Objective of the Mini Project

Cognizant Technology Solutions

About the Company Organization Structure About the HR department Briefing of HR Processes

Sauter Race Technologies

Company Profile Briefing of HR Processes

Comparison of Distinguishing Features between the two companies

 To understand the real time HR practices followed in Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS) To relate the industry practices fundamental concepts of HRM with the

To compare and differentiate the HR Practices amongst different Sectors - By an interview with Sheila J HR Manager, Sauter Race Technologies

Mr. H Sridhar [Sr. HR Manager]

Global provider of information technology, consulting and business process outsourcing services Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA Member of NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, Fortune 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Forbes Global 1000 Named to Fortune magazines 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list for nine consecutive years, including 2011 Ranked first in the All-Stars list of 16 companies that appear on the fastest-growing list year after year

Was founded in 1994 as an IT development and maintenance services arm of the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation Kumar Mahadeva could be credited to be the founder chairman of this company

Currently provides a wide range of business, technology and consulting services including business process outsourcing (BPO)
Has significant practices in BFS, Communications, Consumer Goods, E&U, Healthcare, Information, Media & Entertainment, Insurance, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Retail, Technology, Transportation & Logistics and Travel and Hospitality

As of today, Cognizant boasts of nearly 1.1 lakh employees on its payrolls spread across various countries Also has global delivery centers in the UK, Europe, India, China, The Philippines, Canada, Argentina, and Mexico Majority of the companys employees are based in India: Chennai, Coimbatore, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Gurgaon and Cochin The company has been in excellent financial health, reporting over $2.2 billion in cash and short term investments for the quarter ending June 30, 2011

Revenues have increased by 40% since the last year. Currently the second leading company in the IT sector in India Project Outreach is their global program to engage employees in volunteer activities, primarily education. Cognizant Foundation, an independent charitable foundation, is working with non-governmental organizations to provide financial support for education and healthcare Go Green is the company-wide effort to achieve measurable reductions in their environmental impact

John Klein - Chairman Lakshmi Narayan Vice Chairman Francisco DSouza President & CEO

Gordon Coburn CFO & COO

Chandra Sekaran President & MD (Global Delivery) Rajeev Mehta COO, Global Client Services Steven Schwartz Legal Advisor

SVP

Assistant Project Manager

Senior Associate

VP

Project Manager

Associate

AVP

Associate Director

Programmer Analyst

Senior Director

Director

Programmer Analyst Trainee

Vastly different from other organizations The various divisions are:

Global Work Force Management Team (GWFM) Talent Acquisition Group Team (TAG) HR Team Recruitment Team Payroll Processing Team

GWFM -daily operations pertaining to allocation of resources TAG -handling of bulk amount of campus trainees The other three teams as their names suggest concerns with the other normal functions apart from those mentioned above.

 HR Ratio:

The present employee count of CTS in India is around 1,10,000. No strict HR to Employee ratio followed. HR ratio can be roughly calculated as 1:500.

HR Planning:
Project Leaders give a projection as to the number of people to be recruited. Forecasted Recruitment on the Campus Recruitments happens for about 60% of intake through campuses

The process which happens, in order are ,recruitment, selection training and keeping the resources ready for utilization.

Gross addition and Net addition:

Gross addition is the total count intake that has happened. Net addition is the Gross Addition discounting the Attrition factor. The attrition factor has an industry average of 14%16%. By the end of the quarter, when the results are declared, the net addition for that quarter is disclosed.

 Job Description and Job Specification:

In CTS, Jobs are not mapped to the Designations, but are mapped to the Roles which people perform, technically called as Competency Mapping.

External recruitment or Internal recruitment?

Promotion cycles happen to promote eligible candidates. In a fast-growing company like CTS, it cant be certainly told that a particular proportion needs to be internally recruited or externally recruited.

