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Beyond compensation
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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.
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Bhaskar Das

S a young, but growing organisation, Cognizant Technology Solutions has struggled with one important issue: How to retain the DNA strands of a small organisation the flexibility, the innovativeness and the openness of a small organisation while growing. Cognizant has been growing and changing dramatically, not just in numbers 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 manage growth in all its senses, to let that happen 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 values, 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 training as well as continually assessing on-thejob-behaviour. Both the people and the systems approaches are outlined in detail below. The people approach This percolates to all Cognizants peoplerelated systems such as recruitment, training 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

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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.

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 elsewhere 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 adopted under the umbrella of training. One of them is the assessment centre concept. Cognizant has invested considerable effort in identifying the competencies that make a successful Cognizant manager. In the

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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 conjunction with SHL of UK, a leading firm in the area of assessment centres. Five professionals 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 decisions. In this way Cognizant ensures that the organisation honours these traits and values, and that people who have these traits and 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 programmes at the middle- and senior-management levels that do not focus on training per 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 where one lies in certain critical areas that make up the self. Cognizant works with organisations such as NIS Sparta to conduct such self-awareness 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 instruments and give direct feedback to the individual. These tests assess, among other things, 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. q Ability and ease with which the individual can take up task-oriented projects with people 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 perceived notions of excellence and behaviour in the workplace its important to define the culture of the organisation by way of certain role 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 the organisation. It is only when the organisation makes a clear statement about what is
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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.

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He throws it, I fetch it; he throws it, I fetch it; he throws it, I fetch it. Its a training programme designed to improve throwing skills.

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 processorientation. Consider the performance management system. The company ensures, as a process, that the competencies/factors that have been defined as essential are what get assessed from middle-management onwards. So, in a sense if you have them, and have them in

good measure, then your chances of succeeding are higher, because you end up getting 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 transparency. For instance, every manager is bound to show the scores and rating to the person who is getting appraised. Even the final rating 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 person 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 functional 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 transparency are a part of the organisation. Open houses are held twice a year, in each of the development centres, in which every individual can ask questions about anything to do with the growth and strategy of the organisation. 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 because Cognizant believes that it cannot make openness a part of the organisation until it

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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, anybody 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 information and their response to a new problem is faster and better. The company believes that learning and training on a continuous basis is very important. It has MOUs with several institutions, including BITS Pilani and Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. The BITS Pilani MOU enables Cognizant employees to get an education which is equivalent to actually attending the course in Pilani. They can now actually do their MS or Ph.D without stepping out of Cognizant! The quality and rigour of that education is exactly the same as it would have been if they were to opt for the fulltime course on campus. The choice is no more between being in Cognizant or pursuing 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 prejudice to their current job responsibilities, in order to complete the course. But this is only one part of it. Every associate in the organisation is given the oppor-

Everybody starts out in a cubicle. You get a cabin if youre here long enough.

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 nominate themselves for certain training programmes. 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 competent or an expert in the particular area. Cognizant also sponsors employees for the distance learning MBA programmes at the British Open University. Cognizant actively supports any associate who wishes to pursue
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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 BSchool for management courses at the middle-management level, and is actively looking 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 managers will participate in the programme in the first batch. Various sources NASSCOM, senior industry 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 prominence, 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 concerned 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 system 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 understand 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 perceived as an equitable and open organisation. 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 sharing per se is important and is context-free. Therefore, it doesnt take the management by surprise when a fresh graduate, possibly just out of college, without any hesitation, 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 condescending, answers that question in a way he would possibly answer the board of directors or a group of business and market analysts. 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 organisation. 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 different projects. People come together for a project, then disband when the project ends. They may come together again for another project, but this way of working does not mean that there is no bonding. There certainly 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 bonding 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 things that foster a sense of celebration and togetherness. We organise treasure hunts and quiz

Cognizant is bringing a lot of focus into developing soft-skills in its associates.

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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 management in any sense. The team arranges several 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 environment 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)

Fun events are some of the things that foster a sense of celebration and togetherness.

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