TCS looks to generous variable pay to keep staff

The country’s biggest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which competes with rivals Infosys Technologies and Wipro for talent, will bank on a generous quarterly variable pay linked to the company’s performance to retain talent, a senior executive said.

TCS battles rising employee churn as demand for IT services revives, and unlike Infosys and Wipro, does not have the benefit of Esops as a tool to retain employees. “We have the variable option, which we pay out at the end of the quarter. Last year, in three quarters, we paid more than 100%. Two quarters (Q2 and Q3), we gave out 150% and in the fourth quarter we gave 125% of the variable.

In the first quarter of 2010-11, we have given 100%, which is the full variable. That is one kind of lever that we have which peers don’t,” Ajoy Mukherjee, global head, (HR), TCS, told ET.

The Tata group firm does not have an Esop policy and instead compensates senior executives with higher pay. Last month, Infosys issued five equity shares to every employee and one more share for every year in the company to its lakh-plus staff to ring in its 30th anniversary.

MindTree bags UID deal to develop applications

Software services company MindTree on Thursday said it has bagged a multi-crore IT deal from the Nandan Nilekani-headed unique identification project (UID).

As part of the deal, MindTree will develop and maintain applications for the UID project, also known as Aadhaar, the company said in a statement. The exact financial details of the contract were not available. The application will capture and manage data from different sources.

Capgemini buys UK-based company

Capgemini, the Paris-based information technology (IT) consulting, services and solutions provider, today announced that it had acquired all of UK-based Strategic Systems Solutions (SSS) to boost its presence in the capital markets sector and add new platforms in China and the Philippines.

Prior to the acquisition, Capgemini owned 49 per cent of SSS, and now it will fully integrate SSS with its capital markets unit. The acquisition will strengthen Capgemini’s presence in the capital markets sector and provide added strength in the Asia-Pacific region, with IT and BPO (business process outsourcing) platforms in the two countries.

It will reinforce its presence in Singapore. Capgemini has more than 23,300 employees in India. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in the United Kingdom (UK), SSS is recognised in the capital markets sector and employs 670 professionals across the UK, US, Singapore, China and the Philippines.

Cognizant buys Paris-based Galileo Performance

Cognizant, a Nasdaq-listed information technology (IT), consulting, and business process outsourcing services company, today announced the acquisition of Galileo Performance, a Paris-based provider of IT-testing consulting services. The terms were not disclosed.

Galileo helps leading companies in France optimise and extend business performance through IT system measurement, management and testing. It will complement Cognizant’s fast-growing global testing practice, with its 10,000 testing professionals, while strengthening Cognizant’s existing business presence in France, according to Cognizant’s statement.

Infosys to set up another centre in Tamil Nadu

Infosys Technologies, the country’s second-largest information technology (IT) services exporter, has approached the Tamil Nadu government for 200 acres of land near Chennai for setting up a development centre, according to a senior state government official. The Bangalore-based company confirmed talks with the state government representatives, but refused to comment further.

The official said Kris Gopalakrishnan, chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys Technologies, met Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday discussed on the company’s future expansion in the state.

Pay hikes for all Satyam staff next month

Information technology company Mahindra Satyam [ Get Quote ] (earlier known as Satyam Computer Services Limited) is likely to announce a pay hike for all its employees on July 1.

This, according to a top executive of the company, follows Mahindra Satyam's annual appraisal process 'ASPIRE', which begins in April and ends in June.

"It is progressing as scheduled," the executive said. The exercise applies to the entire 25,000 associates (as Satyam calls its employees) and will be communicated internally to the company's leaders on June 21.

While declining to share the final quantum of the salary revision, he said: "We haven't closed the loop internally, as yet. The pay hike will be announced on July 1.

"The company is also in the process of hiring 1,000-1,500 laterals (or experienced hands) in "sync with its growing business", said the executive.

"Recruitment of 3,000 freshers is now more or less concluded and the next thing we are going after is laterals, which is going as per the schedule.

"We will be having about 1,500 laterals on our rolls this quarter and the next quarter. Given the growth, we may continue to hire more in the coming quarters," said the executive.

Key leadership hiring in different pockets -- a few from other companies -- to beef up the company's sales efforts is currently on, he added.

Wins from new and existing customers continue across various continents from a multi-year contract with an auto major in Japan [ Images ] to government accounts in Singapore, from a global energy drink giant in Australia [ Images ] to a retail chain major in South Africa [ Images ] and from an electricity and water management authority in West Asia to major banking institutions in Europe.

Additional business from large customers in the US is also helping augment Mahindra Satyam's position in the market, he added.