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IN THIS CASE STUDYA global IT consulting, outsourcing and business process outsourcing (BPO) company that continuously hires thousands of employees around the world faces unique challenges. Such a firm’s business growth is based on being able to rapidly acquire new skills and new techniques, and then to offer those new capabilities to clients.

With human capital as its most vital resource, Infosys Technologies Ltd., based in Bangalore, India, has developed a systematic program to assure that its employees continuously learn. From its criteria for hiring to its onboarding and training programs to its highly developed system of competencies, the company has built its business around providing opportunities for each employee to continuously improve his / her skills.

In this case study, Bersin & Associates examines Infosys’s global education center and onboarding program, its use of a companywide competency council, and its focus on knowledge management and acquisition as key business strategies. In total, this company is a model of a modern enterprise learning organization. e

BERSIN & ASSOCIATES © AUGUST 2010 • NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION • LICENSED MATERIAL

BERSIN & ASSOCIATES

FOCUS:

Organizational Learning Agility

The Learning Organization at Infosys Is the Engine Powering Its Business Success

—David Mallon, Principal Analyst | August, 2010

ENTERPRISE LEARNING

ORGANIZATION AND

GOVERNANCE

LEARNING PROGRAMS

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

LEARNING MEASUREMENT

LEARNING SYSTEMS

INFORMAL LEARNING

�BERSIN & ASSOCIATES © AUGUST 2010 • NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION • LICENSED MATERIAL

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AGILITY

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Company Overview 4

Business Environment 5

Learning Organization 6

Infosys E&R as a Modern Learning Organization 9

Interviewing, Hiring and Onboarding Processes 11

Ongoing Performance Management 15

Technology 17

Knowledge-Management Portal 17

Learning Management System 17

Best Practices and Lessons Learned 18

Results 22

Conclusion 23

Appendix I: Topics for Discussion and Learning 24

Key Learnings 24

Ideas for Action 24

Questions to Consider 25

Appendix II: Abbreviations and Acronyms 26

Appendix III: Table of Figures 27

About Us 28

About This Research 28



Source: Infosys 2010 Annual Report.

Figure 1: Infosys at a Glance�

• Year Founded: 1981

• Annual Revenue: $4.804 million (as of March 31, 2010)

• Total Employees: 113,796 (as of March 31, 2010)

• Ownership: Public Limited

• Headquarters: Bangalore, India

Company Overview

Infosys Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:INFY) is a global information technology and consulting company headquartered in Bangalore, India. The company is a global leader in “next-generation” IT and consulting, and booked revenues of more than US $4.8 billion in FY 2010.

Infosys defines, designs and delivers technology-enabled business solutions. It also provides a complete range of services, including business and technology consulting, application services, systems integration, product engineering, custom software development, maintenance, reengineering, independent testing and validation services, IT infrastructure services, and business process outsourcing. Among the various domains in which it offers consulting and services is corporate learning.

Infosys employs what it calls the “global delivery model” (GDM), which enabled it to be at the forefront of the rise of offshore outsourcing of business and IT services. The GDM is based on the principle of taking work to the location where the best talent is available, where doing so makes the best economic sense and which can be done with the least amount of acceptable risk.

Currently, the company has more than 50 offices around the world, along with development centers in India, China, Australia, the Czech Republic, Poland, the U.K., Canada and Japan. Infosys and its subsidiaries employ 113,1796 people worldwide, as of March 31, 2010.1

The company does about 65 percent of its business in the U.S., with the rest in Europe and Asia. Although the company does little business directly in India, 70 percent of its workforce is based there.�

1 Source: Infosys 2010 Annual Report.2 Ibid.3 Source: http://www.infosys.com/investors/pages/index.aspx.

With human capital

as its most vital

resource, Infosys

has developed a

systematic program

to assure that

its employees

continuously learn.

KEY POINT

http://www.Infosys.com/offerings/consulting-services/pages/index.aspx

http://www.Infosys.com/offerings/consulting-services/pages/index.aspx

http://www.Infosys.com/offerings/IT-services/application-services/pages/index.aspx

http://www.Infosys.com/offerings/IT-services/systems-integration/pages/index.aspx

http://www.Infosys.com/offerings/engineering-services/product-engineering/pages/index.aspx

http://www.Infosys.com/offerings/engineering-services/product-engineering/pages/index.aspx

http://www.Infosys.com/offerings/engineering-services/pages/index.aspx

http://www.Infosys.com/offerings/IT-services/independent-validation-services/pages/index.aspx

http://www.Infosys.com/offerings/IT-services/infrastructure-services/pages/index.aspx

http://www.Infosys.com/offerings/BPO-services/Pages/index.aspx

http://www.Infosys.com/global-sourcing/global-delivery-model/pages/index.aspx

http://www.infosys.com/investors/pages/index.aspx



Business Environment

Despite the global economic downturn, the company continues to experience strong growth. From 2008 to 2009, the company grew 30 percent. Customer retention is one part of that success, but a second strategy (and one that speaks to the company’s intense focus on learning and professional growth) is that 54 percent of revenue comes from offering new services. According to the company’s vice president and group head education and research,

“Change is a constant in this industry.”

