Human Resource Management

A study on Challenges and Trends in Talent

Management of IT industry

Submitted to Prof. Seema Rawat

Submitted By Group 8

Arpit Bajaj

HR007

Priya Gupta

HR017

Nirupam Kritika

HR029

Isha Monga

HR035

Somnath Roy

HR044

Gowtham Venkatesh

HR056

Contents

Abstract

Introduction to Information Technology

Talent Development: Challenges and Trends

Issues faced in managing talent

Talent Management Framework

Talent Management at Speridian

Talent Management at Xpanxion

Conclusion

11

References

11

Annexures

12

Abstract
This report looks into the talent management processes of Information Technology (IT)
companies. In India, a key role has been played IT industry in putting India on the global
map. IT industry in India is the most significant growth contributor for the Indian economy
after the country was liberalized. The IT sector has played a significant role in transforming
Indias image from a crawling bureaucratic economy to a home of innovative entrepreneurs
and a global player in providing world class technology solutions and business services to the
different parts of the World. The industry has helped India transform from a rural and
agriculture-based economy to a knowledge based economy.
Two IT companies, Speridian and Xpanxion have been researched to gain an understanding
of the dynamics of talent management in IT industry. The report analyses the following
factors in detail:

Attracting Employees
Retaining Employees-Attrition Control
Motivation at workplace
Development Activities
Challenges faced
Competency based Talent Management

It has been found in the study that employee engagement initiatives are crucial to the
productivity of employees in the IT sector as their work might get monotonous. Also, focus on
work-life balance is important. To manage the talent, initiatives right from the entry of the
employee in the company need to be taken. On-boarding, Induction, Buddy programmes are
some initiatives that almost all the IT companies over the World implement today to ensure
engagement of employee right from their joining into the company.

Introduction to Information Technology

India is the world's most popular destination for the information technology (IT) industry,
which accounts for approx. 52% of the US$ 124-130 billion market. The IT sector employs
about 10 million Indians and has been contributing significantly to the social and economic
transformation in the country.
The Indian IT and ITeS industry can be divided into four major segments
IT services
Business process management (BPM)
Software products and engineering service
Hardware

Talent Management: Challenges and Trends

Talent management has been defined as a conscious and deliberate attempt to attract, develop
and retain people with the propensity and capability to meet present and future organizational
need. Talent management has also be defined as the process by which talent can be sought,
developed and directed for achieving business goals (CIPD, 2006).
The four explicit objectives of a talent management system are:

Talent attraction
Talent engagement
Talent development
Talent retention

The talent management philosophy should lay emphasis on engaging & developing talent that
has a strong potential, rather than those that have a good appraisal reviews

The employee personal growth is facilitated by Nurturing, encouraging and molding

the growth of talent which has to be a two-way process
A conducive environment of continuous learning and regular reviews can be measured
across global benchmarks
Practicing work-life balance rather than preaching it

Internal job postings, career and succession planning, mentoring & coaching, job
shadowing; all of these act as aids to the employee in honing their skills
The contract between organization and employee now lasts only for a couple of years.
So, organizations have to be prepared for the regular bunch of employees. Job security,
which once valued, is now replaced with developing employees, hierarchy with
challenge, and reward with lifestyle.

Challenges faced during Talent Development is shown in the results of the survey:

18% of companies claim to be winning the war for talent

72% portrayed it as an endless struggle in which they were neither gaining nor losing
ground
10% declared that the war for talent was winding down in defeat for their enterprise

Issues that are jarring talent specialist:

We arent sure what exactly are we looking for

o Companies while setting ambitious goals cant spell out a precise roadmap to
achieve them, they usually hope that an extra splash of managerial wisdom or
technical know-how will make everything work out. In such situations, talent
becomes clearly defined only after the fact
o Executives on the way up are being graded by long-established yardsticks that
dont have much to do with where the business actually needs to be going
Talent development is just a slogan, not a way of life
o More than twenty per cent of talent-management specialists agreed that their
tools for succession planning, executive coaching and identifying high-potential
employees are widely regarded within their own companies as not being simple
or easy to use
We dont know how to get better
o Traditionally, the payoff from talent development efforts takes years to play out
as well as in hard to measure
o As a result, there have not been sufficient systematic efforts to keep track of
what assessment techniques are highly valuable within a company; which
managers have the best eye for talent, or what constantly occurring mistakes
ought to be fixed

Some of the key trends that are trying to shape up the talent strategy:

Talent Management Framework

This Talent Management Framework, which is followed by various IT companies will organize
and focus companies talent actions and solutions to best meet its strategic needs. Keeping the
business strategy and goals firmly in sight, the people strategy and talent management
processes must be established and attuned to each other. The structure, processes and
procedures of the organisation, as well as its values, culture and climate, must support the
current business situation and form an enabling and empowering organisational context for the
business strategy to yield results.

