CHAPTER -1

INTRODUCTION

Human resource management is the function within an organization that focus on

recruitment Of management of , and providing direction for people who work in
the organization. It may be defined as the art of procuring, developing, and
maintaining competent work force to achieve goals of an organization in an
effective and efficient manner.

Human resource management is an organizational function that deals with issue

related to People such as compensation, hiring, performance management ,
organizational development, Safety, wellness, benefits and employee motivation ,
communication , administration and Training.

KEY FUNCTIONS OF HRM

• Recruitment and selection

• Training and development
• Human resource planning
• Performance appraisal
• Compensation and benefit
• Wages and salary administration.
• Organisational behavior

4
FUNCTION OF HRM

HUMAN

RESOURCE

PLANNING

TRAINING
RECRUITME
AND NT AND
DEVELOPME FUNCTION SELECTION
NT

COMPENSAT
ION AND
PERFORMAN
CE BENEFIT
APPRAISAL

5
1.2 NEED FOR HR PRACTICES

The dynamic and changing business environment has made it imperative for the
modern organization to adopt innovative human resource management practices.
previous researcher has also indicated and shown that organization adopt
innovative human resource management practices to improve their organizational
performance. Companies such as Hero Honda, Tata Motars, Bharat forge, Maruti
Suzuki, Infosys, Wipro were able to successfully adopt human resource
management practices in their organization. The organizations now faces severe
competition and regulatory pressure which again makes innovative human resource
management practices inevitable. A previous research interviewed some hr
professionals in the US , who named some innovative HR practices that were
implemented in their organization . some of these innovation that were named
were human resource information system, 360-degree appraisal, online recruiting,
six-sigma, outsourcing, competency based compensation etc.

Human resource department in India is poorly managed and staffed and is very
unorganized and unstructured. Hence HRM department was under intense pressure
to adopt and adopt new practices to grow a new breed of skilled , well-trained and
motivated power.

The innovations are not limited to a few functions. HR managers have been
successful in bringing innovations to almost all activities they undertake.

HR PRACTICES IN IT INDUSTRY

The information technology industry has gradually evolved over a period of years.
The progression has been rapid from IT to BPO and to the newer terminology
known as KPO or knowledge process outsourcing .According to Daintith, “
Information technology industry involves in the application of computers and
telecommunication equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data ,
often in the context of a business or other enterprise”.

6
ITES took shape because of the increasing need of IT in every aspect of business.
Small to large scale business requires IT in their business. A major part of ITES in
India is through business process outsourcing (BPO) that involves the contracting
of the operation and responsibilities of specific business functions to a third party
service provider. Often the business process are information technology based
industry.

Since IT and specially BPO are a people centric industry, it becomes even more
imperative for it to focus and concentrate on the human resource management area,
to acquire, retain talented knowledge workers and to provide them a comfortable
and peaceful working environment. Picking and choosing the right talent or
manpower in the BPO and IT is very crucial. Hence, people management issues are
the top most priority of the industry since the job involves the application of the
necessary job skills of the knowledge workers. There are various challenges faced
by the industry in respect of the HR functions. This includes right talent
recruitment, manpower management, work life balance autonomy, good working
conditions.

Major IT companies are at the forefront of innovation in HRM. This includes the
leaders in the industry including Infosys and Wipro Infosys – The name of the
company reminds us of the great leadership skills of the founder MR. Narayan
Murthy started Infosys with his sheer determination and hard work. He values and
considers his employee and workforce the most important asset of his organization.
He believes in nurturing them and provide the right skill set to be able to face the
harsh realities of the dynamic corporate world. He believes that knowledgeable and
talented workforce is the top priority of a company and that it creates a competitive
factor for the company. Hence , the demand for talented and skilled labor force is
increasing rapidly. From a mere no of 42 employees in 1987 to 23,000 in 2003, the
increase in the number of workforce drastically. Mr. Narayan Murty realized that
the traditional ways of recruiting and selecting employees become redundant, and
the company required to adopt innovative human resource practices to be able to
attract and retain best possible talent in the market. In Infosys the recruitment
process was interesting as well as difficult nut to crack. It involves a lot of puzzles,
problem solving technique that test the analytical, logical and problem solving
skills of the candidate. The only selection criterion in Infosys is to test the ability
or capacity to learn of the candidate. These test help the country to gauge skills and
7
capacity of the candidate to be able to survive in the dynamic corporate culture.
Mr. Narayan Murthy believes that as long as the company continues to innovate,
Infosys would continue to succeed, flourish and grow. Infosys built a training her
centre in Mysore, especially for its employees for building their skill and
competencies.

