HRM Practices in Infosys and TCS
HRM Practices in Infosys and TCS
Introduction:-
Infosys:
Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come back the next
morning."
(Narayana Murthy, CEO Infosys).
Infosys technology, a leading software company based in India, was voted as the best employer in
the country in many HR surveys in the recent years. The company is well known for its employee
friendly HR practices. Though Infosys has grown to become a US $ 2 billion company by the
year 2006, it has still retained the culture of a small company. Infosys attracts the best talent from
across the country and recruits candidates by conducting one of the toughest selection process.
Infosys was one of the first companies to offer ESOPs
According to Narayana 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 a California-based management consultant working in India,
"Infosys has been critical in changing the mind-set of India." Transparency is one of the
important values held by Infosys. A practice illustrative of this value is its very early decision to
adopt the US GAAP standards, the most stringent standards, for reporting its financial results.
Hema Ravichandar, the Senior V-P of Human Resources, sums up the characteristics of the
culture that distinguish Infosys from its competitors:
"Our emphasis on transparency and communication sets us apart from the prevalent family
owned businesses operating in India at. Our emphasis on getting the employees' emotional buy-in
into the company distinguishes us from the MNC's that have recently entered the Indian business
scene."
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As one of India’s leading tech companies, the recruitment and selection process of Infosys is
geared towards finding the best match between candidate aptitudes and company requirements.
Infosys’ hiring policy is closely aligned to its business plans, on the basis of which recruitment
is projected and implemented across the year. Attributes which hiring managers look for include
analytical ability, teamwork, leadership skills, communication skills, ability to innovate, along
with professional competence and academic excellence. ‘Learnability’—defined as the “ability
to derive generic knowledge from specific experiences and apply them to new situations”—is
another key metric in the selection process.
To apply to Infosys, you first need to meet their academic criteria. A minimum of 60% marks in
Class 10 and 12, and 65% and above in B. Tech, is a pre-condition for applying. Eligible
candidates then go through a three-stage recruitment process that includes an aptitude test,
technical interview and HR interview.
3-section aptitude test
The aptitude test contains three sections with time limits and cutoffs for each. These include
logical and analytical reasoning, quantitative ability and verbal ability. The first section
(reasoning) contains questions of easy to moderate level on topics like data sufficiency, visual
reasoning, data interpretation, syllogism, statement reasoning, etc. You will have 25 minutes to
answer 15 questions.
The second section (quantitative aptitude) contains questions on time, speed and distance,
permutation and combination, number series, formulae, analytical puzzles, algebra, probability
etc. and the difficulty level is moderate to high. Here you will get 35 minutes for 10 questions.
With just 35 minutes for 40 questions, time management is crucial in the last section (verbal
ability). You can expect fill-in-the-blanks, synonyms, antonyms, paragraph completion,
vocabulary, sentence correction, etc. Try and attempt all questions since there is no negative
marking.
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2 rounds of interview
The interview consists of two rounds—technical and HR. The good thing about the interview is
that the questions generally revolve around your CV. Apart from exhibiting domain knowledge;
remember to be polite and confident since your communication skills are also being assessed.
a) Technical round: Candidates are generally asked questions based on their CV and their area
of interest. Sound knowledge of at least one programming language, information about
operating systems, and awareness of the latest emerging technologies are some things that could
help you notch up a good score in this round.
Here are sample questions:
• Mention any two differences between C++ and Java.
• What are the different types of keys in SQL?
• Write a program to swap two numbers without using a temporary variable.
• What are the various advantages of DBMS?
b) HR round: The technical round is followed by the HR interview. The objective here is to
assess whether you are a good fit for the company. The scope of questioning is wide, ranging
from your background, to your hobbies, and even your view of life! Be prepared to face
questions intended to gauge your sincerity in applying for the job.
These are some questions you could expect:
• Tell me about yourself.
• Tell us one thing that makes you stand out against all other candidates.
• Describe the toughest moment in your life, and tell us how you managed it.
• Tell me a strength that you also consider a weakness.
• What do you know about our company?
