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