HEMA RAVICHANDAR HEAD (HR)/INFOSYS PRATIK KUMAR HEAD (CORPORATE HR)/WIPRO T. HARI SENIOR VP (HR)/SATYAM

The first time we came together, it was so difficult to start talking," says A.S. Murty, Director and Senior VP (HR), Satyam Computer Services. Murty is referring to the first meeting of the heads of hr of three of India's largest software services companies: Infosys, Wipro and Satyam. The meeting happened at Infosys' Mysore campus on March 4 and 5 this year; Murty and his colleague T. Hari, Senior Vice President (HR), Satyam, Infosys' head of hr Hema Ravichandar, and Wipro's head of corporate hr Pratik Kumar knew each other and of each other before the meeting, had encountered each other at various fora, including seminars on hr that they had addressed, and had even kept in touch over the phone and e-mail. Yet, when all of them met late on the evening of March 4, over dinner, no one seemed to know what to say. Since hr pros are normally known for their above-average communication skills, one can only surmise that the fact that these companies compete with each other, for business and for employees, and that their dinner could be seen as breaking bread with the enemy got their tongues.

The four met again, at eight in the morning the following day. Each began tentatively, making a presentation of their organisational structure. A few hours later, the ice was broken; the meeting became interactive, and it finally ended at one in the afternoon. The idea-it seems to be one of those things that just happened and cannot be attributed to one of the people involved-according to Wipro's Kumar was to come together and explore opportunities to learn and drive value, to "see what works and what doesn't" and "to avoid mistakes". "It is an information sharing forum," adds Satyam's Hari. "We have kept it informal and have no fixed agenda."

The forum of hr heavyweights doesn't have a name yet, but there are several sound reasons why there should be one (a forum, that is) at all. First, each of the companies employs between 10,000 and 30,000 people and face similar challenges related to recruiting, retaining and motivating talent. Second, they face similar issues related to visas. Third, since it would be impossible for these, the companies at the vanguard of the Indian software business, to enter into a no-poaching agreement, an open line of communication between hr heads can at least ensure that projects do not suffer because a team leader leaves suddenly (for instance, the forum could look at mechanisms such as relieving orders and the like that a company will insist an employee submit soon after signing on).

Neither Kumar nor Hari (Infosys' Ravichandar did not speak to this writer because her company was in the quiet period in the run-up to its announcement of quarterly results) is willing to comment on the tangible benefits of such an association. "Accessibility to information and familiarity with competitive processes is a major intangible benefit for any company," says Hari. And that, in turn, will make for a much more salubrious recruiting environment. Now, the HR honchos of the three companies are planning for their next meeting in Pune (at Wipro's facility, this time), and are hoping that they will be able to rope in their counterpart S. Padmanabhan from TCS.