1. People Practices @ HCL
Summary of findings & observations
EPGP 2009-10
30/Jan/2010
Instructor: Prof. K K Jain
Submitted by:
Abhishek Pangaria
Altaf Hussain Siddiqui
Rajendra Inani
Shikhar Mohan
Tarandeep Singh
Vaibhav Samant

2. Table of Contents
About HCL Technologies........................................................................................................................3
Human Resource Planning.....................................................................................................................5
1.1 Growth Plans – Verticals and Horizontals....................................................................................5
1.2 Adhoc Requirements...................................................................................................................5
Recruitment...........................................................................................................................................6
1.3 Internal Movement......................................................................................................................6
1.4 Referrals.......................................................................................................................................6
1.5 Alumni Network...........................................................................................................................6
1.6 External Search............................................................................................................................6
Selection and Placement.......................................................................................................................7
1.7 Interview Process.........................................................................................................................7
1.8 Employee Band and Salary Structure...........................................................................................7
1.9 Employee Placement...................................................................................................................7
Annual Performance Appraisal..............................................................................................................8
1.10 I4Excel........................................................................................................................................8
1.11 Performance Ratings..................................................................................................................8
1.12 Star Performer Award................................................................................................................9
1.13 360° feedback............................................................................................................................9
1.14 The TOP and the BOTTOM.........................................................................................................9
Training and Development..................................................................................................................11
1.15 Company Sponsored Certifications..........................................................................................11
1.16 Current / Future Role Specific Training....................................................................................11
1.17 Company Specific Training Requirement.................................................................................11
Life @ HCL...........................................................................................................................................12
1.18 Celebrations.............................................................................................................................12
1.19 Freedom to Choose / Innovate / Grow....................................................................................12
1.20 Day-to-Day Activities................................................................................................................13
Employee Relations.............................................................................................................................15
1.21 Exit Policy.................................................................................................................................15
1.22 HCL Alumni Network................................................................................................................15
1.23 Exigency Fund..........................................................................................................................16
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................17
1.24 Employee First Policy...............................................................................................................17

3. 1.25 Awards.....................................................................................................................................17
1.26 Being an HCL’ite.......................................................................................................................18
About HCL Technologies
HCL Technologies Ltd. (a part of HCL Group) is one of India’s leading Global IT services companies
providing software-led IT solutions, remote infrastructure management services and Business
Process Outsourcing (BPO) services. HCL has been in operation under this name since 1999 and
focuses on outsourcing. The company leverages its extensive global offshore infrastructure spread
across 60 locations and its global network of offices in 18 countries to deliver solutions across select
verticals like Financial Services, Retail & Consumer, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Hi-Tech, Telecom
and Media & Entertainment. HCL has established key business relationships with clients across
geographies belonging to Fortune 500/1000 category offering mix of IT and BPO services.
Figure 1 – Revenue break-up for HCL
In this paper, we will talk mostly about the people practices at the software export division of HCL
Technologies Ltd. (referred to as HCL in the rest of the document). However, it would be important
to note that as HCL Group, there are several practices that are common and streamlined across all
group companies like HCL Infosystems and HCL Comnet.
HCL being a global services company has significant challenges in managing diversity across all the
geographies that it operates in. These challenges are only compounded by the dynamic and often
volatile IT/ITES exports business in India.
The peaks and the troughs that IT/ITES industry has witnessed regarding people turnover, high salary
payouts, increasing expectations of employees etc. has been one of a kind in the world.
All these challenges combined together could not have been resolved / catered to using the
traditional HR practices. For this reason, we have seen enormous changes in the practices from
payment of convenience bills to crèches to ESOPs. The practices have evolved over time and
companies have learnt through creativity, facing the heat by themselves and by observing the
competitors.

4. HCL is one of the companies that have redefined the HR practices. It has gone as far as
communicating that its employees come even before its customers. And all this is not just glossed up
words… its reengineered HR practices in action.

