Talent Management - Project
Talent Management - Project
Talent Management - Project
A project on
Human Resource Management
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Talent management (TM) has become an imperative in the face of today's business challenges. Companies
are increasingly realizing that successful TM is the key to high performance. The study aims to explore the
challenges and trends of Talent Management Practices for the IT Industry in India. An analysis of two major
IT companies Infosys & Tata Consultancy Services (commonly referred as TCS) gives key insight to
understand the general trend of TM. Based on the study of both the organizations, a comparative analysis
has been done that showcases the relative performance of the companies in the areas of Talent Attraction,
Engagement, Development and Retention
Methodology
The methodology used involved both primary and secondary research methods. Primary research was
conducted in the form of Telephonic Interviews with personnel from the HR & Project Management
department of two major IT companies Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys. Also, discussions were
held with ex-employees of TCS & Infosys. Please see Exbhit 1 for personnel details.
Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is an Indian multinational information technology (IT) services,
business process and consulting company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was established in
1968 as a division of Tata Sons Limited and got incorporated as a separate entity on January 19, 1995. Since
its inception, it has extended its operations to 44 countries with 199 branches. With revenue of US$ 11.57
Billion in FY 2012-13, TCS is the largest India based IT Services Company. As of February 2014, TCS has a
strong employee base of over 276,000 people.
Mission:
To help customers achieve their business objectives by providing innovative, best-in-class consulting, IT
solutions and services
To make it a joy for all stakeholders to work with us
Values:
Leading change
Integrity
Respect for the individual
Excellence
Learning and sharing
Infosys Technologies
Infosys is an Indian IT multinational company headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka that provides business
consulting, technology, engineering and outsourcing services. Infosys has a growing global presence with
more than 158,000+ employees worldwide, across 71 offices and 93 development centres in the United
States, India, China, Australia, Japan, Middle East, and Europe. It reported revenue of US$ 7.39 Billion for
the FY 2012-13.
Vision:
To be a globally respected corporation that provides best-of-breed business solutions, leveraging technology,
delivered by best-in-class people.
Mission:
To achieve our objectives in an environment of fairness, honesty, and courtesy towards our clients,
employees, vendors and society at large.
Talent Management alignment with Business strategy: No strategy can be effective without the support
of senior leadership and talent management is certainly no exception. In the past, HR struggled to
convince business leaders to invest their time and money in talent management. Today, the challenge is
not just whether to invest resources in talent management, but also how to identify what talent practices
provide the greatest return; where leaders can most effectively spend their time developing people; and
how to drive greater consistency, integration, and alignment of talent practices with the business strategy.
Execution and Integration: Consistent execution and integration of talent practices is a major challenge.
While most companies have fundamental talent management processes in place, few have managed to
consistently execute and integrate such capabilities across the organization. Very few organizations
report consistent execution of talent management practices across all regions in which they operate. In
addition, little is being done to integrate talent practices with other talent initiatives (e.g., tying rewards
to performance).
Conflicting views on Talent Management: Corporate leaders and lower-level managers hold conflicting
views on talent management. The gap in priorities across leaders and managers presents an additional
challenge to talent management. There can be differences in viewpoints around recruiting locally from
new markets, effectiveness in rewarding high performance and aligning business strategies with an
individuals performance objectives.
Lack of an internal management pipeline: Due to lack of an internal management pipeline, companies
are forced to recruit from rivals. Companies in rapid-growth markets are building their international
management teams through the development of internal pipelines as well as recruitment from other
organizations. While building an internal pipeline requires time and investment, the latter can result in
high turnover and salary inflation.
High Performers Retention and Reward: Companies are unable to retain and reward high performers in
different markets. Some companies report it can be difficult to appropriately incentivize performance
across different markets and cultures.
Lack of international experience at Top Management: In the era of Globalization, these rapid-growth
market companies face a challenge of building an effective international management team.
Generation Gap: Creating a value proposition that appeals to multiple generations. With four generations
in today's workplace, most companies are struggling to create an employee experience that appeals to
individuals with diverse needs, preferences and assumptions
Due to the global and highly competitive nature of the IT industry, it has become essential for the survival of
the firms they become adaptive and responsive to change around them. They need to strategize in order for
them to deliver excellence in their services that can attain a competitive edge with their clientele. To achieve
this, it has become extremely critical to find, nurture and retain the best people in the business. In other
words, success of an organization is becoming dependant on the talent it possesses, with talent in this
context referring to the human capital. At the outset, it might look simple, but the entire process requires a
strategic and structured approach and hence the concept of Talent Management has become important for
organizations.