Likewise there was another big IT company which also implemented a similar
model of HR process. Wipro system is one of the most promising companies in
India, embarking its footprints in the international market as well. The chairman
MR. Azim prem ji believes that the employees of the organization are its biggest
assets. The author quotes premji saying, “The key success in all our efforts, as
always, is our people”.

8
 CHAPTER -2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Methew and Obgonna (2009) provides a compelling reason to research and analyse
the HRM practices that are developing in the Indian IT companies.

Author Stephen A. Stumpf, in his study compared the HR practices implemented

in private and public sector in India and found some startling facts, such as the HR
practices were quite similar on parameters such as structure of the HR department,
recruitment and selection process employee engagement etc.

Author John Boudreau, Peter M Ramstad in his study defines a general framework
for integrating SHRM and measurement through strategic HR matrics. The
fundamental SHRM dilemmas identified in this article are how theoretical and
operational issues faced by the manager.

Mrs. B. Vijaylakshmi defines in her study on innovative HR practices in IT

industry talked about the importance of innovation in HRM practices including
employee retention strategies-induction-training and development, leadership
development, career planning , performance appraisal ,compensation and
recognition welfare etc.

Paauwe and Harvey Nov 2001 in his study defines the need for trained and skilled
manpower becomes imperative and recognise the importance of HR department.

According to Som the purpose of introducing HRM practices in an organisation

enable HR synergize with the organizational strategies. The aim is to provide
professionalized recruitment, selection and career development initiatives to build
a skilled commited manpower. It also aims to build an efficient performance
management system that develop retains and retrains and redeploys talent.

9
 CHAPTER-3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Objective of the study

• To understand the recruitment, selection and training and development

process of Infosys.
• To study and appreciate some of the unique HR practices at Infosys.
• To examine some of the retention strategies adopted by the company.

Research design

The nature of this report is Descriptive research design. A study, which wants to
portray the characteristic of a group or individuals or situation, is known as
Descriptive study.

Data source

SECONDARY DATA- The data is collected from resource Infosys literature,

website, and magazines etc.

10
 CHAPTER-4

AN ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES AT INFOSYS

4.1 Introduction

“Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they
come back the next morning.

NARAYAN MURTHY CEO INFOSY

Infosys a consulting and software services organistaion, include its human resource
on its balance sheet to affirm their asset value.

Investors examine financial and non-financial parameters that determine long term
success of a company. These new non-financial parameters challenge the
usefulness of evaluating companies solely on traditional measures as they appear in
a typical financial report.

Human resource represent the collective expertise innovation leadership

entrepreneurialmanagerial skillendowed in the employeesof an organisation

As a knowledge-intensive company, Infosys recognize the value of its human

assets in maintaining and increasing its competitive position. At the same time,
Infosys realizes that these assets can easily “walk away” as competitors in India
and abroad covet its IT talent. Consequently, the challenge facing Infosys is: “How
can it attract, retain and develop its human assets in a highly and competitive and
dynamic environment? The answer to this question may lie in the management of
the 9,000 plus Infocians (as the employee are referred to), and that of many more
to be hired in future.

11
4.2-OVERVIEW

Infosys, one of the India’s leading technology (IT) services companies, uses an
extensive non-US based infrastructure to provide managed software solution to
clients worldwide. Headquarter in Bangalore, India, Infosys seventeen state-of- art
software development facilities throughout India and one development centre in
Canada. These enable it to provide quality, cost effective services to clients in a
resource constrained environment.

Through its worldwide sales headquarter in Fremont, California (and nineteen

other sales offices located in the United state, Canada, the United Kingdom,
Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Japan, and India), Infosys market its
services to large IT-intensive business.

