“Investment in L&D during downturn demonstrates employer’s commitment”

Interview of the Day: “Investment in L&D during downturn demonstrates employer’s commitment”

Raghavendra K, Vice President and Head HR, Infosys BPO 

Neha Sharma, TimesJobs.com Bureau 

Have you re-evaluated your learning programme keeping the downturn/slowdown in mind?

Infosys BPO geared up for the learning and development of employees during the downturn so that these employees are ready to take on the business when the tidings are good. We started programs like Junior Management Learning Program (JMLP) and Middle Management Learning Program (MMLP) for the development of our employees when the business sentiment was not very positive. The time available during that lull actually helped us to release people for more training. In such challenging times, wehave launched newer initiatives like Club FuEL (Future Emerging Leaders) which gave career coaching and mentoring to a group of our very high performing/potential employees.

Do you think it’s a good idea to facilitate off campus/gap year programmes for employees to keep them engaged and ready for when business is “up” again?

Employee learning and development should be a continuous and an ongoing program and cannot be switched on or off like a water tap! However the focus and intensity should continuously be calibrated to ensure that business growth, intensity of operations and employee development are balanced based on priority. While that is being calibrated, it is critical to not lose focus on employee growth and development. At Infosys BPO, people development continues to be on the top of the agendas of the leaders irrespective of the state of the business. To further the learning agenda, Infosys BPO has introduced a sabbatical policy which provides a suitable break to employees if they want to pursue higher education. Infosys BPO has also tied up with various universities for several high profile courses like MBA, CFA, CPA, MBE etc.However, the focus on mandatory certification has been further institutionalized for employees to develop demonstrable skills on Process,Domain and Behavioral aspects.

Making learning a priority during the downturn can become an advantage for the organisation. Comment.

As mentioned earlier, irrespective of the state of business and more so during a downturn, it is important to continue to focus on capability building and learning.  While continuing to invest in training not only provides employees with the necessary skill-sets to efficiently do the job, it also demonstrates the commitment of the employer for developing its own employees. It is a golden opportunity for LD professionals to plan in consultation with operations and prioritize the training programs which will help organizations in building capability when the business sentiment changes for the better.However, it is important that they are clear with respect to the direction and state of business and choose the competencies that they want to develop. With consultation and the buy in with the broad direction, it will be a lot easier for operation/ business managers to recognize and utilise the skills that are developed through the learning initiatives.

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