An interview with Ms. Leena Christi-HR Head, Bangalore Labs, Bangalore.

How is your company structured?

Our organisation structure is equipped to enable:

1) Effective customer responsiveness

2) Achieve internal synergies from flexible capability deployment and

3) Ensure the retention of "small company soul" -- keeping things simple and

non-bureaucratic. Besides this our structure reflects our defined business imperatives and obviously changes when the imperatives change.

How do you attract the best professionals from the vast IT work force in the market?

At BL we have been focusing on creating the 'PULL' factor. We work very hard at being the 'employer of choice'. The work environment is as good if not better as any of the best employer in the market. Our employees, customers, associates, business partners, ex- employees and candidates who have interacted with us are our best ambassadors.

An example of our success with creating the ``PULL'' is that we go to campuses only by invitation. Last year was the first year we recruited from IIMs, IIT, Symbiosis, RECs and IIIT-Bangalore and it was a resounding success. Last year 80 % of all hiring was done through internal referrals. That, to us is the ultimate vindication of our credibility.

What kind of values and work ethics do you look for while recruiting?What we look for is integrity with high ethical standards and the will not to bend even under severe situational pressure. Our employees should be able to interact and conduct themselves with dignity, respect differences in people, and value their own and others' time and resources. We look for ambitious and competitive people who are spurred by challenges, set high personal goals and standards and are passionate about the quality of their own work. Even when an individual is highly skilled but does not meet our ethical standards we do not pursue such individuals.

How is the work culture in your company?

A culture of accountable independence exists in BL. Once expectations from individuals are established, all of us as employees have the independence to unleash ourselves - to stretch to maximise our potential while not being limited by barriers of bureaucracy. We strive to give high performences in an ambience of fun.

How have you handled the problem of attrition in this mobile industry?

We believe that the key to retention of highly capable and talented individuals lies in - intrinsic work challenge; growth and development environment; reward and recognition; and an environment of success.

The HR and the leadership team carry a target of ensuring that 90% of employees are in roles of their choice. With this kind of a number target, we hope to be able to keep the employees challenged and excited about their work. We strongly believe in growing our leaders internally and as such we have several internal mechanisms that work together to develop people.

For example:

Content and functional expertise development through our competency alignment program, Leadership and personality development through our individual development process, Strong feedback mechanisms,Performance and career management through the BLitzer Excellence Program,Non-invasive nurturing through mentoring Management of compensation and reward and recognition to us is a strategic exercise and our approach has been very effective in helping retain people in a market scenario that has lost the feel good element over the last six months.

What are the incentives that you offer your employees other than monetary compensation?

An aggressive Employee Stock Option Plan has been adopted in BL. Each and every employee is entitled to participate in it from day one. In fact all employees directly own the overall performance of the company. Our reward and recognition programme is geared to differentiate, recognise and reward exceptional performance above and beyond normal stretchable duty.

How do you keep in touch with employees' satisfaction or dissatisfaction?

We have many formal and informal ways of getting feedback. We have informal open sessions every month, which we call Coke & Samosa meet - this is an avenue for hearing out our employees and giving organisation updates.

One of the formal ways is through the BLitzer Excellence Program (BEP) a performance management system that provides quarterly feedback while mentoring in a non-invasive setting that enables informal communication.

Can you give five reasons as to why a professional should make Bangalore Labs as a destination in their career?

* Guaranteed work content of choice

* Opportunity to work with the best talent in the industry

* BL's systematic approach to development, skill acquisition and career growth - and the promise to significantly enhance resume value

* A work environment where we have fun working and fun away from work.

* A culture built around uncompromising championing of values.

Any plans for expansion?

We are expanding our offices in Delhi and Mumbai. We plan to enter will enter ten new countries this year including China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia and Australia. An entry into Europe and US will take place at an appropriate juncture.

MALINI SURYANARAYANAN

maalini.mdsKcareercommunity.co.in