Seven software professionals founded in Infosys in 1981with the goals of

leveraging sweat equity and creating wealth legally and ethically in India. This was
a daunting task in a country like where the government was allegedly more
concerned with redistributing wealth than creating it. Most of India’s commerce
was owned and controlled by an Oligarchy of families to which Infosys has no ties.

Infosys’s competitive advantage has historically been derived low wage costs in
India relative to service providers in the United States and Europe. Their initial
foray into the U.D market was through a company called DATA BASIC CORP. as
a body shop or on-site developer of software for US customers. Later in 1987,
Infosys formed a joint venture with Kurt Salmon associates to handle marketing in
the U.S market were a stepping stone for Infosys’s growth in later years.

In 1991, partly from international monetary fund pressure and shrinking currency
reserves, the Indian government began liberalizing the economy. The office
through which an IPO was valued was abolished and the market was allowed to
decide what the stock premium would be. The government also abolished duty on
all imports brought in for exports purposes and foreign investment was allowed.
This government change brought both new opportunities and new threats to
Infosys, opportunities to raise capital and threats from increased competition.

in 1993, Infosys went public on the Indian stock exchange with a market
capitalization of $10 million. Infosys IPO raised approximately $4.4 million in

12
gross aggregate proceeds. In 1999, Infosys was listed on NASDAQ with a market
capitalisation of $ 10 billion. A NASDAQ listing was significant for Infosys in
many ways. As Nandan Nikelani, co-founder of Infosys explained, “we want to be
recognized as a global company, and it was imperative that we were listed on the
largest and deepest capital market in the world.

The liberalisation of the Indian economy also brought unprecedented competition

to India. Such multinational corporation as IBM, Sun Microsystems, and Motorola
could leverage their fast financial resources to compete for India most valuable, its
people. Competition for the IT talent was further aggravated in 2000 by the
increase in the quota H-1 visas that allow organization to hire professionals
overseas.

4.3-LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE

Most of the current human resource practices at Infosys result from the vision of
the leaders and the culture that they have created. Narayna Murthy, known for his
leadership and vision, is the public image of Infosys. His leadership style is
humbled and straight-forward, quite uncommon in the world of the business.
Narayna Murthy believes in sharing wealth with his employees and in leading by
example. In a knowledge-based business like Infosys, he sees the importance of
rhetoric and action in empowering employees. Narayna Murthy is credited with
creating a culture of closeness and empowerment at Infosys. His management
style, rare among Indian business leaders, is based on western management.

The other founding members of Infosys contribute their own specialities. Though
less known, they each play a crucial role in shaping the culture and running the
operations at Infosys. These unique personalities, with their particular strength,
create the basis for uncommon culture at Infosys. Infosys was voted the India’s
most admired company by a January 2005 survey in the Economic Times.
According to Narayna Murthy, what Infosys has on its side is “ youth, speed and
imagination and they are constantly innovating in every area of their operation”.
The founders efforts have been paying-off. According to California-based
management consultant working in India. “Infosys has been critical for changing
the mind set of India”. Transparency is one of the important values held by the

13
Infosys. A practical illustrative of this value is its very early decision to adopt the
U.S GAAP standard, the most “stringent standard’ for its financial results.

Hema Ravichandra, the senior VP of human Resources, sums up the characteristics

of the culture that distinguish Infosys from its competitors:

“Our emphasis is on transparency and communication sets us apart from prevalent

family owned business operating in India. Our emphasis on getting the employees
emotional buy-it-into the company distinguishes us from the MNCs that have
recently entered the Indian business scene. “

The attempt to ensure emotional buy-in is evident in their effort to provide a self
sufficient work environment for their employees. Infosys inaugurated its facilities
in Bangalore under the name of “Infosys city” in November 2000. Spread over
44,225 acres it is claimed to be largest software services campus in the world. It
has the largest “video wall” in Asia which allows for conferencing simultaneously
from multiple centres. The existing building also from part of the Infosys city. The
city contains food courts that serves Chinese, north Indian, south Indian, and
western cuisine. A state-of-the-art gym golf closure, pool tables, table tennis table,
dance floor are already in place. The eco friendly campus include beautiful
landscape as well. Besides the enticing work environment, Infosys provide state of
the technology its employees. For example PCs used by Infocians are upgraded
every two years.