Talent Attraction
Talent Engagement
Talent Development
Talent Retention
Talent Attraction
The first and the foremost stage of Talent Management is the identification and sourcing of qualified
individuals for the organization. Without qualified candidates, assessments, offers, and on-boarding
workshops are pointless and that is why Talent Attraction plays a major role in the value chain. The IT
industry in India has a number of players and hence, it becomes important for organizations to market
themselves so that the candidates get attracted to work for them.
Infosys
Employee Value Proposition (EVP): EVP has been instrumental in helping build a global employer
brand with the ability to attract local talent in every country Infosys operates. As a strategic business
partner to the delivery units at Infosys the recruitment team works with its internal partners to recruit
competent and qualified professionals. The brand equity of Infosys is one of the important parameters in
attracting the best students from Indias elite engineering and management institutes. Infosys has reached
out to the potential talent pool through various channels and have shared information regarding EVP to
generate excitement.
Employer Branding: Attracting talent sometimes means marketing the organization to the people who
might one day take a job there. For Infosys that has meant taking significant steps to increase its name
recognition, improve its brand attraction and fill its talent pipeline by combining global branding
activities with efforts in local communities.
A Catch Them Young program in India that exposes high school students to information
technology during school breaks. Students are trained for a month and then invited to work for
Infosys on a two-month project.
Computer awareness programs in rural areas in local languages, to help children become more
comfortable with high-tech equipment. Although not initially directed at recruitment and branding,
the program has been an effective strategy for enlarging the pool of IT-literate and Infosys-devoted
students in India, which eventually makes it easier to find talented software engineers.
A global internship program called InStep, which invites students from top universities
internationally to the companys Bangalore campus. The three month stay is part of an ongoing effort
to make the company more attractive to potential candidates outside of India and to tap into the
worldwide talent pool.
Career Security: According to the Infosys team The focus for potential employees is not so much on job
security but more on career security. From a career security perspective, Infosys launched WithInfy,
Infosys Internal Job Posting program through which they have encouraged internal hiring by offering
opportunities for career movement within the organization. This helps an employee in fulfilling his
career goals in line with the organizations requirements.
Cultural fit: Further, evaluating a candidate for the cultural fit or what they call the values fit is part of
the stringent hiring process at Infosys. In addition to the educational qualification, people are hired for
their potential and ability to constantly learn. They ensure that they live up to EVP and assess the
candidate at every stage during the hiring process to check his / her fitment into the role as well as
fitment into the organization.
Academy Interface Program: The AIP Program kick-started in a small way in the year 2009. AIP has
been involved in various programs, to bridge the gap between campus and corporate. Some of these
activities are: Workshop for students, Faculty Development Programs (FDP) for teachers, Student
Awards to encourage healthy competition at colleges, Internship Training opportunity for students, and
Global Internship programme. TCS has taken one step ahead by setting up a portal, to take this
connectivity with students, faculty and the institutes to greater heights.
Bring Your Buddy: This is a referral program. The Employees upload the CVs of friends, family and
others on the portal and then the HR checks this portal whenever there is requirement. This is their first
source of recruitment whenever they have opening. TCS gives GEMS to employee in exchange if their
referral is selected. These GEMS can be used to buy merchandise and other products from an internal
portal.
International Student Associations Council (ISAC): ISAC community gives students opportunities to
work in other countries and TCS has a tie up with them. The students are deputed for one year and are
treated as trainees. They are not paid at par with employees but are on the payroll of the company.
iCALMS: iCALMS (Integrated Competency and Learning Management System) is a repository of all
role profiles, competency requirements, and learning programs.
Employer Branding: TCS has taken steps to improve its branding which helps in attracting talent. These
steps include:
Organizing events like marathons: TCS is committed to promoting healthy lifestyles amongst its
employees and in the communities where it operates. It sponsors marathon in many cities across the
world like the recently concluded Mumbai Marathon on January 19, 2014. It provides a chance to its
employees to participate in the event at price lower than the normal market price. This helps in
spreading awareness among the people who participate in the marathon about the concern that TCS
shows for its employees.