Infosys values process quality as core to its business strategy. Even in the current environment of rapid change, the company understands clearly that innovation, process quality and top-class delivery must be woven into every project. Its commitment to those concepts translates to a very high customer satisfaction and retention rate (97 percent, according to the company’s website�).

Given the focus on providing new services, Infosys employees must learn / adapt quickly and constantly. In fact, the company says that individual learning and growth are essential to its overall strategy.

Despite slowing growth in 2009, the company’s values of hiring and training did not waiver. Instead, it honored 18,000 job offers made prior to the recession. In more prosperous times, Infosys would have put those individuals to work after their training and onboarding program. Instead, it lengthened the duration of their learning programs to give them more competencies for the roles they will eventually fill when the economy improves.

Ever more rapid technology change demands such elasticity in worker skills and in the overall learning organization. As the nature of the business became less predictable, retraining people for new skills and roles became even more critical.

Hiring an individual solid in COBOL programming skills for “Y2K5” would have proven to be worthless shortly after that new year if that individual could not learn and adapt to a changing computing environment – one in which COBOL skills had become generally less important and the Y2K “scare” no longer pertinent. Thus, Infosys focuses hiring and learning programs on an individual’s “learnability” – how quickly, easily and deftly he / she acquires and can put into practice new skills.

4 Source: http://www.infosys.com/investors/pages/index.aspx.5 “Y2K” literally stands for “year 2000.” This abbreviation was used prior to the

year 2000 and especially with regard to the forecasted coding limitations in software

programs, which did not take into consideration the millennium change (from 1900

to 2000) when originally developed.

Individual learning

and growth are

essential to its

overall business

strategy.

KEY POINT

http://www.infosys.com/investors/pages/index.aspx



Learning Organization

The core learning organization within Infosys is called education and research (E&R). Led by the vice president and group head education and research, E&R has been in existence since 1990 as a separate unit of the company. At that time, the scope of the company only included IT services; therefore, it focused its learning organization efforts on technology and project management.

The company is organized vertically, with integrated business units reporting to senior vice presidents of various specialty practice groups (such as manufacturing and retail), who then report to directors. The E&R department determines overall competencies needed for the company, as well as delivering content, training and a host of other services detailed as follows.

Figure �: What Education and Research Does

Source: Infosys, 2010.

The executive

leadership

team of Infosys

is personally

involved in the

development of

robust learning

programs, with

the chairman

reviewing the

E&R department’s

activities.

BEST PRACTICE



The executive leadership team is personally involved in the development of robust learning programs. Infosys’s chairman reviews E&R’s activities. In addition, the chairman personally invested money to enhance the capability of engineering colleges and universities, and was instrumental in the development of the Indo-U.S. Collaboration for Engineering Education (IUCEE). As stated by the company’s vice president and group head education and research,

“Learning and enhancing the capabilities of our people is key so we can continue to serve

clients better and better.”�

Although each vertically aligned business unit has its own learning function delivering specialized skills specific to that group’s needs, overall company competencies and skills are defined and, in most cases, delivered by the E&R department�. As the company has grown, the learning organization has expanded into different roles and developed different sets of competencies needed for employees to continually grow the business.

6 The “Indo-U.S. Collaboration for Engineering Education” (IUCEE), conceptualized

by more than 150 leaders of engineering education and businesses from the U.S.

and India in 2007, helps to create good quality engineering talent in order to find

solutions to the global challenges facing humanity, such as energy, environment,

health and communications. For more information, please visit www.iucee.org.7 For more information, The High-Impact Learning Organization: WhatWorks® in

the Management, Governance and Operations of Modern Corporate Training, Bersin

& Associates / Josh Bersin, May 2008. Available to research members at www.bersin.

com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/highimpact.8 With regard to Figure 3: Education and Research Organization, a listing of

the abbreviations used in the organization chart are available in “Appendix II:

Abbreviations and Acronyms.”

PMCoE

CampusConnect &

Open Systems

UPAM, MIS & E&R

Ops

JEE,IVSA,MF,AGG &

Research

FP Ops, SE, IMSA,

.Net & Library

CSG,Finacle,

InC Interns, JEE-FP, BA

BI, Domain Competency

& PSD

ACC,CDPMO,

ESA, DC Ops

TL & Academy

Relationships

KM, TL & Education Assurance

Head, E&R*

PLEA

Figure �: Education and Research Organization8


*Note: VP & Group Head E&R performs the responsibilities of the CLO. There is no formal title as the CLO.

http://www.iucee.org

http://www.bersin.com/library


http://www.bersin.com/highimpact

8BERSIN & ASSOCIATES © AUGUST 2010 • NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION • LICENSED MATERIAL


Within the education and research department, there are four different career streams and multiple roles within those streams:

1. Education;

2. Knowledge management;

3. Training and administration; and,

4. Research.

Education and research identifies related technology and behavioral skills to competency maps determined by the business stakeholders in collaboration with HR. The department offers educational programs and assessments to help employees continuously grow in their jobs. The central competency management program is broken into four categories:

• Technological know-how;

• Process;

• Domain expertise; and,

• Behavioral and leadership skills.