INFOSYS CULTURE

• Culture of a small company

• Small groups
• Managers – mentors
• Value to right ideas

14
 • Milestone program
• Motivation by communication
• Town-hall meeting
• Work life balance

Infosys has been a pioneer in innovative workforce practices and HR initiatives –

be it in creating wealth for employees through wide distribution of stock option
plans or in creating a enjoyable workplace with various amenities. Nandan
Nilekani, president and managing director of Infosys, commented

“Attracting the best and brightest employees where they operate their highest
potential are very important for Infosys. Our campus and technology infrastructure
is world-class, we pay a lot of attention to training and competency building, we
try to have sophisticated appraisal system and we try to reward performance
through variable pay”

Infosys invests heavily in its programs to recruit, train and retain qualified
employees. Further, management believes that Infosys has established a reputation
as one of the most preferred employers for software engineers in Indi.

4.4- RECRUITMENT

The first step in the strategic management of a company’s human resource is

selection of assets with skill and potential consistent with its business requirement.
Infosys business requirement is flexibility and innovation. Accordingly, it has
developed clear selection criteria consistent with this business need. Selection is
based on individual’s ability to learn, academies achievement and conceptual
knowledge, as well as temperament for Infosys culture. Further because of Infosys
reputation as a premier employer, it can select from a large pool of applicants
within India. Competition among applicants is intense.

15
4.5-SELECTION

One selection criteria in particular stand out: the learnability. At Infosys

learnability is defined as the ability of an individual to derive general conclusion.

P.S Srivathsa, the senior manager of human resource development, adds:

“learnability is considered an important criterion because the project life cycle is

short and technology is changing rapidly- so the ability of the person take the
concept learnt in one setting and apply to other is very important. At Infosys
learnability is assessed through written tests that include analytical questions
geared towards assessing the aptitude of a person to derive generic pattern from a
situation”.

For its entry level position, Infosys focuses on its recruiting efforts on student with
excellent academic background from engineering department of Indian schools.
The first step in hiring process is manpower planning, where the number are
determined. This planning usually take place 20 months ahead of the hiring
process. Recruitment includes-

• Campus interview
• Internet
• Newspaper ads
• Through job fair and
• HR consultant
• Company website

The initial screening is based on such criteria as academics and experience.

The test comprises two main components:

1. Arithmetic reasoning and

2. Logical reasoning.

Interview to assess
• Learnability

16
 • Proficiency competence
• Qualification and academic excellence
• Analytic ability
• Team working aptitude
• Leadership potential
• Communication skill
• Innovation skill etc.

Because of the time pressures involved in testing the large volume of candidates
across the country, the reading comprehension section has been eliminated, cutting
down the testing time to one hour. Infosys has a question bank system from whitc
question are picked randomly for each test centre . those who score above the cut-
off in the selection test are called for an interview.

Interviews are conducted jointly by the human resource managers and technical
manager. At the interview stage, screening criteria used are aspirations,
expectations, flexibility, presentation skills and communication skills.

Rejected candidates may reapply after nine months. People do come back and, if
they have picked up the necessary skills, they are hires.

4.6-TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

At Infosys training and development constitute the next step in building its human
assets where the objective is to match the available skills and abilities to its
business requirement. In the headquarter at Banglore, the education and research
centre in a building that can train 1000 software engineers simultaneously. It
comprises fully equipped classroom labs, with video conferencing units, individual
faculty rooms and 3000 foot square library with a capacity for 10,000 books. In
addition, under construction are a management development training centre and a
wireless centre is expected to be the e-commerce research centre with a capacity
for 650 people working on research in wireless internet capabilities.

17
The education and research department of Infosys offers over 400 courses in
business, including courses in business database management , e-commerce ,
quality system, programming language (e.g. java, c++ ) , networking concepts,
software development, language( e.g. French, German ) interpersonal skill and
managerial skill. Full time faculty teaches 75% of these courses; professional
teach 10 %of the courses and the outside vendors offer rest of the courses.

All fresh technology entrants receive 14.5 weeks of training: 3 days of orientation
(e.g. corporate culture, customers) 5 week of foundation course (e.g. courses and 2
weeks of group project. In addition, training is provided as a part of the continuing
education.

