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