Those four dimensions are leveraged across all learning functions.

E&R also oversees the company’s knowledge management and collaboration functions, serving as a central information source that the entire organization can access as needed. The knowledge-management function includes a vast searchable database, and provides many venues for both formal and informal learning�, including:

• Wikis10;

• Blogs11;

• Discussion forums;

• “K-mail” or knowledge mail (through which employees can reach out to experts);

• e-Learning;

9 For more information, High-Impact Learning Practices: The Guide to Modernizing

Your Corporate Training Strategy through Social and Informal Learning, Bersin &

Associates / David Mallon, July 2009. Available to research members at www.bersin.

com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/hilp.10 “Wiki” is from the Hawaiian word for “fast” – and stands for web pages that can

be collectively and collaboratively edited on the fly by readers.11 “Blog” is a shortened form of the phrase “web log,” which is a form of personal

publishing that readers can discuss.

Knowledge-sharing

equals key business

strategy.

KEY POINT



http://www.bersin.com/hilp



• Knowledge portal;

• WebEx for live meetings (used mostly to communicate with overseas employees);

• Bulletin boards for special interests;

• Tech series seminars;

• InfyTV, which broadcasts learning programs; and,

• Online assessment tools.

The overarching structure of Infosys’s learning organization is governed by the competency council, which includes the head of E&R, as well as some of the heads of the individual vertical business-unit groups. The council is headed by one of the Infosys board members. Before E&R rolls out new programs, it consults with the council. The internal certification framework gives employees an opportunity to continuously enhance their competencies and to help them achieve their career aspirations, while simultaneously assuring that business goals are being met.

The council defines and reviews the standard format that each function must abide by, although there is no direct reporting relationship between the council and the business units. The council, however, does have the authority to define training formats. The units each have a “competency anchor,” who works as a liaison with the competency council.

A newly hired Infosys employee’s training program is centered on the basic skills needed to succeed, progressing from the general to specific. E&R administers general training; specialty training is then handled by the specific business unit in which the employee will work. Content is approved by the competency council and mapped to the council’s defined set of competency.

Infosys E&R as a Modern Learning Organization

In Bersin & Associates High-Impact Learning Practices study1�, we argue that the mandate of modern high-impact learning organizations is evolving toward a focus on two overall outcomes:



Associates / David Mallon, July 2009.

The overarching

structure of

Infosys’s learning

organization

is governed by

the competency

council, which

includes the head

of E&R, as well as

some of the heads

of the individual

vertical business-

unit groups.

KEY POINT



• Building deep specialization; and,

• Building learning agility.

The fundamental role of the learning function in today’s organizations is to help the organization:

1. Be the best it can be at what makes it special today; and,

2. Develop the ability to respond to change, so that it can stay the best tomorrow.

The first half of this mandate is focused on building competitive advantage. Competitive advantage means being better than the competition in some aspect of the business that provides the organization with the leverage to win in the marketplace.

Most traditional L&D efforts in organizations are not strategic enough to generate competitive advantage, and have been instead focused on preparing the organization for as many different skills and competencies as possible – breadth over depth. Functional and operation training efforts typically address only moving into new roles, not becoming expert at those roles.

Organizations, such as Infosys, which thrive on offering new services as part of their core business strategies, recognize that what makes them truly better in the marketplace is not being better at many things. Like Infosys, these companies know the key is in understanding and driving the deep expertise of the organization – in other words, focusing on those areas which define the organization. The modern high-impact learning organization builds talent programs that develop, reward and incent deep levels of specialization. It is these deep levels of expertise that give the company the “core” form which to build and grow as the market changes. Modern high-impact learning organizations realize focusing scarce developmental resources broadly is simply not sustainable.

At Infosys, employees are expected to attain competencies at each level and within a certain period of time (as described later). The company’s focus on a highly defined career path is a clear example of how a high-impact learning organization promotes and sustains deep specialization. It recognizes the need to hire those employees who are learning-agile – and it tests competencies regularly, which demands that employees engage that agility in building considerable depth in their subject-matter areas.