Project Methodology for Speridian Technologies

In order to learn about how talent management is done in the IT Industry, we first drafted a
questionnaire. We interviewed executives at Speridian Technologies to get the details about
how talent is managed there.
Based on our interaction with Mr.Vishwanathan Easwaran (Sr. Manager HR, Speridian
Technologies), Mr.Magesh Manoharan (Sr.Manager HR, Sitel) and Ms.Shoba Radhakrishnan
(HR Consultant, Ivy Technologies), we were able to identify the intricacies involved in the
Talent Management activities carried out in an industry where the attrition rates are the highest.
The questionnaire touched important aspects of talent Management such as:

Attracting Employees
Retaining Employees-Attrition Control
Motivation at workplace
6

Development Activities
Challenges faced
Competency based Talent Management

Speridian
Company Overview

Speridian Technologies is a global IT solutions provider with an excellent track record

for designing, developing and deploying enterprise-wide software solutions to clients,
who are leaders in their respective domains in both the public and private sectors.
An Oracle Platinum Partner, their expertise lies in implementing CRM solutions for
sales, service, marketing and business intelligence.

Talent managementA) Retaining the workforce

1. Recruiting the right employees
Automated hiring tools like Hirecraft and Taleo are extensively at Speridian Technology.
Psychometric Test is one of the best means to check the suitability of the candidate.
Competency based hiring is also done at Speridian Technology.
Competency based Hiring: Apart from the technical skills the project team at Speridian
Technology drafts other competencies required for candidate to do well in the job and checks
whether the candidate will be a cultural fit for the company. The logic behind is that a right
hire will stick on to the company so time should be taken to carefully evaluate the candidate.
2. On Boarding or New Hire training
The first impression formed by the candidate goes a long way in retaining the candidate. The
VP HR, Project head, Project manager and HR manager interact with the new hires to bring
a sense of belonging to the company. This has helped in significant reduction in the first year
attrition at Speridian Technologies.
3. Buddy Program
10% of the highly motivated and top performing employees at various levels are selected and
are trained to groom new joiners. Each employee is assigned a buddy and he is the point of
contact for all their queries / issues they face at work. The new joiners therefore thus have a
single point to address all their issues. This has significantly helped in lowering attrition
within the first year of joining for entry level employees.
4. Career Progression
Speridian Technologies resort to outside hiring for filling vacancies at the bottom of the
pyramid. All middle and senior level hiring is from within the organisation through training.
Thus employees are clear that career progression is well defined and if they do well they can
7

grow within the organization. This has helped in controlling attrition in middle and senior level
positions
5. Employee Benefits
Employee benefits like medical benefits, promotion and tenurity allowance in compensation
as well as ESOPs help retain the workforce
B) A few Talent Management Activities at Speridian
1) Induction programmes
The Induction program at Speridian is systematically and specifically designed so that the
employee gets used to the surroundings and gets acquainted with his co-workers, so as to
enable him/her to hit the ground running.
2) PCMM
The People Capability Maturity Model is a maturity framework that focuses on continuously
improving the management and development of the human assets of an organization. The
People CMM helps organizations characterize the maturity of their workforce practices,
establish a program of continuous workforce development, set priorities for improvement
actions, integrate workforce development with process improvement, and establish a culture
of excellence.
3) COPC
The COPC Standard is used extensively for Talent Management at Speridian Technology.
4) Competency based Talent Management
Competency based talent management is used at Speridian Technologies. This is because they
feel that if used well, it would be a great value add for the quality of hire.
A few benefits of using a competency-based approach are:
a. The employees are clearly aware of which competencies they require to succeed
in their job.
b. They get a clear view of what competency and competency gaps they currently
have and they can embark on a training program to plug those gaps
c. They can find other roles which require the same competencies and apply for other
jobs within the organization
C) Challenges faced
Meeting the expectation of the employees is a big challenge and the HR Department has to be
on their toes to find ways to meet the expectations of the employees.

