from the senior management to the juniormost, are equally divided into four houses: Elephant, Lotus, Peacock and Banyan. Each house has an activity every month, through the year, around areas such as leadership and training. Competitions are also held through the year, which enable associates earn rewards and points for their house.
"This is one way of ensuring employee connect and there is increasing communication within associates," explains Bryson. It's great to be on the Marriott ship, but climbing on board involves a rigorous recruitment process, something Gurmeet Singh, Country Director of Human Resources, Marriott Hotels India, is proud of.
Extensive online psychological tests help the hotel chain pinpoint the right candidates for specific roles. This is followed up with a series of interviews-with HR, with the department head, with the operations head, and a final meeting (which isn't an interview) with Bryson himself. "I just chat them up," he says (see Everyone is Considered Equal).
Despite such efforts, the BTMercer study indicates that Marriott Hotels India's HR cost per employee is a minimal Rs 4,316 annually and the training budget is just Rs 1.36 crore per annum across the five properties. Singh explains: "One must understand the hotel industry's business model. We cannot be compared with any other industry.
If a person is a dishwasher you cannot train him to do a management job." Globally Marriott sets aside $750 every year for every manager for training and development.
Singh agrees that Marriott isn't the leader in salaries, "but we do give each and every associate an 8.33 per cent guaranteed bonus every year. Performers can earn a bonus of up to 20 per cent." Attrition levels at 32 per cent are higher than the industry average of 30 per cent but they are below the 36 per cent norm for the Mumbai market. "Attrition has become a way of life. That is something you cannot shy away from. The only thing we can do is be more proactive, aggressive, and innovative in the way we hire and train," says Singh.
One such proactive initiative is promotions, with 37.6 per cent of the workforce being promoted last year. The average time for a promotion has also been crunched to two years. Singh takes consolation from the fact that Marriott seldom loses people to competition.
"They do not leave us to work for another hotel but to work for a cruise liner or to work in another country or for further education. And the kick we get is when they come back- and that rate is good," says Singh.
That's another upshot of the Marriott way. You can't hold on to associates for ever, but you can always expect some of them to come back.
- Anusha Subramanian
XII Covansys India - A fun place to work
At Covansys, employees are encouraged to play as hard as they work.
But fun and games aren't the only reason why Covansians think their company is a great place to work in. Covansys has recently established an Employee Structure Framework to foster growth and excellence. The framework, which was formalised in January-February this year, works at two levels. It encourages individuals and teams to overcome their tential to the fullest; and at the organisational level, it softens those controls that prevent the free flow of creativity within the company.
Six task forces were created as part of the framework in the areas of enhancing business growth; recruitment; building centres of excellence; raising delivery capability; enhancing resource management; and leadership development.
Anybody can participate in any task force subject to being voted in by the task force manager who is chosen by the senior management team. These task forces don't follow hierarchies; the leader of a task force may actually have his regular boss reporting to him in a particular area. And just to make sure that everybody takes this programme seriously, Sambamoorthy Natarajan, VP (Projects), receives reports from all the task forces every week and reports on the progress to Raj Vattikutti, President & CEO, Covansys Corporation.
Covansys also improved "Compass", a tool used to detect and leverage individual capabilities and aspirations. It uses non-intrusive methods to detect sources of dissatisfaction among employees and addresses them, thus, facilitating longer tenures in the company. The reasons can vary from disturbances on the home front (for example: a spouse getting transferred to another city) or a wish to embark on a different area of operations.
"Over the last year, Compass helped us retain at least 12 people who would have otherwise left the company," says Jayanthi Vaidyanathan, Director (HR), Covansys India. "Many of them were pleasantly surprised that they got what they wanted without asking for it."
That these initiatives are paying off is evident from one simple figure: Covansys has an attrition rate of 18.25 per cent compared to the industry average of about 25 per cent. Promotions take 2.1 years, and greater numbers are being promoted. Compensation, too, is well above the market median rates on average-but for top performers there is no glass ceiling, assures Vaidyanathan. "We have progressed well, but we could do more to satisfy people's aspirations," says Subrahmaniam.
The takeover of Covansys by the US-based Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) has also helped; it has catapulted the former into the league of Tier-I IT companies in India, thus, increasing its draw both among existing employees as well as with potential recruits. "We will adopt the best practices of each of these companies as we evolve further," says A. Sruthi Sagar, Senior VP & Head (Global Recruiting), Covansys.
And when that happens, Covansys's draw among employees will increase further.
- Nitya Varadarajan
XIII HCL Infosystems - Rewarding work
At HCL Infosystems, employee loyalty comes from its mantra of retaining and rewarding the best.
