HRM101 Pankaj CA2
HRM101 Pankaj CA2
Learning Outcomes: (Student to write briefly about learnings obtained from the
academic tasks)
Declaration:
I declare that this Assignment is my individual work. I have not copied it from any
other student’s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is
made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for me by any other person.
They commenced operations in 1968, when the IT services industry didn’t exist as it does
today. Now, with a presence in 34 countries across 6 continents, & a comprehensive
range of services across diverse industries, they are one of the world's leading
Information Technology companies. Seven of the Fortune Top 10 companies are among
our valued customers.
They are part of one of Asia's largest conglomerates - the TATA Group - which, with its
interests in Energy, Telecommunications, Financial Services, Chemicals, Engineering &
Materials, provides us with a grounded understanding of specific business challenges
facing global companies.
The TCS-HR group operates with technical experts to create a synergy which is enviable.
Figure 1 illustrates the role of HR, which evidently is that of a facilitator. So whether it is
recruitment or even career development, HR is the catalyst which initiates and
institutionalizes processes. To manage all the functions for over 14000 employees is a
Herculean task but the smoothness of operations is intriguing. The HR structure, which
allows flexibility and empowerment, is the solution.
“A poor performer is not always a poor performer for life,” says S Padmanabhan,
executive vice president, global human resources, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
The Rs 9,749-crore InfoTech major has 45,000 employees on its rolls. Close to 90 per
cent of the company’s income flows in from outside India. And the bulk of its employees
work across TCS offices in 34 countries and on-site in more than 50 countries. For most
of them, the supervisor changes every time a project changes. Given that no two projects
— or, for that, matter, no two bosses — are alike, performance management and
performance appraisal must be a nightmare. Or is it?
OBJECTIVES
Data relating to performance assessment of employees arc recorded, stored. and used for
seven purposes. The main purposes of employee assessment are:
1. To effect promotions based on competence and performance.
2. To confirm the services of probationary employees upon their completing the
probationary period satisfactorily.
3. To assess the training and development needs of employees.
4. To decide upon a pay raise where (as in the unorganized sector) regular pay scales
have not been fixed.
5. To let the employees know where they stand insofar as their performance is concerned
and to assist them with constructive criticism and guidance for the purpose of their
development.
6. To improve communication. Performance appraisal provides a format for dialogue
between the superior and the subordinate, and improves understanding of personal goals
and concerns. This can also have the effect of increasing the trust between the rater and
the ratee.
7. Finally, performance appraisal can be used to determine whether HR programmes such
a selection, training, and transfers have been effective or not.
Salary
Promotion
Retention or termination
Administrative Uses/Decisions Recognition of individual performance
Lay-offs
Identification of poor performers
HR planning
Determining organization training needs
Evaluation of organizational goal
Organizational Maintenance/ Objectives achievement
Information for goal identification
Evaluation of HR systems
Reinforcement of organizational
development needs
The objectives of performance appraisal, point out the purpose which such an exercise
seeks to meet. What needs emphasis is that performance evaluation contributes to TCS’s
competitive strength. Besides encouraging high levels of performance, the evaluation
system helps identify employees with potential, reward performance equitably and
determine employee's need for training. Specifically, performance appraisal has helped
the TCS gain competitive edge in the following ways :
Improving
Strategy and Performance Making correct
Behavior decisions
Competitive
Advantage
✓ financial
✓ customer
✓ internal
✓ learning and growth
Based on their individual achievements, employees are rated on a scale of one to five
(five = “superstar”). If employees get a low rating (less than two) in two consecutive
appraisals, the warning flags go up. “If the poor performer continues getting low scores
then the exit option may be considered”
Over the years TCS has found the pattern that leads to the maximum decline in
performance — boredom. If employees work for more than two years on the same
project, typically either their performance dips or they leave the organization.
To avoid that, TCS shuffles its employees between projects every 18 months or so.
“Performance drops if motivation drops”
At the heart of an employee's satisfaction lies the fact that his performance is being
appreciated and recognized. TCS's performance management system has metamorphosed
into one that emphasizes objectivity and a system that mandates performance evaluation
against pre-determined criteria.
