Ctc Retension

7/31/2019 Ctc Retension

1/8

30 3 Praxis 3 Business Line 3 May 2001

RETENTION

Beyondcom

pen

satio

n

There has to be a conscious effort on the part of the

organisation to instill values of openness,

innovativeness and transparency in all that it does,

both in individuals who own the processes,

as well as in the processes themselves.


2/8

S a young, but growing organisation,

Cognizant Technology Solutions has

struggled with one important issue: How

to retain the DNA strands of a small organi-

sation the flexibility, the innovativeness

and the openness of a small organisation

while growing. Cognizant has been growing

and changing dramatically, not just in num-

bers and in its geographical spread, but also

in terms of a fundamental shift in the nature

of its business. It has had to keep pace with

and remain at the forefront of the changing

nature of work and business.

The critical learnings that Cognizant has

discovered by experience over the last three

years are: its critical and important to man-

age growth in all its senses, to let that hap-

pen and yet not lose the cultural strands or

real core of a small organisation. So the

focus of the organisations efforts has been

on keeping its key strengths of openness,

innovativeness and transparency intact in

all that it does.

There has to be a conscious effort on the

part of the organisation to instill these val-

ues, both in the individuals who own the

processes, as well as in the processes

themselves. And to achieve this, Cognizant

uses a two-pronged approach:

q It assesses processes on a continuous

basis to ensure that they have those three

elements built into them.

q It looks for/builds these traits in all the

recruits who join the organisation. These

competencies are inculcated through train-

ing as well as continually assessing on-the-

job-behaviour.

Both the people and the systems

approaches are outlined in detail below.

The people approach

This percolates to all Cognizants people-

related systems such as recruitment, train-

ing and so on.

Talent search

The companys selection process for all

lateral recruits focuses on these attributes in

the individual. Cognizant follows the

Behavioural Event Interview method, where

the focus is always and intensely on real,

actual, demonstrated behaviour rather than

intent of a behaviour. This means that the

Bhaskar Das

A


3/8


Cognizant

follows the

Behavioural

Event Interviewmethod, where

the focus is

always and

intensely on

real, actual,

demonstrated

behaviour

rather than

intent of a

behaviour.

interviewer asks questions about where

these traits have been demonstrated in the

applicants past job or jobs. So, the questions

are not around What would you do if this

were to happen?, the questions are always

around What did you actually do?

This is one approach that Cognizant uses

to ensure that people joining it from else-where have these traits, at least in some

measure. The other methods used to achieve

this are through training and assessment of

on-the-job behaviour.

Focused training

There are several methods that are adopt-

ed under the umbrella of training. One of

them is the assessment centre concept.

Cognizant has invested considerable effortin identifying the competencies that make

a successful Cognizant manager. In the

RETENTION


4/8

Praxis 3 Business Line 3 May 2001 333

assessment centre, individuals are assessed

as to how much of these competencies they

possess. Over the last three years the top

100 people of the organisation have been

covered through this intervention.

Assessment centres are conducted in con-

junction with SHL of UK, a leading firm in

the area of assessment centres. Five profes-

sionals in Cognizants HR department who

have been trained by them in this process

also co-facilitate the programme.

The output from this process goes to the

individual in terms of feedback. It is also

shared with those in the organisation who

make career development/promotion deci-

sions. In this way Cognizant ensures that the

organisation honours these traits and val-

ues, and that people who have these traitsand values have a higher chance of moving

up the organisation. And if the analysis

reveals that gaps exist, then the company

provides several interventions to ensure that

the gaps are bridged.

There are also a series of ongoing pro-

grammes at the middle- and senior-manage-

ment levels that do not focus on trainingper

se, but help the person look inward to see

where he/she is at the moment. Its almost

like validating the self to check out whereone lies in certain critical areas that make

up the self.

Cognizant works with organisations such

as NIS Sparta to conduct such self-aware-

ness programmes at the junior level. Other

consultants work on an almost one-to-one

basis to give that mapping at a more senior

level. For instance, clinical psychologists

administer a battery of psychometric instru-

ments and give direct feedback to the indi-

vidual. These tests assess, among otherthings, the proclivity to be open, to share

knowledge, to learn and un-learn simultane-

ously. They also look at the behavioural

style, learning style and leadership style.

Some of the areas which are examined for

each individual through this programme

are:

q Comfort with ambiguity.

qAbility and ease with which the individual

can take up task-oriented projects with peo-

ple issues in the background, and similarly,

the ability to assume a people leadership

style with task issues in the background. The

uniqueness of this programme is that the

organisation is not privy to the feedback.

