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Work culture
Power to the people
Capgemini has a culture of empowering its employees by giving them the freedom
to make their own decisions and providing them with every opportunity to enhance
their skills through focused training. The organisation, which has been on a
recruitment drive with more than a hundred people being recruited every month,
has taken up knowledge-enhancement of its employees as a mission.
There is a policy which requires that every individual undergo at least 40 hours
of training every year. “By August-end we averaged almost 66 hours of training
per person, which is above the mandatory requirement,” says Baru Rao, the
company’s . He reveals that the company’s budget for training is $1,000
per person per year. Interestingly, the training focus is not just on technical
skills but also on skill building, which includes communication skills, foreign
language classes, etiquette, table manners, leadership and stress management.
Everybody is encouraged to participate in these programmes irrespective of function
or hierarchy. “Support staff members—HR, finance and administration—are
all invited to participate,” says Rao. For instance, a training session
on team binding was recently organised for all administrative secretaries because
they are integral to such activities.
Capgemini University
A few high-fliers get trained at the Capgemini University, Les Fontaines, near
Paris. The training includes three to four types
of residential programmes for global staff members. These include the engagement
management training programme with four to five levels of certifications; the
software architect’s training programme; the leadership exchange programme,
and the global execution orientation programme. “The faculty for some of
the training programmes comes from India,” says Rao proudly.
Project People
Project People is a training programme which is organised exclusively in India,
normally in Lonavala or Goa. “It is a seven-day programme, a boot camp
for mid-managers. The faculty takes them through the life of a project, and
the three years of experience in a project are simulated within a week,”
informs Rao.
“Any investment in people is good investment,” he asserts, pointing
out that even if they leave the company they remain ambassadors of Capgemini.
The attrition rate (11-12 percent) is way below the industry average. For managers
and above it is less than one percent. “The empowerment comes from the
fact that technical project leaders become business leaders.”
High retention
Apart from the learning culture, there are other factors which are responsible
for the high retention rate—a challenging work environment, attractive
salaries, and open communication. The communication process includes activities
such as Friday Focus, an open-house session in which individual project managers
make presentations, achievements of the company are focused on, project deals
are communicated, and successes celebrated.
The vision of the company is to create a culture where customer satisfaction
is the most important thing to achieve outside the organisation, while making
employees feel like part of a family is the most important thing to achieve
inside. “Beyond their projects, we are truly concerned about the well-being
of individuals. Personally, we relate to each other as members of a family,
while relating professionally at work,” explains Rao. Efforts are focused
on creating a work culture that truly lives the statement: “We are in the
business of people, we also do technology services.”
sudipta@expresscomputeronline.com
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