RECESSION AND HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT

….In today’s recession what changes have

taken place!!!

SUBMITTED TO :Dr. Shuchi Agrawal

SUBMITTED BY : Shruti Bhatia (70)

 INDEX

• Introduction to Recession

• Policies

• Religare Securities limited

 Major HR policies before Recession

 Changes during Recession

 Some of the malpractices

• Interview with HR managers

 ICICI Prudential

 Genpact

 HOV Services

• References
RECESSION

A Recession is a contraction phase of the business cycle. A recession is a decline in a

country's gross domestic product (GDP), or negative real economic growth, for two
or more successive quarters of a year.

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is the official agency in charge of

declaring that the economy is in a state of recession. It define recession as
“significant decline in economic activity lasting more than a few months,
which is normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial
production, and wholesale-retail sales”. For this reason, the official designation
of recession may not come until after we are in a recession for six months or longer.

Recession may be caused by Currency Crisis, Inflation, National/Government Debt,

Speculation ,War which may result to Bankruptcy, Reduced sales, Stock market
crash, Unemployment, Lower production etc. A recession normally takes place when
consumers lose confidence in the growth of the economy and spend less. This leads
to a decreased demand for goods and services, which in turn leads to a decrease in
production, lay-offs and a sharp rise in unemployment. Investors spend less as they
fear stocks values will fall and thus stock markets fall on negative sentiment.

In Current recession the main causes are US Sub Prime Lending, Tightening of
Liquidity, Rising oil prices and Capital Flights in emerging market. Due to this it
has become difficult for an individual to borrow, Unemployment has increased,
Profitability has declined, Stock Price fallen and consumer confidence has declined.
RBI took measures recently to reduce Repo and reverse repo rate so as to increase
money supply in the hands of people.

Recession not always result in losses but also benefits(opportunity) like, Lower
interest for borrowing, lower interest rates, lower inflation, home at lower price.
Some of the sector which has major impact of recession is financial services, export-
import sector, IT sector etc. But another company least affected by recession during
this phase also are Job portals like Naukri, Monster etc .
PERSONNEL POLICIES
Policies are broad guidelines as to how the objectives of a business are to be achieved. While
objectives provide the ends which a manager should try to achieve, policies provide the
guidelines which he should keep in view while achieving the ends. A policy is “an established
guiding canon premised on objectives, devised to govern the activities of the business
enterprise and from which the basic precepts of conduct are derived. A policy is designed to
guide the organizational members to deal with a particular situation in a particular manner. It
delimits the area within which a decision is to be made and assures that the decision will be
consistent with and contributive to business objectives.

A policy is a predetermined and accepted course of thought and action to serve as a guide
towards certain accepted objectives. In other words, we can say that policies are related to the
organization’s overall purpose and its objectives in the various areas with which its operations
are concerned. Personnel policies lay down the decision making criteria in line with the overall
purpose of the organization in the area of Human Resource Management. Personnel policies
are developed by the top management to assist the managers at various levels to deal with the
people at work. Thus, personnel policies can be interpreted as the recognized intentions of top
management with respect to efficient management of workforce. Some examples of personnel
policies are given below:

1. The employees will not accept any gift from any supplier for token gifts of purely nominal
or advertising value.

2. Each employee will proceed on at least one week vacation each year.

3. The employees will not accept any outside assignment.

Personnel policies cover the principles and rules of conduct governing the dealings of the
organization with its employees, and set the tone for the administration of personnel
programmes in a manner conducive to the attainment of the objectives of the organization. The
need for sound personnel policies stems from the fact that in order to achieve the overall
objectives of the enterprise, an atmosphere has to be created in which optimum and
spontaneous co-operation of the employees can be achieved.

Characteristics of a Policy
Policies tend to pre decide issues, avoid repeated analysis, and give a unified structure to other
types of plants. Thus, policies are not simple statements; they have certain purpose behind
them. A statement should have the following characteristics in order to be accepted as a policy.

(i) Policy is an expression of intentions of Top Management: It should present the

principle that will guide the organization actions. Most of the policy statement reflect
a faith in the ethical values of the society.

(ii) Policy is stated in Broad Terms: The purpose of a policy statement is to serve as a
guide to practice now and in future; so it should be stated in the broadest possible
terms.

(iii)Policy is long Lasting: A policy is enduring in nature as it is formulated after taking

into account the long-range plans and needs of the organization.

