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Infosys
Technologies Ltd. (Infosys), one of India's leading information technology (IT)
companies, was founded in 1981.
As of early 2008, it had not only established itself as a technology powerhouse
in the global IT arena but had also earned a lot of kudos for its innovative
human resources management (HR) practices. In fact, the company contended that
its business success was largely due to the human capital that the company had
nurtured over the years.
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Hema Ravichandar, former Senior Vice President (VP)
of HR, Infosys said, "It was our emphasis on transparency,
communication, and connecting with employees that set us apart from
other organizations."1
In addition to launching various innovative programs to attract and
retain talent and create a strong employer brand, the company also
launched innovative initiatives for leadership development.
According to Girish Vaidya, Senior Vice President (VP) and head of
Infosys Leadership Institute2, the
company had three leadership tiers.
"Tier 1 includes leaders of business enabling functions. Tier 2 has
people who can take on the Tier 1 responsibility in 3-5 years, and in
Tier 3, the employees are expected to take the Tier 2 category
[responsibility] in 3-5 years,"3
he said.
One of the programs that the company launched to develop leaders and
foster innovation in the company was the 'Voice of Youth' (VoY) program.
Infosys was not only a young company, its workforce too was young. The
average age of an employee at Infosys was 26 years.4
The company sought to set an environment marked by openness,
meritocracy, innovation, self-motivation, ownership, and excellence in
execution.
Subramanyam G.V., VP - Microsoft Technology Center and Software
Engineering & Technology Labs, Infosys, said, "Infosys has always
encouraged a culture that upheld respect and dignity for the individual,
emphasizing meritocracy over hierarchy."5
The company viewed youth as a source of innovative ideas and as such
encouraged the young employees in the company to come out with
innovative ideas and also strengthen the leadership bench strength at
the company.
This emphasis on youth came from the top. N.R. Narayana Murthy (Narayana
Murthy), Founder, Non-executive Chairman and Chief Mentor, Infosys,
said, "It is important that you give challenging engagements to
deserving people, whether they are young or new in the organization.
Youth and empowerment are the keys to scalability and longevity."6
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1] Julian Birkinshaw, "Infosys: Growing Pains,"
www.managementinnovationlabs.com, May 2008.
2] The Infosys Leadership Institute (ILI), located in
Mysore, India, was set up in 2001 to conduct various management development and
personal improvement programs at Infosys.
3] Surojit Chatterjee, "Hindustan Unilever Leads the
Indian Pack in Global Leadership List," www.ibtimes.com, September 23, 2007.
4] Doris Burke, Corey Hajim, John Elliott, Jenny Mero,
and Christopher Tkaczyk, "Top 10 Companies for Leaders," http://money.cnn.com,
October 1, 2007.
5] Infosys Annual Report 2005-06, http://www.lacp.com/2005vision/reports/Infosys_AR06_Consolidated.pdf
6] "Narayana Murthy on Corporate Value System,"
http://teck.in/narayana-murthy-on-corporate-value.html |
