Now, TCS will double pay of company’s ‘Hot Talent’

The rise of digital technologies and rapid change in skillset requirements are forcing companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to take a complete relook at talent acquisition and retention.

TCS has been trying to re-imagine hiring in order to attract top talent in large numbers to support its growth. Last year, the IT services firm launched the TCS National Qualifier Test, which attracted nearly 2.2 lakh candidates. The process eliminated the need for campus visits and cut down hiring time to six weeks from the four months.

Of the 2.2 lakh candidates, TCS made offers to 30,000. But in the process, it was also able analyse who the potential outliers of these 30,000 were.

“We are offering the top people who took our national test another test. If they clear that test, we call them Hot Talent and they are offered double the salary,” Milind Lakkad, Executive Vice President and Global Head, Human Resources, told BusinessLine .

“In addition, we decided to do the same for internal employees. We’ve done it for employees with three years of experience. We’re giving them the same digital test,” Lakkad said.

Beyond the campus

The National Qualifier test shrank the company’s recruitment cycle by 2/3rds and allowed TCS access to talent that wasn’t necessarily studying in top colleges.

“We have understood that the IT industry is in transition. Since two years, we’ve been systematically operating to change the paradigm in terms of talent hiring, recognising top talent and recognising how we should work with customers in a more open and agile way,” said NG Subramaniam, Chief Operating Officer at TCS.

“The people who clear the test are absolutely hot digital talent and they are the kind of people who probably would go work for investment banks or Google,” he said.

The hot talent test is going to be one of the toughest tests in the industry, says Subramaniam. “If they are able to show that they can play at that level and they can code at that level, they deserve that (high) salary,” Subramaniam said.

Of the 30,000 people who got selected in the national test, TCS has identified 1,300 to take a more advanced test that could prove them to be the hot talent. For internal employees, while it is still work in progress, some 2,500 people have already been identified.

“For people coming from outside, the compensation will double if they clear the test. For internal employees, based on their experience, they’ll get a significant hike,” Lakkad said.

TCS is also trying to speed up training time to make fresh recruits productive from their first day of work. Online training through the FrescoPlay platform is helping TCS accelerate the shift towards digitalisation. Now, instead of teaching generic computing skills to everyone, TCS can customise training as per individual strength and business requirement.

COMMENT NOW