(iv) Policy is developed with the Active Participation of all Executives: Policy
formulation calls for serious thinking and participation of all executives. Policies live
longer than people who frame them. Basic organizational policies are framed in such
a manner that they apply to all members of the organization alike from top to bottom.
The policies should also get approval of the highest authority in the organization.

(v) Policy is in Writing: Policies take concrete shape when they are put into writing. This
will ensure uniformity in application. In case of disagreement at lower levels, written
policy serves as the final reference point. Written policies ensure continuity and
greater conformity.

(vi) Policy is linked with Objective: A policy is derived from specific objectives and it
facilitates their achievement.

TYPES OF POLICIES

A business enterprise may have the following kinds of policies:

(i) Functional Policies: Policies may be set up in the key areas of the enterprise like
production, purchase, finance, personnel and marketing. Such policies are knows as
functional policies.

(ii) Internal Policies: Internal policies include those initiated by managers at various levels
to guide the subordinates. Such policies are closely related to the organizational
objectives. They differ in their nature and scope depending upon the level of
 management where they have been formulated. They can be sub-classified into three
categories.

a) Basic Policy: It is used primarily by the top managers and is very broad in scope. It
is applicable to the organization as a whole.

b) General Policy: It affects the middle level managers and is more specific than a
basic policy. It is used mainly by the middle level managers.

c) Departmental Policy: It is highly specific in nature and is applicable at the lowest

level of the management to provide a guide in the day-to-day activities.

(iii)External Policies: External or imposed policies include those policies arising to meet
the various pressures and requests of forces outside the enterprise such as
government, trade unions and trade associations.

(iv) Appealed policies: Such policies are formulated on the basis of the suggestions and
complaints received from the employees. This happens when the subject matter of a
suggestion or complaint is exceptional in nature and is not covered by the existing
policies. Such policies are sometimes incomplete. So it is better to replace them by
the originated policies.

(v) Stated or explicit policies: Such policies are usually in writing and form a part of
enterprise manual. They are definite and generally rigid.

(vi) Unstated or implied policies: These policies are not recorded in writing even though
they are followed at every level. Sometimes they are not stated orally but are
inferred from the behavior of the managers. That is why they are known as implied
policies. An implied policy is generally flexible.

NEED AND BENEFITS OF PERSONNEL POLICIES

A policy is a guide for repetitive action in major areas of business. It is a statement of

commonly accepted understanding of decision making criteria. Policies are set up to achieve
several benefits. By taking policy decisions on frequently recurring problems, the top
management provides the guidelines to lower level managers. It will permit decisions to be
made in similar situations without repeating the reasons and expensive analysis required
initially to state the policy or make the decision. Policies help managers at various levels to act
with confidence without the need of consulting the superiors every time. This will also ensure
promptness in action.
The benefits of policies are as follows:

(i) By making policy decisions on frequently recurring problems, the top management
provides guidelines to the lower level managers.

(ii) Policies help managers at various levels to act with confidence without the need for
consulting the superiors every time. This also ensures promptness of action.

(iii)Policies facilitate better administrative control as they provide the rational basis for
evaluating the results.

(iv) By setting up policies, the management ensures that decisions made will be
consistent and in tune with the objectives and interests of the enterprise.

(v) Policies secure coordination and integration of efforts in accomplishing the

organizational objectives.

(vi) Policies save time and effort by pre-deciding problems in repetitive situations.
They save the management from the botheration of repeating the expensive analysis
required to take the policy every time.

LIMITATIONS OF PERSONNEL POLICIES

Personnel policies may suffer from some limitations which are as follows:

(i) Policies are repeatedly used plans: They bring about rigidity in operations as they leave
no room for initiative by the subordinates.

(ii) Policies may not cover all the problems: Sometimes, unforeseen situations arise which
are not covered by the existing policies.

(iii) Policies are no substitute for human judgement. Policies only delimit the area
within which decisions are to be made.

(iv) Policies may not be ever lasting as they lose their utility with the changes in the
internal and external environment of the business.

RELIGARE SECURITIES LIMITED

.
Religare Enterprises Limited (REL), is one of the leading integrated financial services groups of

India. The company offers a diverse bouquet of services like

• Equities

• Commodities

• Insurance broking

• Wealth management

• Portfolio management services

• Personal financial services

• Investment banking

• Institutional broking services

The services are broadly clubbed across three key business verticals- Retail, Wealth

management and the Institutional spectrum. Religare Enterprises Limited is the holding

company for all its businesses, structured and being operated through various subsidiaries.

