o help retain new employees in India, software firm Sierra Atlantic uses a
variation on the American "take your children to work" tradition.
The company invites parents of new hires to visit and learn about the
company. There’s an introduction from company executives, lunch is provided, and
guests--primarily fathers thus far--have a chance to ask questions about the firm
and the workplace. Typical questions include: What are the career prospects for
their children? What are the company’s plans for growth? And how does Sierra
Atlantic support their children’s pursuit of higher education?
The company is based in Fremont, California, and has about 800 employees at
offices in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. The quarterly "take your
parents to work" events are an attempt to recognize the importance of family and
parental guidance in Indian culture--and to make Sierra Atlantic stand out in the
competition for technical talent there, says Hope Nguyen, company marketing
manager.
"In India, parents have a major say in the career moves of their children,"
Nguyen says. "If Sierra Atlantic is able to convince parents about our values,
work culture and growth prospects for employees, (it can) increase company
loyalty among their children."
The cost of the program is minimal, Nguyen says, but it is helping to trim
Sierra Atlantic’s turnover in India. Since the initiative began last year, the
annual attrition rate for new college graduates hired in India has dropped from
20 percent to 10 percent.
The program also marks an attempt to ease the cultural strains of tech work
in India. With the growth in technology and back-office operations, young
Indians are at times required to work at night because of the time difference
with the U.S., alter their accents to sound American and even take on Western
names when handling customer calls.
Sierra Atlantic isn’t the only outsourcing company in India sponsoring family
days. Progeon, a subsidiary of India-based tech services company Infosys
Technologies, hosts family days every three months for new employees and up to
three family members. It also tries to help employees adjust to working on
clients’ schedules, which sometimes clash with India festival celebrations.
"To make up for it, we celebrate these at night," says Nandita Gurjar,
Progeon vice president and head of human resource development. She says the
on-site festivities might include special food and ethnic dancing.
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