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Workculture:
ICICI Infotech
ICICI
Infotech’s archetypal setting and plush interiors clearly reflect
its affiliation with the giant ICICI Group. But the catch lies in
the fact that the company that was once perceived to be thriving
on its brand image, has emerged from the towering shadows of its
parent organisation and created its own identity. In spite of being
a late entrant in the industry, the company has managed to carve
a niche for itself with the employees themselves as its witnesses.
The
ICICI Group is one of the highest spenders on technology in the
country. ICICI Infotech was formed following the re-christening
of ICICI Investors’ Services, in 1999. The company aims to
serve as the technology backbone for the entire group. Apart from
150 ongoing projects in the US, the company has been targeting markets
like the Middle East, Dubai, Africa and Sri Lanka.
 The
group’s reflection is also evident in the company’s work
culture. “We have incorporated the same level of infrastructure
as our other companies. Our affiliation to the ICICI Group has enabled
us to plan our systems within a short span of time,” says Manoj
Mandavgane, deputy general manager, human resources. The major challenge
was to mould the mindsets of all those employees who were working
with the group earlier. Its transition to a software services company,
from an ICICI entity, included shaping the HR policies.
The
company has adopted the policy of acquisition as its vehicle for
growth. Consequ-ently, restructuring has been a continuous process.
The most crucial challenge faced by the HR department has been the
cultural integration of various acquisitions made by the company.
To make this possible, various teams meet every week and voice their
expectations from the organisation and the changes that they are
currently coping with. “We call it the ‘cultural integration
team’,” says Manoj.
Spotting
the resources
The
most popular and preferred recruitment policy followed by the organisation
is through ‘Employee Referral Schemes’. The referring
person is offered a certain percentage of a new incumbent’s
first salary. This also enables the new employee to adjust to the
culture of the organisation better. Another aspect that the company
can boast of is that there has been no bench and they have been
recruiting at least 50 to 60 people per month, in spite of the slowdown.
At senior levels, the candidates are subjected to psychometric tests,
which determines the human aspect of the candidate, called ‘predictable
index analysis’.
Emphasis
on training
The
company lays increased emphasis on specific training activities.
The training schedule is chalked out for every quarter, taking into
consideration the needs of the organisation as well as individual
employees. The finalised schedule is put up on the intranet. Employees
keep a track of the schedule and opt for a specific training programme
after consultation with their seniors. The HR concept behind this
planning is KPI (Key Performance Int-egration), which gives a realistic
estimation of the strengths of an employee and accesses the areas
of improvement. It is on the basis of these statistics that the
training schedule is drawn out. There is no hard and fast rule as
to the type of training that a person should undergo. Employees
are free to interact with their project leaders and channelise their
growth path within the organisation.
“An
important reason why our retrenchment rate has never exceeded eight
percent is the wide range of platforms that a person can work in.
There is always something for each of them to learn and improvise
upon,” says Manoj Manda-vgane. Interaction with clients, clear
communication of project details and adhering to deadlines, etc,
reflect on the professionalism of the organisation, for which good
communication skills are a must. “Since every employee is the
face of the organisation, whenever someone deals with any of our
clients, they are reminded that they represent the whole ICICI Group,”
says M B Battliwala, general manager, human resources. A special
incentive, the ‘MD’s merit award’ is given to an
employee who works beyond the call of duty. This brings about instant
reward and recognition.
The
intranet gives all employees access to many facilities. Every employee
is provided with a unique password and can sign the e-muster as
soon as he/she begins work. They can also apply for leave online.
Within a fraction of a second, an employee can procure details of
his/her income tax calculations and appraisals.
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PEOPLE