Grievance Handling is another major challenge. Finding new ways for grievance handling is
a must and the team at Speridian Technologies have a dedicated Grievance Redressal
committee.
Retaining the employees is another major challenge. Even though many means of attrition
control are currently being employed, it still is a big challenge to retain the human capital at
Speridian Technologies.
D) Providing work life balanceIn order to provide work life balance to employee:

They have fixed office timings from 9am to 5pm. working overtime is not an
appreciated practise at Speridian.
They provide transport facility to all the employees.
They also provide them with various relaxation facilities like gym, sports, hobbies
centres etc.

Project Methodology for Xpanxion

Based on our interaction with Ms. Manashi Sinha (HR Manager at Xpanxion), we were able to
identify the intricacies involved in the Talent Management activities carried out in an Industry
where the attrition rates are the highest.
The questionnaire touched important aspects of talent Management such as:

Attracting Employees
Retaining Employees-Attrition Control
Motivation at workplace
Development Activities
Challenges faced
Competency based Talent Management

Xpanxion
Company Overview
Paul Eurek originally started a venture in 1990 called Compris Technologies. This innovative
company was the first mover in touchscreen point-of-sale systems and specialized in
distributing its systems to an impressive array of clients that included McDonalds, Disney,
YUM! Brands, and Wendys. Growth was immense, and over a short amount of time, Compris
had quickly become a global company, operating in over 30 countries and all 50 states before
it was eventually purchased by National Cash Register (NCR) in 1997.Due to Compris
leadership having the innate ability to develop high quality software efficiently, Eurek agreed
to continue to service the software side of the touchscreen systems for NCR under the name of
a new company a company that specializes in custom software development services. Thus,
Xpanxion was born in 1997
9

Talent managementA) Retaining the workforce1. Recruiting the right employees

Automated hiring Tools such as Google forms and Hello Sign are used in Xpanxion.
Psychometric Test is one of the best means to check the suitability of the candidate.
Technical skills are of prime importance as it is a product based company.
2. On Boarding or New Hire training
On boarding is done by the Line HR. Also, a mentor is been assigned to help through any
formalities and help the recruit to adjust into the company culture quickly.
3. Buddy Program
Bring your Buddy program is there. In BYB, Rs. 20000 cash is given to a candidate if he can
bring a new candidate suitable for a particular project.
4. Career Progression
Executive level hiring is done internally. Technically challenging posts are been filled laterally.
Also for entry level job freshers are recruited from engineering colleges.
5. Employee Benefits
Employee benefits like medical benefits, higher hospitalization coverage and cashless
hospitalization. They also provide yearly retention bonus plus flexi holidays.
B) Few Talent Management Activities at Xpanxion

Induction
On boarding
Allocation of Mentor
Training and Development

C) Challenges faced
Giving proper projects and learning opportunities, timely feedback, controlling the attrition
and finding the right skills which are needed for the client requirement are some of the
challenges.
D) Providing work life balance
In order to provide work life balance to employee:

10

They have fixed office timings from 9.30am to 6.30pm. Sometimes employees may be
requested to overstay for project requirements. For that cab service and dining service
is provided.
They provide transport facility to all the employees at a reasonable price of Rs. 1500.
Gym and sleeping rooms are there to relax.

Conclusion
In IT sector which is a highly employee driven sector, it is necessary to maintain a healthy
relationship with the workforce and keep them engaged. Usually in any IT company, the
employees might feel that their work is monotonous and become unmotivated. Thus in order
to ensure smooth functioning of the services, it is absolutely necessary that management
provides employees with some engagement programmes at every level of their career, right
from joining the company. In addition to this it is also observed that better work life balance
enhances performance of the employee at work. Thus it is necessary that company policy are
made keeping in mind welfare of an employee.
In our study on the theme of Employee relations, we focussed on the following issues that are
very essential in maintaining good relationship with the workforce.

