Infosys to deepen focus on talent, skill development

Even as it keeps bagging multi-billion dollar deals, IT services major Infosys expects a major shortage of talent in the coming years in the IT sector.

“There is a talent shortage in the sector that will become a critical driver of companies’ ability to deliver,” Richard Lobo, Executive Vice-President, Head HR, Infosys, told BusinessLine .

“There are many companies targeting the same set of people, and, in the absence of a differentiator in terms of a sustained employee value proposition, it comes down to money and that is not the most effective tool. So we have to leverage our learnings to constantly improve our value proposition to meet the needs of the future talent we seek.”

Increments from Jan 1

Infosys is set to roll out increments to its employees effective January 1. “We are already in the process of rolling out our compensation review. As the exercise involves a fair amount of detail, employees should be getting their individual letters in a month or so but the increment will be effective January 1 this year,” he said.

Lobo said as there is increased focus on digital spend, the need to prioritise talent management strategies in the areas of recruitment, training, re-skilling, retention and engagement becomes a strategic differentiator.

The measurement of performance parameters is changing. “It is no longer about monitoring and measuring like we used to do, but about a common approach to achieve objectives. Although it might be tempting to set performance parameters, remote work does need a level of flexibility and trust,” he said.

He said even though the overall performance system for remote work has not changed, there are now more data points to measure the effectiveness and allow micro-course corrections. “We have added tools and techniques to make work more efficient and satisfying without bringing in intrusive supervision. For example, managers set remote check-ins through video at a periodic frequency to discuss work progress and provide feedback; they use collaboration tools for teamwork.”

Lobo said the pandemic brought its own set of challenges, especially those concerning work from home. “A large majority of our employees were not equipped to work remotely due to client requirements, unavailability of IT assets and policies. Our teams coordinated across several challenges to enable the shift to remote in a couple of weeks.”

Lobo said no client is insisting that work resume from office. “Barring a few projects that need infrastructure or network access, we will be able to continue with this mode of operation till it is safe for employees to return to offices. Post that, we are looking at a phased return to work with a hybrid model.”

Infosys has introduced ‘The Infy Ikigai’ — your reason to be — an initiative that will help the company and the teams to stay resilient even during challenging times. “We are also encouraging managers to inculcate a well-balanced daily routine within their teams, to reach out to employees and encourage them to take some time off to re-energise themselves; some teams have even adopted a no-call day in a week,” Lobo said.

The company has also taken the initiative for the team to meet at the office campuses in a sanitised, socially distanced safe environment for team huddles. This initiative is called ‘safe huddle spaces’.

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