Infosys: computing the power of people

Article Type: Abstracts From: Strategic Direction, Volume 25, Issue 6

Birkinshaw J.Business Strategy Review, Winter 2008, Vol. 19 No. 4, Start page: 18, No. of pages: 6

Purpose – Describes the innovative human resources management programmes of the Infosys IT company. Design/methodology/approach –Describes the success of Infosys, and how it has dealt with its problems of recruitment. Findings – Infosys is an Indian IT services and consulting company founded in 1981. It has achieved huge growth rates and has been a consistent leader in management innovation in India. One of its main problems is coping with the huge number of qualified Indian applicants for jobs, while other concerns are increasing global awareness of the company and maintaining the loyalty of its employees. The first problem has been addressed by adopting online hiring, based on an online application form and simultaneous standardized testing of candidates by an external vendor; other measures include the InStep internship programme, the Career Central database of individual competencies,the Health and Assessment and Lifestyle Enrichment Plan (HALE), and the Campus Connect university recruitment programme. Employee loyalty is addressed by high-class training and high salary and perks levels in the Indian context,while a new initiative called Career Clarity uses counsellors to re-calibrate employee expectations in case these are unrealistic. Workforce diversity is yet another aim, and the company’s IWIN (women’s support groups) help employees who have small children. Originality/value – the many systems of Infosys show its commitment to best practice, and it has won several awards for its approach.ISSN: 0955-6419Reference: 38AC546DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8616.2008.00558.x

Keywords: Human resource management, Information industry,Infosys, Innovation