Beyond the entry level training people may nominate themselves for the scheduled
courses. Close to 100 courses are offered each quarter , with duration from 1 day to
6 days. Most course are presented in classrooms, some in labs. In addition course
may be offered on request.

NEW RECRUITS

ORIENTATION (first 3 days)

14.5 WEEKS (Rigorous Training )
GEC (Global Education Centre )
Tech courses , Live projects
Soft skill development
Best practices Viz. involve customers, learn by practice, integrated leraning
group learning, measure and act, curriculum review etc

EMPLOYEE TRAINING

Technical training
Managerial training
Soft and language skill
Domain training
CHIPS

18
Training needs are assessed through various mechanism; the objective is to fine-
tune them to business need. First the corporate management was to determine
segment wise technology requirements. These expectations are communicated to
the education and research department. So , for instance, the education and
research department may be informed of the requirement of 500 people with
knowledge in internet technology in the near future. Specific skill needs with
Microsoft or java may be determined through a deeper analysis . typically about
3-6 months advance notice is provided .

Training needs may also be assessed through the regular planning meetings. In
these meetings, the expected projects for the coming year are forcasted. These
project determines skill requirement (e.g., 300-400 project manager for 500
project). Based on current skill and skill demand, training needs are determined.
The education and research department also track specific technologies; the
number of requests for the technology from clients may also determine course
offerings.

Infosys also offers training and development support to academic institutions by

providing exposure to industry, in the form of sabbaticals at Infosys, training
programs, and sharing course ware.

4.7-CAREERS

Charged with the responsibility of developing human assets in a fast paced

environment, career management at Infosys faces two challenges: a shift from
speed with which this refocusing must be accomplished.

Nandita Gurjar the corporate development manager describes the first challenges
as follows:

“Management skill have become increasingly relevant for Infosys because of its
over-increasing volume of business as well as its shift toward consulting business.
As the number of projects to be handled has increases, the demand for project

19
management skills in goal setting, communication, coaching, delegation, and team
management has also increased. Invariably the technical personnel are chosen to
move to a management track. This choice is ironic in some ways because the better
an individual is in technical skill. The more likely he/she is to be moved away from
using the technical expertise into a management track requiring management
expertise. Technical expertise provides an individual legitimacy and respect from
co-workers making them a natural choice as a team leader. Within a short time
span the team leaders are required to manage project , clients and the people
working on these project. It therefore, becomes necessary for the individual to
abandon their technical expertise-something that has been very salient to their
identity in the course of education and early career, when they aspire to be smart
‘techies’ and start collecting a repertoire of managerial capabilities.

While developing management skill by attending management development

theprograms 2-3 years ago was one of the “nice thing to do” , it has now a business
necessity. The nature of management skills required is further complicated by the
fact that at Infosys, managers are also required to manage from remote. Team
members are apread geographically and may not meet each other or the team
leader for a year or perhaps never. As hiring overseas gathers momentum, the
demands may be further exacerbated by the fact that team members may belong to
different backgrounds and may not completely understand the organization and the
country culture.

The second challenge facing career management is “compression” in career , an

effect of the speed at which employees must move from one stage in their career to
another. The new hires are very young ( 22 years old ) and they are put under
managers who are 24 years old. At 30 these employees are managers of managers.
Management skills become necessary at every stage in life and career of an
individual at Infosys. Rapid change is a constant challenge.

To address the pressing need for management development, Infosys has put in
place some training programs. These include:

• First time manager program: This is a 5 day program for new managers,
designed to change a manager’s mind-set from an individual to a more

20
 managerial one, where the focus has to shift from managing individual
performance to managing team performance.
• The manager of managers program: the program geared towards teaching
managerial skill (such as delegation, team management) to more senior
managers.
• Infosys leadership program: The program emphasizes the dynamic
environment outside of Infosys and the adaptation to its environment. Once
again, the objective is to create a “mind-shift” for the senior managers, from
looking inward at the internal operation to become aware of external change
factors.

Compressed career begins with them other challenges: stress and bur out. With
technology assisted communication devices (e.g. palm pilots, cell phone and home
computers) employee are multi tasking even in meetings. The potential of stress is
enormous, intensified by the times zones differences that make the employee
accessible around the clock. Thus, working around the clock, coupled with
extensive travel and minimal time to manage work and non work needs may cause
many employees in the future to burnout.

