IT companies redefine HR management, Play@work is new mantra

MUMBAI:  The challenge of attrition facing information technology companies is one where size really doesn’t make a difference. The 66,000-strong Infosys group is in the same boat as the little-known Eon Technologies, whose employee base of 150 is less than half the size of Infy’s human resources department.

Companies from SAP to Xansa to 3, earlier called 3 Global, are coming up with innovative ways to keep their flock together. In the process, they are setting new benchmarks in HR practices for India Inc, and redefining the paradigm of work culture.

Forcing them to abandon the ‘one size fits all’ HR approach are some stark figures. In its latest study released in September, Nasscom forecasts that by 2010, the Indian IT and information technology enabled services (ITeS) sector will face a shortage of 500,000 professionals. “This shortage could threaten India’s position as a leading provider of IT and ITeS services,” says Nasscom president Kiran Karnik. What worries the companies more is the immediate challenge of holding on to their talent pool. The report says smaller IT companies face an attrition rate of 35-40 per cent a year, while top-end ones have an average of 15 per cent.  

More alarming is the situation in the burgeoning Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) sectors. “BPO and KPO companies face an annual dropout rate of up to 60 per cent,” says the report.  These numbers portend a grim trend, but one which few companies have shown how to buck.

When play becomes work

Sheetal Banavali’s daily routine as a Team Leader at UK 3 is anything but ordinary. Eight straight hours of handling a team of executives servicing customers from halfway across the world is bound to leave anyone exhausted.

“I either go to Unwind, which plays great music, or Cuisine, where the food is top of the world. Sometimes I even go to Finesse to get my hairdo right,” she says. Unwind and Cuisine, by the way, are theme cafeterias, while Finesse is a beauty salon. And yes, all three are located within the 3 office premises at Mindspace, Malad.

“We are setting the benchmark in HR practices,” says 3 Head (Recruitment and HR Support) Akhil Sharma, who prefers describing the 5,000-employee strong 3 as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) company rather than a plain Jane BPO. “Our focus is the employee and we believe in nurturing his or her talent.”

With a Citibank ATM inside the office, a full-fledged gaming arcade, a higher education programme - Gurukul - that has a tie-up with institutions like Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies and the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India allowing employees to pursue an MBA or a CA, the only thing missing is bed and breakfast. “By the way, we have three company guesthouses if the staff wants to stay overnight,” says Sharma with a laugh.

Even market leaders join the game

If BPOs are upping the ante, the IT companies, small and big, aren’t far behind. Sudheesh Venkatesh, Vice-President, HR, of the India operations of Tesco, the world’s largest grocery home-shopping service in the world, puts the paradigm shift in perspective calling it the ‘death of the personnel manager’

“The IT industry has effectively ensured that the old personnel department is gone and done away with. Human resources today is completely about talent management and retention,” he says. And walking the talk, Tesco offers employees not only maternity and paternity leave, but also adoption leave. “We are an equal opportunity employer and if any employee of ours wants to adopt a child, we will support him or her in every possible way,” he says.

The Tesco campus at Whitefield in Bangalore also houses a learning centre where employees can register themselves for a retail certification course from no less than the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore. “We have also done away with the probation period because we are in the business of training people,” says Venkatesh.

Gurgaon-based Eon Technologies, which handles offshore projects across Europe, is a small company by Indian IT standards. “But we have practices which are cutting edge,” says Prema Pillai, head of HR at the company. “Tele-commuting, flexi-time and retreats focused on team building are our strong points.”

The Infosys approach

Conventional reasoning may suggest that the brand name of Infosys itself would be enough for the IT giant to retain its workforce. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“We also have to work hard to retain our talent pool, which we value tremendously,” says Bikramjit Maitra, Vice-President, HR, Infosys. “One of the key factors in retaining our workforce is our rigorous training programme, which involves several levels of certification,” he says.

The 325-strong HR department faces the challenge of satisfying 66,000 employees, and the emphasis is on ‘emotional value-adds’ and ‘learning value-adds’.

“From the emotional point of view, we ensure that the campus environment is essentially collegial and conducive to building relationships,” says Maitra. “Our ‘learning value adds’ are the strongest. If you are an Infy employee, you can rest assured that our certification programme will make you the best in the world.”

Managing such a large organisation without becoming bureaucratic is a challenge, which Maitra recognises. “We have controlled the ratio of managers to employees. Our approach is position the manager as a mentor rather than as a boss,” he says.

The 3,200-strong SAP India follows a different strategy. “The biggest retention point for us is the fact that our organisation provides everyone an opportunity to handle an international assignment,” says Satish Venkatachalaiah, Vice-President, HR, SAP India.

With operations spread across 32 countries, Venkatachalaiah who spoke to DNA from the SAP headquarters in Waldorf in Germany, says engineers are attracted to SAP for the ‘cross-cultural sensitivity’ the organisation provides. “A SAP employee can adjust to any environment - European, Latin American, American or Asian,” he says. “Very few companies can offer the wide range of global projects that SAP offers.”

Noida-based Xansa, a mid-sized IT company exclusively specialising in undertaking projects from UK, focuses on facilities for women.

“We have one of the best creche facilities in the country. In fact, one of our women employees decided to have a second kid because of that,” says Shantanu Banerjee, Head, HR, Xansa (India). “Moreover, we have a policy of no graveyard shifts. Since our projects are from the UK, the employee is always home by midnight.” Apart from the now routine yoga classes, psychological counselling sessions and regular medical check-ups, Xansa also offers flexi-time, sabbaticals and adoption leave.

And, play@work works

Akbar Shaikh, Team Leader at 3, is clear that these innovative HR practices have helped him from burning out and quitting. “To de-stress, I like to play pool at Joystick - the gaming arcade - or listen to music at the cafe. These are crucial to maintaining employee satisfaction,” he says.

In Bangalore, Durga Prasad, Manager (User Experience), SAP India, is convinced that his organisation has helped him grow as an individual. “The international experience that I have under my belt has tremendously increased my market value,” he says.

For sceptics who question whether the paradigm shift even matters, Prasanna Kumar’s example is the clincher. The 34-year-old has been with Planetasia, now GSI, for ten years.

“I was employee number three at Planetasia. The way they have managed my career, given me the right breaks and helped me set up my family life; I don’t think I would ever want to leave them,” he says.