Infosys will double the pay packages of its employees who undergo courses under the bridge programme. Under the initiative, employees are trained in various high-level skills and moved to different roles, which demand high skill sets.
The bridge programme is expected to reduce the attrition rate at junior level of the Company, which is currently over 20 per cent. The programme targets people who have worked at Infosys for three years, because this is the time when employees are observed to start thinking of switching to a rival company for better pay and position, or feel the urge to go for higher education. The initiative also aims at consolidating the consulting side of the business. The bridge programme gives such employees the opportunity to grow in the Company, and stops them from considering seeking other opportunities outside the organisation.
Speaking to HRKatha, Dr Nandini S, SVP & group head – organisational development, Infosys shared that the programmes give a great opportunity to the employees to experience different career fields and roles.
“We at Infosys now have the chance to give a diverse career experience to our employees and we have established these programmes to provide formal education, like most business schools do with a combination of on-the-job training,” shares Nandini.
This is Infosys’ way of providing capability-building opportunities to the employees, similar to what they try and seek outside the organisation. It is common for an employee, who is an engineering graduate and has worked in the IT industry for a couple of years, to join an MBA course and look for a management role in the IT functions. The bridge programme will allow such employees to learn within the organisation, instead of pursuing a two-year course in some other institution.
“Generally, we see people from engineering backgrounds working in the IT industry for two to three years and then opting to do MBA for two years. The bridge programme provides them with the same opportunity and we offer them the role they desire, with compensation in the salary accordingly,” mentions Nandini.
The courses give the employees an opportunity for a career transition. “We at Infosys have different levels and a whole range of diverse roles. And there may be people out there who wish to switch from IT to consulting or to technology and designing. So, we give them the platform to do that,” adds Nandini.
Dr Nandini S
“Generally, we see people from engineering backgrounds working in the IT industry for two to three years and then opting to do MBA for two years. The bridge programme provides them with the same opportunity and we offer them the role they desire, with compensation in the salary accordingly.”
The bridge programme has been in place for quite a while and the Company has worked on adding new courses to the programme this year.
As Nandini explains, to get enrolled for the courses, the employees will first have to go through a qualifying round where they will be tested on the basis of their written test and group discussions. After qualifying for the programme, employees have to cover a three-month curriculum which requires them to attend classes on weekends. They can also pace themselves comfortably, but they will have to continue with the projects they are working on in their current roles. After three months of classes, they are assessed and once the employees clear the assessment, they are placed on-the-job and put through six months of industrial training working on real-time projects.
According to Nandini, “The number of people that we take in depends on the business demand. We only take the required number of people, and once they get on the job they can expect a jump of 100 per cent in their salaries.”
The various courses include power programming, bridge to design, full-stack development, tech architecture and many more.
Companies, such as Infosys are known to produce and nurture great leaders and entrepreneurs. Learning and career building work as a great EVP (employee value proposition) for Infosys. “Infosys is known to promote learning and career building, and with diverse businesses within our organisation , we are capable of providing great opportunities to our people,” says Nandini.
A mass communication graduate Kartikay is a quick learner. A fresh bake, yet a prolific writer, he is always keen to learn and discover new things. He is an easy going gallivanted and just likes to chill out when he is not chasing news. He loves watching movies as well.