4.8-PERFOMANSE APPRAISAL

Performance appraisal is a rigorous comprehensive process at Infosys, tied to the

future development of individual’s skills and capabilities. First, an evaluation of
performance skill is carried out for the tasks assigned to an individual during the
appraisal period. The criteria used to evaluate performance on tasks are derived
from the business goals and include; timelines, quality of work, customer
satisfaction, developing others, knowledge dissemination, peer satisfaction in the
team increased business potential, and developing optimal task solutions. The
evaluation of personal skill and abilities is carried out for the following: learning
and analytical ability, decision making, team leadership, change management,
communication skill, team work planning, and organizing skill. Each criterion is
described and measured on a 5-point scale. Further, each of the scale points are
anchored to descriptions of expected behavior.

21
 • 360 degree appraisal
• Yearly twice
• Parameters ( Technical and personal skills)

Performance appraisal is carried out semi-annually, in July and January.

Appraisal are sought from peers, direct supervisor, subordinate and
customers. A minimum 6 to 7 appraisal appraisal reports are collected from
each employee. All appraisal forms are completed online and the data is
maintained in a central database. The appraisal information is used to
identify training course and other development intervention. Future objective
for both task accomplishment and individual skill development are based on
the result of the semi-annual evaluation.

4.9- COMPENSATION

Our technology professionals receive competitive salary and benefits and are
eligible to participate in our stock option plan. We also have adopted a
performance linked compensation program that links compensation to individual
performance, as well as our performance.

Although Infosys faces strong domestic and international competition for its
human assets, through enticing offers from competitors, the compensation level at
Infosys equals the average industry level for each country. It is neither above the
market nor below level. The belief is that financial value, when combined with
learning and emotional value, yields a total compensation greater than that offered
elsewhere in the industry.

Infosys is one of the first Indian companies to offer stock options plans to their
employees. Currently Infosys offers three option plans to their employee.

In addition to such statutory benefits as pension, medical and leave, Infosys also
offers a loan program that employees find very attractive.

22
4.10-HUMAN RESOURCE ACCOUNTING

In the financial year 1995-1996, Infosys technology became the first software
company to value its human resource in India. The company used the Lev &
Schwartz model and valued its human resource assets at 1.86 billion. Infosys had
always given utmost importance to the role of employees in contributing to the
company’s success. Narayan Murthy, the then chairman and managing director of
Infosys, said: “comparing this figure over the year will tell us whether the value of
our human resources is appreciating or not. For a knowledge intensive company
like ours that is vital information.”

The concept of HRA was not new in India. HRA was pioneered by public sector
companies like Bharat Heavy Electronics Ltd. And steel authority of India Ltd.
Way back in 1970s. however, the concept did not gain much popularity during that
time.

LEV &SCHWARTZ METHOD

A fundamental dichotomy in accounting practices between human and non human

capital. As a standard practice, non human capital is considered as assets and
reported in the financial statements, whereas human capital most ignored by
accountants. The definition of wealth as a source of income inevitably leads to the
recognition of human capital as one of the several form of wealth such as money,
securities and physical capital.

Infosys have used the lev & Schwartz model to compute the to compute the value
of human resources.

The method is follows:

• All the employees of Infosys were divided into five groups, based on their
average age. Each groups average compensation was calculated.
• Infosys also calculated the compensation of each employee at retirement by
using an average rate of increment.

23
 • The increment was based on industry standards, and the employees
performance and productivity.
• Finally the total compensation of each group was calculated. This value was
discounted at the rate percent per annum which was the cost of capital at
Infosys to arrive at the total human resources of Infosys.

Benefits experienced by Infosys by valuing its human resources

By adopting and implementing human resource accounting in the organization,

a) Infosys could determine whether its human assets was appreciating over
the years or not. The information was the important for the company as
its success depended solely on the knowledge of the employees.
b) The company could also use this information internally to compare the
performance and productivity of employees in various departments.
c) HRA also decide the compensation of employees. The company insured
that it compensated each employee according to his net worth.
d) It helped organization to take managerial decision based on availability
and the necessity of human resources.
e) When human resources get qualified it gave Infosys investors and other
clients true insight into the organization and its future potential. It
restored faith among shareholders.