What deserve special mention is the active participation of the senior management in the
determination of guidelines for the performance appraisal process. The process ensure
buy in of the employees since the guidelines for the rating system and its conversion into
money terms is not unilaterally decided by HR but is a consensus of a cross functional
team with representation from all levels.
TCS's performance appraisal system is supported by an online system called the Human
Resource Management System- an Oracle Developer 2000 based tool. The system
individual right from his biographical details to his projects performance.
An employee's performance history at the click of a button and this accurately maintained
for 14000 employees! Right from his entry, an employee in TCS get formal performance
feedback once very two months till such time that he is confirmed after which the
performance feedback is provided twice every year on a formal basis. TCS however
widely encourages informal feedback discussions between Project Leaders and Team
Members and this concept has found an overwhelming appeal among the people.
Recognition at TCS
Guaranteed high motivation levels at TCS through competitive compensation packages,
stimulating job content, outstanding development opportunities, and, not the least, an
innovative recognition mechanism
The various ways in which TCS recognizes its people are listed below.
Recruitment
Attendance management
Performance-appraisal management
Promotion-details management
Leave-details management
Separation-details management
TCS has been the first company in India to be visited by the author of P-CMM - Dr.
Bill Curtis. The HR group along with the Software Engineering Process Group has
dedicatedly worked towards achieving a high maturity level for the people processes.
And it is no mean feat that the two groups have generated such synergy that for a long
time every one will be speaking one language - the-P-CMM.
For the first time, all of the HR processes will be subjected to an audit and that in itself is
an achievement to be proud of because we hear so few a company having its HR
processes audited. TCS plans to have an organization wide assessment this year. So HR
now in the books of "QUALITY".
For the first time, all of the HR processes will be subjected to an audit and that in itself is
an achievement to be proud of because we hear so few a company having its HR
processes audited. TCS plans to have an organization wide assessment this year. So HR
now in the books of "QUALITY".
Developing the HR capabilities has been an imperative. Equipped with the training
programmes at TMTC (The TATA Management Training Centre), the extensive Labs at
ISABS and ISISD the constant exposure at conferences, the HR team is a formidable one
and at the cutting edge of HR technology.
The HR team in TCS is transcending from its traditional "maintenance" role to a new
developmental role. Designing training modules for Senior Project Leaders on
performances management, facilitating the implementation of P-CMM ( being done for
the first time in Asia) or designing a Balanced Score Card for the team, the HR group is
at the forefront, rubbing shoulders with the technology experts.
The People Capability Maturity Model consists of five maturity levels that establish
successive foundations for continuously improving individual competencies, developing
effective teams, motivating improved performance, and shaping the workforce the
organization needs to accomplish its future business plans. Each maturity level is a well-
defined evolutionary plateau that institutionalizes new capabilities for developing the
organization's workforce. By following the maturity framework, an organization can
avoid introducing workforce practices that its employees are unprepared to implement
effectively.
The five stages of the People CMM framework are:
P-CMM - Initial Level (Typical characteristics: Inconsistency in performing practices,
Displacement of responsibility, Ritualistic practices, and Emotionally detached
workforce).
P-CMM - Defined Level (Although there are performing basic workforce practices,
there is inconsistency in how these practices are performed across units and little synergy
across the organization. The organization misses opportunities to standardize workforce
practices because the common knowledge and skills needed for conducting its business
activities have not been identified)
P-CMM - Predictable Level (The organization manages and exploits the capability
created by its framework of workforce competencies. The organization is now able to
manage its capability and performance quantitatively. The organization is able to predict
its capability for performing work because it can quantify the capability of its workforce
and of the competency-based processes they use in performing their assignments)
Employee Benefits
Performance Appraisal:
◦ Performance appraisal provides a format for dialogue between
the superior and the subordinate, and improves understanding
of personal goals and concerns.
◦ They are helping to decide upon a pay raise where (as in the
unorganized sector) regular pay scales have not been fixed.
◦ Motivating employees by indicating their performance levels
and assess the training and development needs of employees.
Suggestions:-
• I suggest that for big companies like TCS, which has far flung
operations scattered around the world, they can create ‘one company,
one system’ performance management system.
• This will help the appraisal system to be consistent, and the team
meetings would be entirely Web based and Virtual, thus saving time.