VISION - To build Religare as a globally trusted brand in the financial services domain and

present it as the ‘Investment Gateway of India'.

MISSION - Providing complete financial care driven by the core values of diligence and

transparency.

BRAND ESSENCE - Core brand essence is Diligence and Religare is driven by ethical and
dynamic processes for wealth creation
 MAJOR HR POLICIES BEFORE
RECESSION .
1. LEAVE POLICY : As per Religare Policy, An employee can avail following leaves in a year
starting 1st Jan ending 31st March which must be sanctioned(unless it’s not an emergency)

• MATERNITY LEAVE: Maternity leave is provided as per provisions of the Maternity

Benefit Act. All female employees who have completed at least 80 days of service will be
eligible for maternity leave. Individuals will be entitled to a maximum of 12 weeks of
maternity leave with pay of which not more than six weeks can be taken before
childbirth. However the entire period of 12 weeks can be utilized post delivery.

• CASUAL LEAVE: Casual leave is restricted to a maximum of three days on one

occasion. In case the individual remains absent beyond three days of casual leave the
entire leave will be adjusted against annual leave. Casual leave cannot be combined
with any other kind of leave. Casual leave cannot be accumulated and will lapse at the
end of the year.

• SICK LEAVE: All Sick leaves in excess of 3 days should be supported by medical
certificate from a Registered Practitioner. Sick leave can be combined with Annual leave.

• PRIVILEGE LEAVE: Privilege leave may be accumulated to a maximum of 120 days at

any time. Privilege leave can be encashed on the basis of Basic salary. Privilege leave
can be combined with sick and maternity leave. It can be availed only after completion
of at least 6 months in the org. In the event of a probationer requiring privilege leave for
compelling reasons, clearance must be obtained from Regional Head. Such leave will be
debited against prospective entitlement. In case employee leaves before earning that
leave the wages paid for such period will be recovered at the time of settlement.

LEAVE RECORD
HR will maintain the leave record in Delhi and designated persons at various locations would
send the monthly attendance data along with leave applications to Corporate HR. Details of
leaves with leave applications availed by employees will be sent to HR by Branch heads at the
end of the month.

LEAVE RULES
In case of some emergency where prior sanction is not possible, information on telephone/in
writing must be sent to the concerned authority. Any absence from office for more than 2 days
without any intimation will lead to disciplinary action.

If an employee is absent from the services of the company without prior written permission or
intimation or overstay the sanctioned leave for 7 consecutive days , he/she will be deemed to
have abandoned the service voluntarily without giving due notice and the name will be struck
off the rolls. It must be understood that leave is granted at the discretion of the management.
Employees must be prepared to adjust their leave in keeping with the exigencies of their work.
Leaves cannot be claimed as a matter of right where the exigency of service so
requires.

2. LOCAL CONVEYANCE POLICY

3. NEW HEALTH INSURANCE POLICY: Religare cover its employee under Group Health Policy
with New India Assurance Co. Ltd. It covers not only its employees but also their dependents
(as mentioned). The policy helps employees to take care of heavy financial burden of
treatment in hospitals for illness, disease or accident involving surgery or not.
The Salient Features of the Policy are given below
• The claim will only be admissible when there is a hospitalization for a minimum
period of 24 hours. However, this time limit is not applicable to specific treatments
where due to technological advances hospitalization is required for less than 24 hours
only and surgical procedure is involved for e.g. Cataract operation.

• The expenses payable includes Room, Boarding & Nursing Expenses as provided by the
hospital/nursing home including registration and service charges, Surgeon, Medical
Practitioner, Consultants and Specialists fees respectively.

• The pre-existing condition means a medical condition which existed on the date of cover
in the policy for which insured employee received medical advice and treatment or
symptoms are such for which an ordinary person would seek medical advice or
treatment. Hence if any claim is arising due to said conditions will be payable subject to
certain conditions. However, there is waiting period of 30 days for new joinees from
addition in the policy (which happens on 6th of every month).

• The treatment taken in hospital/nursing home arising from or traceable to pregnancy,

child birth, including normal caesareans section only for first two children with maximum
sum insured of Rs 50,000 per case is admissible . However, there is waiting period of 9
months for new joinee from the day of addition in the policy.

• The new born baby is covered from day one and available sum insured for it will be
shared from available sum insured for maternity coverage i.e. Rs 50,000.

