Employer Branding in the IT Industry

The Indian IT industry is characterised by high attrition rates. The average attrition rate in 2010 across Indian companies in 2010 was 10%. The attrition rates for the IT industry in the same period were 15-16%. It assumes significance especially if one considers the findings of a joint NASSCOM and McKinsey study conducted in 2005, according to which nearly 75% of all engineering graduates in India were unemployable. Thus, attracting and retaining top talent is very important for IT companies, as skilled IT professionals are not easy to find and companies often find themselves competing for the same professionals. IT companies have realized this and are taking steps to ensure that they attract and retain the best talent.

The practice of employer branding has found wide acceptance in the IT industry. Employer branding has been defined as the sum of a company’s efforts to communicate to existing and prospective staff what makes it a desirable place to work, and the active management of a company’s image as seen through the eyes of its associates and potential hires. Employer brand management expands the scope of this brand intervention beyond communication to incorporate every aspect of the employment experience, and the people management processes and practices that shape the perceptions of existing and prospective employees. Employer brand management helps in the formation of an Employer Brand proposition, also regularly referred to as an Employer value proposition or Employee Value Proposition. This serves to: define what the organisation would most like to be associated with as an employer; highlight the attributes that differentiate the organisation from other employers; and clarify the ‘give and get’ of the employment deal (balancing the value that employees are expected to contribute with the value from employment that they can expect in return).

As employer brand management helps shape the image of the company in the minds of the employees and potential hires it is of strategic importance and most IT companies have employer branding campaigns in place. An example of such a campaign is HCL’s ‘Employee First’ initiative. However, the efficacy of campaigns of different companies varies. This is reflected in the variation in attrition rates in companies within the IT industry. For example, Wipro reported a voluntary staff attrition of 23.5 percent for Q2 2010. The attrition rate of Infosys stood at 17.1 percent in Q2 2010 while for TCS, attrition rate for Q2 stood at 14.1 %. While attrition rates are a product of multiple factors and not just employer branding campaigns undertaken by the respective firms, the image of the organization in the minds of the employees does play a major role. Thus, employer branding in the IT industry has vast strategic implications for IT companies.

In this context HCL is one of the IT companies that lays immense stress on employer branding.

HCL Technologies considers employer branding as a long-term strategy and short-term volatility does not impact its branding initiatives. With this philosophy, HCL has not cut back on its employee branding budget. The company spends around Rs 30-35 crore annually on its employee branding communication.

HCL Technologies has been named as one of the Top Employers 2010 by the Corporate Research Foundation (CRF) Institute, the independent business research organization, for the fourth consecutive year. It has been listed among the ‘Best Employers’ in Asia and ranked No. 1 in India by Hewitt in 2009.

HCL received the accolades, thanks principally to its 'Employee First' structure that attempts to align its people through a slew of programmes — such as U&I (an intranet forum where HCL employees can raise any issue related to the workplace, to be addressed by the CEO), Employee First Councils, Women First Councils, Smart Service Desk (an online HR initiative through which employees can flag a problem) and Mitr (an employee assistance program). HCL Technologies’ unique management philosophy of ‘Employee First’ has been recognized worldwide for empowering employees to become the drivers of growth. This approach puts employees on top of the organizational pyramid with the belief that the real value gets created in the interface between customer and employees, and has made the whole organization accountable to the person who has the potential to create this value - the employee. This philosophy guides HCL to create a work environment that provides ample opportunities to employees for personal development and career growth.

The results of the extensive employer branding initiatives are clear for all to see in the form of ‘best employer’ awards. This has played a vital role in HCL becoming one of the employers of choice in the IT industry. And in today’s war for talent employees are the most important asset for a company.