The Top 10: 6 - Capgemini: A Touch of Europe

Capgemini is the only European company in the BES Top 20 list,
and its multicultural ethos and European corporate values seem to have rung a
bell with its employees in India, who still see things like job security as a
major parameter of judging an employer. European companies are less regimented
and have more process flexibility and offer greater scope for decentralization,
all of which are visible in Capgemini. These traits are strongly visible in the
policies and procedures devised at Capgemini.

The company also ranks very highly on organization culture and
work climate. It is one of the few companies in the list whose employee
satisfaction ranking (at #5) is way ahead of its HR ranking (#31). It is not too
surprising to see why, as the employees rate it highly when it comes to
individual work related areasappraisal and recognition of initiatives. Also,
the decentralized structure means better growth opportunity, at least at the
junior and middle levels. However, the fact that it ranks so low in HR yet
employees are satisfied means that it is doing something differently. Whether
these "different things" are real path-breakers or just novelty items
will be known from the sustainability of employee satisfaction over the years.
For the time being, it works well with the employees assertion that they
would recommend Capgemini as a preferred employer to their friends. A better
salary and compensation structure also seems to be a strong reason for people
joining the company.

Dr Chandrasekhar Sripada, head people relationship
High Ratings Industry rank Relevance of perks and benefits 6 Relevance of appraisal parameters 6 Recognition of initiatives and efforts 6 Low Ratings Fairness of business processes 10 Companys leadership is doing what is required for the companys growth 10 Response to employee issues and problems 12 Best Showing Policies and procedures 3 Organization culture/work climate 5 Salary and compensation 5

On the flip side, the biggest grouse employees have is about the
companys response time to their immediate issues or problems. One reason for
this could be the continuing space crunch the company is facing, and the
employees not able to get satisfactory answers to when exactly this problem
would be solved. This, however, is a direct impact of the rapid scaling the
company is witnessing; therein, lies Capgeminis apprehensionwhether it can
retain its European ethos and values when it reaches its planned 40,000
employees by 2010.