• Relevant Medical Expenses incurred during period upto 30 days prior to hospitalization
on disease/illness/injury sustained will be considered as a part of claim.
• Relevant Medical Expenses incurred during period upto 60 days after hospitalization on
disease/illness/injury sustained will be considered as a part of claim.

• The claimant will receive Rs.1000/- per day for hospitalization period in addition to an
admissible hospitalization expenses.

4. OTHER BENEFITS

MARRIAGE GIFT

All employees of the company, on the occasion of theirs or their ward’s marriage, shall be
given a gift in the form of a gift Cheque worth Rs. 5100/-. The HR department shall
coordinate the exercise and get the gift Cheque, flowers and a greeting card signed either
by the Functional Head or the Managing Director.

LATE SITTINGS

• As far as possible, late sitting at work must be avoided. Still, however, if employees are
required to overstay at work beyond two hours, they will be provided local conveyance
reimbursement at the rate of Rs. 2.50 per k.m. to the maximum of Rs. 50/- per day.

• In case employees are required to attend office on an off-day, they shall be eligible for
claiming reimbursement of Local Conveyance at the rate of Rs. 2.50 per kilometer to the
maximum of Rs. 100 /- per day. Besides, the employee shall also have the provision of
claiming Meal expenses @ Rs. 30 /- per day.

• These shall be applicable only till the Executive grade and not above that.

5. MEDICAL POLICY
Medical Reimbursement: The medical reimbursement is applicable to all the employees
in the Executive Grade & above.

GUIDELINES
a. Actual medical expenses will be reimbursed against receipts/vouchers for all the
employees and their family. The family includes:
• Spouse and dependent children
• Dependant Parents (In case of male and unmarried female employees)
b. An individual can claim medical reimbursement from the date of joining on pro-rata
basis.

c. Employees in Grade Executive & M1 have an option to include for medical

reimbursement in the remuneration (Cost to Company). The entitlement depends on the
grade of the employee.

The employee can choose from the options which are mentioned below

S. Earlier New Amount(per

No Grade Grade annum)
1 Jr. Executive L8 NIL
2 Executive L7 5,000
3 Executive L6 7,500
4 M1 L5 10,000
5 M2 L4 15,000
6 M3 L3 15,000
7 M3 L2 15,000
8 M4 L1 15,000

6. EXIT POLICY

• Incase employee plans to leave the organization, he must inform the organization 45
days before his date of leaving (except emergency case ) with the written reason for
leaving the organization.

• If employee has been terminated than he must return all the organization belongings
within a period of 7 days. If he doesn’t comply with it he may be liable to legal actions.
He would be payed his dues only when he returns these belongings.
CHANGES DONE IN HR & BUSINESS POLICY IN THIS RECESSION PHASE

1. Exit policy has changed. Now employee requires giving only 7 days time period to leave

the organization.

2. Employees job is directly proportional to the business he gets. Each employee must get

business minimum up to 1.5 times the salary he or she is taking. If he or she doesn’t do

so, he must be given warning letter for showing performance for next 2 months; after

that he doesn’t perform, than he may be terminated.(This policy is verbal to all

managers not in written)

3. For the local conveyance reimbursement only L8, L7 and L6 category employees are

applicable.

4. No leaves are sanctioned by managers. Since we are hard pressed with time and cant

employ back up for every employee for a period of 6 months no leaves must be

sanctioned.

5. Office has been shifted from Nehru Place to Noida. Bus conveyance has to be paid by

employees @ Rs 1,500 per employee.

6. Benefit of long working hours has been discontinued for the period of 6 months.

7. All employees of the company, on the occasion of theirs marriage, shall be given a gift in

the form of a gift Cheque worth Rs. 4,500/-.

8. Company’s Laptop and Mobiles are shared by two to three employees. Two laptops are

available incase any employee requires it at same time.

SOME OF THE MALPRACTICES/PRACTICES NOTICED BY US

1. In one of the place, regional head wanted to remove three people under him who were
not signing resignation on their own. But their performance was very low. And they were
in regional head A (name not known as HR person were talking about this case
informally) team for about an year and was the reason for regional heads bad
performance. Regional head told watchman not to allow these three personnel in the
organization for about a week’s time and hence issued them notice for termination of
their services. There case is now handled by legal department of HR.