The individual, depending on the level of

acceptance, brings either the whole of the

feedback or part of it to the organisation in

a very structured manner to close some of

the gaps that one believes really exist.

Another innovative intervention is that of

role modelling, that is, positioning the key

players in the organisation and looking at

what kind of role models they are. Cognizant

believes that in a new organisation such as

itself, where a large number of people in the

middle- and top-management come from

different organisations with their own per-

ceived notions of excellence and behaviour

in the workplace its important to define the

culture of the organisation by way of certainrole models within Cognizant. And these role

models are chosen so that they possess the

three critical traits mentioned earlier. In that

sense they inculcate these values in people

who consider them to be role models.

In this way Cognizant ensures that people

who are growing within the organisation

understand themselves and appreciate the

value of these traits. It, therefore, also

makes sure that associates possess these

traits and that these traits are valued in theorganisation. It is only when the organisa-

tion makes a clear statement about what is

Cognizant

believes that

in a new

organisation

such as itself,

its important

to define the

culture of the

organisation,

by way of

certain role

models

within the

organisation.


5/8


RETENTION

valued that these competencies acquire

stature and meaning.

The systems approach

The focus is not only on the individual, its

also on the systems and processes. So, there

is absolute and complete alignment in terms

of the people-orientation and the process-

orientation.

Consider the performance management

system. The company ensures, as a process,

that the competencies/factors that have been

defined as essential are what get assessedfrom middle-management onwards. So, in a

sense if you have them, and have them in

good measure, then your chances of suc-

ceeding are higher, because you end up get-

ting a higher score which translates into a

higher reward. The organisation also

ensures that in the process of doing all this

there is learning, openness and transparen-

cy. For instance, every manager is bound to

show the scores and rating to the person

who is getting appraised. Even the final rat-

ing is shared with the associate formally, by

means of a letter. This means that every

individual in the organisation knows what

his or her rating is. In fact, Cognizants

online system does not accept any appraisal

form which has not been signed by the per-

son getting appraised.

In case there is a difference of opinion,

there is a systemic escalation that will take

place; the issue will be escalated to the func-

tional unit head (boss boss) for referral.

That means if an employee does not agree

with the feedback given by his immediate

manager, then both can resolve the issue

through the mediation of the functional unit

head.

Cognizant has also instituted several other

systems to ensure that learning and trans-

parency are a part of the organisation. Openhouses are held twice a year, in each of the

development centres, in which every individ-

ual can ask questions about anything to do

with the growth and strategy of the organi-

sation.

It does not matter that the person may be

fresh out of college and giving a suggestion

to an industry veteran about how he believes

the organisation should be run. Not only is

this absolutely acceptable, in fact, this kind

of behaviour is encouraged becauseCognizant believes that it cannot make

openness a part of the organisation until it

He throws it, I fetch it; he throws it, I fetch it; he throws it,

I fetch it. Its a training programme designed toimprove throwing skills.


6/8


has woven it into the way the

business is run.

As far as learning and knowledge sharing

are concerned there is Cognizant Online, the

companys intranet, which contains various

knowledge-sharing fora to which individuals

and groups contribute. Not only this, any-

body in the organisation can easily access

and understand the latest happenings in

that area. This facility is available to the

companys associates across the globe.

Apart from this, special technical areas have

their own knowledge sharing facilities. It is

ensured that whatever learning results out

of the projects is available online so that

associates have easy access to this informa-

tion and their response to a new problem isfaster and better.

The company believes that learning and

training on a continuous basis is very impor-

tant. It has MOUs with several institutions,

including BITS Pilani and Indian Statistical

Institute, Kolkata. The BITS Pilani MOU

enables Cognizant employees to get an edu-

cation which is equivalent to actually attend-

ing the course in Pilani. They can now actu-

ally do their MS or Ph.D without stepping out

of Cognizant! The quality and rigour of thateducation is exactly the same as it would

have been if they were to opt for the full-

time course on campus. The choice is no

more between being in Cognizant or pursu-

ing higher education. Today, in Cognizant,

both are possible. The expectation is that

associates pursuing such courses contribute

about 80 per cent of their personal time and

20 per cent of their work-time, without prej-

udice to their current job responsibilities, in

order to complete the course.But this is only one part of it. Every asso-

ciate in the organisation is given the oppor-

tunity to undergo training in different areas,

and there is no budget limitation on training.As Cognizant believes in the power of free

choice, associates are encouraged to nomi-

nate themselves for certain training pro-

grammes. On the technical side there is the

companys own certification process. After a

certain number of modules, the Cognizant

Academy (the companys technical training

division) certifies that the person is compe-

tent or an expert in the particular area.