Of course, achieving competitive advantage today is only so useful if you are not prepared to maintain it tomorrow. Given the extraordinary forces affecting both businesses and their learning organizations (a few of which we covered earlier), and the extreme pace of change in today’s business environment, maintaining competitive advantage requires a very nimble

Infosys’s focus on

a highly defined

career path is a

clear example

of how a high-

impact learning

organization

promotes and

sustains deep

specialization.

BEST PRACTICE



step and a watchful eye. Organizations must be able to constantly read the environment (accurately) and react to changing conditions. They must be capable of changing their mind when appropriate and learning from mistakes at every opportunity.

An organization’s ability to respond to adaptive challenge (be it an opportunity, threat or crisis) through the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills is the definition given by Clark and Gottfredson for “learning agility1�” – and is what we are describing. Bersin & Associates believes that increasing an organization’s learning agility is the second half of the mandate for modern high-impact learning organizations.

Achieving high learning agility is very difficult and (by definition) a constant struggle. It is about developing the capacities and perspectives that will facilitate a nimble response to change; in that regard, it is not initiative-driven.

Infosys’s driving focus for finding and honing learnability in its talent speaks directly to the company’s understanding of the importance of learning ability. The learning organization is built to support continuous learning on the part of both individual learners and the organization as a whole. In such a dynamic and evolving industry as IT consulting services, the learning organization and the development of human capital are deeply interwoven with business strategy. Infosys has a strong learning culture that is deeply supported by and part of the core mission of the executive leadership team.

When you consider that greater than 50 percent of the company’s revenues are generated by services that did not even exist within the company five years ago, it is logical that Infosys would have such a highly evolved L&D function. For the firm to succeed, it must enable people to deliver new services. The learning department itself is considered a “business-enabler” function, ensuring that employees are able to deliver services with the utmost expertise. The E&R department handles most training for new technologies, as well as the certification programs that link to job competencies.

Interviewing, Hiring and Onboarding Processes

Infosys must always provide its clients with advanced skills and highly effective project management. Therefore, a fundamental component of its success is the education programs and processes provided by E&R.

13 Source: In Search of Learning Agility: Assessing Progress from 1957 to 2008,

Timothy R. Clark, Ph.D. and Conrad A. Gottfredson, Ph.D., TRClark, Inc., 2008.

More than one-half

of the revenues

for Infosys this

past year were

generated by

services that did

not exist within the

company five

years ago.

KEY POINT

1�BERSIN & ASSOCIATES © AUGUST 2010 • NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION • LICENSED MATERIAL


In general, Infosys hires two kinds of employees – those who come directly from college, and those who already have demonstrated professional expertise in their fields.

In a normal year, the company hires between 18,000 and 25,000 people from as many as 400 different engineering schools. To cull the number down from the one million or so who apply, the company administers a standardized test for skills and for that elusive quality of “learnability.”

The company works on a time-based learning triangle, in which a new hire straight from engineering college begins his career as a system engineer trainee, grows as a technical analyst and then progresses to technology lead over a period of seven to eight years. Thereafter, based on individual career aspiration, competence and performance, an employee may choose to grow further as a project manager leading to senior project manager role, or in the technical stream as a technology architect. It is considered paramount to the company’s overall hiring strategy that individuals are able to follow that growth path from day one. As the vice president and group head education and research stated,

“We hire smart people and support them with the learning organization. It is a core part of

our learning strategy.”

The first part of a new hire’s life at Infosys involves going back to school. Although recruits may have significant extant knowledge prior to hire, the company first brings them to its Mysore, India global education center, at which they can immediately become acclimated to the intense learning commitment the company demands.

Called the “Foundation Program,” new graduates receive in only five months the academic equivalent of a second bachelor of science degree in computer science. In addition to technical information, the center serves as a way for new employees to become acculturated to Infosys through storytelling and discussion of core values. Although based in India, the culture at Infosys is not tied to the culture of any nation / state; it is not Indian or American, but rather a global company that values integrity, excellence and customer orientation.

Individuals participate in classroom sessions for half a day, and then spend the other half engaged in hands-on assigned project work, group work and e-learning. Each course has assignments that are graded, as well as individual assessments. To evaluate progress and “learnability,” frequent online assessments are given with student / employees receiving coaching on their skills, based on the observations of program personnel.

Upon conclusion of the training, individuals are tested. To pass training, they must receive at least a score of four on a five-point scale. Those unable to meet these mastery requirements do not go on in their careers at Infosys.

Infosys assesses

candidates for their

ability to learn new

knowledge and

skills quickly and

efficiently.

KEY POINT

Although based

in India, the

culture at Infosys

is not tied to the

culture of any

nation / state; it

is not Indian or

American, but

rather a global

company that

values integrity,

excellence

and customer

orientation.

BEST PRACTICE



As an IT services company, getting productivity out of headcount is essential, so the company encourages new recruits to tap into knowledge-management resources as part of their learning projects. In fact, a key to completing the onboarding program is an employee’s ability to uncover and utilize resources using both formal and informal knowledge.