Fifty four-year-old J.V. Ramamurthy, the Chief Operating Officer of HCL Infosystems, confesses to learning to dance to Punjabi music these days. It seems a bit odd when you think of his age, his south Indian background and the fact that Punjabi dance Bhangra isn't exactly a rage nowadays!
COO Q&A - "Enjoy, Innovate and Transform" |
| J.V. Ramamurthy, 54, Chief Operating Officer of HCL Infosystems, recently spoke to BT's Pallavi Srivastava about the company's employee-friendly strategy, its rationale and impact. Excerpts: |
How did you go about it? Have there been any visible changes since you started these initiatives? There is a huge push on innovation here. Is that also part of the company's employee-friendly strategy? What are the challenges that the company sees in the coming few days? |
"You have to keep innovating, keep doing different things to stay ahead of the market," Ramamurthy, alias J.V.R., says, putting into perspective the company's diverse interests ranging from software development and technology integration, computer hardware manufacture and prototype development to distribution and marketing of digital lifestyle products. In system integration, the company has successfully expanded its reach to segments like infrastructure, power, e-governance, media and entertainment and telecom, he informs.
The spirit of innovation that has made India-based HCL Infosystems into a vastly diversified outfit with 5,467 employees working from 350 locations today has also been instrumental in shapand initiatives that are now rated among the best in the industry and have placed the organisation in BT's listing of the best workplaces in India.
In the past two years, the HCL Info management has rolled out a slew of innovative initiatives aimed at its employees and the workplace, after realising that the company was getting too obsessed with numbers and growth. "We realised the need to loosen up a bit, instill some fun factor and lay stress on informality in the workplace,"J.V.R. says.
Some of the key initiatives on employee engagement and performance management functions include iPerform, an online performance management system that tracks results achieved through daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly reviews; Mindia TechXperts, which is a fast-track career growth programme launched this year to identify and groom young engineers for leadership positions in 18 months; HCL Towers, which awards houses to top performers; and the profitsharing scheme that also rewards the best. In addition, the company has now automated its HR functions and set up portals to enable faster flow of information.
The company has a simple HR mantra: Recruit the best, retain the best and reward the best. While 80-85 per cent of recruitment is done on campuses, of the remaining 15 per cent, 85 per cent is filled through referrals.
The company, which calls itself a "campus organisation", also hires from Tier II & Tier III cities. All candidates are subjected to comprehensive 'assessment techniques' before final selection. To create a learning organisation, the company has set up a dedicated HCL Education Center in Hyderabad, where based on individual, organisational and customer needs, employees are put through technical and soft-skills training, management development programmes, technology leadership programmes and leadership development programmes. The duration varies from three weeks for management and sales staff to four weeks for the services employees.
Online learning programmes like enable@HCL, TechForum, e-Kaksh, and i-Learn complement classroom training. Then, there is the "Learn from Leaders" programme where senior managers impart valuable lessons to employees.
HCL Infosystems' secret sauce |
| 360-degree feedback: The employees also look at aspects of the managers' performance, strategic vision, ability to communicate, problem-solving skills, responsiveness. The results of the survey (the rankings and comments) are then aggregated and published online for everyone to see. |
| Recognition for adding value: "What gets measured gets reviewed and what gets reviewed gets improved" is what the company believes in and rewards each employee whose innovation is lauded by the customer. |
| Employee-management interface: It reduces the gap between the manager and the employee. Direct Q&A link with the President himself, who is to respond within a given time frame. |
| Focus on learning: A lot of investment in employee-focussed resources (e-learning) and creating libraries for employees, holding workshops. All employees are eligible for ESOPs after one year of joining. |
| Innovation: To innovate and nurture your own business ideas by getting support and guidance from the company itself. Innovate@hcl is one such e-forum that enables employee involvement and participation towards innovations in their work environment and beyond. |
| Business continuity plan: The company's comprehensive succession plan ensures continuity in the event of an employee-related contingency. |
| Employee engagement: Some of the new initiatives include MyPal, Three Cheers, Wellness Programme, Little Mindian and Bring a Smile Programme while some of the existing ones are preventive health check-ups, yoga classes and employee relief fund. |
Recognising the importance of succession planning, the company has implemented the Business Continuity Plan programme that provides continuity in the event of any employee-related contingency. Its 360-degree feedback programme facilitates continuous improvements in areas such as selection, career planning, goal setting, reward schemes and culture.
Assessments are done not just for improvement and development but are also well recognised and rewarded. "To keep up the morale of the employees and drive them towards excellent performance, we give various incentives ranging from a recognition letter or a 'Thank You' card and profit sharing schemes to long performance awards," says J.V.R. The company also offers an open and entrepreneurial environment.
