One day, a TCS employee went to a zoo with a few friends. Coming across a nonchalant elephant, the friends decided to test their skills. The first task was to make the elephant laugh; of the lot the TCS chap whispered something in the elephants large ears and the tusker was rolling in mirth while pointing fingers at him. Next task was to make the elephant sob; again the TCS guy was successful as he had the poor elephant weeping copious tears in no time. The final task was to make the elephant take to its heels. Needless to say, the TCS guy was yet again successful with yet another whisper. Seeing the astonishment of his friends, the TCS guy explained, The first time I made it laugh, I said I work for TCS. When I made it cry as if it were very sad and patted me, I told it how much I get paid. And it ran because, I told him that HR guys were here and are recruiting.

For years, the above-mentioned joke has been quoted to highlight how ill paid TCS employees are. Even for that matter, company officials at TCS do not really try and dispel that notion. Or probably they do not need to, because in spite of all these notions and perceptions, TCS has been recruiting in quite significant numbersit added some 35,000 employees in FY 2007-08. In fact, in the same year, the company crossed the landmark figure of one lakh employees (111,407 employees to be precise), making it the largest private employer in India. There would be barely a handful of companies that have such an employee base in India and even globally. The company had crossed the 10,000 employee mark in 1996-97, and has grown nearly ten-fold in the last ten years.

What is notable about the companys achievement is that while it has been able to accelerate recruitment in a major way, the company has also been able to clamp down attrition at the same time. Currently, the attrition rate stands at 12.6%, including the BPO, among the lowest in the industry.

Much credit is due to the HR policies followed at TCS that have been able to hire as well as retain employees. Ritu Anand, vice president and deputy head, Global HR, TCS, says, Our HR practices and policies have evolved from being paternalistic and controlled to being participative and finally engaging. It has been our earnest endeavor to be known as a peoples company.

An important aspect about retention, according to Ritu, is simply the ability to listen, to be attuned to the needs and grievances of the workforce.

The spread of TCS is also a major factor in its ability to hold on to its employees. The company has also put in place a job rotation policy that allows movement across different job roles and functions.

Expanding the Talent Pool
Established in 1968, TCS has played a major role in shaping the IT revolution in India. Indeed, the companys first general manager, FC Kohli, is also known as the father of Indian software industry. Thus, in some ways, TCS is not only an Indian IT company but also an institution that has helped shape the IT revolution. As part of its responsibility, TCS actively collaborates with academia and educational institutions toward creating an ecosystem that nurtures talent and enhances suitability of the talent pool in the country.

The company has put in place the academic interface program (AIP) under which student development and faculty development workshops are conducted, academicians are sponsored to take sabbaticals, and an annual meet, called Sangam, of heads of institutes is organized. The company has also developed a faculty development program (FDP) to collaborate with select universities in conducting custom-made course curriculum to be taught to students in engineering colleges in smaller towns in India.

Additionally, TCS launched a major drive, dubbed Ignite, with the objective of creating an alternative talent pool through the recruitment of science graduates and enhancing suitability of this untapped resource through a training program. TCS employees are also encouraged to pursue education through rigorous training programs or external sponsored ones.

There are also a number of leadership development programs designed to identify potential leaders and take them through comprehensive training sessions to develop a leadership pool in the

 organization.

We are consistently investing in learning. It is an effort because as the experience of people is growing in the technology space, we invest in their softskills and behavioral competency upgrades so that people are ready to lead large teams and be ready to head a geography or vertical. There are different levels of training programs under the leadership space. We have invested in it heavily and have made it mandatory that the employees spend a minimum of 10-15 days in a year in learning and acquiring skills, says Ritu.

All trainees in the company undergo a 52-day training as part of the Initial Learning Program when they join TCS has set up ILP centers in the US, Hungary, China, and Uruguay to meet the training needs of its global workforce. According to Anand, close to 2% of the companys revenue is invested on training and development (that translates into a whopping $100 mn).

Work Hard, Party Harder
Over all these years, the company has acquired an image of seriousness. The workplace is thought to be full of middle-aged brainy engineers tickering-tackering over the keyboard. Anand, along with her team, is consciously trying to change that image, and Maitree is helping them do it in a major way. Maitree is an employee engagement initiative that has multiple programs within it. To begin with, the HR team comes out with an annual calendar of events aimed at engaging employees and promoting the fun culture. In fact, fun at work is facilitated through different clubs or events happening at any given moment in time. Besides, the Maitree umbrella also conducts activities like family day, technology month, health month, womens day, New Year celebrations, Kaleidoscope for kids, sports month, and other local festival celebrations.

About 6-7 years ago, we felt that we were working too much and we needed to loosen up and have some fun. So from small events in different regions the fun at work started. Gradually, it mushroomed into a monthly calendar. At the beginning of the year we publish a calendar where we mention what activities are scheduled for the year. At that time we wanted people to consciously invest time toward having some fun at work and bond with one another. So, this became such a hit that now we have a family day, a health month, environment month and special programs such as Lets Share, Mission You in the UK. Because we made it mandatory by publishing a calendar, we dont forget it. Now, after all these years, it has become institutionalized and people are now proactively trying out new fun activities, says Ritu.

Considering the size and spread of the organization, it is hardly possible to capture all the work done by Indias premier IT company in a few pages. Nonetheless, it would be appropriate to say that much like the transformation TCS is bringing about globally, it is transforming itself. The company is not only being more attuned to the needs and requirements of its client spread across the globe, but also the scores of its employees that are spread out.

It is indeed time now, to bury the elephant joke or probably now the elephant will be scampering to the nearest TCS office to know that the company is recruiting and sob on not seeing its name on the list of those who were selected.

Shashwat DC
shashwatc@cybermedia.co.in

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