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Hewlett-packard: The Garage
People
(Contn.)
Power To The People
The best
part of the H-P culture probably is the way it equips and empowers its
managers, with the best available resources. Following Dave Packard and
Bill Hewlett's dictum of ''people are here to do a great job,'' the
company has zapped the control-and-command mode completely. Here, the
employee is clearly king or queen as it may be. Says Anoop Khandelwal,
country business operations manager: "You are treated like a mature
adult. There is no boss breaking down your neck. You are empowered and on
your own."
Leaders also have generous doses of
humility in them and have no qualms about learning from peers and juniors.
''My team members are far more knowledgeable about their lines of
business. I can only learn from them,'' says Ayyar, adding that there are
no supervisors in H-P, only reality checkers. In that sense, H-pites
define their own job responsibilities. Consider: When Anupam Nagar came
from IBM to revive a not-so-exciting business, despite his fresher status,
he was given all kinds of resource back-up and a team, along with the
CEO's complete trust. ''I remember having a huge conflict with Ganesh at
my final interview and walking out,'' quips Nagar. But he came back,
motivated by the trust that came through.
Today, a year later, Nagar and his team has
made it to the President's Club, an honour reserved for top performers.
This February, he flies off to Hawaii for an exotic vacation with his wife
and gets to meet the global executive committee members.
Systems That Streamline
|
Rules of the garage |
» Believe you can change the world
»
Work quickly, keep tools unlocked, work whenever you want
»
Know when to work alone and when to work together
»
Share tools and ideas. Trust your colleagues
»
No politics. No bureaucracy. (These are ridiculous in a garage)
»
The customer defines a job well done
»
Radical ideas are not bad ideas
» Invent
different ways of working
» Make
a contribution everyday. If it doesn't contribute, it doesn't leave
the garage
» Believe
that together we can do anything
» Invent |
The systems back the culture. Career graphs
include dual or triple-hatting-all the executive secretaries act as
administration officers as well as process leaders in their particular
departments and move on to specialist roles with opportunities and
on-the-job training-cross functional movements and both global and
domestic opportunities through internal job postings. At least 12 to 15
per cent of the total global vacancies are filled through internal
postings in the company. For example, when the testing and measurements
division was spun out into Agilent Technologies, the India hr head
Himanshu Jani, went on to become the Asia Pacific head, but not before he
had served as the interim CEO of H-P between Suresh Rajpal and Ganesh
Ayyar. Similarly, M.G. Subramanium, who headed hr after Jani, was a
manufacturing professional. Douglas Thompson, head of hr at H-P's Asia
Pacific operations was a finance person. The existing Asia Pacific
managing director Siaou Szelien was the support services head. And this is
not practised at the top alone.
There is off-line support as well. Like it
did with Deva earlier, the company stretches and bends to help its
employees put their best foot forward. Across H-P, flexi-time is a
religion. Employees can start working within two hours from 8 am (or
earlier if they feel like it), for a regular 8-hour day, provided the job
permits it. Part-time work-plenty of young mothers (like Sujata Sundaresan,
a financial analyst who works in support and has just gone flex because of
a new-born) avail of this-happens but requires approval of the direct
manager.
Working between 20 to 40 hour weeks too is
permitted to two employees sharing the head count with each working
half-a-day, provided the cost to company does not exceed the total
employment cost of one. Telecommuting is widely used by employees, who
could come in for half-a-day and work the other half from home. The driver
here is trust and no attendance register is maintained. Adds Wadhawan:
''The issue is not control, but facilitation. And of motivating our
independent, knowledgeable and creative employees.'' Seconds Deva: ''H-P
is an equal opportunities employer. There are many flexi-workers here,
mothers with babies, and even others. But no one treats them as any less
or thinks that they are not contributing.'' There are plenty of switches
as well, Vasudha Duggal, a quality specialist went flex for some time and
now is back as full time to work in channel communication. Wadhawan
himself worked flex for four months to settle his daughter at school.
The support does not extend to work alone,
but also to life after that. Lucille Packard, wife of Dave Packard,
started the work/life balance tradition by buying wedding gifts for each
newly-married employee. And organising employee picnics near the Valley
campus. Almost 50 years later, the tradition holds good at H-P sites
across the globe. Family days, annual picnics, kids' days and employee
balls-the average H-P manager has a lot to look forward to during a year.
There is also every techie's dream-come-true, the '17-chores-made-easy'
programme. For a nominal sum, that can range from a paltry Rs 10 to Rs
7,000 (don't panic, this is just the annual ac hiring charges), the
company organises meals when you are working late, services your car, pays
your bills and school fees and even does a dial-a-chocolate and subzi-(vegetables)-on-wheels.
Convenient? You bet. Says Khandelwal: "If somebody is paying my bills
and servicing my car, I can concentrate better on my job." Affirms
Jani: ''I think that the belonging quotient is high. Employees can go back
and say that they have made a difference.''
