US report: 'guru' and 'disciple' have switched places
Aruna Viswanatha -
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10:39 AM
Can U.S. companies learn something from their Indian technology vendors? According to a report released today by Duke University's Vivek Wadhwa and the Kauffman Foundation, the answer is a 24-case-study-backed yes. In a somewhat expected, and somewhat ironic, twist, Wadhwa finds that, since Indian companies have had to invest so much in training, developing, and managing their employees, they've gotten pretty good at it. Last year, Wadhwa and Duke's Global Engineering and Entrepreneurship project reported that India would loose its research and development hub status to China because it didn't have enough post-graduate qualified engineers. Now, they say, that's not necessarily the case. Since companies like Infosys, Genpact, and ICICI are recruiting tens of thousands each year, amidst fierce competition for talent and an education system not known for practical skills, they've had to improvise. Indian tech, BPO, retail, and banking companies have had to track and analyze recruitment and attrition data, build close relationships with campuses, develop in-house tests to screen candidates, and try out things like storefronts and branded campaigns to snag new recruits. On training their recruits, many companies have created internal programs akin to their own universities. On developing management, most of them have extensive programs to cultivate leaders from within. On creating corporate culture in a country not known for one, they've invested in extensive performance management and appraisal systems. Check out the report for interesting statistics from the companies they've surveyed. Last year, Wipro had an attrition rate of 17%, compared with TCS's 11%. WNS lost 40% of its workforce, while Genpact lost 30%. And check out the case studies to see how different companies have broken down their human resources processes to make them work.