No Ice-cream Dispensers

The AC is shut off after 10 pm. He is sweating profusely, but
doesn’t care. He’s the only one left in the building, so, what’s new? He’ll
have to jog down seven floors. The elevators don’t work after office hours. It
doesn’t matter. What matters is that he can surf the net in peace…and that
too, at the company’s expense. Aha Nirvana!

If this sounds like someone you know, or better still, it
sounds like you, don’t be surprised. We are referring to a majority of the
techie population in India. Men and women who work best under pressure, who
thrive on challenges, breathe on new technology, have no qualms about wasting
their employers’ resources and are always looking for a job!

But this story is not about techies. It is about a Charted
Accountant, who reinvented himself as a techie 15 years ago, struck the right
cord among the whizkids and got it right. That’s Deepak Ghaisas, CEO (India
operations) and CFO of iFlex Solutions. To begin with, let’s set the record
straight on the Internet access issue. " It is not that we don’t provide
Internet access to employees. It is just that it is not available on every
desktop in the office. On each floor, we have a couple of computers that are
connected and any employee can use these as required. When you have a lease
line, this does not alter costs in any way, it is more a question of discipline
and increasing productivity" explains Ghaisas. Surely, no team leader will
disagree on this one!

No pampered pashas

In any case, at iFlex, it has been all about inculcating cost
discipline. The company was launched in 1993, in 4000 square feet of office
space on an Exim Bank property loan. "We could have continued paying that
loan for years, but I had always dreamt of a zero debt company and we promptly
paid off the loan within two years" he recounts. A tight control on the
finances has most definitely ensured that iFlex has remained debt free and is
also largely responsible for the company’s survival in the slowdown.

iFlex grew by 50% year on year, but the costs spiraled down.
And today, when every company is exploring ways to cut corners, Ghaisas says
there are no cost-cutting measures as there was no extravagance in the first
place. "Even as iFlex grew, the company never flaunted its wealth. On
campus health spas and ice-cream dispensers for employees were never part of the
plan" he says.

Ghaisas stresses that cost discipline has to manifest itself
across the board. He cites a recent instance where there was a proposal to
install the new Pentium chip on 300 odd machines in the organization. With a
de-centralized decision making process in place, managers were asked if they
wanted the new chip. Not surprisingly, everyone wanted it until they were
informed that the upgradation exercise would cost the company Rs 1 crore. Five
senior employees backed out. "It was a great feeling as we felt we had
succeeded in inculcating cost discipline" recalls Ghaisas. However just two
days later, Ghaisas happened to meet an Intel representative and managed to
strike a deal for getting the upgrade for a fraction of the cost. "I too
had this niggling feeling that these employees should be rewarded for being
sensitive towards the company’s welfare. We did go ahead and buy the
chips" he informs.

Growing up at iFlex

One can argue that such a feeling of responsibility towards
the company can only be expected from employees who have been around for long
and hold senior positions. Ghaisas agrees and cites continuity as one of the
strong pillars of the iFlex foundation. He proudly informs that there are 140
people on board who have completed five years with the company. For an eight
year old company in an industry, where right till the downslide began,
professionals lived by the adage of "If you stick on too long, you’ll be
considered part of the furniture", this is no mean task. Ghaisas cites the
example of a senior team member who recently completed 14 years with iFlex.
("He has been here right since the Citicorp days, "Ghaisas explains
adding, "The other day, I suddenly remembered that this was the day he had
joined us 14 years ago and just called him to tell him that I remembered. He was
really touched. He had thought the 15th year would be a big deal but had simply
not expected anyone to remember the date. It felt great when he told me that
this was his first job and had never even appeared for an interview
elsewhere!"

And it is sustaining this personal touch that iFlex is
grappling with as the company grows.

No more boarding passes

During the dream period of the IT industry, when software
companies were adding employees in droves (all "wanted yesterday" mind
you,) for projects that were already in the basket or others that were almost
there, IFlex ran its operation like a bank. "In a bank, if you increase the
payroll by 100 people, you need to justify it by proving there will be 1000 more
customers, or else it’s a major drain on costs" explains Ghaisas. Today,
when several companies are shedding their erstwhile signs of prosperity, iFlex
found there was nobody it could let go off, each of them was occupied anyway!

Little things matter

Today, with a staff strength of over 2000, Ghaisas says the
company’s biggest challenge is to maintain the personal touch while
interacting with employees. Ghaisas cites the example of TCS’ FC Kohli who is
known to have a sharp memory and is able to identify most of his company’s
employees by name. "Not everyone is blessed with a brilliant memory like
that and we have to strive to reach out to our people. To start with, I now make
it a point to have lunch in the office at least once a month (otherwise I go
home to eat). At least I get to meet everyone in the lunch room when they are
not poring over their work" he says.

It was in tune with the same thought that the company
organised a different kind of open house for its employees in April last year.
Instead of the staid suits’n question-answer routine, the core management made
an appearance in Mission Impossible attire. As the three gun toting core team
members arrived in Tom Cruise garb, complete with jackets and dark glasses, the
theme song blared - "It’s my life at iFlex, the preferred No 1 partner…"

"This really broke the ice and we found employees
letting their hair down, having seen that the bosses could have fun too"
smiles Ghaisas. Obviously, no cost cuts here!

The HR function has often been criticized for being too tied
up with the procedural aspect. As companies increasingly invest in outings,
team-building exercises, parties and other "feel good" measures,
whether such HR initiatives actually succeed in making employees feel special is
debatable.

HR is not just policy

So what’s bad HR? "Being nice to employees just
because you are supposed to" quips Ghaisas. He has an example at hand too.
Here goes, ‘‘I won’t name it, but there is a certain company which gives a
little gift to each employee on his birthday". A thoughtful gesture, one
might say. But here’s the catch – the birthday boy or girl is supposed to go
to the HR department to pick up the gift. "And then, the HR executive says
he’s a little tied up, asks him to come later. Finally, the gift is handed
over after two days. That’s simply thoughtless! Instead, we make sure that one
of us core team members walks up to the employee’s workstation and hands over
a bouquet on his birthday".

Small gestures like these do matter, but not enough to
attract or even retain talent in IT companies. Money, which remains one of the
evergreen factors responsible for a professional’s job switch, is well taken
care of. In fact, a recent survey by IDC India and Dataquest showed that iFlex
employees expressed a high level of satisfaction on the compensation front. The
opportunity to work on new technologies too, remains an attraction for an
employee seeking professional growth. In a company that is best known for a
ready to implement banking software solution, there are likely to be limited
opportunities to work on cutting edge technologies. "It is for this reason,
to primarily offer challenging technology to our employees that we have retained
our operations in the services sector" informs Ghaisas. Despite the success
of Flexcube, the company’s flagship product, even today, 44% of iFlex revenues
come from software services, albeit only from the banking and finance sector. No
compromise on losing focus. "Concentrate on your core competency, but
spread out over different geographies" - has been iFlex’s motto for
success. The company has operations in over 60 countries including 26 corporate
banks in Iceland! It recently bagged an order to implement Flexcube in TEBA
Bank, South Africa.

But besides opportunities to work in current technologies,
functional expertise is a must for iFlex employees. It is mandatory for
programmers here to have an intimate knowledge of banking and securities
regulations. In fact, a large number of the company’s employees were bankers
or banking operations managers. "It’s not just commitment to your own
career but commitment to the company you work for. If as a charted accountant, a
company secretary or a techie, you do not understand the business your company
is in, your contribution is incomplete" is what Ghaisas believes and has
followed in his own career. It sure seems to work!

Manjiri Kalghatgi in
New Delhi