In other words, Former CEO Rajpal's dictum
of the 3-legged stool-contribution, learning, and fun while working-holds
good still. But does this mean that it is just flex-and-fun at H-P? Far
from it. Performance is the mantra. Interestingly, it's the small and
medium businesses sector that has been fuelling the company's 70 per cent
growth. Avers Ayyar: ''For me employee focus and performance focus are not
distinct. It is only when you look at them separately that business takes
a walk.'' For starters, the company is lean. ''The ratio of employees at
Compaq and IBM to that of H-P is 5:1. Just translate that in terms of
performance pressure,'' says a company insider. Plus, most of the systems
and career charting mechanisms are designed around are high-fliers.
''Performance is a given. If you don't perform, you can't exist,''
underlines Deva.
Rewards are attuned to that and recognition
is instant, particularly because given the flat structure, the scope of
vertical mobility is limited. ''We don't hold back the kudos, we can't
afford to,'' says Wadhawan. There is the President's Club and the Regional
Club for high performers, where they fly to exotic destinations and
interact with top H-P executives. There are quarterly wage reviews plus an
annual appraisal. ESOPs are, however, given only to top performers. ''It
is a strategic compensation design. If you want to be rich, you have to be
a performer,'' quips Jani, who spent nearly a decade with H-P before
moving on to Agilent. Though the company remains in the top quartile as
far as compensation is concerned, it pays a premium for hot skills and a
short-term performance bonus to key employees.
The company is doing more to reward its
high-fliers. Each key job now will be scoped in terms of 4 categories
(entry, career, specialist and master) and fixed on a scale of internal
equity, with performance variations. Externally, each will be benchmarked
with the market. Flexible benefits and sign-on bonuses will be extended to
reward skills. Says Ayyar: ''Paying for talent is never enough. You always
have to do more.'' Agrees Rishi, who's been seven years at H-P: ''It is
certainly not the best paymaster. But we don't stay here because of the
money. Nowhere else you would be encouraged to make mistakes and not get
victimised for them.''
So where does that leave H-P at the
threshold of the new millennium? The transition from charismatic,
larger-than-life Rajpal to low-key, performance-driven Ayyar was smooth.
Perhaps, the entrenched H-P values were too strong. But now it welcomes,
Thiagarajan, considerably older at 56 and wiser too, with abb and Wipro
behind him. Will there be tremors? Unlikely, say H-P people. The systems
are too strong, the people too skilled for a mere leader to upset the
balance. As for Thiagarajan, this is what he has in mind: ''I will strive
to strike the right balance between reinforcing H-P's values and working
to reinvent its businesses.''
Meanwhile, as Thiagarajan's room is being
readied at the Bangalore office-he does not plan to move to Delhi-one of
the key items on his desk will be the 'Garage' mousepad that delineates
the rules of the Hewlett-Packard duo. And as Thiagarajan is likely to
discover, as long as you follow those rules, it doesn't matter if a
corporation is run out of a garage or global offices. People will always
flock to a good employer.
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Why
H-P is number 3 |
| Don't be
surprised if you see your name on a board near the entrance of the
hp office as you walk in... that's hp's way of welcoming its
visitors, and it's something they do to most people. Openness,
respect for individuals, teamwork, integrity, trust, and flexibility
are what the much spoken about 'hp way' is all about. Enduring
values, these are at the core the hp culture.
Here, employees have the 'freedom' to
do what they want, when they want. All the company asks is that the
results be in order. Hierarchy is totally de-emphasised at hp; there
is no one 'breathing down' your neck; and you are your own manager.
The company believes and practices that once the leadership defines
the strategy, structure and processes, employees should be given the
flexibility to achieve their objectives in the given framework and,
of course, in keeping with the hp way. The work environment is open;
everyone practises an open-door policy; and the company builds in
flexibility through techniques like flexitime, telecommuting, and
reduced-hour employment.
HP appreciates the 'personal' life
needs of an employee. Beyond providing statutory leave, an
additional leave of 10 days is provided for employees who are
getting married, another 10 days if the employee is preparing for
some competitive examination, eight weeks for those legally adopting
a child, five days for employees who suffer a bereavement in the
family; and five days for new fathers. If required, and depending on
need, the employee can also take leave beyond the stipulated time.
All special events, from
employee-birthdays to business achievements are celebrated with the
'sounds of success'-a HP celebration tune-playing through the entire
building. All employees gather around to congratulate the employee
concerned; this is followed by a minor snack-fest. Other regular
events include an annual family ball, and a picnic. On a 'special
day', which is defined by the employee and could be a birthday,
anniversary, or any other day, the employee gets a day off and can
take his (or her) family out at the expense of the company. It's
just a day off...but means a lot to the employee!
HP pegs its compensation, the hows
and whys of which are clearly communicated to the employees, at the
fourth quartile. A high degree of performance-orientation
characterises its practices; the centre-piece of this is the
company's performance-based pay programme, which is built around
financial and non-financial measures. All employees are eligible for
stock, and between 90 per cent and 95 per cent of its existing
employees own stock in the company. Recognition, for goals achieved,
outstanding team or individual performance, innovative ideas, and
projects completed, are part of the company's people practices.
Employees are encouraged to develop
themselves. Besides providing formal training to employees through
training programs, the company also reimburses employees for
tuitions. Career paths, up to the local and regional level are
mapped for each role, and continuous learning and career development
tools are available to all employees.
-Madhavi Misra and
Purva Misra, Hewitt Associates LLC |
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