Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Mar 24, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Mar 24, 2008 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
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eWorld
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Human Resources Different strokes at play
V.Rishi Kumar It is said employees do not generally leave organisations, they desert managers. And in the technology sector where businesses are built over layers of leadership, breaking barriers is both a challenge and an art, according to Dr Sripada Chandrasekhar, Head, People Relationship Manager, Capgemini Consulting. Capgemini, the $10-billion technology and consultancy services provider, has HR practices that seek to make a difference to the way employees communicate in a cross-cultural entity, he says. The accent is on bringing about a fusion. The company employs over 80,000 people, about 18,000 of them in India. It is set to hike this to about 40,000 by 2010, making the Indian base the largest workforce for the company in any country, even outpacing its home country. As a company that has had over 40 acquisitions over the years, including the major one of Kanbay in India, which has added big numbers to the company, acquisitions throw up integration challenges. Dr Chandrasekhar tells eWorld how the company handles them. “We don’t rip up a best practice that a new company brings to Capgemini, we ensure that the best practice gets imbibed and thrives along,” he says. “There are no best practices in HR that can be applied at all times, these vary from time to time, they are contextual. We cannot cut paste one practice and replicate it at another centre, these are inculcated,” he explains. “Since we are a company with origins in Europe, we draw from different work cultures and philosophies. We do not steamroll our ideas but inculcate them over the years. We either assimilate a new process, merge old ones and new ones to churn out a distinctly different one or simply build on the two,” he says. Fundoo Fridays et al Strengthening the HR practices are initiatives such as Fundoo Fridays, Brown Bag Initiative and Capgemini Radio. Fundoo Fridays, fun events that happen on the final Friday of every month, are conceptualised and organised by the employees, for the employees, he says. People take time away from work to have fun and re-energise. Brown Bag is an interactive session where employees discuss the current client projects and the latest technology used. There are brain storming activities and lively discussions, he says. It is a forum that enables employees to get regular updates on the latest happenings at Capgemini. In addition, Capgemini is in the process of replicating Capgemini University in India, which is aimed at providing the India experience to its workforce. Capgemini Radio is for every one to tune in. It has radio jockeys who communicate with employees, they no longer need to browse through circulars. “One of the guiding principles is to avoid power play, that is build tolerance and pluralism where one plus one is more than two,” he stresses. The company also provides shadow leaders wherein those chosen to be future leaders work with them and assimilate best practices as they get groomed to the next level. This is different from ‘Buddies’ for freshers who join the company, which is about mentoring. “All these practices have helped in our being chosen for the innovation in HR award at APAC HRM Congress, from over 150 companies,” says Dr Chandrasekhar. More Stories on : Human Resources | Software
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