2. In other case, one of the manager asked HR executive the way he can throw out an
employee who keeps on using employees resources for his personal use thereby wasting
his time in organization. For this HR advised to give a month notice with proof to
employee telling him he need to improve his acts or else he may be terminated

3. In another case a female employee threatened his male manager through an outsider
that he needs to stop his acts or else acid may be thrown. This was due to manager’s
pressure on his team for showing performance. Employee was terminated as soon as the
information was provided to HR and police was informed for the same. This case is
fought by Legal department on the behalf of manager but here employee has not filed
case on real scenario. She filed case saying that his manager misbehaves.

4. Employee’s bonus due on November has been delayed to March.

5. Shifting of employees to Noida office resulted in resignation of 27 employees. This

helped organization to downsize but in this process it also lost 3 of its best employees.
Bus service was provided after a months time so that people themselves leave and
hardworking ones remained with organization.
 6. In order to improvise on its one of the SBU Fortis sales, they provided discount of 10% on
billing of medicine and 5% on other items.

7. There were rumors that high management level employee’s salary may be cut down to
10-20%.

Result of these policies

• EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION : Employee Satisfaction was very low. One of the employee
told that if given a chance she will move to other organization even if it pays her equal
salary or low job profile. She was looking for an opportunity outside the organization

• LEGAL CASES: Legal department has to handle some of the cases in which their
managers were at mistake. Their burden has increased during this period.

• TURNOVER RATE: Turnover rate has increased. Though it is taken positively during this
cost cutting phase but thinking long term is not at all a good idea because it is also
incurring huge cost on recruiting by paying to consultants to cover some of the
important positions.
INTERVIEW WITH HR MANAGERS OF

i. ICICI PRUDENTIAL

ii. GENPACT

iii. VOH SERVICES

 ICICI PRUDENTIAL

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between ICICI Bank - one of India's
foremost financial services companies-and Prudential PLC - a leading international financial
services group headquartered in the United Kingdom. Total capital infusion stands at Rs. 47.80
billion, with ICICI Bank holding a stake of 74% and Prudential plc holding 26%.

It began its operations in December 2000 after receiving approval from Insurance Regulatory
Development Authority (IRDA). Today, its nation-wide team comprises of over 2000 branches
(inclusive of 1,100 micro-offices), over 258,000 advisors; and 24 bank assurance partners.

ICICI Prudential is the first life insurer in India to receive a National Insurer Financial Strength
rating of AAA (India) from Fitch ratings. For three years in a row, ICICI Prudential has been
voted as India's Most Trusted Private Life Insurer, by The Economic Times - AC Nielsen ORG
Marg survey of 'Most Trusted Brands'. As it grows its distribution, product range and customer
base, it continues tirelessly to uphold its commitment to deliver world-class financial solutions
to customers all over India.
VISION: To be the dominant Life, Health and Pensions player built on trust by world-class
people and service. This it hopes to achieve by:

• Understanding the needs of customers and offering them superior products and service
• Leveraging technology to service customers quickly, efficiently and conveniently
• Developing and implementing superior risk management and investment strategies to
offer sustainable and stable returns to our policyholders
• Providing an enabling environment to foster growth and learning for its employees
• And above all, building transparency in all its dealings

The success of the company will be founded in its unflinching commitment to 5 core values -
Integrity, Customer First, Boundary less, Ownership and Passion. Each of the values
describes what the company stands for, the qualities of its people and the way it works. It
believes that it is on the threshold of an exciting new opportunity, where it can play a
significant role in redefining and reshaping the sector. Given the quality of its parentage and
the commitment of its team, there are no limits to its growth
VALUES: Every member of the ICICI Prudential team is committed to 5 core values: Integrity,
Customer First, Boundary less, Ownership, and Passion. These values shine forth in all what it
does, and have become the keystones of its success.
RAHUL BALAKRISHNAN, HR AND CONSULTING MANAGER, ICICI
PRUDENTIAL, NOIDA BRANCH

1.Because of recession how many people have left the organization till
now? Was it on their own or the company decided to reduce the number
of employees and what are the reasons behind it?

 Employees have not yet been fired or have left the organization because of recession.
But by end of March 2009, you may see few employees losing their jobs.

2. We have heard that in this recession time also almost 63% of Indian firms
are still recruiting. Are you amongst them?

 No, we have not recruited employees during this recession period. We are aware of the
situation and won’t like to penalize good employees at this time. However we are into
cost cutting measures and worst performers have to be removed since they are more of
liability than an asset.