5. Human Resource Planning
1.1 Growth Plans – Verticals and Horizontals
HCL has a combination of horizontal and vertical structure. The various technologies form the
horizontals and the domains that HCL operates in (e.g. Retail, Aeronautics) are the verticals. Each
horizontal and vertical prepares their annual plans and presents it to the board in the annual
strategy meet. Once the board approves the plan, each vertical and horizontal sit with their
respective HR teams to figure out the resource requirements and chalk out the details.
Most of the planned recruitments happen through engineering or management college campuses
across the country. The Corporate HR maintains relations with the top schools in the country to
facilitate the process thereby attracting the best talent available in the country.
1.2 Adhoc Requirements
AS we know, the IT industry is very dynamic; it is not always possible to work as per plan. For these
conditions, the HR teams have to work seamlessly with the technology teams to fulfil all resource
requirements in the best possible way.
Adhoc resource requirements are fulfilled using one or more of the options as described in the next
section.

6. Recruitment
1.3 Internal Movement
HCL has a policy of moving resources between verticals and horizontals if the employees to desire or
are non-billable. The employees are encouraged to inform their interests during their annual
appraisal process. HR captures this interest in a way that it can utilize this information for such
movements.
These movements benefit HCL in two ways:
1. The employees get to work on things that they consider interesting / important for their
future growth.
2. The resource utilisation increases as there are lesser number of non-billable or on bench
employees.
HCL has a well defined process of posting jobs on the internal portal. Employees can request
movement to any relevant position and post approval from present project team, they are allowed
to make the move.
1.4 Referrals
In case the internal movement is not possible or such skills are unavailable, HR teams send out
mailers to all its employees for suggesting candidates they deem fit for the job. Employee referral
has over a period of time been established as one of the best HR practices because of the benefits
that the organisations achieve through the process.
On the tangible side, referral process is cost efficient; and on the intangible side, the company does
not have to put in efforts to get the recruit going in the culture. As he already has friends, it
immediately becomes like an addition in the family.
1.5 Alumni Network
HCL has been a pioneer in the area of keeping a record of all its ex-employees. The system at HCL
works just like it does in some of the top b-schools. Alumni form an integral part of the organisation
structure and HCL family.
Right from the day of leaving HCL, the company ensures that alumni are kept informed about the
growth and the changes in the company. They are also invited to the HCL fests and functions which
keeps the threads connected.
When the HR finds a match of profile in the alumni database, they immediately send an invitation
for discussion. As the saying goes in HCL, one in every three HCL employees is an ex-employee of
HCL. They are fiercely loyal and dedicated to the organisation.
1.6 External Search
Like with all other technology companies, HCL also uses the traditional ways to attract talent.
Advertisements are flashed across leading dailies detailing out the job profile, location and band.
HCL also has memberships with job portals like naukri.com and jobsahead.com which assist them in
the search for the right talent.

7. Selection and Placement
1.7 Interview Process
The interview process at HCL is not very friendly. Often there is lack of coordination which leads to
mild irritations in the minds of prospective candidates. HCL definitely needs to improve this aspect
of the HR touch point.
However, having said that, HCL also has a very rigorous selection process. This involves multiple
rounds of interviews including technical, functional and HR. HR interaction is always the last
interactions the company has with the candidate before offering or declining the job.
HR at HCL has a very strong say in the selection process. They mostly scrutinise the candidate for his
adaptability in the HCL culture and work environment. Salary negotiations are also a part of this
discussion.
1.8 Employee Band and Salary Structure
During the HR discussion, the candidate who is being offered the job is explained his/her role.
Employee bands and salary structure are communicated along with the growth potential at
outstanding, average or below average performance.
This practice of openness helps the organisation in setting the right expectations from the very
beginning. Openness in all aspects of business is an important part of HCL culture. The prospective
candidates get a good feel of the same in the recruitment process.
1.9 Employee Placement
On the day of joining, the respective HCL offices display the names of the new members of HCL
family. This welcome note acts as a very warm gesture.
The employee is then introduced to his/her project team and a formal welcome meeting is
organised. The HR ensures that the desk allocated to the employee has a welcome greeting along
with a bunch of flowers.
Once the basic introductions have been done, the new employee goes through 2 to 5 day training on
HCL history, culture, structure, strategy, vision and other aspects. During these induction sessions
each new employee is assigned a buddy (existing HCL employee). The role of the buddy is to help the
new employee with all processes and practices at HCL for a month and get him acquainted to the
HCL way of life.
Soon after joining, the new employee is also assigned a mentor. The role of a mentor is to guide the
new employee in the right direction that satisfies both personal objectives as well as organisational
goals.

