HISTORY
Incorporated on 2nd July, 1981.
Mainly overseas clientele;
1st client: Reebok.
Developed proprietary banking software,
Finacle.
Revenues Rs. 10.3 mn (1985) to Rs. 19.1 mn
(1987) to Rs. 25.4 mn (1989)
Started with on-site services.
1991: Liberalization of Indian Economy.
IPO in 1993.
1st Indian company to implement ESOP (1994)
Issued 24,000,000 warrants to employees at
Rs.0.50 each, entitled the holder to apply for one
equity share.
Another ESOP in 1999, issued 26,400,000 equity
shares to the employees.
1st Indian company to value its human resource
at Rs. 2785.5 million.
Discontinued with ESOP in 2003 due to
accounting problem
INFOSYS’s HR PRACTICES
Maintained the small company culture.
Provided employees with world class facilities for
training and working, such as;
-- Multi-cuisine courts
-- Swimming pools, a gymnasium
-- A golf course etc.
Initially recruited employees from engineering colleges
Policy of recruiting people with analytical skills and
provided them with specific training
To succeed it was necessary to recruit, train and retain
employees.
INFOSYS’s HR PRACTICES
(Contd)
Emphasized on individual growth along with
organizational growth.
Identified the structural requirements of
people at different levels and created a
demand for the roles.
Adopted a role-based structure, ensuring
employee career growth.
Role of the employees was defined.
Performance-appraisal and career
progression were carried out according to
Training
Fresher training courses
Training on new processes as well
High level managers were trained for
management development / leadership
development program.
High cost incurred (6.7 bn in 2005- 06)
Training covered:
Software development
Managerial skills
Soft skills
Leadership Skills
In house education & research department
New Recruits Training Training Employees
14.5 week technical training Competency considered
individual performance, feedback
from clients
Expenditure of Rs. 2 lakhs Trained in technical training,
/year/new entrant managerial & skills training,
domain training & quality
processes training.
Trained at Global Education Project specific training courses
Centre conducted by E&R department
Training covered: culture & value For software engineers
system, technical and managerialincluded :configuration
skills, soft skills,etc. management and defect
prevention.
Training in technology courses Regular quality process training
like C++, UNIX, HTML,etc.
Feedback mechanism to ensure Other training programs: soft
continuous improvement in skills, communication, personal
training program. effectiveness
Employees had autonomy to
choose area of training
Infosys Leadership
Institute
Set up in 2001
Objectives :
Grooming Executives
Ensuring smooth transition into next
generation
To study and develop different leadership
styles
How ILI was established ??
Infosys did a study of 8 corporate training
models(including that of G.E, Philips,etc.)
before establishing ILI
Infosys Leadership
Institute
Process followed at ILI
(Contd…)
Identified 400 potential leader (Performance basis)
Put through a 3 year training program
Training given on topics such as organizational
change, transformational leadership, etc.
Something more…..
100 faculty members (70% doctorate)
Company leaders shared experience with the
candidates
Infosys Leadership
Institute
Identified leadership competencies on
(Contd…)
four dimensions: Work, People,
Technology, Business
Followed a 9 pillar model for leadership
development
These were 360 degree feedback,
developmental assignments, Infosys
culture workshop, etc.
Performance Appraisal
Evaluation of personal skills like: their
learning and analytical ability, etc.
Different criteria for evaluation for evaluation
like: timeliness, customer satisfaction,
business potential, etc.
These criteria were measured on a scale of 1
to 5.
The appraisal data was used to determine
the training needs and other developmental
interventions of the employees.
Performance Appraisal
(Contd)
2003: A New Model Introduced: Incentives
were paid on the basis of three tiers of
performance:
overall corporate performance,
unit performance and,
performance of the concerned employee.
Mid- 2006: Deferred Compensation Scheme:
To create a compensation pool and reward
the employees out of that based on their
performance.
The Culture
Infosys tried to preserve the attributes of the small company
culture: worked in small groups, managers played the role of
mentors to guide their team members.
An environment of mutual learning was strongly encouraged.
Better performers were given higher responsibilities and quick
promotions to provide them rapid career progression
opportunities.
‘Milestone’: A program to help employees progress faster.
Employees at each level were coached by their superiors
about the demands and expectations from their positions.
Middle level managers were encouraged to
spend sufficient time on meetings,
administration, etc. to help them become better
leaders.
High level managers were taught the importance
of nurturing the teams.
Constant communication between the
employees and the top management. Eg:
e-mail sent by M.D to all employees on the
previous month’s events in the company.
Employee queries were addressed by the top
management of the company regularly(quarterly).
Informal group meetings called ‘Brown Bag
Lunches’ were carried out from time to time.
Open Door Policy was encouraged wherein
employees could discuss any company related
issues with their senior management.
Managers’ cubicles were placed close to those of
employees to facilitate ‘Free Exchange of
Information’.
2005: Work-Life Balance program called ‘Ontime’
introduced: included workshops and sessions on
stress and anger management.
Internal employee survey called ‘Litmus’ was
conducted to know the expectations of employees
from the company.
Recruitment
Focus on recruiting candidates who display:
High degree of learnability
Professional competence and academic excellence
Other qualities- analytical ability, teamwork.
Sources of recruitment were external sources:
Campus interviews
Advertisements in newspapers
Application received
Selection Process
STEPS CRITERIA
Initial Screening Academic and Experience
shortlisted
Written Test Arithmetic reasoning, analytical
above cut- thinking, English language skills
off marks
Communication and
Interview (Panel Interview) presentation skills, flexibility and
aspiration levels
Selected If not Selected
(re-apply after 9
months)
Securing a position is competitive: Last year,
1.3 million applicants applied for full-time
position but only 1% were hired.
Used RMS developed by Blue Shift.
Recruited Experienced personnel for special
positions.
Looking at increasing local hiring at various
geographies, where they have presence.
Points worth discussion…
Maintenance of small company culture and
simplicity
Diverse cultures arising due to multiple
departments
Lack of personal touch and challenges
Work-life imbalance due to heavy workload
Employee retention without increasing the wage
bill
Thank You
Hubrit D.S.
Mikky Madhogaria
Nitin Arora
Rajinder Budhiraja
Sheena Mathur
Vivek Luthra
