How IT Companies Are Using Tech Power To Make Their Employees Happy

The word “digital” is perhaps the most overused buzzword in IT companies that were once known as the back office of global clients for software application development and maintenance works.

And when they talk about driving digital transformation for global clients, they also mean a relook at the internal processes and systems to enhance the experience of employees driving those transformations.

It’s a tall order, but Infosys Group HR head Krish Shankar and his team have little choice but to attempt to reimagine the employee experience to be able to attract and retain the millennial workforce. The Bengaluru-based company with 230,000 employees has one of the highest staff attrition rates in the industry.

Supporting its mission to build an engaging workplace are initiatives like Digital Tags, Talent Grid, LaunchPad, InfyMe, MaQ and Campus TQ. These are simple but effective digital tools that use artificial intelligence (AI), big data and machine learning (ML) to improve employee experience. The digital platform LaunchPad, for example, looks at doing away with the complexities involving onbroading of employees by making the process completely paperless and seamless.

“Once you clear the interview and get the offer, upload all your documents on the LaunchPad. You get the identity card on the day you join. A new recruit does not require to hop from one place to another, meeting multiple HR persons to complete the formalities,” said Shankar, who has worked with Philips, HUL and Bharti Airtel in managing the HR functions. The documents, once uploaded on the platform, automatically go for background verification and once it is complete, the company receives a link.

In order to eliminate multiple interfaces for the employees, Infosys has also launched another initiative called InfyMe, which is nothing but a simple app that provides all the HR, finance, travel and similar functions on a single platform. Using the app, one can, for example, apply for leave, raise on-duty travel request and expense statements without logging into the intranet portal. In the subsequent versions, Infosys is looking at including features such as performance management and appraisal.

Similarly, Compass is a kind of Infosys’ internal equivalent of professional networking platform LinkedIn. It was launched a couple of years ago, but with each new edition, the company is adding features and functionalities as the platform becomes data rich. While the platform was initially focussed on providing internal project opportunities to non-billable employees on the “bench or reserved pool”, the company is now taking its applications a few steps ahead. For example, an AI-based algorithm built into the system maps the employee’s skills, experience and aspired roles with the demands that are coming from the industry. Based on the findings, it comes out with recommendations on the adjacent skills they need to learn in order to make their profiles more appealing.

At a time when global companies such as IBM are starting to leverage AI and ML in predicting employee attrition, Infosys also does not want to fall behind. While IBM is banking on its proprietary cognitive platform Watson for this, Infosys has built an advanced algorithm called Talent Grid to check criticality of the talent and their propensity to leave the company.

“We look at talent in terms of their performance, utilisation, the skills they have and the newer ones they want to hone, and based on these and several other parameters, the algorithm finds out how critical the talent is. We also look at their potential ability to quit based on various indicators,” added Shankar. The company, however, does not completely rely on the algorithm for remedial actions, instead it leaves that decision to the respective managers and HR. “On the ground, we shouldn’t lose the human touch,” said Shankar.

Technology is also being used to create a leadership pool for steering the company in the future. Often, employees leave a company due to inter-personal issues with the managers and Infosys is strongly gauging this space to check attrition. “We have developed something called MaQ (manager quotient).Our approach is that every manager should do six things — inspire people, innovate, execute, coach, develop people and connect. He/ she also has to build own expertise,” said Shankar.

Under MaQ, the IT services firm collects about 20 data points from various sources like engagement survey, attrition, exit interviews and data from appraisals among others to develop a leadership plan. “If I am a manager and open my MaQ, it might tell me that all parameters are green except one, which is in red. Then, we tell him what is to be done via a training programme,” the HR head said.

At a time, when the revenues from digital services stand at 35 per cent of the total income for the company, plans to reskill its vast workforce also sit at the core of its strategy. Infosys’ internal training platform, Lex, is the key element of this strategy. According to the company, an average user spends 30-35 minutes on a weekday and 45 minutes on the weekends on the platform. Home to a plethora of new technology courses, including cloud, data science, AI and ML , this platform can be used by a learner on their preferred devices anytime.―Business Standard