9 Nov 2008, 0319 hrs IST, Sudipta Sengupta & Ruchika Jain, TNN
HYDERABAD: IT major Satyam has laid off close to 100 employees from its various branches in Hyderabad this week. The employees were given a
two-hour notice to resign or face termination. Reasons for showing them the door included “behavioural issues’’, “poor performance’’ in an assessment test, a “delay in filling appraisal forms’’ and even “poor dressing’’ at work.
Those who were laid off alleged that the company chose to put the blame on them as against owning up for the financial crunch it seems to be facing. They point out that ratings of most employees this year in its ‘Smart’ appraisal exercise (with S as highest rating and T lowest) have dropped with many figuring in the bottom R and T slots.
However, Satyam officials maintained that putting employees through performance tests was routine and the trends observed this year were the same as in the past. Also, officials said that the company continued to “support employees even during rough times’’. Nevertheless, according to associates, promising employees with ‘S’ ratings have been shown the door when until last year ‘R’ rate holders were retained.
In fact, sources say the firm is undertaking fresh background checks of all its employees to find ‘valid’ reasons for firing. Besides, project leaders were asked to suggest at least two names from their teams who could be eased out of the firm. But it was the manner in which the news was broken that left many shaken.
“Despite having an impeccable work record I was shown the door. And to do this I was given just two hours,” says a senior software engineer.
Another employee of three years with a ‘S’ rating under his belt had to quit under similar circumstances. The techie was first asked to take an assessment test within 30 minutes. He was then told his performance was poor and that he had to leave. “Why would the company insist on a test that my managers in the past had described as only a formality,’’ he asked. His demand to declare the test result went unheeded, he added.
A senior associate who was laid off last week said the pink slip came as a shocker. With six years work experience in known IT firms, he was handling a project in Satyam, two phases of which were already over with his work spilling over to late evenings. One such evening last week he was summoned by HR officials who asked him to meet them
the next day. “I was told, either you leave or we terminateyour service,’’ he says, adding that the reason cited for his removal was his failure in filling the appraisal form on time.
S V Krishnan, Global head of HR, Satyam Computer Services, said, “As part of our appraisal process we identify around 5 to 10 per cent of our associates in the Performance Improvement category and put them through a structured Performance Improvement Program. Our experience reflects that about half of this group exits the system either voluntarily or involuntarily, while the others make credible progress internally. We have concluded our appraisal process a few weeks back, and believe we are witnessing similar trends like in the past.’’
HYDERABAD: IT major Satyam has laid off close to 100 employees from its various branches in Hyderabad this week. The employees were given a
Those who were laid off alleged that the company chose to put the blame on them as against owning up for the financial crunch it seems to be facing. They point out that ratings of most employees this year in its ‘Smart’ appraisal exercise (with S as highest rating and T lowest) have dropped with many figuring in the bottom R and T slots.
However, Satyam officials maintained that putting employees through performance tests was routine and the trends observed this year were the same as in the past. Also, officials said that the company continued to “support employees even during rough times’’. Nevertheless, according to associates, promising employees with ‘S’ ratings have been shown the door when until last year ‘R’ rate holders were retained.
In fact, sources say the firm is undertaking fresh background checks of all its employees to find ‘valid’ reasons for firing. Besides, project leaders were asked to suggest at least two names from their teams who could be eased out of the firm. But it was the manner in which the news was broken that left many shaken.
“Despite having an impeccable work record I was shown the door. And to do this I was given just two hours,” says a senior software engineer.
Another employee of three years with a ‘S’ rating under his belt had to quit under similar circumstances. The techie was first asked to take an assessment test within 30 minutes. He was then told his performance was poor and that he had to leave. “Why would the company insist on a test that my managers in the past had described as only a formality,’’ he asked. His demand to declare the test result went unheeded, he added.
A senior associate who was laid off last week said the pink slip came as a shocker. With six years work experience in known IT firms, he was handling a project in Satyam, two phases of which were already over with his work spilling over to late evenings. One such evening last week he was summoned by HR officials who asked him to meet them
the next day. “I was told, either you leave or we terminateyour service,’’ he says, adding that the reason cited for his removal was his failure in filling the appraisal form on time.
S V Krishnan, Global head of HR, Satyam Computer Services, said, “As part of our appraisal process we identify around 5 to 10 per cent of our associates in the Performance Improvement category and put them through a structured Performance Improvement Program. Our experience reflects that about half of this group exits the system either voluntarily or involuntarily, while the others make credible progress internally. We have concluded our appraisal process a few weeks back, and believe we are witnessing similar trends like in the past.’’
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