Social Media: Corporates across the world use social media as a platform for external branding and
TCS also has its dominant presence on Facebook and twitter to name. Leveraging this platform is
helpful with the increasing presence of the people all around the world. These platforms have
become the platform for easy interaction and communication. It also has a social networking site
Campus Commune, where over 3 lakh college students have registered to form communities through
which they learn, discuss and even find mentorship from TCS employees.
Tapping the Mobile Platform: TCS has launched a mobile application that provides career opportunities
to prospective candidates on their mobile phones.
Talent Engagement
Talent Engagement is all about keeping the employees connected to the organization. It signifies the
emotional commitment that any employee has towards the organization and its goals. It depends on the
factors which include work nature, opportunities for personal growth, work environment, leadership,
opportunity to contribute and internal branding.
Infosys
Infosys places a lot of emphasis on understanding the needs of the employees as it believes in engagement
through employee satisfaction. To understand the same, Infosys, in the past, has conducted research to
understand the characteristics, needs and perception of the employees. The following illustrates the five key
needs that were found through the research
Need for identity: For employees the kind of work they do, matters a lot. Employees work aggressively
for the same and want to be recognized in the same magnitude
Need for Buoyancy: Employees focus more on career security and desire for challenges and fresh
thinking at work
Need for Up-gradation: An employee wants to constantly upgrade himself and build a varied skill set.
Need for equilibrium: An employee gives importance to work life balance
Need for paradox: The only way that youth will stay interested in their job is if there is a certain amount
of challenge rising from contradictions, conflicts and paradoxes
Considering all these five needs, the organization covers the five factors viz. the work itself, opportunities
for personal growth, work environment, leadership and opportunity to contribute.
SocialEdge: Infosys has a programme called SocialEdge Employee Engagement which is built to
support varied initiatives from skill management and employee network management to on boarding
and sales collaboration. It also helps to create relevant knowledge networks and alumni portals. It
provides a unified and configurable platform for employees to voice their opinions, generate new ideas,
connect with colleagues, and participate in organizational decision making. The Employee Engagement
application is powered by the SocialEdge Context Engine. The Context Engine automatically provides
suggestions and recommendations in six (default) dimensions, and has more than 58 rules defined for
every employee. The rules are based on:
What the employee has created?
What the employee has read?
Where the employee has participated?
The employees skills / interests / groups
Work Nature: TCS has introduced various initiatives in this regard to gauge employees satisfaction in
their current job such as PEEP (Proactive Employee Engagement Program). In PEEP employees get an
opportunity to meet employees across various functions and designations and a chance to personally
interact with senior management. In such meetings employees can give suggestions, ask for advice or
express their grievances. For senior employees its a forum to know their team members on a personal
basis. Such one to one meetings can be with CEO, EVPs, VPs, Regional Managers, HR Heads etc. To
ensure whether the interaction has desired results, the senior executive uses a feedback form to record
the suggestions, problems or advice of the junior grade employee. Job enrichment is also a way to
enhance current jobs mundane aspects. TCS has taken commendable initiative in this direction by
devising new ways to reach out to associates who are sitting on bench to be loyal and to engage them.
TCS uses its bench strength to test prototypes of new technologies and also train them for upcoming
projects.
Personal Growth: TCS came up with an initiative PROPEL(Professional excellence, Role enhancement,
Ownership culture, Personal growth, Employee involvement and Learning) which is a forum where
employees can share their ideas or discuss any issue faced by them in the organization and also give
suggestions to resolve those issues. It is propagated across TCS through Confluences and Camps. This
program covers all associates in TCS. Top performers or employees with higher qualifications like
MBA, M.Tech can discuss their future career plans with their supervisors and supervisors themselves
facilitate training to such employees so that they can achieve their career objectives.
Work Environment: TCS value proposition for its employees is global exposure, work -life balance and
freedom to work across domains. The work environment at TCS has the following features:
Diversity: Employees from diverse backgrounds and geographies work together for a common
objective
Open Door policy: Employees are always considered as part of a team and the culture is open and
inclusive
On-the job learning: Training and development programs which facilitates on- the job learning
Mentor programs:
Internal Branding: In TCS, internal branding is usually done by Ultimatix which is the official portal for
TCS where employees get all the recent news about TCS across various verticals. It is also the platform
by which CEO connects with the employees. Ultimatix also has various other features like Bring Your
Buddy and Softmart. Bring Your Buddy is on online referral program through which employees can send
references of their friends or relatives who can be prospective employees of TCS. Softmart is a value
added service provided to employees by which employees can search for accommodation, buy used cars
or motorbikes.
