Performance Management System(PMS) of Infosys

Performance Management System of Infosys

Introduction to Infosys

Headquartered in Bangalore, Infosys Technologies Ltd is a software behemoth in the Indian IT industry. A multinational IT services company, Infosys operates in 33 countries and has development centers in India, China, Japan, UK, Australia and Canada. Beginning as a mere US$ 250 Company in 1981, Infosys has come a long way now, to become a global frontrunner with revenues of more US$ 5.38 billion. Infosys provides end-to-end business solutions.

The organization structure is complicated. The hierarchy is headed by Mr. N R Narayana Murthy who is the chairman and chief mentor of the organization. Next isthe CEO and Managing Director Mr. Salil Parekh. Following him are the directors and the senior vice presidents. The COO & Director, Mr. Pravin Rao  heads all the Industry business units and Horizontal business units. He also heads the SETLabs and Microsoft technology centre.

A typical project is headed by Delivery Manager. Role Hierarchy in a Unit from Top to Bottom is

1.     Delivery Head

2.     Senior Delivery Manager

3.     Delivery Manager

4.     Project Manager – Business Manager

5.     Technology Lead

6.     Technology Analyst

7.     Senior Software Engineer

8.     Software Engineer

Performance Management System(PMS)

Performance Management is a process for establishing a mutual understanding about what is to be achieved and how it is to be achieved. PMS assists organizations to plan, analyze and manage their performance, so that decisions, resources and actions can be better aligned with business strategies to achieve required results.

Performance appraisal is a systematic and objective way of evaluating both work related behavior and potential of employees. This is carried on a periodic basis. It mainly involves setting work standards, assessing employee’s performance relative to these standards and then offers feedback to the employee so that he or she can work on the deficiencies and improve performance. The focus of appraisals is on employee growth and development. It provides an opportunity for the manager and his/her supervisor to set mutual objectives.

Purpose of Performance Appraisal:

·        The main purposes why organizations conduct performance appraisals are

·        Career Development

·        This provides an opportunity for discussion of career objectives. Also it helps to

·        Provide an opportunity for career counseling

·        Helps in succession planning.

·        Plan for career development

·        Provide a basis on which to base decisions about training and promotion

Feedback

·        Encouraged in both directions, ie from manager to employee and from employee to manager

·        Provides constructive feedback to the individual on their performance

·        Provides a structured format for the discussion of performance issues

·        Feedback helps in reinforces performance strengths and an opportunity to find solutions for performance deficiencies.

·        Administrative Uses of Performance appraisal

·        Salary

·        Promotion

·        Retention/termination

·        Recognition of performance

·        Performance History

·        Serves as a repository of performances and can be used for various decision making purposes

·        It can be used to review past and present performance.

·        Documentation for HR decisions

·        Helping to meet legal requirements

·        Organizational Goals

·        Makes the individual aware of organizational expectations

·        Provides opportunity review the performance from the organizational point of view

·        Helps in assessing future promotion prospects and potential

·        Performance Appraisal Steps

·        Performance appraisal process include steps as follows

·        Establish performance standards

Process Of Performance Appraisal in Infosys:

·        Train the Appraiser

·        Discussing with employees on rating content and scope

·        Actual Performance and Comparison

·        Discuss with staff on the appraising result:

·        Identifying new goals

·        Arrive at new goals for achieving superior performance.

But it has been observed that most of the employees hate appraisal system. The main reasons are

·        Lack of information about the purpose of appraisal.

·        Many employees are not about the impact that appraisals can have on their career prospects.

·        Time consuming process

·        The highly complex questions which they have no answers to or highly complex competencies which they have never heard of confuse them.

·        Difficulty in writing appraisals

·        Many employees have poor language skills and they are unable to communicate their performance in right language and support with data.

·        Lack of faith in the appraisal process

·        

Benefits of Performance Appraisal:

The performance appraisal system benefits the appraise, appraiser and the organization

Appraisee:

·        Increased motivation and job satisfaction.

·        Clear understanding of what is expected and what needs to be done to meet expectations.

·        Opportunity to discuss aspirations and any guidance, support or training needed to fulfill these aspirations.

·        Improved working relationships with the superior.

·        Opportunity to overcome the weaknesses by way of counseling and guidance from the superior.