As noted earlier, the E&R Department has created a great many opportunities for informal learning. As onboarding employees work through their assignments, they are encouraged to look up experts and use other information through the knowledge-management system.

From the onboarding program, individuals move on to their assigned business unit for specialized training. For employees with experience, much of the training is role-based. E&R develops training based on competencies determined for the particular business unit and job level of the individual. Those competencies are handled centrally and published across the organization.

Figure �: Goals of the Foundation Program

• Ensure that fresh entrants absorb the fundamental concepts of system engineering and development.

• Learn to relate fundamental technical concepts to real-world implementations in specific software technologies.

• Gain ability to pick up new technologies quickly and appreciate the issues in real-world software projects.

• Understand how to work as a team and master the interpersonal skills required.


Figure �: An Example of Defining Competencies at Infosys – The Process for Roles Inside of E&R

Step 1: Identify roles such as educators, instructional designers, and researchers.

Step 2: Create a job description for the role.

Step 3: Define the job within the hierarchy of the organization.

Step 4: Work with HR, organizational development (OD) and the competency council.

Step 5: Team to define competencies needed for each role.

Step 6: Review competencies and gain approval from the OD team and the competency council.

Step 7: Consider the learning programs needed to develop those competencies.




Figure �: List of All Possible Competencies for E&R

Competency Need Analysis

Education Curriculum and Course Design

Education Content Development and Maintenance

Course Delivery

Competency Assessment

Technology / Functional Knowledge

Consulting

Education Management and Processes

Data Management and Analysis

Project / Program Management

Industry / Domain

Library Administration and Management

Knowledge Management Strategy

Requirements Engineering

Solution Architecture

Solution Design

Solution Development

Solution Testing

Solution Deployment

Solution Support

Knowledge Management

Branding and Promotion

Research Methodology

Allied Processes

Innovation in Research

Research / Business Domains and Networks


As the company

has grown,

the learning

organization has

expanded into

different roles

and developed

different sets of

competencies

needed for

employees to

continually grow

the business.

KEY POINT



The competency council makes sure that the mapping fits within the overall Infosys-defined framework.

Ongoing Performance Management

In addition to testing competencies for new employees, every individual at Infosys participates in ongoing assessment and related development. Every year, each employee takes two certifications. One addresses technological competency and is directly related to the work in which he / she is currently involved. The second is focused on either process or the employee’s business domain specialty.

Assessment instruments for both performance management and appraisal tools have been developed in-house over the years from collected data and performance reports. This data is used to continuously refine which competencies are most appropriate to each role in the company.

Figure 2: Learning On-Demand Disciplines

Source: Bersin & Associates, 2008.

PerformanceManagement

LearningManagement

KnowledgeManagement

Figure �: Modern Enterprise Learning – A Convergence of Three Spheres of Influence


As part of its

commitment

to continuous

learning, Infosys

also expects

employees at

higher levels

to share their

knowledge, taking

on teacher-type

roles.

KEY POINT



Performance is also tied to the company’s customer satisfaction surveys. Information from the survey flows both to the employee’s performance file, as well as to the overall group’s learning strategy and certification program. The annual customer satisfaction survey results data is integrated into the following year’s training and certification program. Each year furthers the development of this feedback loop, solidifying employee learning, while also ensuring high customer satisfaction marks.

Internally, project groups meet after a project has wrapped up for a closure meeting. Each project is analyzed based on defects and issues, and a root cause analysis is prepared. Best practices are determined and these are circulated through the business units, so that they can be applied to similar projects.

Worldwide clients expect Infosys consultants to act as a strategic partner, and that means being more assertive and outspoken. Yet Indians culturally tend toward deference to authority. The head of E&R stated that,

“… We have to teach the staff assertiveness.”

To do so, the company has created behavioral training programs that stress advocacy and opinionated discussion.

As part of its commitment to continuous learning, Infosys also expects employees at higher levels to share their knowledge, taking on teacher-type roles. Managers must deliver five days of training per year, with prepared content in a preset format. They are also encouraged to talk about their own projects as teaching examples during informal lunch presentations (commonly called “brown-bag” sessions). They also host forums, share their personal experiences with certifications and what they have done to reach their current levels. Some sessions are recorded and available as streams on the knowledge-management portal.

The certifications are a prerequisite for progression. Infosys uses a consolidated, relative ranking system in which employees are slotted into five different ranks based on their appraisals. About 10 percent of the work force is considered “top performer” (1+ out of 4), while five percent is considered the lowest ranking group (4). Low-ranked individuals are put on the performance improvement program.

Although individuals are hired for learnability and the company offers a vast number of resources, Infosys still believes that learning is an individual’s personal responsibility. The company encourages employees to develop a personal learning strategy as part of their development plans.

To encourage

accountability

for development,

employees who do

not complete their

yearly required

certifications for

their individual

levels are not

eligible for

the highest

performance

management

rating.