Work-Life Balance: TCS also concede that finding a perfect balance between career demands and
personal life is not easy, thus TCS has extended the work culture to include 'life' as an integral part.
There are many work-life programs which respond to the needs and aspirations of the employees while
retaining fun as a key element. TCS strive to address the need for an increased flexibility in order to
navigate the different spheres of life. A part of TCS' work-life balance programs, 'Maitree' actively
promotes a series of scheduled fun and cultural events and activities, and also keenly promotes
community development projects. While continuing on the initiative to strengthen the bond amongst
TCS employees and ingrain fun as a significant part of the culture, they participate in various initiatives
to develop the community. At TCS, employees experience life from a holistic perspective and are
consistently be awarded the opportunity to participate in various social development initiatives that
touch many lives
TCS Maitree: Maitree was started with an objective of bringing TCS associates and their families closer and
making them feel a part of the TCS extended family. Soon after, with a view to carry on the TATA tradition
of enabling the community, the scope of Maitree was enhanced to include socially relevant activities and
endeavors.
Maitree and the TCS Community:
Even while at work, the employees are never away from life. TCS-Maitree was established with an intention
to strengthen the bond between TCS employees and their families, as well as provide a platform to
encourage hidden aspirations and talents. It lends a deeper and broader dimension to the work culture at
TCS. Over the years, Maitree has become a part of every TCS employee's life. From cracking quizzes to
conquering tall peaks, from shaking a leg to bending it like Beckham, employees have reveled in the
excitement and fun of all Maitree events. And that's not all. Workshops on theatre, yoga, origami, flower
arrangement, chocolate making, and a host of others have allowed the employees to learn and know about
things they always wanted to. All in all, Maitree provides everyone at TCS the opportunity to establish
relationships that extend beyond work and thereby, help build bonds that makes work so much more fun.
Talent Development
The IT industry has reached a stage where it is becoming difficult to get top talent on a continuous basis.
Hence the organizations also focus on another aspect of the Talent Management system known as Talent
Development. Talent Development is all about developing and guiding those star employees who are able to
contribute to the companys success and growth. Thus, the key to continued success lies not only in the
ability to retain these employees in the organization, but also in understanding, managing and developing
their talents in the best possible way.
Infosys
At the On-boarding stage, Infosys provides development opportunities to its employees.
Building Capabilities: Infosys provides an environment that encourages learning and innovation. The
various groups that cater to the various learning needs of its employees are:
Education and Research - Infosys runs the largest corporate technical university in Asia which
offers training in all development centers across India, training an average of 30,000 new joinees
every year.
Leadership Institute - Primarily Talent
for the senior
management, the institute runs a tiered model of
Development
development to create a corporate pool of leaders
Professional Skills Development - For the skills development of new recruits as well as caters to the
ongoing developmental needs of the existing employees.
ES Academy - This is for Enterprise Solutions (ES) Unit and its need for learning and development.
HR Academy - For the HR fraternity of Infosys, this academy aims at by building and enhancing
functional competencies of the HR Professionals.
Providing Guidance and Support for Career Growth: To provide a forum to interact with senior
employees for career related advices and guidance, seminars are organized. Since August 2010, around
63 career seminars have been conducted in various development centers and around 40000 employees
have been covered. Following is the list of seminars running successfully in Infosys:
Career Planning: Infosys Intranet site enables every employee to get information on various career
streams and job levels available within each career stream. It also makes them aware of the competency
requirement in each of the career streams. Career Development practice at Infosys offers programs and
tools that help align performance with an individuals career needs and aspirations.
Pathfinder NEXT the career development practice at Infosys which is intended to create
an EDGE
Encourage employees to take ownership of their careers
Design and offer opportunities to develop capabilities and competencies
Guide employees on capabilities, competencies, career opportunities, optimal roles, and career objectives
Enable Managers to support employees in the process of career development
Tata Consultancy Services
Global Exposure: Global exposure at TCS extends beyond geographical boundaries. This means working
on world-class projects on a global scale and exploring cutting-edge technologies, fresh out of the world
renowned research labs. The opportunity to understand, interact, and work with people from cultures all
over the world creates kaleidoscopic avenues for learning that propel talent to be at par or go one up on
the best in the world.
