Work Culture

Melting pot of divergent cultures

3i Infotech has grown both via organic as well as acquisitive means. Renuka Vembu examines its confluence of cultures coming from ICICI, acquired companies and lateral recruitment.

“As an organization, 3i Infotech has grown both via organic as well as acquisitive means. The integration of customs coming from ICICI, acquired companies and lateral recruitment has enabled the company to practice the best of these cultures. The idea is to utilize the collective wisdom to achieve eminence and create oneness amongst the employees by adopting and nurturing what is best suited in the interest of the company,” says Manoj Mandavgane, Head HR and Global Resourcing, 3i Infotech.

Desired behaviors

3i Infotech has a list of ‘Desired Behaviors’ (The Infotech Way), which serves them in their day to day functioning. Be it at the workplace, office meetings or customer site, every employee is expected to adhere to these guidelines. Some of the examples of Infotech Way related to commitment are:

• How to prepare for and conduct meetings
• Timely response to mails
• Uniformity in business presentations in terms of PowerPoint formats, messages and language
• Uniformity in minuting/sending mails prior to and after meetings—importance of timeliness in doing the same
• Familiarization with processes

Cross-functional opportunities

3i Infotech engages both in the product and the service line of business. Due to this diversity in its operations in varied spheres, verticals and geographies, and the fast growth rate of the organization, there are ample opportunities for the employees to engage in cross-functional processes, working and taking up different functions and roles. The Performance Management System (PMS) is a key contributor to the growth of people within the company. Key Performance Indicators (KPI), in line with business strategy, are identified and documented. A fully automated KPI based Performance Management system ensures objective assessment to enhance individual and organizational capabilities to attain international performance standards. The company has a biannual review process where the mid-year review is developmental in nature and the annual review is related to monetary benefits.

A matter of values

The three prime value systems that 3i Infotech espouses are:

• Innovation: Intrinsic to their growth is the spirit of innovation that they bring to their products and services—from design to implementation to customer support
• Insight: The organization uses keen insight to foresee industry trends, and ensures that their products and services retain a competitive edge at all times
• Integrity: This core value is the soul of the company. This is reflected in the finances, the trusted relationship that they share with their customers, business partners, employees and stakeholders

The organization recognizes and values team-work, integrity, creativity, imagination, determination and excellence.

Stringent recruitment

The company recruits more than 500 software trainees every year through a comprehensive selection process consisting of an all- India entrance test, group discussions and personal interviews. These selected candidates then undergo exhaustive training on various technologies like .NET, Java, Oracle and D2k, along with soft skills trainings on communication and presentation skills, customer orientation, business etiquette, etc. They also recruit management graduates from prestigious management institutes across the country, who undergo an intensive in-house training pertaining to products and services, sales and implementation and soft skills like team-building. The objective is to ensure that these management graduates are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge required for them to be global representatives of 3i Infotech in their interactions with clients across continents.

Mandavgane says, “The primary aim of recruitment is to strive for an optimum fit for the organization. The competencies required for success in a role form the base of any selection. At senior levels, an ideal candidate is one who is adept in long-term strategy as well as short-term tactics. At middle levels one looks for managerial and people skills, coupled with strong implementation and delivery capabilities, while at operational levels, depth of technical capabilities and the potential to learn and upgrade to higher roles is essential.”

Focus on learning

3i Infotech’s all-inclusive training and development programmes are targeted at gratifying the company’s long-term and short-term corporate objectives. The open-ended interview questions for the top level management personnel are aimed at ascertaining existing individual skills, competencies, soft skills, behavioral patterns and technical expertise, and developing the core competencies required to bridge the gap. The company’s HR department facilitates ‘Offsites’ for various groups to brainstorm and arrive at group objectives and action plans to achieve the same.

Mentoring and counseling aids in employee development and encourages a close study and discussion of critical areas of disagreements in a safe and confidential setting. Mandavgane opines, “Creating a competitive work environment and building and maintaining performance culture ensures that it permeates the organization. This also creates employee empowerment, which encourages employee decision making to develop future leaders. A comprehensive succession plan is in place for all key roles and positions. Individuals are groomed for taking on the challenges, which are inevitable with higher and wider responsibilities. Formal and on-the-job training is provided to equip employees to assume senior management roles.”

The company also encourages its employees to acquire the required technical and functional understanding to upgrade their knowledge and skills, and thereby facilitates them to seize opportunities and take on higher responsibilities in the organization in the near future for career enhancement. The employees have access to a platform called ‘Technology Blog’ to voice their opinions, seek clarifications or present suggestions and inputs on any issue related to any department or support system of the organization. This can be with reference to something as basic as food and transport to a more significant one like HR payroll policy and the head of departments constantly monitor the site to take necessary actions. Employees can even write to people at the senior management level and get their direct responses on vital issues.

The company has recently drawn up an action plan for its brand new activity called the ‘commitment culture.’ Mandavgane explains, “As an organization, we imbibe a culture which embodies ‘commitment focus,’ thus leading to timely delivery to external clients, as per realistic commitments made and expectations set by the business development teams, backed by timely inter and intra departmental support, all this is leading to greater revenues as we proceed on a fast track growth.” The following outline drawn up by 3i Infotech will help its employees to polish up their job skills in their given work profile.

• It encompasses all internal and external commitments
• Delivering on written, spoken and implied commitments
• Understanding geographical nuances
• Understanding responsibility and accountability
• Committing only what can be delivered
• Knowing the capabilities that exist in the organization, understanding other teams, engaging in greater teamwork
• If commitments cannot be met due to extraneous factors, communicating well in time
• Understanding impact on the other person of commitments made
• Following processes laid down by the organization which aid in building a commitment culture
• Professional commitment vs emotional commitment

The Cultural Integration Team (CIT) at 3i Infotech invites people for a rendezvous wherein individuals can propose feasible ideas to boost cultural integration among employees at all levels, which in turn aids in inter-group interaction across geographies thus also enabling employees to engage in fun at work. Events like various competitions arranged give the employees’ families an opportunity to display their talent and also act as a bonding factor between the company and its extended family. As a corporate social responsibility initiative, CIT organizes visits to charitable institutions like Asha Daan for orphaned children and aged people. Similarly, they ensure active participation in events like the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon for raising funds for various social causes.