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Training & Development at
Case Infosys*
Code: CLHR016

Case Length: 3 ABSTRACT

pages

Period: --

Pub Date: 2009

Infosys Technologies
Teaching Ltd. (Infosys), one of
Note: Not India’s leading
Available Information Technology
Subject : Human
(IT) companies, had Buy Now
Resources/
over the years,
To download this
Organization developed a name for case click on the

Behavior itself for the training button below,

and select the
and development case from the list
of available
Price:Rs.100 (T&D) initiatives taken cases:
in the company. It had
Organization :-- rigorous training
programs for new OR
Industry : Informa
tion Technology
recruits as well as for
experienced
Countries : -- employees. It also
undertook various
leadership development
initiatives.

Issues:
 Training and
Development

 Functional training

 Leadership
 Development

Introduction
At Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Infosys),
one of India’s leading Information
Technology (IT) companies, training
and development programs were
conducted for new recruits as well as
for experienced employees. When new
recruits from college joined Infosys,
they were trained through fresher
training courses....

Questions for Discussion:

1. Critically analyze the training and
development (T&D) activities at
Infosys. According to you, what role
does T&D play in the success of a firm?

2. Discuss Infosys’ approach to

leadership development. What short
term and long term benefits could
Infosys derive from these initiatives?

Academic review of Training and

Development
Training and development (T&D) is an indispensable part in human
resource management, with the purpose of enhancing the
performance of individuals and groups in organizations. Training and
development has a number of names, such as human resource
development, and learning and development. As to its definition,
there are several popular explanations. According to Rothwell &
Kazanas (2004), training and development, part of human resource
development, is the process of changing an organization, its
employees, its stakeholders, and groups of people within it, using
planned and unplanned learning, in order to achieve and maintain a
competitive advantage for the organization. The main body of
training and development is adults, and the way adults learn and
develop is different from the way students do. Adults’ training has
more specific purposes, and is usually more practical, with the aim to
solve practical questions. Hence, the organization or department that
are responsible for developing training programs need to know
about theories of adult learning. In the 1950s, Malcolm Knowles
developed a new theory for adult learning, which is called
“Andragogy”. Andragogy is in the context of adult learners which is
contrasted with definition of child’s learning (called pedagogical
learning). Michael (2007) suggests that the central idea in the context
of adult learning is that it is only after convincing oneself of the
rationale of learning that an adult will decide to (and be able to)
learn. Hence, adults cannot be treated like children if one hopes to
see learning. Therefore it is assumed that workshops and seminars
organized by the students themselves create a better learning
environment than those organized externally. This has led to a flurry
of recent teaching innovations like student-led tutor groups and
supplemental instruction programs led by above average students.

Another important theory about training and development is

Learning Organization which was created by Peter Senge. Pedler &
Boydell (1997) defines that a learning organization is the term given
to a company that facilitates the learning of its members and
continuously transforms itself. There is no a single model of learning
organization. Learning organization is about an attitude toward or
ideology of employee and organization and is a new way of thinking
about organization. In leaning organization, everyone needs to
identify and solve problems, so that the organization is able to
constantly try new things, enhancing and improving its capability. The
basic value of learning organization is solving problems, whereas in
contrast, the focus of traditional organization is efficiency. In any
learning organization, employees need to take part in identifying
problems, which means that employees need to understand
customers’ requirement. Employees also need to solve problems, and
this means they need to think about customers’ requirement in a
unique way. Learning organization enhances organization’s value by
new ideas and information, instead of material production.

4.2 Training and Development in Infosys

Training and development is mainly carried out in Infosys by its HR
department. Currently, the whole company has more than 20,000
employees, and training and development has always been a key
function of all HRdepartmentst in all branches. The company is
willing to provide excellent training opportunities for its employees.
Though the leading department of training and development in
Infosys is its HR department, other departments also take part in and
collaborate with HR department. Training and development is carried
out by HR personals according to various requirements of different
departments which are located in different geographic locations.
There are training and development specialists who are responsible
for certain training contents, such as technology, business
knowledge, company policies, marketing etc. HR department plans
yearly training and development schedule together with experts from
other departments, and is responsible for carrying out these training
schedules.

Training courses in Infosys are presented by subject matter

experts(SMEs) in the company or by experts from other organizations
and universities. Training specialists need to record teachers’
performance during the training sessions. After training sessions,
feedback from employees are collected and analyzed, in order to
better the quality and efficiency of the company’s training programs.

The company creates its training policies which is part of the

company’s HR policies. And violation of training policies will be
reported to the employee’s reporting manager. This ensures the
quality of training and development in Infosys.

Training and development plays an important function in Infosys’

daily operation and strategy development. The HR department
divides training and development mainly into four levels. The first
level is for senior management and candidate senior management;
the second level is for normal employees and normal managers; the
third level is for first-line sales personals; the forth level is for new
hires and fresh graduates. According to the needs and requirements
of different levels, training sessions are designed by different teams.

Garavan, Costine, and Heraty (1995) notes that training and

development (T&D) encompasses three main activities: training,
education, and development and that these ideas are often
considered to be synonymous. In Infosys, training and development
can also be view from these three parts:

1. Training: This activity is both focused on the job tasks that an

employee currently handles. It is usually conducted through the form
of classroom training, on-the-job training, and competition in Infosys.
2. Education: This activity focuses upon the jobs that an employee
may potentially handle in the future. Infosys provides books and self-
pace learning courses for such activity, and employees have more
flexibility to study on their own paces and they can choose to learn
during work time or at weekends.