·        Increased sense of personal value as he too is involved in the appraisal process

Appraiser:

·        Opportunity to develop an overview of individual jobs.

·        Opportunity to identify strengths and weaknesses of appraisees.

·        Increased job satisfaction.

·        Opportunity to link team and individual objectives with department & organizational objectives.

·        Opportunity to clarify expectations that the manager has from teams and individuals.

·        Opportunity to re-prioritize targets.

·        Means of forming a more productive relationship with staff based on mutual trust and understanding.

Organization:

·        Improved performance throughout the organization due to:

·        Increased sense of cohesiveness and loyalty.

·        Managers are better equipped to use their leadership skills and to develop their staff.

·        Effective communication of organization’s objectives and values.

·        Improved overview of tasks performed by each member of a group.

·        Identification of ideas for improvement.

·        Creation and maintenance of a culture of continuous improvement.

·        Communication to people that they are valued.

Performance Management System of Infosys [Performagic]

Infosys uses the web application Performagic to capture all the performance appraisal related activities.

The appraisal is done twice a year, once in October and another in April. The cycle is initiated by the HR and the employee has to then add both appraiser and reviewer. The appraiser and reviewer for any particular employee are identified based on the projects the employee worked during the appraisal cycle.

Data Capture in Performagic

The employee is evaluated based on performance tasks, competency and behavioral tasks.

The performance tasks are set based on the role and the project in which the employee is working. The manager has the flexibility to make necessary modifications according to his perception of the role and expectations from the employee. Competency and behavioral indicators are based on the official designation of the employee. The employee is given the option to rate any 10 options from the competency and any 5 from the behavioral tasks.

There is also individual utilization measures set for each employee which has to be met by the employee to ensure a met expectations rating. The utilization measures set are broadly defined on the IBU level, but can be modified if the appraiser feels that it’s required. Based on the ratings give to the performance ratings and behavioral tasks the score for the employee will be calculated based on pre decided logic. The CRR for employees are decided based on this cumulative score that the employee scores.

Methodology

Personal interviews were conducted of few Infosys employees to evaluate their understanding and thoughts on the PMS.

Questionnaire

·        What is your role?

·        How many time appraisal is done in a year and when?

·        What procedure is followed in appraisal?

·        Is there any formal training given to the appraiser?

·        How much time do you dedicate for filling the appraisal form?

·        On what parameters you do your self-appraisal?

·        What are the performance standards on which appraiser appraise you?

·        How subjective is the appraisal?

·        Are all the questions in performagic relevant to your roles

·        What happens in appraisal meeting?

·        What type of feedback do you get?

·        Who all are involved in the appraisal meeting?

·        How does it affect your performance afterwards?

·        What do you think are the problems in current appraisal system?

·        How transparent is the appraisal system?

·        Difference between present and previous appraisal system?

·        How much importance you give to the performagic?

·        How does the performagic rating affect your promotion?

·        How does the CRR process work?

·        Do you feel the peer group formation is correct?

·        Suggest any improvement in the system?

iCount:

A new appraisal system named iCount for its employees. The system measures their performance based on the targets given to them. The move comes months after it had abandoned the bell curve appraisal tool to assess its employees' performance. Under the new assessment system iCount, employees will get feedback on their performance throughout the year.

"Infosys has changed the way performance management is done, with higher focus on individual performance rather than relative performance. We have moved away from forced ranking curve and given our managers more flexibility and empowerment, while still retaining focus on maintaining a high performance culture," an Infosys spokeswoman told The Economic Times.

In September last year, Bangalore-based IT major had ceased using the bell curve method. Under that system, the managers were compelled to separate the employees into three categories and "rank the performance of 70 percent as average, 20 percent as high and 10 percent as low."

Infosys' move to discontinue the bell curve tool was one of CEO Vishal Sikka's initiatives to reduce attrition levels and improve employee productivity. After taking charge as the chief of Infosys in August 2014, Sikka brought many changes for 'Infoscions,' including doing away with the formal dress code.

 The new system will reward the company's employees based on their performance in short-term, taking into account annual targets set for them.

"The underlying message is that every Infoscion counts and contributes...It allows for continuous feedback from peer, manager, stakeholder. This is much better than the earlier point in time feedback," the company spokeswoman told the daily.