24
4.11-INFOSYS OVERSEAS HRM

The greatest need at Infosys is to hire people at all overseas locations. Before the
NASDAQ listing Infosys could not pay overseas hires, because Indian stock
options are not fungible. However, since 1999, Infosys has been recruiting actively
in north America. A drawback that Infosys faces in attracting candidates is that it
has very low brand equity for Infosys in its own immediate market, but to most
people it is still relatively unknown.

The recruitment strategies being used at the campuses in the U.S. are similar to
those used by all other companies. These includes lobbying with campus career
centers, giving task to student groups, sending email campaigns, participating in
career fairs, and so on. However certain aspect of recruitment unique to Infosys
offer are a recruiting advantage.

They offer extensive training, which few other companies will offer. The training
include classroom training and mock projects. After a year our employees are as
good as the best bachelor computer science in the world. Subsequently, employees
have the opportunity to sign up any course as a part of their continuous learning
process. With an increasing hiring rate, Infosys plans to set up training facilities in
U.S. itself. The other aspect of recruitment that provide an advantage to Infosys is
our willingness to hire anyone with any reasonable math or science background.
This is a departure from hiring practices to other firms that focus on traditional
computer science, computer engineering and electrical engineering backgrounds.
This approach to hiring is attracting a lot of attention. Given our proven track
record of training non-computer background people in India, we can do it again
here, as long as there is some degree of analytical background in the curriculum
and the person has a good GPA.

Although learnability is an important criterion for hiring even in North America,

the written test used in India to screen out applicants cannot be used in USA. The
other characteristic considered important are interpersonal skill and
communication ability, ability to work under pressure, and to travel extensively.
While hiring in North America, Infosys particularly emphasizes communication
and interpersonal skills, because of their experience that candidate in North

25
America possess these more than candidates in India. In contrast employees hired
in India are stronger in technical skills.

Subject knowledge is a is a distant third or fourth level criterion, based on

assumption that if the person has applied his/her mind to understand the concept in
his/her own discipline, then it is very probably not difficult to teach the person
software programming.

Overseas, Infosys maintain the same compensation strategy as in India, namely,

that they are not industry leaders in pay. To attract candidates they emphasize the
the entire employment package. Feature of the package include career
advancement opportunities, autonomy, and more early career responsibility
compared to competitors.

26
 CHAPTER-5

FINDINGS

I have found through the analysis that Infosys was rated best employer in India
in many human resources surveys.

Different HR practices provides employees benefit which satisfies their needs.

The policy of the company provides facilities for all round growth of
employees by training and good working condition.

The HR policies implements equitable, scientific and objective system of

rewards, incentives, promotion and control.

In 2009 Infosys was considered one of the Business week’s 50 most innovative
companies.

In April 2009, forbes rated Infosys among the 5 best performing companies in
the software and service sector in the world.

27
 CHAPTER-6

CONCLUSION

Infosys technology, a leading software company based India, was voted the best
employer in India, was voted the best employer in the country in many human
resource surveys in recent years.

Infosys attracted the best talent from across the world, and recruited candidates by
conducting one of the toughest selection processes. All the selected candidates
were required to go through an intensive 14-week training program. All the
employees were required to undergo training every year, and some of the chosen
employees were trained at the Infosys leadership institute to take on higher
responsibility in the company.

Infosys was one of the first company offer stock plan options to its employees. The
company followed a variable compensation structure where the employees
compensation depend on the performance of the individual, the team and the
company.

28
 CHAPTER-7

SUGGESTION

Recruitment and selection procedure should not be to lengthy and time

consuming.

Conduction of training and learning programmes by the company on the

regular basis.

Promotion should be done on the basis of performance and skill.

Planning and strategies should be short related to the training so that their
implemented does not require long term process.

The company is well known for its friendly HR Practices so it

becomes difficult to give any suggestion.

29
 CHAPTER -8

REFERENCE

www.infosys.com

www.monneycontrol.com

www.citehr.com

www.infosys bpo.com

Singh k (june 2003). Strategic HR orientation and firm performance in India.

International journal of Human resource management.

V.S.P Rao,( second edition). Handbook of human resource management practices.

30
31