Home & Hearth...

If interviews today were in any way similar to the good old days, most of our
Net-savvy lot would have remained gainfully unemployed. In an attempt to make
life easier for themselves, the techies have made life simpler for the HR
departments.

From their traditional function of hiring and firing, the HR people now have
more space to become creative.

Creative recruiting

Better known as Mali, C Mahalingam, Vice President HR Hewlett Packard India
joined HP with 20 years of hands-on experience. The current assignment came
after a five-year stint with Philips Software Center. He has also held senior
positions with Tata-IBM and Nuclear Power Corporation. He is a recipient of the
prestigious, Golden Jubilee Gold Medal for the Masters in Personnel Management
and Industrial Relations, Loyola College, Chennai. Mahalingam, better known as
Mali within HP, outlines his style of functioning given HP’s guidelines in
reshaping the HR department.

With the progress in technology, mundane aspects of HR have been taken care
of. "The HR department can be more productive and participate in the
strategy building team of the organization," says Mahalingam. He maintains
that the HP method of sieving the chaff is proven beyond doubt. Also, HP, he
says has a well defined " development road map" which enables business
focused training.

The merger effect

With the ongoing slowdown, most firms are resorting to
miserly tendencies in an attempt to save their skins. So, has a global giant
like HP too indulged in "cost cutting" internally? Mahalingam says
that though they had announced 10% pay cuts, it was voluntary and calls it a
"pay reduction rather than a cut." And in keeping with the HP way,
"the family responded in an overwhelming manner and helped save a sizeable
amount for the company" he says.

HR pointers

HR departments are essentially the ones in charge of making
the work place a home away from home. Every IT establishment has annual get
togethers in an attempt to bind all employees and their families. The agenda is
slightly more interactive at HP, says Mahalingam with personalized monthly
birthday bashes, coffee talks, and contests for the members to build team
spirit. Mali, who believes in communication and teamwork, stresses on continuous
communication "top down, bottom up, and circular"!

HP also has a well defined ‘relocation policy’ that
addresses every concern of employees who are placed in different parts of the
country. HP has no rule against married couples working together, however, the
company ensures that they do not occupy roles that are mutually influencing.

A global family with 80,000 strong members they have a very
thorough and systematic performance management program. Employees are given time
and resources to shape up and those who don’t are left behind.

The attrition rate at HP is amongst the lowest in the
industry at less than 10%. As for the irony of employees who left HP to join
Compaq, Mali asserts that family members who had shifted loyalty to Compaq will
not feel embarrassed at their second "home-coming" since the merger.
And on the question of increasing curbs on net usage by employees Mali contends
that " HP does not believe in policing."

Mali says that the HP family is on the whole an employee
friendly organization and an ideal place to start your career in.

Dhanya KrishnaKumar in
Delhi