1. INFOSYS: Winning on Stability

How can a company top a ‘Best IT Employer’survey when its employees

are less satisfied than their counterparts in other companies surveyed?

That Infosys is the preferred employer for over 25% of respondents and has

the lowest attrition rate could be one explanation.

To begin with, in the parameter of overall satisfaction, Infosys scores

6.17 on a scale of 10. This is lower than companies like Philips, Birla

Software, I-flex and Satyam Computer. Even for Infosys employees, the

perceived satisfaction of their peers is higher than their own. The

Infosys score for peer satisfaction is higher than HP, Wipro and TCS.

Excellent scores on some parameters and below-average scores on others

characterize the Infosys’ performance. That salaries at Infosys are

considered low comes as no surprise. Infosys ranks lowest on training

sponsorship, but the company makes up for this with the highest score on

perks (second only to IBM). As is widely known, Infosys has the largest

number of employees eligible for ESOPs, except that this perk is not

valued all that much any more.

In fact, the company has scored so low on the compensation parameter

that it would not have been at the top had it not been for redeeming

factors like a high composite score on satisfaction of different

attributes. Among these, Infosys scores highest on company image, work

climate and organizational culture. The company’s internal communication

is considered satisfactory. Employees also perceive that the quality of

professionals in the company is reasonably good. The disappointment lies

in the areas of both short-term as well as

long-term opportunities. The company’s rating on technology is far lower

than that of Aptech, Birla Software, NIIT, Pentamedia and Philips.

Not surprisingly, Infosys wins on stability, though facilities have

also helped. The company recruited over 5,000 new employees during the

period of April, 2000 and May, 2001, while 800-odd people left the company

during this period. Infosys has the lowest attrition rate.