But, mostly people are being recruited from outside; the basic reason for this is the growth rate, which is 3040%. Utilization team gives the forecasted requirements to the recruitment team CTS has a very strong programme on referrals. An internal mail gets circulated with the details on the post and the interview style. A good number of candidates turn around for the walk-in interview. Also, profiles are got from naukri.com after screening them for the appropriate skill sets. Attitude requirements from a prospective candidate: Will to learn, flexible

 Induction and training programs:

Initial Induction program for acquaintance After induction completely focused training program 2 days dedicated for Induction Continuous interaction from higher level management Trainings outsourced

Cognizants learning calendar:

A learning calendar is created with the inputs from the career counsel i.e., gaps are identified between the skills required for the job and the skills that the employee has.

The learning calendar is available in the companys intranet portal and it is mandatory for the employees to attend a predetermined number of hours in training.

Compensation and Benefits:

Fixed and Variable component Cognizant has very good welfare benefits for the employees. The life insurance coverage of CTS is the best when compared to other organizations because a lot of expenditure is done by the company on behalf of the employee. CTS also arranges for Health insurance policies for its employees.

 Performance Appraisal:
Evaluated on delivery adherence The employees learning ability is also considered as a component. The appraisal cycle happens every year, sometimes mid year But the company always tries to have the kind of increments or the promotions that needs to be given every time to: keep the employees motivated and to control the attrition rate. Employees if not satisfied with the rating can approach HR

 Monitoring levels of employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction:

Employee satisfaction monitored by surveys. CTS Strategies for employee satisfaction includes: the compensation, benefits given to the them, the kind of engagement activities that are planned for them, the growth that is offered to them and the learning scope that is offered to them.

Grievances Redressal Mechanism:

Employee can approach HR and HR has a discussion with the stakeholders

In order to ensure that there is a seamless operation for availability of human resource, eforecaster has been built as a one stop location to maintain and record future resource requirements across the organization. The portal receives inputs from various sources namely Executive Management BU Heads Account Teams This input translates to the annual workforce plan to the Global Workforce Management groups which helps to plan the following for new ramp ups and existing accounts Staffing Plan Rotation / Release Plan Training Plan for ELTs

Role

Responsibility

Global Workforce Management Group

Arrive at a rolling three month workforce plan based on the forecasts. Obtain sign off for the forecasts from the Ops Leads. Share the signed off plan with recruitment for laterals and HR/Academy for ELT planning and training.

Practice Heads

Ensure/track compliance for their respective vertical. Commit/rework completed forecasts. Sign off the rolling workforce plan developed by the Workforce Management group on a monthly basis.

AM/DM/OD

Ensure completion of their respective account/s. Ensure ramp ups/planned releases are accounted for in the forecasts. Provide incremental forecasts on a monthly basis.

GWFM

Referral Source CVs Direct Mailers Vendor Advertisement Job Portals

Preliminary Screening

SMS Request

Pre-Screened Pool

Shortlisting

Scheduling

Interview Process

Candidate Panel

Post-Joining

Joining

Post Offer

Offer Rollout

PM feedback Associate feedback

Joining Formalities Report to RMG

Follow Up Background check

Offer dispatch Offer acceptance

Managing employee performance is an integral part of PMS Designed to document the expectations of every associate, create a meaningful process by which employees can be rewarded for noteworthy contributions to the organization, and provide a mechanism to improve individual or organizational performance as necessary

Is a systematic process involving three major stages, Planning Goal Setting Tracking (Planning) Evaluation Confirmation Appraisal for Trainees
Performance development tools such as the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
Year End Appraisal (Evaluating) Project end appraisal & Mid year review (Tracking)

 Sample Goals 1. To achieve 85% project utilization by the end of Q3 2. Ensure 100% compliance to PHS, C20 usage & Audits in 2011 3. Automate at least one manual process by end of June 2011 4. Complete at least 2 process improvements by Oct 2011 5. Implement Best Practices >= 1 per Quarter 6. To increase BES Score by X% 7. Come up with at least 4-5 value additions to save $10,000 8. Profitability 41% & above for the entire year for project under control 9. Conduct at least 2 domain trainings 10.Participate in at least 2 Campus Drives