8. Annual Performance Appraisal
The performance appraisal process at HCL has undergone massive changes in the last decade. From
a totally manual system that took ages to now, a totally web based hierarchical appraisal system;
HCL has come a long way.
1.10 I4Excel
I4Excel is the performance appraisal portal at HCL which is activated once every year for all the
employees at one go. The employees are required to fill up the projects that were allocated to them
in the previous year and key in the roles they played. Details about various tasks completed during
the year have also to be keyed in by the employees. Employee has to provide a self-rating for each
task and also an overall rating for his performance.
Besides the tasks, the employee also has to analyse his performance on several other parameters.
For e.g. Critical Success Attributes section has a predefined set attributes for the role that the
employee is playing in the organisation. Employee has to again key in self-rating for all the attributes
along with citations from the previous year.
One of the sections in I4Excel is dedicated to understanding employee’s perspective about HCL, his
team (peers, subordinates and managers), growth opportunities etc. The employee can also decide
on the trainings that he deems fit for his growth within the organisation or that will bring value to
the work that he is performing.
Once completed, the document goes to the manager for his view on the employee. Once the
manager keys in his opinion, the appraisal is open for discussion. Both the employee and his
manager discuss all aspects of the work accomplished in the previous year and set targets/KRA for
the next year. Manager also awards a rating to the employee. If the employee is fully satisfied by the
review done by the manager, he can approve the same which leads to closure of the process.
However, if the employee is not satisfied with any of the aspect of appraisal, he can escalate the
discussion level to that of HR or the Business Unit Head. At this stage a meeting is organised
between all the parties and a mutual conclusion is drawn. This conclusion becomes a part of the
appraisal and it supersedes all prior ratings.
I4Excel has provided HCL with an extremely powerful and transparent tool for measuring
performance of employees. It is very rare that disputes remain unresolved in this process. Also, as
the system is transparent, there is no scope of foul play by any party involved.
I4Excel is also used to rate the efficiency, delegation skills, team building, dispute resolution skills
and other soft aspects of manager. These have proved very effective for the organisation as it has
been able to identify true leaders from people who abuse their positions.
Exhibit 1 is a demonstration copy of the I4Excel document/process.
1.11 Performance Ratings
Through the I4Excel, employees are given performance ratings which ultimately relate to the pay
scale revision or promotion in the company.

9. Outstanding – The rating is given to top 1% of the employees for their consistent and exemplary
performance. These employees should have demonstrated superior capabilities or should have gone
beyond the call of duty to perform tasks that have benefited the organisation in some way.
Good – The rating is given to employees who would have completed the tasks at the levels expected
by the organisation standards.
Meets Expectation – The employee has performed the tasks at the levels that are expected from the
role he has been assigned.
Below Expectation – The employee has not performed as per expectations of the role assigned to
him.
1.12 Star Performer Award
The Star Performer Award is the highest award for performance recognition at HCL. This award is
normally given to 2-5 in every thousand employees. The award is well recognised in the industry and
signifies consistent outstanding performance.
The award is given to employees who either have generated substantial business for HCL, have come
up with an innovation (product or service) that directly helps HCL achieve its goals or have won key
accounts.
1.13 360° feedback
The secret feedback process for employees at all levels is accomplished through this application. The
employees can rate their peers, managers and other HCL employees with whom they have
interacted during the course of the year.
The employees can also ask for feedback from specific set of employees for their work/conduct over
the last year.
This system is completely anonymous and each employee gets a report at the end of the process
explicitly mentioning the observations of others. The report is presented as images in exhibit 2.
1.14 The TOP and the BOTTOM
The appraisal process at HCL is very transparent. At the time of joining the employees are
communicated the policy that if they do not perform satisfactorily in two consecutive appraisal
cycles, their services will be terminated.
Under the I4Excel appraisal scheme, executing such rules becomes very easy and devoids any debate
on the issue.
In order to maintain the best talent and get rid of free riders, HCL on a routine basis chucks out
bottom 2% of the employees.
At the same time, HCL supremely recognises the contribution of the top performers by not only
giving them higher monetary compensation but also through role changes and fast track
promotions.

10. The employees classified under the fast track promotion get a load of benefits including education
loans, exquisite trainings etc. that would help them attain higher goals in future.

