Worried about exits, Infosys moves to soothe staff

Agencies
Mumbai, Mar 13:
A strong rebound in the economy and rising job prospects, peculiarly, seems to have the top management of Infosys worried as hard facts of employee attrition hit home. The software major is going out of way to woo employees while setting the pace for pay hikes and promotions.
So much so that S. Gopalkrishnan CEO and managing director of Infosys shot off a mail to Infoscions last week seeking to assuage hurt sentiments, obliquely admitting that the management was willing to address some of the critical issues that employees are not happy about.
I understand that you would like me to look at some of the concerns you have raised seriously and resolve them,” said Gopalkrishnan in his letter. He added that the organisation believes that employees are key and the force behind every success. “We have formed a task force to look into and champion employee engagement in every unit,” he said.
Officially, Infosys says its attrition level is 11.6 per cent for Oct-Dec 2009. However, industry sources say the current quarter, whose figures will be disclosed only next month, has been a matter of concern for the company in view of a higher-than-expected departure of employees. Company officials are not giving details. Infosys’s policy mandates its employees to be physically present for a little more than nine hours a day in the campus. It also has a new iRACE policy that requires an employee to spend a minimum number of years before consideration for promotion.
The company has also introduced new certification exams linked to promotions and salary increases. An employee is expected to clear two such exams in a year.
Company insiders and ex-Infoscions are hardly surprised by the latest letter from Gopalakrishnan.
Resentment has been brewing for over a year against certain HR initiatives of the company. With the recession waning away and more employment opportunities coming up people are opting out,” said Devesh (name changed) a software engineer at Infosys.