Leadership is the topic du jour for many HR professionals, but many organisations still struggle with how to treat tomorrow’s leaders today. HR Leader details how Infosys has gone about it and looks at the bottom-line benefits
Infosys Technologies was started in
1981 by seven people with just under
$300. Today, the IT consulting and out
sourcing firm is a global giant with rev
enues of more than $4.75 billion. It
employs almost 104,000 people across 50
offices around the world.
With a strong focus on customer serv
ice and building long-term client rela
tionships (more than 97 per cent of its
revenues come from existing customers),
people development is a priority for
Infosys. In recognition of this, it was
recently rated as one of the best com
panies for leaders in a Hay Group sur
vey, which evaluated the best practices
of companies to help their leaders thrive
in a downturn and prepare for growth
during the upturn.
The foundations
Infosys’ leadership development program
was established as part of succession
planning to develop leaders within who
could contribute to the company’s organ
isational vision and future growth, says
Tracey Newton, senior HR manager for
Infosys Australia.
“It was started back in 2001, when we
recognised the need to develop and nur
ture our leaders internally and make sure
we had the human capital in place to
achieve our organisational goals,” she says.
About 1000 people (just less than 1
per cent of Infosys employees around
the world) participate in the leadership
development program, and Newton says
the “mantra” of the program is three
fold: “our business is the curriculum;
the company is our campus; and the
leaders are our teachers”.
“In other words,” she says, “it oper
ates like a university environment and is
focused on giving the company’s leaders
the ability to learn.”
The program consists of three tiers to
accommodate people in the different
stages of their leadership journey. New
ton says there are people who, given the
right opportunity and development, will
be ready to step up to the top roles within
the next 18 to 36 months, while some will be in ready in three
to five years, and others up to ten years from now.
Development and benefits
Newton says Infosys has invested heavily in developing the
program syllabus in conjunction with many outstanding insti
tutions such as Duke University in the United States and IIM-
Ahmedabad in India.
“We had a group of Australian staff go to the Infosys Lead
ership Institute in Mysore last year to study talent leadership
and operational leadership,” she says. “We also have leaders
from around the world come to us locally to teach these pro
grams. I should say that we also create opportunities for peo
ple outside the leadership program to enjoy some of the same
development. For example, every Australian employee has
access to formal career mentoring from a senior person in
his/her career stream.”
As a result of the program, Newton says there have been a
number of benefits to Infosys, including:
• Fewer roles at the senior level need to be filled by external
candidates (and as such, there are lower recruitment costs
and reduced chances that a candidate might not “fit” the
organisation).
• Reduced attrition and improved satisfaction of key per
formers, because they see the growth and development
opportunities available by staying with Infosys.
• Improved client satisfaction, with clients aware that the com
pany is investing in its people and that they can access the
industry’s “best and brightest”.
• Stronger branding, from a candidate attraction and retention
perspective, as well as overall perception in the industry.
In hindsight
There have been a number of challenges and lessons for Infosys
as a result of its leadership development program, according to
Newton. One of these has been “contextualising”, she says.
“For example, someone at the beginning stages of the leader
ship journey might not have the opportunity to take on entre
preneurial leadership in their current role. So we might not set
that as an expectation in some instances.”
Another challenge for Infosys has been staying focused.
“In the cut and thrust of business, it’s necessary to remind
stakeholders at times that these people – and this program
– are critical organisational assets that must be prioritised
along with client needs and everything else we care about,”
Newton says.
This is linked to another challenge for the company, which
is about “making the hard choices”, she says. “For example,
sometimes to maximise a key performer’s opportunity to learn
and grow, we need to expose them to new challenges, and that
might mean shifting a valued resource away from an account
where the clients are very, very happy.”
Words of advice
For HR professionals looking to roll out a leadership devel
opment program, Newton advises deciding if selection for the
leadership program is going to be via self-nomination or a “tap
on the back”, because this sets the tone for the whole program
and how it’s perceived by employees.
She also recommends having a charter that clearly articulates
what you’re trying to achieve. “Without this, it’s hard to rally
support for the program and gauge if you’re on track,” she
says. “Support from the executive level is also fundamental to
the program’s internal profile and ultimate success.”
Similarly, she counsels investing seriously in any leadership
development program. “Don’t do it if it’s just to put a tick in
the leadership box. Realise that the administration around a
leadership program takes time and cannot be run on auto-pilot,
so resource accordingly,” Newton says.
