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Work culture: Patni Computer Systems
 Did
you always want to be in the sales and marketing division, but felt
that you are stuck in the tech support team? Are you a manager who
wants to groom potential leaders while simultaneously paying attention
to underperformers? Patni Com-puter Systems says it has found answers
to these problems through the Leadership Exce-llence at Patni (LEAP)
Progr-amme. LEAP is an HR framework and is applicable to all employees
of the company globally.
Milind Jadhav, vice president of HR at Patni
believes that for a company to grow there is a need to identify
leaders. “We are in the knowledge industry and information
that employees have access to should be distilled to help them form
distinctive opinions,” he adds. So what is the aim of the LEAP
framework? First of all, to help employees focus on their areas
of expertise and build knowledge. This in turn will help them come
up with innovative strategies. It will build a good rapport with
customers and help arrive at solutions for their requirements.
To achieve this, Patni has adopted multiple methods.
At the recruitment level, it asks people to choose the area they
would like to work in. After this, the selection process takes place
during which the company validates whether the candidate fits the
bill. Special attention is paid to underperformers. “We ask
people to be real and set themselves realistic goals,” adds
Jadhav, referring to the selection process.
Arun Uday, management associate with mergers
& acquisitions, Patni Computer Sys-tems, and a management graduate
from the Indian School of Business (Hyderabad), points out that
the greatest advantage of the LEAP programme is that it has helped
in defining role profiles. “LEAP has helped me in joining the
specified track that I wanted. This way both the company and the
employees are clear about each other’s expectations.”
Patni has developed a six-part leadership model
which spells out competencies like customer leadership, people leadership,
entrepreneurial leadership, achievement orientation, strategic vision
and modelling values. Through revi-ews and appraisals of performance
the company identifies potential candidates. One of the programmmes
is the ‘Fast Track’. Mentors are appointed for those selected
for the ‘Fast Track’.
Training forms an integral part of the LEAP programme,
which has been developed after considering global best practices
that suit the company.
Patni has recently entered into an MoU with the
Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences (BITS), Pilani, in
an effort to encourage its employees to enhance their education
qualifications through BITS’s off–campus distance learning
and collaborative programmes scheme. BITS will initially open it’s
off-campus centre at Patni’s Mumbai and Pune centres and later
in other cities. This initiative is also included in the LEAP programme.
The company will provide corporate and financial support for selected
employees to participate in the programme.
In a survey conducted in-house by Patni, it was
found that nearly 94 percent of the employees set their career goals
for two to five years. LEAP aims to answer to these career needs
of the employees.
Ravindra Bhagwat, manager, Patni Computer Systems,
says, “New recruits are excited and focussed on what sections
they want to work with. We consider each case and check out if some
of the employees can also play dual roles.”
While all this paints a rosy picture there might
also be hassles when emplo-yees aspiring for a particular track
might not be seen as competent by the management. Bhagwat informs
that training is provided to such employees so that they can reach
the desired track within a particular period. This has helped in
maintaining a positive working environment as expectations are clear
from both the employee and the employer.
The LEAP programme aims to find the ‘sweet
spot’ between organisational needs, employee aspirations and
their capabilities.
However, is it feasible for an organisation to
spend so much of time, effort and investment on a programme to groom
people, when eventually they will leave? Milind Jadhav believes
that in the long run the LEAP programme might actually help reduce
attrition. “We believe that this programme will provide a holistic
perspective. It is one of the HR vehicles not a magic bullet. But
this will promote fairness, equity, opportunity, learning and growth
in the company.”
sushma@expresscomputeronline.com
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