3. Why haven’t you recruited employees in this recession period?

 Recession is a very critical phase and we don’t want to take risk by recruiting new
employees because recruiting new employees means incurring extra costs and at this
point it’s not feasible to incur costs. Also new employees may take time to go about
doing the work, so we decided that experience employees can take more burdens during
this time period. But, we will start recruiting from April onwards as there’s a need of
more employees.

4. Do you think the role of HR manager will change looking at the current
scenario? What do you personally feel would be a good strategy to tackle
recession?

 Yes, HR manager’s role has changed. We are currently thinking to retrench the bottom
20% of the employees at end of March 2009. Earlier it was that more employees will do a
certain amount of work. But, now by cutting down on the number of employees, the
 strategy is to have more amount of work done by less number of employees. So,
employees are expected to do more amount of work. They will be entrusted with more
responsibilities.

5. Don’t you think that this will have a negative impact on the performance
of the employees?

 No, I think this will make employees work harder which will in turn benefit the company.
Nobody wants to lose their job in this recession period because finding another job will
be very difficult.

6. What about promotions? Are employees getting promoted?

 Yes, the employees are getting promoted as before however salary is not increasing at
similar rate.

7. How long employees have to serve the notice period.

 Employees usually have to serve one month notice period.

8. As you said employees are required to take additional work. Won’t the
existing employees feel overburdened by the amount of work they will
have to do?

 Yes, they will be overburdened, but they know that to keep company in a good position
this is required.

9. According to you when exactly did recession started actually affecting

your company?

 Recession began affecting us in the beginning of September and as it affected the whole
world, it also affected our company. People were not interested in getting insurance and
 also there were rumors that ICICI will become bankrupt. Yes, so this all did affect the
company.

10. What type of measures you are taking to tackle /overcome this problem?

 Employee’s mobile expenses have been reduced from Rs 1500 to Rs. 1300. As a result
Rs. 2crores have been saved in the last 6 months.

 Instead of international holidays to countries like Bangkok and Singapore which were
offered to employees once a year, now domestic holidays are offered to employees to
Mumbai, Goa and other parts of India twice or thrice a year. This has led to reduction of
costs as international holidays are 5-6 times costlier than domestic holidays. Also
employees are rewarded now 2-3 times a year in the form of holidays as compared to
once in previous years. Hence employees feel that they are rewarded and looked after
by the company well.

CONCLUSION FROM ABOVE INTERVIEW

There HR Policies involves cost cutting but during this situation also they are giving promotion
with hikes which shows they value their good employees. In their cost cutting measures they
have reduced expenses which can be avoided like mobile expenses and international trips.
 GENPACT

Genpact is a leader in the globalization of services and technology and a pioneer in managing
business processes for companies around the world. The Company combines process expertise,
information technology and analytical capabilities with operational insight and experience in
diverse industries to provide a wide range of services using its global delivery platform.
.

Genpact provides a wide range of services, including Finance & Accounting, Collections and
Customer Service, Insurance, Supply Chain & Procurement, Analytics, Enterprise Application, IT
Infrastructure and Management.

Its goal is to help its clients to improve the ways in which they do business by continuously
improving their business processes through Six Sigma and Lean principles and by the
innovative use of technology. As a service provider, it strives to be a seamless extension of its
clients operations. .

Genpact manages complex processes in multiple geographic regions, delivering its services
from a global network of more than 30 operations centers in 12 countries. Its global delivery
centers are located in India, China, the Philippines, Romania, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands,
Spain, Morocco, Mexico, Guatemala and the United States.

It has a unique heritage. It built its business by meeting the demands of the leaders of the
General Electric Company (GE) to increase the productivity of its businesses. It began in 1997
as the India-based business process services operation of GE Capital. .

Its leadership team, processes and culture have been deeply influenced by its eight years as a
captive operation of GE. Many elements of GE’s success-the rigorous use of metrics and
analytics, the relentless focus on improvement, a strong emphasis on the client and innovative
human resources practices-are the foundations of its business.
It became an independent company in 2005 and, since then, it has grown rapidly, continued to
expand its range of services and diversified its client base.
RADHIKA GOYET, HR MANAGER, GENPACT, NEW DELHI

1. Because of recession how many people have left the organization till now?
Was it on their own or the company decided to reduce the number of
employees and what are the reasons behind it?

 In our company, nobody is fired. This is our company’s policy, if a process is taken back,
then the employees in that process are relocated in other processes. Three years back, we
had a Dell Process, which was taken back. The employees of Dell process were relocated in
other processes of the company.