KEY POINT



Technology

Given that Infosys’ strategic success is based on the development and application of new technology, it stands to reason that its internal knowledge management and learning systems would be highly developed.

Much of the company’s learning programs are accessible through SPARSH, the company’s general portal. It has links to both the knowledge-sharing portal and Infosys’s learning management system (LMS).

Knowledge-Management PortalCalled “K Shop,” the knowledge-management portal allows users to personalize the interface for the specific results. Users can search for subject matter or functional experts, discussion groups or within specific pages.

• The Infosys wiki caters to users by job role and permissions group.

• “Find Expert” serves as the "the knowledge yellow pages." Users search by keyword or predefined suggested domain topics.

• Discussion forums tend to focus on specific problems or technology areas. Users could search, for example, on "AS400."

• InfyTV offers recorded videos similar to YouTube1�. Content includes recorded testimonials and demonstrations of best practices.

One unique element to Infosys’s knowledge-management system is that people are encouraged and rewarded for contributing to it. Employee contributions and the usefulness of those contributions are tracked; employees earn points based on their contributions over time. Infosys regularly presents awards to the top K Shop contributors.

Learning Management SystemInfosys LMS is comprised of an SAT-based scheduling and tracking application called “ILITE+,” and a customized learning content management system called Technology Assisted Learning (TAL). Infosys is in the process of migrating from TAL to an SAP learning management system. All courses offered through the LMS are mapped directly to roles and business units. The interface for the site is simple and utilitarian.

The foundation program’s objective is to ensure that fresh entrants absorb the fundamental concepts of software engineering and development. The coursework presented in the LMS helps them learn to relate concepts (from fundamental to advanced) to their implementations in specific software

14 For more information: http://www.youtube.com.

One unique

element to Infosys’s

knowledge-

management

system is that

people are

encouraged and

rewarded for

contributing to it.

KEY POINT

http://www.youtube.com



technologies and gain the ability to pick up new technologies quickly. Evaluation and testing are integrated into the LMS for those classes and include some live performance evaluation components, as well.

Best Practices and Lessons Learned

As the company has grown and changed, one thing has remained constant – learning is key to its business success. As part of its core processes, the company has integrated continuous learning from day one on the job to retirement. It is part of the company’s culture.

According to Bersin & Associates report, The Enterprise Learning Framework1�, effective L&D departments incorporate five elements into their learning strategies:

1. Learning programs;

2. Learning approaches;

3. Learning disciplines;

15 For more information, The Enterprise Learning Framework: A Modern Approach to

Corporate Training, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin, April 2009. Available to research

members at www.bersin.com/library.

Figure 8: iLITE+– Infosys’s Learning Management System





4. Learning tools and technology; and,

5. Learning culture.

Infosys has developed each of these areas to work together as part of the company’s overall strategic mission. Its menu of learning programs is comprehensive – and includes many different tools and technologies, and both formal and informal learning approaches. From the day a candidate receives a job offer, the company delivers the clear message that continuous learning is part of his / her success at Infosys, as well as it being a personal responsibility. The company provides the tools, but the employees must make the effort to use them.

Every five to seven years, Infosys reexamines the organizational design, including job roles, requirements for jobs and competency frameworks. The lessons learned through project and status reports, as well as new competency requirements, are incorporated into any redesigns or changes.

Copyright © 2009 Bersin & Associates. All rights reserved. Page 1

Appr

oach

es

On-Demand EmbeddedSocial

Enterprise Learning Framework®

Formal

Informal

Tools & Technology

Culture

Disciplines

Learning Programs

Learning Architecture

Org

aniz

atio

n, G

over

nanc

e an

d M

anag

emen

t 1

2

3

4

5

Audiences & Problems

Figure �: Bersin & Associates Enterprise Learning Framework®


Every five to seven

years, Infosys

reexamines the

organizational

design, including

job roles,

requirements

for jobs and

competency

frameworks.

KEY POINT

�0BERSIN & ASSOCIATES © AUGUST 2010 • NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION • LICENSED MATERIAL


One area in which Infosys is hoping to improve is how it approaches learning across global regions. While in the past it has been a comprehensive and relatively standardized process, Infosys L&D executives believe that a more geographically focused learning organization might be more effective. Such geographically targeted learning is now being tested in Mexico and China, with an eye to rolling out similar practices to other parts of the world in the near future.

Recently, the company redesigned some of the foundation content to suit audiences in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany. It found that the extensive communication skills training needed by Indian recruits was not as necessary for its American and British new hires. It did, however, add a three-week orientation in client services for those audiences.

Future plans continue to evolve. One focus area is partnering with local vendors to offer various programs (such as negotiation skills), along with certification testing centers that are within 50 miles of any Infosys location. The company is also adding additional e-learning programs and virtual classrooms for its global workforce.