Employees are encouraged to come up with business plans of their own ideas and the company makes it a point to give such entrepreneurship a nurturing environment. R Ravi, Head InfoStructure Services, says: "Here, we utilise the left brain with the right brain. While the left brain is aligned with the company's tasks, we keep digging the right brain of our employees for the innovation aspect of it."
On some of the HR metrics, the company's performance may not look impressive. That could be due to the dispersed nature of its businesses; it operates from nearly 350 locations, besides a large number of its employees work at client sites. But then, these metrics don't matter to the hundreds of the company's employees who are content to carry on at HCL Info.
- Pallavi Srivastava
XIV Godrej Consumer - Old business, fresh legs
The refreshing bit about Godrej Consumer Products is a clutch of young decision makers that is bringing the brand to life.
Two months ago, Pooja Khare, 29, an MBA from the KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies, took up a job in the market research department of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL).
Godrej's Secret Sauce |
| Consumer-orientation: Employees are encouraged to go to the market- not just marketing and sales people, but finance and manufacturing employees, too, go into consumers' homes for more insight |
| Young professionals matter: All businesses are headed by non-family professionals. A young executive board comprising 10 leadership-oriented managers has been constituted |
| HR management system: Called the Godrej employee management (GEM) system, it helps track and find the right people according to the competencies required. Works on a strong IT backbone |
| Out-of-the-box programmes: GALLOP looks at recruiting PhDs, BRACE is for hiring people immediately after graduation, and a third programme IDLE is focussed on internal development of leaders |
| Stress on communication: The Chairman regularly meets up with managers and the President with managers and officers. The Chairman communicates with all employees every quarter |
That was the deciding factor for me. GCPL gives me the freedom to work independently with little interference from my superiors. Also, it's a myth that Indian FMCG companies don't pay. In fact, GCPL pays me more than what I was offered at HUL," says Khare.
If you think Khare is an exception, look no further than Sarika Srivastava, 29, who chose GCPL over a certain Infosys Technologies. Picked up from the campus of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar (XIMB) two years back by the sales department, Srivastava isn't regretting the decision. She is now set to join the company's overseas subsidiary, Keyline, in the UK (acquired in October 2005).
"My husband works in the UK and the HR department went out of its way to offer me a transfer to the UK," says Srivastava. In the past two years, she's learned plenty.
"I couldn't have got a better brand than GCPL to make a career in the FMCG sector. From day one, I was vested with responsibility of handling a sales territory," she adds. Of course, Srivastava has another reason for her loyalty to GCPL. As she puts it: "The luxury of having accommodation minutes away from the workplace in a place like Mumbai would not have been possible in any other organisation."
Whatever the attraction, they all add up to making GCPL one of India's best employers. Hoshedar Press, Executive Director and President, GCPL, attempts to sum up that appeal. "People management, early authority and responsibility, the pride of being swadeshi, the challenge of taking on a multinational Goliath and, most important, quick decisionmaking- unlike a multinational- are some of the differentiating factors that result in people joining GCPL."
| CEO Q&A -"Our People Deliver Our Profits" |
| For Adi Godrej, who's at the helm of FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), consumer- and people-orientation are the key. Excerpts from an interview: |
What efforts do you take to retain talent? How do you manage to connect between the company and the people? What is it that makes GCPL a better place to work? |
Step down the ladder, however, and it's not so hunky-dory- to be fair, that's the way it is for more sectors of industry. "A shortage of talent hits everyone and there isn't any magic formula that protects the FMCG sector. But the good news is that people who want to become business leaders still rank FMCG pretty high," says Visty Banaji, Executive Director and President (Group Corporate Affairs), Godrej Group. Banaji adds that these days Godrej competes most fiercely with the financial services sector for talent.
The current attrition rate is roughly 17 per cent. Of those who leave, 30-40 per cent opt for a change within the FMCG sector, 20-30 per cent are pulled towards sunrise industries, whilst the rest move out for further studies. "This (overall attrition) is still 2-3 per cent below the industry norm," says Sumit Mitra, Executive Vice President (Human Resources), Godrej Consumer Products.
Attrition, though, is something companies have to learn to live with. GCPL, for its part, is evolving "out-of-the-box thinking tools," to attract talent from the market, says Banaji. One such programme is called GALLOP, which attempts to woo non-management graduates, like PhDs, for instance. Besides deepening the talent pool from which GCPL can recruit, such an effort lends diversity to the workforce.