2. We have heard that in this recession time also almost 63% of Indian
firms are still recruiting. Are you amongst them?

 No new process has yet come to Genpact, so there’s no recruitment as of now. The
recruitment depends on the businesses our company can get. More people will be recruited
if we can get new business.

3. Do you think the role of HR manager will change looking at the current
scenario? What do you personally feel would be a good strategy to tackle
recession?

 Yes, the role of HR manager has changed in the current scenario. It would be good not
to throw out employees. Also as our company’s growth depends on the number of
businesses it gets. So, in case there are excess employees it would be apt to keep them on
payroll till we get a new business.

4. How much long is the employee’s resignation period?

 Generally employee has to serve one month after giving resignation. He has to serve one
month notice period before leaving the organization. An employee can take back his
resignation letter anytime during the time of serving his notice.

5. What about promotions? Are employees still getting promoted?

 All the promotions have been stopped for now. The promotions have been shifted three
months further and in some processes 6 months further.

6. Has there been cut in the salaries of the employees?

 No, there hasn’t been any salary cut this year The salaries of employees have remained
the same as before. The yearly increment in the salary of 10% -15% has not been given.
Bonuses have also not been given. Incentives have remained the same.

7. Won’t the existing workers feel overburdened by the amount of work

they will have to do?

 In recession period, our workload has become less. As most of our businesses are of U.S.,
and in recession U.S. has been affected a lot, so there’s no burden of work on employees as
of now.

8. According to you when exactly did recession started actually affecting

your company?

 Recession started affected our company from the month of August as the amount of
work which we were getting daily from U.S. became less.
 9. What type of measures you are taking to tackle /overcome this
problem? What strategies should company adopt in recession?

 Outside every process, there were at least 3 telephones. Employees used to talk for
hours on phones. But, now they have removed all the telephones.

 There were parties every three months, which now do not take place. At the New Years
Eve, there were parties in night clubs and discos, which also didn’t happen this time.

 Computers have to be switched off and the last person before leaving the bay should
make it a point to switch off the lights and fans.

CONCLUSION OF ABOVE INTERVIEW

Genpact has business focused approach. But when met with employees they were also bit
unsatisfied as they were told to come in organization when they don’t have any thing much to
do. Besides this there HR policy is focused to some extent on its employees more than
organization. Rather than cutting cost through retrenching employees they focused more on
except employees where can we reduce cost. In comparison to other organization there
employees were happier than other organization interview and visited.
HOV SERVICES
HOV Services, Inc is a provider of business process and knowledge process outsourcing
solutions. HOV Services is a leader in the delivery of flexible, end-to-end outsourcing solutions.
As a strategic partner and leader in the Business Process and Knowledge Process outsourcing
marketplace, it is focused on improving financial and operational performance for its
customers. Its clients include over 50 percent of the FORTUNE 100 and are some of the largest
companies in the industries served. It combines over 20 years of industry experience with
Right Shore delivery centers strategically located in India, North America, China and Mexico
with over 12,000 associates working together to Exceed Expectations of its clients by assisting
them in reaching their strategic business goals.

They have received a ranking of 15 on the International Association of Outsourcing

Professionals (IAOP) Global Outsourcing 100 list for 2008. This is the third consecutive ranking
for HOV Services within the top 25, and moves HOV Services up nine positions from last years
ranking.

HOV Services strives to exceed expectations for every one of its customers. As a leader in
Global Business Process Outsourcing, it develops fully integrated solutions that combine best-
of-breed technology, leading-edge infrastructure and domain expertise to give you the most
streamlined process available. Its end to end solutions for healthcare, banking and publishing
and our e-content management solutions coupled with workflow based large volume
transaction processing services set standards for the industry. HOV Services applies LEAN Six
Sigma techniques to improve quality, reduce cost and improve cycle time of your business
processes.
BHAVANA SHARMA, DGM, HOV SERVICES, CHENNAI
1. Because of recession how many people have left the organization till
now? Was it on their own or the company decided to reduce the number of
employees and what are the reasons behind it

 No employee as yet has left the organization or been fired because of recession.

2. We have heard that in this recession time also almost 63% of Indian
firms are still recruiting. Are you amongst them?

 The company is still recruiting many employees. From January till now, nearly 1400
employees have been recruited. The companies have got many new businesses and
processes, during this period, so we require more employees.

3. Do you think the role of HR manager will change looking at the current
scenario? What do you personally feel would be a good strategy to tackle
recession?