High-impact learning organizations add new capacity and continually reevaluate content based on organizational needs. They are versatile and are able to adapt to rapidly changing organization needs.

Infosys is clearly a modern high-impact learning organization, as defined by the Bersin & Associates Modern Enterprise Learning Index16. This index is a set of 10 high-level measures of the learning function, including five focused internally on operational abilities, and five focused externally on outputs and relationships with those businesses served.



Associates / David Mallon, July 2009.

High-impact

learning

organizations

add new capacity

and continually

reevaluate

content based on

organizational

needs. They are

versatile and are

able to adapt to

rapidly changing

organization

needs.

BEST PRACTICE



Figure 10: Infosys and the Bersin & Associates Modern Enterprise Learning Index

Capabilities Measure Infosys

Capacity Building

The company adds new knowledge and skills quickly to meet the changing needs of the business.

Infosys employees are expected to learn and become proficient at new competencies. Assessments are administered every six months.

Business Analysis

The company has the connections and the expertise to master and analyze the business processes of target audiences.

Infosys has deep connections with higher education institutions and industry groups, as well as subject-matter experts.

Content Efficiency

Adept at content reuse and recycling. Infosys has a large, highly efficient content development operation – for both formal and informal learning content.

Adaptation

The company knows the preferences of its audiences, and can adapt efforts to audiences of different geographies or generations.

Adapts global-learning programs to local geographies. Designs learning programs based on cultural needs.

VersatileWorks equally well in as many different formats, channels and modalities as its audiences do.

Learning is offered in classrooms, online and in a variety of on-demand formats.

Outputs Measure Infosys

Business-DrivenMeasures efforts in terms of business impact.

Infosys recognizes that its key strategic advantage is offering cutting-edge services. Business impact is directly tied to skills development.

Talent Linked Efforts map directly to consolidated talent and management strategies.

Employee performance success is directly linked to acquisition of new competencies.

TargetedEfforts are honed to address specific performance needs.

Competencies are directly linked to successful functional skills.

TimelySuccessful at meeting urgent, time-critical business needs.

Infosys competency council continually reevaluates skills needed for success.

Proximal

Efforts are targeted as close to where performance happens as possible,

Training is virtual, as well as in regional learning centers. Competency assessments take place within 50 miles of local offices. Knowledge management and on-demand learning are key components in the overall learning strategy.


��BERSIN & ASSOCIATES © AUGUST 2010 • NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION • LICENSED MATERIAL


Results

Today, the E&R department has 600 full-time employees. As the department has grown in size and scope, the company has made investments in both physical infrastructure and programs to maintain its best-in-class education and training programs. For example, Infosys recently invested in an additional 1.4 million square feet of education space. According to the vice president and group head E&R,

“That’s clear recognition of the need and value education brings to the organization.”

Infosys views its education and training efforts as the formation of a triangle, the base of which is the overall company. One side of the triangle is the responsibility of the employee to raise his / her competency level, while the other side represents the opportunities provided by the organization.

Figure 11: Learning Measurement Dashboard Metrics

Courses - Design, Development, & Delivery (Effort)

Effectiveness (Results)

Other Functions

# of Training Delivery Days

# of People Trained

# of Training Delivery Days Consumed

# of Courses Delivered

# of Unique Courses Delivered

# of New Courses Launched

# of Courses Revised

# of New e-Learning Courses Launched

% Fresher’s achieving >=4.5 CGPA

% of Courses Serviced Well

Instructor Feedback

Course Feedback

Course Feedback (e-Learning)

% Compliance to Published SLAs

# of Assessments

# of Knowledge Management assets published

# of K Assets downloaded

# of Intellectual Assets developed (Papers, books, patents, & trademarks)

# of students in SPARK

# of Books/Artifacts in Library

# of Transactions/day in Library




Learning is part of the overall culture. The importance of learning is communicated from the top down. Employee competency planning is revisited every six months, and is part of the planning for both the business units and the overall company’s annual business plan. The competency council reevaluates needs based on ongoing input from individual business units. Employee performance is evaluated according to the ability of employees to pass assessments at the highest level and move forward in their careers, providing a clear career path.

Conclusion

The E&R department has a singular mission – to raise employee capability. Through a process of measures and evaluations, stakeholders and clients measure the capabilities of the company. At the same time, individuals must take responsibility for meeting their own competency aspirations.

Through focusing on knowledge, E&R at Infosys has engaged with engineering schools, created a 29-week “Foundation” training program, and developed ongoing education programs to ensure that employee competencies keep pace with the services the company provides to its clients. It administers more than 200,000 assessments annually to test employee knowledge.

