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 IT
is not often that the lush Kentucky grass
on the Infosys Technologies campus looks
parched, but these are unusual times. The
entry-level pay is down. The Esop programme
has been suspended. But work remains the
same, say entry-level programmers. For a
few of them taking a break near the coffee
machine, money is the single biggest worry.
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Those with 3-4 years in the company are
worried because they realise that linear
progression of their careers is a thing
of the past. "We started moving to
the role-based system two years ago and
that transition is almost complete,"
says Hema Ravichandar, group vice-president
(HRD), Infosys. What it means is that every
year Infosys will figure the sort of skills
it needs based on market dynamics and company
requirements, and if an employee does not
have the required skills, he cannot move
into those roles. The employee will get
training, but growth will depend on whether
the company needs his skills. "If there
are 10 candidates and there are only three
roles, the top three will get the jobs,"
says Ravichandar. It's a bit distressing
for people who have been with the company
for some time, but these steps do make business
sense. "Our challenge is to communicate
the positives that will come out of this.
Like our leadership programme, which will
discover Tier-II and Tier-III leaders,"
says Kris Gopalakrishnan, COO, Infosys.
Infosys is right now trying
to make a transition, communicate its vision,
and fend off global challengers in an organisation
that is increasing its headcount by 5,000
a year. A pity that the employees aren't
in a listening mode right now. If anything,
it proves that Infoscions aren't the robots
they are made out to be. And that, whether
Infosys likes it or not, is a good thing.
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