11. Training and Development
HCL has adopted a number of innovative methods of training and developing talent within the
organization. They have interestingly defined the training process as:
Five Methods – Computer Based Training, Instructor Led Training, Web Based Training, On the Job
Training and Blended Learning.
Four Tracks – In Campus, Fresher, On-going, Re-skill.
Three Streams – Technical, Domain, Behavioural.
Two Channels – Leaders Teach (an internal training program), Talent Transformation and
Intrapreneurship Development Team.
One Focus – Building a stronger HCL.
Of the many interesting posters on the walls in HCL, there is one on training which says…
“A team is as strong as its weakest link. TRAIN them. Make it strong.”
1.15 Company Sponsored Certifications
The company was again one of the first companies to incorporate the programme of technical /
functional certifications. These certifications could be done by any employee and HCL would bear
the cost for the same.
However, with the changing environment, it is presently part subsidised and fully refunded if the
employee spends certain number of months post the training in HCL.
1.16 Current / Future Role Specific Training
From the I4Excel, the HR identifies the training needs of each individual. Several trainings are
organised across the year for employees to take benefit of not only the requisite trainings but also to
help them achieve their personal goals and aspirations.
1.17 Company Specific Training Requirement
HCL is a huge organisation and as such has its own training needs. There are some trainings that are
made mandatory as a part of the process at HCL. Each employee is given a time frame to nominate
himself for the training and get certified. Some examples of such trainings are BS 7799, PCMM, Six
Sigma etc.

12. Life @ HCL
1.18 Celebrations
The HCL community is vast and diverse. To keep up with the integration between the employees,
HCL celebrates all festivals. Be it Diwali, Id, Christmas or Pongal, on each festival employees are
encouraged to wear their traditional attire. The office decoration complements the occasion and so
does the food served on that day.
Employees are given time out of their billing hours for such activities. This is very unlike other
organisations where you still have to clock requisite number of billing hours and all other
participation is additional. This gives an opportunity to employees to connect beyond their teams
and further the personal network.
Celebrations are also a part of everyday life at HCL. Be it a birthday, an anniversary, a promotion, an
onsite visit, a onsite return… all form a part of joy that is shared by all employees alike.
HCL also organises and annual employees meet where all employees are invited along with their
families. These meets are a melting pot for all socialising that happens at HCL, one that makes it a
huge, emotionally connected family.
1.19 Freedom to Choose / Innovate / Grow
HCL is a company driven by innovation. Since its inception, HCL has promoted creative thinking and
innovation at work. Continuing with the same spirit, employees are motivated to share new ideas
and concepts. If feasible and exciting, they are also given the freedom to execute the ideas by
themselves with a full funding from HCL. HCL Comnet and NIIT are a result of such innovative HR
practices.
Employees also have the freedom to choose their area of work basis their interests, irrespective of
the qualifications. The company gives a stipulated time to an employee to prove himself in the
desired role and if it for some reason does not work out as expected, the employee returns to the
role he was working on.

13. 1.20 Day-to-Day Activities
HCL has over a period of time constituted several applications that help employees in a number of
ways. From paying electricity bills to applying for visa to expense reimbursements, all are taken care
of through the use of technology.
Smart Service Desk – SSD is an automated query resolution mechanism for employees. SSD enables
employees raise their concerns for adequate redressal in just three clicks. For any issue and
transaction, the employees don't have to run to HR or finance or call them up, they can simply open
a ticket in the Smart Service Desk and the process starts on its own. The HR Services group has strict
deadlines in place to ensure that the issues are taken care of within a stipulated time. Every week a
service desk tracker is circulated to all employees showing the adherence or breaches.
The process serves two objectives: One, it helps HCL to tell its employees that the company listens to
and solves their problems faster than anybody else; and two, HCL does not have to increase the size
of its HR department. The system can handle four times the number of queries from employees with
the same number of people in the HR department.
Mitr – It lends helping hands to all HCLites and their family members by providing them expert
counseling 24X7 on any issue concerning them. This is a unique facility provided by HCL where
psychiatrists, family counselors, NGO’s etc. are all available at the call of the employee.
Genie – The personal assistant, the all purpose coordinator, the private shopper, the entertainment
guide, the travel planner, located within the office premises & programmed to take any request.
Genie can manage all trivial and not so trivial chores for HCL employees at a click of a button.
Catalyst – An employee driven team building program, catalyst enables much of the desired work-
life balance for his/her team by rolling out various activities in a year.
Natasha – Natasha is the team mascot for HCL's Employee HR Services group and communicates
daily with each employee on what's happening within the company in a language they understand
and in a format they can easily access.
U&I – It is a a unique two way dialogue mechanism between CEO and the employees. Vineet Nayar
himself spends 7 hrs. in a week replying to the queries raised by the employees ranging from policies
to strategy and more. U&I also started a reverse blogging, where in CEO posts questions to the
employees.
Directions – Directions is an annual company-wide event that takes strategic discussions out of
closed-door meetings to all employees. The CEO and the leadership team present at these meetings
share the vision and strategy of the company as well as respond to questions in interactive sessions.
Directions allows everyone in HCL to speak the same language and understand how their individual