Hiring and retention of workforce

Talent management activities
Competency based talent management
Managing the frequent challenges at workplace
Providing work life balance

Based on our study of talent management in Speridian and Xpanxion, we observed found that
both these companies focuses on above mentioned aspect to maintain a healthy relationship
with the employees and keep them motivated. Although both companies have slightly different
policy but the focus is on employee. For example, in Speridian uses competency based talent
management, while Xpanxion uses an integrated approach of all the verticals to develop
programmes to keep employees motivated.
Apart from this we also found that there are many practices which are quite similar in these
companies. For example, on-boarding, mentor allocation, performance based bonus all act as
a source of motivation for an employee to give his best.

References
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

http://www.speridian.com/
http://www.xpanxion.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://www.ibef.org/industry/information-technology-india.aspx
Human Resource Management (Sharon Pande,Swapnalekha Basak)
http://www.hbr.org/

11

Annexure
Speridian questionnaire and responses:
Q1) Everything done to retain, develop and reward people forms a part of Talent
Management.
Could you please tell us some of the Talent retention activities in IT industry where the
attrition rate is the highest?
Engaging and employee benefits like medical benefits, promotion and tenurity allowance in
compensation, stocks, esops, etc
Q2) Succession planning is a part of Talent Management. Do IT / ITES companies have any
structured program for grooming the next level?
Yes it has become a mandate in every cy to create this structure...
Q3) For a Talent Management System to be successful should it be worked into the business
strategy or is it solely a function of the Human Resources department. Whats the general
norm in this Industry?
Now Human resource is involved in the strategy and is named as strategic human resource
management.
Q4) With specific reference to the IT industry the attrition rates in the first 1 year more so the
first 6 months is the highest .Any specific retention activities you feel can to a certain extent
reduce the attrition levels?
Tenure allowance instead of variable component to be paid after completion of one year or
half yearly for just to stay in the cy.
Q5) Competency based Talent management is followed in many companies .Apart from
education , tenure etc( which are old competency models) what are the
other competencies which are required to be built in the job description so that we hire the
right people?
Psychometric is one of the best to check the suitability, Plan for the next 2 yrs and role of
them in achieving the vision and mission...of organisation
Q6) Could you list a few Talent management activities followed by the IT Industry?
Induction, copc, pcmm, erp etc.
Q7) What are your views on Competency based Talent Management? if best used it can be a
value add to the quality of hire
Q8) What are some of the challenges faced in Talent Management?
Meeting the expectation of the employees, finding new ways for grievance handling,
retaining etc.

Xpanxion questionnaire and responses:

12

Q1) Everything done to retain, develop and reward people forms a part of Talent
Management. Could you please tell us some of the common practices of Talent retention in
IT industry, which your company practices?
We provide medical benefits, higher hospitalization coverage, cashless hospitalization. We
also provide yearly retention bonus plus flexi holidays.
We also engage them by fun activities and trekking around Pune. We have a committee
called XITE through which we celebrate every events, also we are a Flat organization where
anyone can reach anybody.
Q2) Succession planning is a part of Talent Management. Do your company have any
structured program for grooming the next level?
Not specifically but as we are growing rapidly, we are planning to come up with something in
near future
Q3) For a Talent Management System to be successful should it be worked into the business
strategy or is it solely a function of the Human Resources department. Whats the general
norm in this Industry?
Its a misconception that Talent management is only for HR, it is a dual responsibility of HR
and Management. HR function along with business decides the practices in our organization
and I believe it is the norm in whole IT Industry.
Q4) With specific reference to the IT industry the attrition rates in the first 1 year more so
the first 6 months is the highest .Any specific retention activities you feel can to a certain
extent reduce the attrition levels?
Retention bonus, rewarding careers and onsite opportunities could help to bring down
attrition.
Q5) Competency based Talent management is followed in many companies .Apart from
education, tenure etc( which are old competency models) what are the other competencies
which are required to be built in the job description so that we hire the right people?
Career Plans and ambitions should be clearly mapped with the opportunities provided.
Aptitude test is taken and Group Working skills are evaluated in our organization by
reviewing Linked In and Other Social Networking profiles.
Q6) Could you list a few Talent management activities followed by the IT Industry?
Pre-Induction, On boarding, allocation of Mentor, Training and Development
Q7) What are your views on Competency based Talent Management?
It would be a win-win situation for both, the organization and the employee. Both can reap
mutual benefits
Q8) What are some of the challenges faced in Talent Management?
Giving proper projects and learning opportunities, timely feedback, controlling the attrition
and finding the right skills which are needed for the client requirement

13

14