Learning is core to the organization’s culture. Although classroom learning is not mandated per se at Infosys, employees would not succeed at this company without a constant commitment to learning, be it through formal classroom, e-learning or on-the-job learning with self-study. Infosys practices learning as a business strategy from the top down – through certification design, performance appraisals and assessments, and from the bottom up – by providing tools for informal learning and a constant focus on a sense of personal accountability. The company provides significant resources for learning in all forms. Job and company success is dependent on employees taking advantage of those resources to offer new services.

Infosys serves as a model of a high-impact learning organization. Learning is woven into the fabric of nearly everything it does. The company has clearly defined competencies for which the E&R department provides programs and ongoing assessments. Finally, it considers talent development integral to its business mission.

Infosys serves as a

model of a high-

impact learning

organization at

which learning is

woven into the

fabric of nearly

everything the

company does.

A N A LY S I S



The following sections will provide you with considerations for sharing and implementing the best practices that were highlighted in this report.

Key Learnings

Below is a list of key learnings (the “gems”) from this case study.

1. Learning is a core business strategy for Infosys and so it is given due attention by the business.

2. Core to Infosys’s learning strategies is its competency council, which includes the head of E&R, as well as the heads of the individual vertical business units. The council defines and continuously refines a governing certification framework for all roles within the organization.

3. Focusing on certification management and capability development is an essential way to make the connection of learning to other talent management processes obvious and actionable

Ideas for Action

Below is a list of actions that you can take in order to apply or implement the best practices highlighted in the report. These are some of the foundational elements that we highly recommend be in place inside your company in order to execute such a plan, process or program.

1. Adopt a skills and competencies model for at least the key roles in your organization.

2. Give adequate attention to hiring processes (including relationships with sources of new hires, such as universities) to ensure that the newly hired are best-equipped to succeed over the long term.

3. Devise and implement informal learning and knowledge-sharing strategies to complement formal learning efforts.

Appendix I: Topics for Discussion and Learning

Core to Infosys’s

learning strategies

is its competency

council, which

defines and

continuously

refines a governing

certification

framework for all

roles within the

organization.

KEY POINT



Questions to Consider

Below is a list of discussion questions that you can ask your team, colleagues and business leaders, which will help you to take the next steps.

1. What is the governance model for learning in your organization? How are business leaders involved?

2. How might business experts be leveraged as teachers?

3. Do your talent acquisition processes filter or select for “learnability?”

Give adequate

attention to

hiring processes

to ensure that the

newly hired are

best-equipped to

succeed over the

long term.

KEY POINT



Appendix II: Abbreviations and Acronyms

ACC Assessment & Certification Center

AGG Architects Grooming Group

BA Business Analyst

BI Business Intelligence

CDPMO Competency Development Program

CSG Client Servicing Group

DC Ops DC Operations

ESA ES Academy

FP Foundation Program

IMSA IMS Academy

IVSA IVS Academy

JEE Java Enterprise Edition

KM Knowledge Management

MF Mainframe

PLEA PLES Academy

PMCoE Project Management Centre of Excellence

PSD Professional Skills Development

SE Software Engineering

TL Thought Leadership

UPAM Unit Planning & Assurance Manager



Appendix III: Table of Figures

Figure 1: Infosys at a Glance 4

Figure �: What Education and Research Does 6

Figure �: Education and Research Organization 7

Figure �: Goals of the Foundation Program 13

Figure �: An Example of Defining Competencies at Infosys – The Process for Roles Inside of E&R 13

Figure �: List of All Possible Competencies for E&R 14

Figure �: Modern Enterprise Learning – A Convergence of Three Spheres of Influence 15

Figure 8: iLITE+– Infosys’s Learning Management System 18

Figure �: Bersin & Associates Enterprise Learning Framework® 19

Figure 10: Infosys and the Bersin & Associates Modern Enterprise Learning Index 21

Figure 11: Learning Measurement Dashboard Metrics 22



About UsBersin & Associates is the only research and advisory consulting firm focused

solely on WhatWorks® research in enterprise learning and talent management.

With more than 25 years of experience in enterprise learning, technology and

HR business processes, Bersin & Associates provides actionable, research-based

services to help learning and HR managers and executives improve operational

effectiveness and business impact.

Bersin & Associates research members gain access to a comprehensive library

of best practices, case studies, benchmarks and in-depth market analyses designed

to help executives and practitioners make fast, effective decisions. Member

benefits include: in-depth advisory services, access to proprietary webcasts and

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organizations in a wide range of industries benefit from Bersin & Associates

research and services.

Bersin & Associates can be reached at http://www.bersin.com or at (510) 654-8500.

About This ResearchCopyright © 2010 Bersin & Associates. All rights reserved. WhatWorks® and related names such as Rapid e-Learning: WhatWorks® and The High-Impact Learning Organization® are registered trademarks of Bersin & Associates. No materials from this study can be duplicated, copied, republished, or reused without written permission from Bersin & Associates. The information and forecasts contained in this report reflect the research and studied opinions of Bersin & Associates analysts.

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