|
Baan Info Systems India, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of SSA Global Technologies, has adopted a value-based system in
its human resource development (HRD) strategy that treats all employees
equally. The company believes in offering long-term career options
to its employees. The company wants that its employees should stay
with the company for a long time and share its growth prospects.
At the same time it doesn’t compromise with the quality of
manpower and hires the best fit for product development activities.
Baan develops end-to-end business solutions in
ERP, CRM and SCM space using cutting-edge technologies. Manufacturing
industries across the world use the solutions developed here. Baan
India was established in 1986 when the company opened a dedicated
customer support centre in Mumbai, and by 1995 Baan’s Indian
presence had expanded to include offices in Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad.
Today the Hyderabad and Mumbai centres focus on development and
support, while sales, consulting and service centres operate from
Mumbai, and Delhi, responsible for license sales, customer support
and consulting in the Indian sub-continent (India, Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh). The Hyderabad centre is one of the biggest global development
centres for SSA. The global support centre provides second line
support to customers world-wide.
Hiring the right fit
The company hires both entry level and experienced
professionals. Instead of advertising, the company prefers referral-based
hiring. Even while inducting trainees, Baan prefers the referral-based
recruitment system rather than going to
universities and institutes to
conduct campus interviews. The induction programme
comprises company orientation and training on domain specialisation.
Usually, the training programme is conducted for a period of eight
weeks and seniors mentor new techies. During the training period,
the company evaluates candidates, and after going through soft skills
training the new recruits are put on projects in real-time work
environment.
With freedom comes responsibility
“Our HR policy is largely performance-driven
without much hierarchy levels in the working environment. Anyone
can directly approach anyone, irrespective of the position. We don’t
have any monitoring control on the movements of employees. Internet
access is not restricted in the office and there is no policing
of e-mails. We treat our employees in a way that makes them feel
more responsible. The company provides them latest tools and the
environment for working comfortably. We know complete details about
each and every employee, including family problems. We take a lot
of care to ensure a healthy work culture in our organisation,”
says Abhay N Rao, general manager (HRD), Baan Info Systems India.
The company invests a huge amount on training
employees and reviews the investment. Based on employee needs, the
HR department customises the training programmes. It has an Individual
Development Plan (IDP) to enhance individual performance and this
appraisal is done twice a year.
“Baan is an application development centre
and our employees are not just programmers. Business knowledge is
therefore very important for them. In services segment, a few weeks
are enough to make new employees productive, whereas in product
development companies like Baan, it takes longer time to make them
productive. Our employees work in a flexi-time environment, without
any timing restrictions on working hours. Attrition rate is very
low at 5 percent to 8 percent and sometimes it shoots up since the
demand is greater than supply. Our employees are in great demand
in the job market. A stint in Baan adds weight to a resume with
companies seeking their services,” adds Rao.
“The reason is simple—the quality
of training we provide and the international projects on which our
employees work. On one hand, it is a pride and on the other it is
a concern too. We identify the key performers and encourage them
by writing letters of appreciation and other measures,” says
AV Ramam, vice president of Baan Info Systems.
Benchmark salaries
The company has benchmark salaries, which are
higher than the industry average. Unlike many organisations, Baan
does not have an ESOP policy. “ESOPs don’t give much
value-for-money. ESOPs today value a lakh rupees, but might become
zero another day. We do a salary survey on cost-to-company (CTC).
Base salary and all accruals and benefits are factored in before
arriving at a cost. At Baan, the basic salary is pretty high and
this takes care of other benefits like ESOPs, etc. The salary structure
has been designed to ensure maximum take-home salary. We never do
poaching and don’t insist on bond agreement by employees.
We request our employees to honour the notice period and complete
projects under development,” explains Abhay N Rao.
Employee welfare
The company believes that transportation is more
important than any facility offered to employees. It has tied up
with banks like the HDFC and ICICI to offer financing schemes for
employees who want to buy two-wheelers. It also subsidises the loan
cost. Since a majority of employees are very young, the company
does not need to give any special attention to their children’s
education needs. It encourages employee-driven clubs to organise
social events and charity programmes.
The company encourages its employees to get international
certifications like Project Management Professional (PMP) and (CSQA)
Certified Software Quality. It reimburses the fee for those who
qualify in the examinations.
Baan employees have witnessed two acquisitions
since inception. Invensys acquired Baan in August 2000, next it
was acquired by SSA Global in July 2003. “There was no negative
impact on employees at the time of acquisitions. In particular when
SSA took over, employees felt happy and the acquisition was well
accepted,” points out Abhay N Ram.
|