Another tool is called ACE, via which GCPL hunted out engineers in the resource market. ACE will soon become BRACE, with the focus now broadening to include graduates at the bachelors' level from various fields-including commerce, history, architecture, art, and engineering.
Another programme called IDLE-which stands for Internal Development of Leaders-attempts to transform experienced workers (blue- or white-collar) into management graduates. "We are sitting on mature talent that has been with us for 20 years. Why can't we impart an MBA qualification along the way to someone who has joined us as a supervisor in a factory, or a salesman," asks Banaji. The company has an 18-month e-MBA programme for two streams-production and sales and marketing- for which it has tied up with premier management institutes like Symbiosis. "This education programme is for people who perform well or are showing leadership potential," adds Mitra.
Indeed, the potential for leadership is something that GCPL hunts for when recruiting. There is a check-list of 10 competencies, put together by the GCPL top brass, which one has to possess if he or she has to develop into a leader. GCPL also has a process by which it shifts the company's best talent to the top.
Known as the Total Talent Management Process, it's a system that's not driven by seniority. Banaji points out that GCPL backs the individuals identified with investments for their development.
The HR team, comprising five members, pulls out all stops in a bid to stay connected with the employee. This is done via an intra-net, newsletters and face-toface meetings with every employee.
Says Mitra: "Apart from a yearly survey done among employees once a year, we have a system called Vote (voice of the employee) where the HR team meets the employee at least two times in a year."
GCPL is a seven-year-old company (it was demerged out of the erstwhile Godrej Soaps), and the Godrej group goes back 110 years. But to his credit, Chairman Adi Godrej has succeeded in bringing about a significant transformation in the company. One reflection of this change is the performance-driven nature of the company. As Godrej puts it: "Our brand, our assets, our profits are delivered by our people, along with our consumers." Adds Mitra: "Thanks to our performance-oriented culture, we have a 25 per cent variable component as a part of the employee compensation packet. This may be the highest in the industry, but makes the job more challenging as well as improves the productivity of employees."
Pipes in Banaji: "It's no more just about employing people. It's more about managing talent, giving people a career and building leaders that are more inspiring than just making them competent in their job."
At GCPL, the belief clearly is that employee growth and company growth move handin-hand. Managers are encouraged to come up with longerterm strategic game plans that can propel the company to the next level. Consider the formation of the blue team and the red team. Both study a range of strategic options for the business for the next three years.
They meet a lot of outsiders, insiders, opinion builders, and do plenty of their own research. The only condition is that one team doesn't talk to the other. So at the end of the exercise, GCPL finds itself with two business plans on its hand. The best part? These strategies are a result of bottom-up feedback, which in turn motivates and contributes to the development of young managers. Now that's a win-win proposition, any which way you look at it.
- Mahesh Nayak
Read about Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab
XV Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab - A company that communicates
Honeywell's two-way communication process keeps employees in the loop-and happy and contented.
Honeywell's secret sauce |
Two-way communication: The MD and individual business unit leaders hold regular meetings with employees to communicate policies and address grievances and operational issues. |
| Employee benefit initiatives: HTSL has tied up with counsellors to provide advice on health and finance. Then, it encourages employees and their families to develop friendships and organise sports and social events. |
| Knowledge initiatives: The company has tie-ups with leading educational institutions like the IIMs, IITs, BITS Pilani, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, and others for advanced courses for employees that it partially sponsors. |
| Defined span-of-leadership: It has a structured initiative in pace to ensure that adequate attention is given to every employee's individual needs. |
| Reward system: Employees are categorised into Star Performers and Valued Contributors and achievers are rewarded in an open and transparent manner. |
Then, there's Vikram J. Arora. Fresh out of college, he joined HTSL three years prior to Lakra. An aerospace engineer, he undertook a management programme at the University of Washington, US, in 2003, with part funding from the company and is now working as Senior Consultant (Strategy Planning), HTSL. "We take a high level of risk on people with potential," says Shrikant Lonikar, Global Director (Organisation Development & HR), HTSL. The company's Talent Strategy (internally called T-Strat) is clear that merit will be rewarded. So, what's new? "We have clearly defined who gets what; we identify star performers and treat them differently to underscore their value to the organisation," says Lonikar. All the "star performers" are given key positions and challenging roles that offer huge exposure and learning opportunities.
About 20-30 per cent of HTSL employees at every level and team are identified as star performers- they receive higher compensation and access to greater opportunities, skill development and competency building programmes. "The company started working on these initiatives early last year, but formally launched them only in January this year," says Uday Tulapurkar, Head (Talent Engagement), HTSL. Quite recent, one might say.
But then, the company sees itself as a relatively young organisation. Though it was formed in 1994, its take off and employee ramp up really began from 2004 onwards.