3. Development: This activity focuses on the activities that the

organization employing the individual. In Infosys, every new
employee needs to attend the ‘New Hire Orientation Development
Program’ within the first three month after they are employed by the
company. Such activity helps new employees know about the
corporate culture, policies, dress code and so on and so forth.

At the end of each year, Infosys holds several lectures to summarize

the whole training and development programs in the passing year,
identifying any problems and figuring out solutions to these
problems. This helps HR department better plan next year’s training
programs, thus helping the company achieve its short-term and
long-term strategic goals.

5. Integration of Performance Management

and Training and Development in Infosys
5.1 How Performance Management and
Training and Development work together in
Infosys
In Infosys, Performance Management and Training and Development
are closely linked. The company creates a computer-based system to
manage the performance and career development of staff. It is easy
for managers to see at what level the employee is currently
performing and what kind of training the employee needs to take.
This system also helps with a staff training and development strategy
to enable employees to help them progress to the top level possible
in their current job. It can also provide guidance about the possibility
of further training and/or mentoring to assist them to develop their
career within the organization.

Employees’ performance is evaluated according to several aspects,

and among these aspects, employee training and development are
taken into consideration and could affect employees’ final
performance appraisal. Infosys requires its regular employees to take
at least five training sessions in one year, to make sure every
employee is equipped with the latest skills and knowledge so that
they can better make contributions to the company and help the
company achieve its strategic goals. Employees need to complete the
Job Skills Workbook which includes the skills that employees must
have to complete their job tasks. This workbook is used as the basis
for the performance evaluation. Both employees and managers will
have to agree on the type of skills that are included in the Job Skills
Workbook and which training level the employee needs to take.
Besides, a group of employees can work together to identify their
individual and collective training and development goals. Then these
goals will be discussed with training specialists and their managers,
and the HR department will try to arrange training programs for
these employees. This, without a doubt, strengthens the company’s
capability and improves productivity.

In Infosys, several activities are undertaken each year in order to

develop key skill elements identified. These could include new work
experiences, responsibilities and challenges, mentoring, coaching or
more formal training. Once identified, these elements will also be
included in the performance evaluation of employees. So training
and development help identify new skills and responsibilities of
employees, and performance management functions as a monitor
and evaluation mechanism for these new training and development
needs. After training sessions, the manager or team leader needs to
provide the employee with feedback about their current performance
and their goals for the next agreed time period which is usually one
year. Finally, at the end of the agreed time period, the employee
needs to once again talk with his or her manager or team leader and
discuss how they have performed and whether there are any changes
in their training and development schedule.

5.2 Strength and Weakness of the integration

of Performance Management and Training
and Development in Infosys
Such integration of Performance Management and Training and
Development in Infosys has several strengthens:

1. It creates a multi-level mechanism for performance management.

By discussing with managers what kind of skills and performance
employees agree to achieve in advance, employees can know clearly
what both they and their managers expect from them. Employees can
attend various training programs to reach their goals and use what
they have learned in their daily jobs, thus improving their productivity
and job performance.

2. Employees have more choices about what they want to develop in

Infosys and what their career paths are. The value of Infosys is to
make every customer satisfied. It is only through excellent work that
the company can win high trust from customers. When Performance
Management and Training and Development work closely together in
Infosys, each employee can have the choice to decide which career
path they like to take, such as technical experts, people managers or
delivery managers etc. With a clear target and purpose in mind,
employees are more motivated to take training and development
programs provided by the company and their learning results are
later directly reflected in performance evaluation in performance
management of the company.

On the other hand, however, there are some weakness of the

integration of Performance Management and Training and
Development in Infosys:

1. It puts too much focus on job skills but ignores management skills.
Infosys is a large international company and its services in IT industry
are among the best. The company focuses too much on the skills of
its first-line employees, and almost 80% of the training and
development program are about job skills. The performance
evaluation of employees also mainly evaluates what new skills
employees have learned through such training programs and how
they perform. But in the long run, management skills are also
required by employees as some of them are potential managers in
the future.

2. The training sessions in Infosys are only for regular employees, not
for contractors. So the result is that contractors, that occupy more
than 40% of all employees, cannot receive proper training in time.
Because contractors are not allowed to participate in the training and
development activities, when they discuss with their managers about
their performance evaluation, there is no section for training and
development. This hinders contractors from developing their skills
and could probably hinder the company’s strategy development in
the long run.
6. Recommendations
Based on the strengths and weaknesses of the integration of
Performance Management and Training and Development in Infosys,
these recommendations could be taken into consideration when the
management makes future decisions.

1. Management skills should also be included in Infosys’ training and

development activities, and more first-line employee should have
access to it. These employees would become managers in the future,
and providing proper training programs on management skills would
enhance their productivity and make their work more efficient and
effective.

2. Training and development should cover contractors. In Infosys,

there are two types of employees: regular employees and
contractors. Currently most training and development programs are
for regular employees only. By providing contractors the same
training and development opportunities, the overall workforce of
Infosys can be strengthen, and the company’s productivity on the
whole can be enhanced.

7. Conclusion

This essay reviews both the Performance Management and Training

and Development in the company of Infosys. It first provides
academic review of the concepts and theories of Performance
Management and Training and Development in HRM, then links the
concepts and theories with the actual case of Infosys. It provides a
critical review of how Performance Management and Training and
Development work together in Infosys and analyzes the strengthens
and weaknesses of these two HRM functions integrating in Infosys
and provides relative recommendations.
 Corporate training team  Organizational
development team
 Training dept is divided across different
verticals
1-communication service providers e.g. british
telecom.
2-banking and capital market e.g. UBS,Deutsche.
3- manufacturing vertical e.g. Cisco,ingram micro
4)insurance and health care-Aon 5) emerging
markets-yahoo and British petroleum