Dream Company: Patni Computer Services

Patni is one of the pioneers of the offshore outsourcing model. Started in the 70s with a small team in the USA, the company today operates from 23 offices across the world providing IT solutions to global giants. Some of the highlights in the recent past include entering new verticals, adding to the existing strengths and growing rapidly in key sectors like manufacturing, banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI), telecom, product engineering, life sciences etc. Geographically speaking, apart from the USA, Patni Computers has invested in significant presence in Europe and are experiencing strong growth in the region over the last several quarters. Japan is yet another market that has seen good growth and forms almost 5% of the Company’s overall revenues today. We are looking at emerging markets like Latin America, Middle East, Australia, Africa and CIS. In the words of Mr. Rajesh Padmanabhan, Executive Vice-President and Head, Global Human Resources at Patni, “Our vision is to achieve global IT services leadership in providing value-added high quality IT solutions to our clients in selected horizontal and vertical segments, by combining technology skills, domain expertise, process focus and a commitment to long-term client relationships.”

In conversation with Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya, Mr. Padmanabhan talks about the trends in the industry and what it augurs for aspiring and present managers:

A lot has been said about IT and the problems plaguing it in recent times. Give us your personal opinion on the present status and trends in the IT industry. What do you foresee for the near future?

The current slowdown in the US market and also the looming shortage of skilled resources in India, owing
to a fierce competition for limited resources, are the two most important challenges that most India-based global service providers are looking at.

However, one can also look at these as drivers for new opportunities. These challenges are driving companies to actively look for innovative business models and new markets, thus opening up the potential of uncovering new opportunities. A slowdown in the US economy may also result in further broadening of the market place with companies beyond the Fortune 1000 actively considering the offshore outsourcing option.  

Traditionally at Patni, the bulk of our revenues have come from Manufacturing & Life sciences, BFSI and Telecom industries.  Product Engineering Services is one of our fastest growing business divisions. Besides this, our revenues in the retail and transportation & logistics sectors and the media and publishing sector are growing significantly. We are seeing some impressive growth in our BPO and Infrastructure management services business units too. While we expect to continue our growth in the North American geography, we are investing in driving growth in Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific (including Japan) regions.

What do the above portend for aspiring managers who wish to work in this field? How do you view the prospects for trained MBA grads in the field?

The IT industry has undoubtedly slowed down a bit. There is a cautious approach in hiring across all levels. However, the slowdown is a part of the boom-slowdown cycle that the economy has seen earlier and it means that there will be positive, but slower growth. There’s a lot of pressure on companies in the US to increase their offshoring activities to combat cost pressures due to the slowdown. This will ensure that business outsourced to India will increase in due course of time. Therefore, jobs are not going anywhere and the software services sector will pick up gradually in the future. The IT sector employs some 2 million people and is projected to create another five million jobs over the next five years. If trends are anything to go by, the industry will continue to grow at 25-30%. IT being a resource-intensive industry, HR will play an increasingly bigger role in times to come.

Do you feel that there is need for specialized education for managers in IT? Is there any particular skill, or attribute, that you would advise aspiring managers to imbibe if they wish to make a career in
this field?

Flexibility and willingness to learn are two of the most important qualities that we look for in potential recruits. Although business schools provide relevant education, gaining pertinent work experience is important to enhance overall understanding of job roles.
It is also important that new recruits align their expectations with industry expectations. Exhibiting an awareness and responsiveness to various happenings in the business world, not restricted to the sector they wish to apply for, shows recruiters a willingness to learn and understand the different facets of business. Creativity and the ability to give innovative suggestions that reflect thought leadership in their respective domain adds tremendous value to the profile of potential recruits.

Globalization as a phenomenon is perhaps most closely associated with the technology sector, because technology has been both the cause and effect of globalization when viewed with different lenses. In this context, how would you define the role of the new-age technology manager?

The role of the new age technology manager is changing in the light of globalization more than ever before. They are seen taking on new responsibilities for driving business growth and fostering innovation. As business process & technology become harder to separate, managers are expected to have a greater understanding of the business and act as drivers for change.

Besides having skill sets of Business management, process management, project and programme management, information technology and communications, the new-age manager is expected to think ahead in terms of solutions.

Does Patni recruit MBAs from campus?
Patni visits approximately twenty B-schools including premier institutes like the IIMs, IIT SOM, Symbiosis, Sydenham, Welingker, SP Jain, TA Pai, XIMB and IMT Ghaziabad. In the last three years, we have recruited nearly 40% of our MBAs from campuses in the western region, around 30% from the south and 10% from eastern, central and northern regions.
In addition, we also encourage our current employees to enhance their conceptual knowledge levels and thought leadership through specially designed programs like:
l   Patni Management Excellence program from IIM-A
l   e-MBA from IIM-Kozhikode
l   Knowledge Management program
l   Management Development Department (MDD) program

What would be the opportunities and path for growth within the company?
At Patni, we focus strongly on skill development, role enhancement, higher employee connect, employee engagement and many other innovative HR practices. A clear reflection of this is the investment that the company has made and continues to make in training.

There are talent working in key domain and strategic accounts across Patni and so retaining/developing them is our prime concern. This led us into alliances with leading educational institutions like BITS Pilani & IIM-Kozhikode for higher education. We also provide cross functional exposure and job rotation.

In addition to the above, desired personality traits are defined by our LEAP framework. LEAP -an acronym for ‘Leadership Excellence At Patni’ – clearly defines the attributes and traits which we look out for – both in prospective candidates and existing employees. These include Customer Leadership, People Leadership, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Modeling Values, Achievement Orientation and Strategic Vision.

Finally, what message would you wish to share with future leaders of the corporate world?
My message to all future leaders: Focus on specialized skills, be steep on the learning curve all the time, be innovative, question the paradigm of doing things and above all, invest in knowledge coupled with good global management skills. 

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