Freedom to work across Domains: TCS has established an environment that focuses on individual
aptitude, talent, and interests. As a proven practice, TCS promote cross-domain experience that provides
talent with opportunities to function across different industry verticals, service practices, and functional
domains as well as varied technology platforms. While all these factors help employees hone their skills
across platforms, they also offer customers a talent pool with expertise that exceeds their industry
benchmarks; at the same time, they continuously present employees with the opportunity to explore the
domain where they believe they would fit the best.
TCS Learning & Development Program: TCS has a well formulated Learning & Development plan for
various purposes at all levels.
Initial Learning Program (ILP) - TCS Initial Learning Program is designed to provide a smooth
transition from Campus to Corporate environment. The program is designed to transform graduate
engineers into IT Consultants with global mindset. The participants are put through a rigorous 47-day
program that has good mix of technical skills and soft skills.
Continuous Learning Program (CLP) - Continuous Learning Program (CLP) is a manifestation of the
company's commitment to the continuous growth of associates, in line with the core value of
Learning & Sharing. Programs under the CLP umbrella arise out of business strategies, project needs,
technology and business directions and individual aspirations, and span across Technologies,
Domains, Processes and Soft-skills. This lay emphasis on long-term, short-term and medium-term
needs of the organization alike.
Leadership Development Program (LDP) - The program is to churn out the future leaders for the
company. Associates are carefully assessed for leadership potential and then put through rigorous
branded programs. TCS also encourages associates to attend various programs at premier B-schools
across the globe.
Foreign Language Initiative (FLI) - Foreign Language Initiative is to help the associates
to communicate effectively with the customers. Under this initiative, associates are encouraged to
learn one or more foreign languages. This initiative also helps associates to use English effectively for
business communication. This is highly beneficial in a company with a diverse workforce. The crosscultural issues are curtailed with the proper use of communication.
Workplace Learning - Apart from all these initiatives TCS encourages "workplace learning".
Associates are encouraged to learn while at work. To facilitate this TCS has subscribed a huge library
of e-Learning courses and online books. The classroom session and e-Learning materials complement
each other
Talent Retention
Talent Retention refers to the ability of an organization to retain their employees. Over the past few years,
the Indian IT industry has been experiencing the highest attrition rate, ranging in the range of 20-25%. High
attrition not only disrupts the operations but also leads to cost escalation in terms of recruiting and
developing new talent. It has therefore become important for organizations to come up with measures to
retain their talent.
Infosys
Compensation Practices: In order to make compensation a more of a strategic tool than being a mere
expense, Infosys makes sure that compensation should be aligned with business objectives. To achieve
this, Infosys has designed a comprehensive compensation and benefits package that is not restricted
merely to cash benefits but also provides opportunities for wealth creation.
Formal R&R Mechanisms: Awards for Excellence, Prima Awards, and Annual Awards for Excellence are
some of the awards given by Infosys.
ESOPs - Employee stock option plans (ESOPs) is one of the strongest method used by Infosys for talent
retention. ESOPs have been a huge success and a greater impact level. Employees say they are not
bothered about the quantum of equity shares they will get, but are proud to be owners of the company. In
June 2010, when Infosys Employee Welfare Trust announced the distribution of equity shares to those
eligible, at least 140 employees serving notice periods withdrew their resignations overnight.
These methods of Talent Retention add up to the EVP that Infosys offers and lower the attrition rate.
Tata Consultancy Services
TCS has an 12.8% attrition rate which is the best in IT Industry in India. TCS has proved to be different
through various talent retention methods.
Through Talent Recognition : Various ways by which TCS helps in recognition are:
Project milestone parties - To encourage efficient execution of projects.
Nomination to covet training programs - To encourage self-development.
Best project award - To promote a spirit of internal competition across work groups and to foster
teamwork.
Best PIP award - To encourage innovation and continuous improvement
Best auditor award - To acknowledge participation in critical support roles
Recommendations for new technology assignments / key positions - To ensure career progression and
development of employees' full potential.
On-the-spot recognition - To guarantee immediate recognition of good performance