Cognizant also sponsors employees for the

distance learning MBA programmes at theBritish Open University. Cognizant actively

supports any associate who wishes to pursue

Everybody starts out in a cubicle. You get a cabin

if youre here long enough.


7/8


RETENTION

the course out of his/her own volition, by

sponsoring the course fee in full, while the

employee invests his/her personal time for

the programme.

The company also has a tie-up with B-

School for management courses at the mid-

dle-management level, and is actively look-

ing at launching an Executive Leadership

Programme for the e-economy in the near

future. This will be customised to suit

Cognizants requirements with renowned

faculty drawn from across the globe in each

area. Part of the programme will include

case studies and site visits to some of the top

e-biz companies globally. It is anticipated

that 30-40 of the companys senior man-

agers will participate in the programme in

the first batch.

Various sources NASSCOM, senior indus-

try professionals, as well as reports from the

US and Europe report that Indian software

professionals are very good technically, but

lack soft skills. In the middle-management

level where these skills come into promi-

nence, be it in handling clients, managing

teams, or self-management, India seems to

be lacking as a country. So, Cognizant is

bringing a lot of focus into developing these

skills in its associates.

Many technical people believe that their

technical skills will carry them through.

Many are now realising that this is not true.

Cognizant, as an organisation, is very con-

cerned that this should not become mere lip

service to soft skills. That is why it leaves the

acquisition of these skills to the initiative of

the individual while providing a support sys-

tem with all the opportunities to learn and

hone these skills.

Responding to needs

The themes of openness, transparency

and continuous learning take on a special

significance if you consider that a large part

of the organisation is very very young and

has been working for less than four years.

Thus, it becomes very important to under-

stand what their needs and requirements

are.

There are four predominant needs:q The need to know as much as possible

about the organisation.

q The need to share learning.

q The need for the organisation to be per-

ceived as an equitable and open organisa-

tion.

q The need to question and understand

things and therefore learn.

All this may be present to an extent in any

job. But, in Cognizant, learning, questioning

and sharingper se is important and is con-

text-free.

Therefore, it doesnt take the manage-

ment by surprise when a fresh graduate,

possibly just out of college, without any hes-

itation, apprehension or guilt questions the

CEO about why the organisation is taking a

particular position in the e-biz market. And

the CEO, without any trace of being conde-

scending, answers that question in a way he

would possibly answer the board of direc-

tors or a group of business and market ana-

lysts. This happens because the CEO

respects the position that the individual is

asking the question from.

It is important in this industry to share for

sharings sake, know for knowings sake and

learn for learnings sake. It need not be tied

to an immediate return on investment. This

is the value we want to inculcate.

Motivation is also influenced, to some

extent, by the demographics of the organisa-

tion. Most employees are youngsters, from

outside the city, with flexible hours of work.

They work in a manner different from the

conventional department. Here bonding is

not within one department, but over differ-

ent projects. People come together for a pro-

ject, then disband when the project ends.

They may come together again for another

project, but this way of working does notmean that there is no bonding. There cer-

tainly is, for the duration of the project and

even after they disband. In this kind of a

work context, many of the things that we do

become important in motivation and bond-

ing of associates. It is here that the many

things that we do to motivate employees

become important.

Fun events such as hiring a whole train

to take the entire organisation on a one-day

picnic to Pondicherry are some of the thingsthat foster a sense of celebration and togeth-

erness. We organise treasure hunts and quiz

Cognizant is

bringing a lot

of focus into

developing

soft-skills

in its

associates.


8/8


Fun events are

some of the

things that

foster a

sense of

celebration and

togetherness.

contests, antakshiris and so on. We have a

whole cultural team within the organisation

called Log Out. This is purely an employee

initiative and is not supported by manage-

ment in any sense. The team arranges sev-

eral fun or de-stressor activities such as

go-karting, bowling and so on. This body

also organises two annual events, one is a

cultural evening and the other is the

Cognizant Annual Day.

All these measures are about creating a

space where people can bond quickly but

genuinely.

Thus, an integration of the people and the

systems approaches ensures that Cognizant

provides its associates with a work environ-

ment that stimulates them to contribute

their best and at the same time enjoy doing

this! s

(The author is Director, Human Resources,

Cognizant Technology Solutions India Ltd)

Ctc Retension

Documents

Transcript of Ctc Retension