People solutions

A culture of openness and a people-centric attitude is what keeps the NIITians together.

In December 2001, NIIT was in a quandary. It was time to celebrate the annual day, but the company had nothing to cheer about. This time there were no happy tales to share. The IT training industry was passing through its worst phase. After seeing a year-on-year growth of 40%, revenues had started declining at an alarming rate of 25-30% and the company was under tremendous pressure. "It was a tough situation and we cracked our heads over it for a long time. One way of tackling it was to ignore the gloom around and pretend that everything was fine. But after a lot of deliberation, we decided not to beat about the bush. We had to tell our people what we were going through," says Rosita Rabindra, vice-president (HR), NIIT.

Sure enough, that year the staff was told that yes, things had gone bad. Chairman Rajendra S. Pawar travelled to all the offices and had a heart-to-heart talk with employees. "There was no question of hiding anything, we had to confront reality. But it was a sensitive situation and we had to present the facts in a balanced way," says Pawar. Surprisingly, the response was quite positive. "Instead of creating insecurity, we managed to generate a lot of support," remembers Rabindra. "They felt the company has taken care of them for all these years, it is in trouble so they must rally together."

It is this open culture that NIIT is so very proud of - organising regular chat sessions with the top management through its intranet, keeping the people posted on what is happening through discussions and open forums. The company goes all out to keep the people bonded together. Apart from the 360° appraisals and formal HR sessions, senior managers hold regular informal interactions with their team members to understand their needs. Pawar himself always carries a notebook in which he jots down a summary of all his personal interactions with his top managers.
NIIT also works hard at making the company a 'fun place to work in'. Especially given that the average age of an NIITian is below 28. A 'Chief Fun Officer' is given the task of organising parties or fun events every Friday. These could include cross-dressing fashion shows, games and sports activities or even something as crazy as a gulab jamun eating contest. "The idea is to give them (employees) a break from their 12-14 hour schedule and involve them in doing things they would enjoy," she explains. Holiday packages, dating allowances, anniversary and birthday gifts are some of the other freebies.

But Rabindra points out that these 'frills' are not enough to create a good workplace. They may attract youngsters, but more fundamental things like career growth and learning are required to retain them in the long term. NIIT provides various growth opportunities depending on the person's interest and abilities.

NIIT also believes in forging bonds with its employees' families, who are invited to most office parties. "Unlike the West, families in India are far more involved and want to know more about the people their sons or daughters are working with. So, we encourage them to be part of our celebrations," says Rabindra. Members of one family are also encouraged to work here. For instance, there's one family whose 12 members are NIITians. It is, perhaps, this emphasis on bonding that has kept the firm going even during the worst of times.