Remember to be confident, maintain eye contact, be brief and to the point while answering, and
stay civil and well mannered. The interview panel is generally quite friendly so there’s no need
for you to get anxious. The recruiters generally don’t comment on your performance but inform
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TCS have a standard set of practices for maintenance of its HR practices. It is closely linked
with the business strategy by planning it according to the structure of the company through the
support given by innovative HR practices. Throughout the European countries, it is considered
as the best employer with the lowest attrition rate of 9.9%. The company is known for the
overall development imparted to its employees which also offers multi-lingual training
concepts. The seven HR practices explained by Prefer in application to The Tata Consultancy
Services is described below in detail.
HR Practices in TCS
Employment/Job Security:
TCS is a good base to work at, specially for fresher’s because they find it easy to work as they
are given good opportunities under comfortable and cosy environment. Working in TCS, it feels
like working in a government organization. Employees get high job security and fear less for
losing the job as this company has low rate of job removal even during recession.
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Selective Hiring:
Human resource plan is required by the firm which is prepared according to the firm's
processes. Hiring of candidates is the most important task to be done in a procedural manner for
selecting the best candidates among many applicants as Prefer described clearly that recruitment
of right people is to be done firstly for obtaining profits. In today's management, this is known
as identification of talent and acquisition. Companies have moved from traditional recruitment
and practices of selection towards online practices like interviews over telephone. In face-to-
face recruitment, the selection department conducts personal interviews where salary packages
are discussed along with many other important things.
TCS recruitment process is based on hiring policy which includes the mix of fresh and
experienced candidates.
Fresh Candidates - They are recruited and selected from academic institutions where TCS has
links with these institutions which is considered as a critical relationship. Through
communication with placement officers and fairs conducted, a large number of candidates get
attracted to apply.
Experienced Candidates - They are recruited by unit heads through various consultancies and
agencies sourcing candidates and through direct interviews. This recruitment is carried out
based on the requirements needed for a company which is centrally coordinated to hire
experienced professionals.
Medical Examination - Every employee is subjected to a set of fitness checks which are
essential prior to the joining in the company. Check-ups like overseas services are also
conducted to candidates required to travel overseas on business purposes. (asmedu.com)
In order to decide the best type of compensation to follow in an organization, there should be
knowledge of job profile and it's area of application in business. As a manager is paid for his
leadership qualities and competencies such as managing power and team building, a person
working as a software developer should also be awarded for his/her work on the basis of hours
of working and skills. So, every employee must be paid according to the performance, skills
they possess on their respective work.
TCS uses the EVA model(Economic Value Added) to measure performance and bonus
focussed on the goal to align people to the mission of the corporate creating a specific culture
for empowering the force of work in order to build ownership.
Extensive Training:
Training in TCS starts immediately on the first day of join in the organization which continues
for a period of three months. Training is given throughout the entire period of work in the
company, that is, from the training period till the end date of work in TCS. Training is also
imparted to the employees whenever new techniques or platforms are introduced at any point of
time while working in a project or at the start of the project.
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Continuous Learning Program(CLP) - This is designed for the growth of associates where
learning and sharing is the main value. These programs come from needs of the project,
strategical business, technology and direction of individual aspirations and access through
domains, processes and soft skills.
Leadership Development Program(LDP) - This program aims in turning its employees into
future leaders by carefully understanding their potential through branded programs.
Foreign Language Initiative(FLI) - This helps its employees to communicate properly with its
clients where employees are encouraged to develop on foreign languages and also emphasises
in improvement of English for effectiveness of communication while making business deals.
Sharing of Information:
This is promoted to motivate people for enhancing performance of the entire organization in
some dimensions and know the use of interpreting information as explained by Prefer. TCS
emphasises on working in a group instead of individually performing as this attempt would take
a lot of time and the case would be worse in case of mistake either in a part of work or
completely.
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TCS Infosys
Remuneration Remuneration
• Same competitive salary but • Well defined compensation
no fixed process /compulsion. policy.
• Variable pay is less then • Increments every year.
indoors. • More patriortic, loves to make
• More practical , loves to be on employees pay tax.
the side of its employees .