Its headcount more than quadrupled from 1,200 in 2003 to about 5,500 now and it is adding an average of 100 employees every month. "At HTSL, we offer people from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to not just work on diverse technologies but also to move into different areas," says Krishna Mikkilineni, the 48-year-old Managing Director of the company, which began as an offshore software development facility for Honeywell businesses worldwide in the areas of aerospace and automation control solutions.
| CEO Q&A: "Attrition Is Not A Major Problem" |
| Krishna Mikkilineni, 48, MD, Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab, has been heading the company since its inception in 1994. Here, he tells BT's E. Kumar Sharma the secret behind Honeywell's high score this year. Excerpts: What makes Honeywell such a great place to work in? |
We offer colleagues the opportunity to work on a diverse range of technologies. People get to work on critical and challenging issues that are at par with what is done globally. Not just that, they can also move into different areas (ranging from sensors and devices to solutions and also a range of industries from chemicals, process industries and aerospace). Do you have any initiatives to institutionalise this? How do you engage with your employees and how has that changed over the years? How many join the company every month and how is this interaction? How do you deal with attrition? What challenges do you face going forward? |
Those who have been with the organisation for long vouch for it. Sapna Venkatesh, who joined HTSL (then called Honeywell India Software Operations) in India in 2000, says: "This is a diversified workplace and you have people working on avionics, sensors and controls, automated control systems and other areas. You are given the opportunity of working where you want. This allows every employee to design his or her own career."
Venkatesh now manages the Electronic Design Automation Team that forms a support team for hardware design in aerospace. The company obviously realises the importance of the HR function. Says Lonikar: "We will not get the best people to work for us unless we are the best company to work for." Result: it has systematically tried to do things that will keep employees excited. "We focus on keeping our employees happy and engaged in a motivational environment," he adds.
HTSL's institutionalised twoway communications system- between top management and team leaders on the one hand and line employees on the other-is a critical cog in this wheel. At the MD's Session (held once or twice a month), Mikkilineni interacts with all the new employees joining the company. Then, Lonikar holds monthly meets (called HR Connect) to communicate new practices and policies to the employees.
And finally, multiple forums offer employees face time with their team leaders to discuss operational and personal issues that crop up in the course of their work.
The company has also put in place initiatives to make it a more gender-sensitive one. At present, women make up about 20 per cent of its workforce, and it is making efforts to attract more women to join. On offer are extended leave periods in case of pregnancy; and women employees are promised similar, if not better, roles when they return to work and can opt for flexitiming to achieve better work-life balance. HTSL has even tied up with a local creche where new mothers can leave their children while they work; part of the expenses incurred on this are reimbursed by the company. The initiatives are beginning to show results.
The percentage of women employees has increased to 20 per cent from 17.5 per cent in 2002-03. "This is important for us as women employees bring unique competencies, tend to think from the heart and also tend to show greater levels of commitment in terms of service longevity with the organisation," says Lonikar.
At a broader level, HTSL also helps its employees deal with stress and personal issues that affect their productivity. For instance, there could be a marital dispute or a problem with financial planning that may be disturbing an employee. Last January, it launched an initiative, aptly called HEAL(Honeywell Employee Assistance for Life), which is an employee assistance programme where professional counsellors, with expertise in various areas like health, finance, family issues and others, guide and assist employees in non-work related areas that are bogging them down.
But despite such proactive measures, HTSL has not been able to completely immunise itself completely from the malaise that is affecting India Inc. in general and the technology sector in particular.
It has also increased the number of leadership positions to facilitate career mobility within the organisation. Team sizes have been pruned from 20 earlier to just 8-12 people now. Apart from empowering a larger number of young managers, this makes teams nimbler and more cohesive. "Our approach ensures that the first level of managers are the most powerful," says Lonikar.
Thus, it is not surprising that even employees who have left the company still look back nostalgically on their days on its rolls. Deepa Subbaiah, 30, an HR professional, who left HTSL recently, after a seven-and-a-half year stint, to join a healthcare MNC in India, says: "HTSL is a great place to work in because it offers people the freedom to execute ideas and has a culture that encourages people to innovate." Though she doesn't mention it, the issue of compensation probably had a role to play in her decision. So, is compensation an area that the company needs to improve on? "We try and ensure that the star performers and those with critical competencies are given compensation that is higher than the industry average and for the rest, we ensure that we remain competitive in the market," explains Lonikar.
The HTSL magic is working. If even former employees-and, of course, the current ones-have nice things to say about it, then HTSL must be doing something right.
- E. Kumar Sharma