Performance is tracked through Mid-Year Review process & the Project End Appraisal process Mid Year review is a formal process to record the performance feedback in consultation with the Supervisor This provides an opportunity for mid course correction based on the feedback received
Appraiser reviews appraisees self evaluation document, solicits feedback from previous supervisors & completes evaluation

Appraiser completes self evaluation & submits to appraiser

The evaluation document is made available to the appraisee

A discussion is held between the appraiser and the appraisee

Appraiser &appraisee enter post discussion comments

The performance is evaluated against the standards set in the Goal Setting document based on which a summary rating is assigned. The rating nomenclature is as below EA Exceeds all expectations EM Exceeds most expectations MA Meets all expectations MS Meets most expectations
Appraiser reviews appraisees self evaluation, solicits feedback from earlier supervisors & completes evaluation by providing a rating

Appraisee completes self evaluation & submits to appraiser

Normalization

Appraiser makes the rating available to the appraisee

A discussion is held between appraisee and appraiser

Appraiser and appraisee enter post discussion comments

Mrs. J Sheila [HR Manager]

Was established in 1992 as Race Technologies Today an India-Swiss JV with Sauter AG Switzerland A Pioneer in the Indian Building Management Systems Industry Automation &

Headquartered at Chennai with offices across the country Has a subsidiary operating at Mauritius They develop technologies, engineer systems and deliver complete hardware, software and integration solutions for Building Management covering implementation of HVAC Automation, safety, security, and energy and workforce management

Have participated in the Green Movement as a Founding Member of Indian Green Building Council. Their BMS manage many LEED certified green buildings around India Their Chennai corporate office is recognized for energy performance in design, construction and operation and has been awarded BEE 5 Star rating certification by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, Government of India As of today, has been acquired by GE; a clear sign of the organizations dominating presence in the niche field of BMS Headed by a management team lead admirably by Mr. Ashok

JOB POSTING
naukri.com, e-mails and consultancies.

EMPLOYEE HIRING
Employee referrals, direct interviews Mostly freshers and persons with 2-3 years working experience. No campus recruitment The external recruitment has the following procedure: 1) Preliminary Test 2) HR Interview

JOB DESCRIPTION & JOB SPECIFICATION

Updated on a periodic basis

TRAINING

First step- Orientation and Induction A specific manager is assigned for the training process. Every month the training calendar is updated and the functions required for training are perused. The company is a member of MMA (Madras Management Association) and CII (Confederation of Indian Industries).

EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE ADDRESSAL

The employee can report to his head if he finds that he is uncomfortable and unhappy working with his manager. A dull candidate needs more attention than a clever one as there are more chances for him getting more upset with his job.

SYSTEMS
The HR manager uses mainly MS Excel for recording important information. Future plans of implementing ERP

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Basic pay, medical allowance, professional allowance, HRA, supplementary allowance and other special incentives. In addition annual bonus is also given. Non-financial incentives like medical insurance and personal accidents coverage are also provided for the employees.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Appraisal is done once in a year Exceptional performers are rewarded monetarily. Metrics are followed in the performance appraisal. There are two categories, soft skills and hard skills. The rating is from A to D, A being the highest grade and D, the lowest. The manager rates the employees on this scale.

EMPLOYEE WELFARE
Birthday celebration Employee outings with their families

ATTRITION RATE
Attrition rate is in the range of 19-20%. Sometimes it is tough to fill up the vacancies. Since it is a medium scale company its attrition rate is different from IT companies and small scale companies.

Parameter Nature of Industry Industry Size HR Ratio Recruitment Styles Employee Tracking Mechanism Appraisal Cycle HR & Systems Learning Calendar

Cognizant Technology Solutions IT Services Very Large 1:500 External and Internal Done through Intranet Portal Yearly, but done semiannually under certain circumstances Has a dedicated Intranet Portal Well organized Learning Calendar Surveys and Feedback mechanisms in place. 14-15%

Sauter Race Technologies Building Management Systems Medium 1:350 External Done Manually Yearly Mainly uses MS Excel. Planning for an ERP Implementation Training happens on first four days of a month No dedicated feedback/survey mechanisms in place. 19-20%

Tracking Employee Satisfaction Attrition Rate