14. contributions fit in a larger organizational framework. The CEO himself attends Directions events
across the world.

15. Employee Relations
1.21 Exit Policy
In keeping with the openness, HCL follows a technology driven process for separation. HCL realises
the importance of easy and cheerful exit in bringing the deserved employees back to the fold.
On the approval of resignation by the manager and the HR, employee gets access to the online
settlement process. All dues (library, advance payments, settlement, certifications etc.) are available
online. The employee can know instantaneously what the final settlement amount is going to be like.
The exit interview is elaborate with both HR and senior managers attending the same. The same is
also recorded as a document and all comments are discussed in the HR Team meeting with the
vertical or horizontal heads.
1.22 HCL Alumni Network
As discussed in the recruitment section, the alumni network at HCL forms one the main recruiting
agents in the process. HCL has invested substantial funds in order to make this network functional
and self sustaining. The alumni network now has its own web presence where ex-employees share
their lives both at HCL and outside it.

16. 1.23 Exigency Fund
HCL is not only sensitive to the needs of the employee but also to the needs of the family, especially
in case of untimely demise of an employee. HCL has a programme to create exigency fund with
equal contributions from the employees and the company. The employees can have certain amount
deducted from their salaries every month and HCL adds up similar amount from its side to the fund.
The family members are provided with funds ranging from Rs. 10 Lakhs to Rs. 20 Lakhs, depending
upon the need. Employees can further add their contributions to a particular family.
Watching these policies in action makes people believe that HCL would do the needful in case of any
emergency.

17. Conclusion
1.24 Employee First Policy
Having gone through the policies and practices at HCL, there would possibly no doubt that the
“Employee First” tag of HCL is no myth but a reality in practice. In fact it is one of the four pillars of
HCL’s strategy for growth in the current market scenario.
At the core of HCL’s Employee First philosophy is the concept of talent transformation—recognition
and enablement of competencies, as opposed to skilling employees in necessary technical, business
and behavioral areas. HCL follows a fivefold path of individual enlightenment – Support, Knowledge,
Empowerment, Transformation and Recognition. Technology is heavily used in this path resulting in
the enlightenment of nearly 50,000 employees. The strategy is based on the fact that employee
enlightenment transpires to customer enlightenment. HCL’s Employee First philosophy has been
captured by the Harvard Business School in a case study and is now being taught to future business
leaders in their ‘Strategy and Leadership’ classes.
The five pillars of Employee First Philosophy @ HCL
1.25 Awards
Best Employer in India – 2009
Best Employer in Asia Pacific – 2009
“Leaders in Human Capital” by Global Services 100 Survey in USA
Optimas Award for HR Innovation – 2008
CRF, UK Britain’s top employers
3rd, Employee Satisfaction Survey – 2008

18. 1.26 Being an HCL’ite
For those who have been a part of the journey @ HCL, it is a feeling of ownership and intense pride.
The fact that you see people talk passionately about an ex-company and still say “we” had such and
such system / process goes on to say more than what words can express.
HCL through its leadership has always cultivated change and innovations. There is relentless focus on
growth and profitability in all businesses but the fulcrum of this growth has always been the
employee.
To read more about “Employee First” philosophy, refer http://www.employeefirst.in/index.htm
Other references include:
1. wikipedia.com
2. citehr.com
3. businessweek.com
4. businesstoday.com
5. hewittassociates.com
6. dataquest.com
7. HCL.in
8. Telephonic interviews with past HCL employees and HR personnel
9. HCL Technologies Annual Report 2008-09