Partha's Blog

Diwali, the festival of lights, is a not only celebration of the triumph of good over evil, but is also a celebration of positive synergy, camaraderie, optimism and goodwill within the teams and across the organization. Set right at the onset of the mild and pleasant winters in the South, Diwali welcomes in the festive season which continues till the end of the year. At Four Soft we understand the significance of Diwali, as a time to celebrate our success and achievements, put all negative performance (if any) behind us and look with optimism to the year ahead. Right since the initial days, we understood that to be a successful organization we have to use occasions like Diwali to announce all important things to the staff so that they understand and continue their engagement with the organization having the right amount of faith, hope and belief in the future. The Diwali celebration is typically done a day before Diwali at Four Soft, a tradition which has been continuing right from t...

The often used term when benchmarking salaries are “market” or “industry” standard, however these terms are often vague and the salaries ranges (upper-lower limits) quoted are often huge to make any real sense either to a prospective candidate or to the organization in general. Though in essence it is a handy tool to have, it often loses significance when the job requires high levels of technical or functional skills and/or it is in a knowledge intensive industry like IT or Pharmaceutical. Even for a standard role like software engineer in the IT industry, the average or median salary can fluctuate hugely based on parameters like education (including graduating college), experience, technical skills (including certifications), city, organization worked (type, reputation, size etc.) etc. Moreover the demand and supply of qualified resources in the market based on the prevailing macro-economic conditions also impacts the market standard salary significantly, wherein in a recession marke...

When an employee decides to voluntarily separate from an organization, whether for personal (relocation, study etc.) or professional (better role, salary etc.) reasons, s/he need to be extremely careful on how they conduct themselves during their notice period. Most companies have a mutually agreed notice period, based on an employee’s seniority and/or role in the organization, which are often clearly stated in the appointment letter or in the employment handbook. The separating employee needs to be extremely careful on how s/he plan to serve their notice period – serve it in entirety or negotiate an early relieving – and avoid getting into any confrontational mode, which will help in averting any negative emotions with the Manager/team or possible legal issues with the organization in future. The right process to follow is to first have a one-on-one meeting with the reporting Manager and state the intent to separate and the cause behind that decision. It should be followed with an a...

The need to think beyond just compensation With the IT industry having an optimistic outlook for the year ahead, the competition between organizations for attracting and retaining talent is going to be high. Hence apart from just direct compensation, programs like work-life balance, career development and performance management are crucial business responses for the ever changing workplace. Organizations that are interested in maintaining a diverse workforce, retain experienced and knowledgeable employees and attract new talent cannot afford to overlook the value such programs bring to balance the concerns of today’s workforce. In fact many organizations have already started using initiatives like flexi-timings, extended maternity/paternity leaves, Management development programs, job enrichment etc. to help recruit and retain employees. Senior Management and HR practitioners can affect employee engagement and retention by first understanding the other things an employee values, apa...