 Yes, HR manager will have to come up with different ways to tackle recession. What I
personally feel is that a performance mechanism has to be followed. For this, our company
has already laid out strategy. The company has now become strict on performance.
Employees would be evaluated on their performance. They would be rated on a scale of 1 to
10. Those employees who would get rating anywhere between 6 to 10 would mean are
doing good job. The rest who would be getting below 6 need to improve their performance,
and if they further continue to be in the ratings ranging between 1 to 5, then the company
has no other option but to tell them to find another job for themselves. They are not fired
immediately but are given two months time to either improve or find another job.

4. As you have already said that those employees who don’t perform well
will be asked to find another job. Don’t you think that this will have a
negative impact on the existing employees?
  No, I don’t think that this will have a negative impact on the performance of the
employees that the employees will be scared or disturbed. Every employee knows the
importance of performance. If you perform you stay, otherwise you are out.

5. What about the promotions of the employees. Are they getting

promoted?

 Promotions are taking place. Employees are getting promoted as and when it is due. As
it happens in the case of promotions, when an employee moves on to the next higher level,
there’s a hike in the salary. But after recession, that’s not the case, employees are getting
promoted, but with no increase in salary.

6. Won’t the existing workers feel overburdened by the amount of work

they will have to do?

 In fact I think that this is an opportunity for the employees to show what they are
capable of, how they can handle stress and extra work that they are supposed to do in
times of recession.

7. How long an employee has to serve the resignation period?

 At the lower level, employee has to give prior notice and serve one month before leaving
the organization. But at management level, generally its three months. But, the period to be
served also depends on the amount of holidays employee has taken and it gets adjusted
with the notice serving period.

8. According to you when exactly did recession started actually affecting

your company?
 Recession started affecting the company from August end. But, it hasn’t affected the
company as such that there’s a need to retrench employees. There’s been cut in expenses
and other spendings.

9. What type of measures you are taking to tackle /overcome this

problem?

 Before recession, there was lavish spending on training and development of employees.
External trainers were hired on temporary basis and were paid handsomely. But after
recession, the company has stopped inviting external trainers because they cost a lot of
money.

 The employees were send to institutions such as IIM’s where they had training sessions.
A large number of group of employees were send to IIM’s. This costs a lot to the company as
travelling, food and staying expenses were to be borne out by the company. Also
sometimes, experienced and knowledgeable professionals from IIM’s were invited to take up
sessions with the employees. In the company. But, it costs huge amount to the company,
and they took anywhere between Rs. 50000 to Rs. 60000 apart from other expenses like
food, travelling and staying expenses.

 So, after recession, the company decided to send only a single employee to IIM’s, who
would get trained there and would come back and train the other employees. This way they
would be able to reduce their costs of inviting professionals as well as travelling, food and
staying cost would be cut.

 Also earlier, there were four trainers for four different shifts. But, now what the company
has done is that they have prepared a training module. Now, there would be only one
trainer for a shift who would give training. And in rest of the shifts where the trainer would
not be there, then the training would be given by Project Leader of the group, through the
module prepared for training purposes.

 Also, earlier employee’s salaries at higher level were hiked by 20% - 25% annually. But,
now it’s hiked by 8% - 10% only annually.
  Earlier quarterly, performance bonus was given to employees, which is not given now.

 There used to be group dinners, lunches, outings with team member, which doesn’t
happen anymore.

 Also, the bench has been dismantled. Those employees, who do not have any project on
their hands, have been loaded off.

 Earlier employees were sent to different countries like USA and UK to meet clients and
attend meetings. But, now everything is done through video conferencing

CONCLUSION FROM THIS INTERVIEW

This company is in better position since recession didn’t affect its business. However it has set
certain performance standard so that non performers pull up their socks timely. They are doing
cost cutting but to certain extent are able to attain employee job satisfaction. They are doing
cost cutting in areas where employee is not affected much. Overall, out of the four companies,
we found this company’s employee at a better position in this recession.
 REFERENCES

• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance - Noida H.O.

Plot No. K-3, Sector - 18
(Brahm Datt Tower, Noida Complex) 6th Floor.

• Genpact,
DMRC Building,
Shastri Park., Delhi.

• HOV Services Limited

Dowlath Towers,
8th to 12th Floor,
59, Taylors Road,
Kilpauk, Chennai.

• Human Resource Management, by T.N Chabra

• Personnel Management, by C.B. Mamoria

• www.religare.in