recrutiment at tcs

PERCEPTUAL MAPPING OF INTERVIEW PROCESS AT

TCS AND ITS COMPARISON WITH TIER I COMPANIES

REPORT FOR THE PROJECT UNDERTAKEN AT

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

CHENNAI

Submitted for the partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

June 2010

By

Chippy Ajit

PGDM-09DM32

Birla Institute of Management Technology

Knowledge park-II, Greater Noida

2 | P a g e

SUMMER PROJECT CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Ms. Chippy Ajit Roll No. 09DM032 a student of PGDM has

worked on a summer project titled “PERCEPTUAL MAPPING OF INTERVIEW PROCESS AT TCS

AND ITS COMPARISON WITH TIER I COMPANIES” at M/S. Tata Consultancy Services Limited,

Chennai after Trimester-III in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Post Graduate

Diploma in Management programme. This is his/her original work to the best of my

knowledge.

DATE: __28 JUNE 2010__ SIGNATURE ________________

(________________________)

BIMTECH SEAL FACULTY GUIDE

3 | P a g e

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The sense of contentment and elation that accompanies the successful completion of any task

would be incomplete without the mention of the people who made it possible, whose constant

guidance and encouragement crowned my efforts with success. I take this opportunity to

thank all those who have generously helped me to give a proper shape to my work.

I would like to express gratitude and sincere thanks to the management of Tata Consultancy

Services Ltd., Chennai for giving me an opportunity to do the internship in the prestigious

organisation from 12 April 2010 to 12 June 2010.

I would like to thank Mr. Shreekaanth (industry guide) - campus recruitment, Ms. Sakshi

Munglani from the EP team of TCS Talent Acquisition Group Chennai and the entire

department for extending their invaluable guidance and assistance which enabled me to

overcome many obstacles during the project work and in giving a wholesome exposure and

experience at work.

I would like to express my gratitude and sincere thanks to Dr.H. Chaturvedi, Director, Birla

Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida for standing by me in all my

endeavours.

I would also like to thank Dr. A.K Dey for his valuable inputs and guidance for the analysis

of primary data without which this project would have remained incomplete.

It was a great privilege for me to work under the expert guidance of Prof. Jaya Gupta , Birla

Institute of management technology, Greater Noida who was around to monitor my progress

in the project and provide me with ample suggestions to proceed with my work.

4 | P a g e

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7

1.1 Background To The Problem 7

1.2 Statement Of Problem 7

1.2.1 Objective Of Study 7

1.2.2 Approach to Problem 7

1.3 Major Findings 8

1.4 Conclusions And Recommendations 9

2. INTRODUCTION 11

2.1 Industry Profile 11

2.2 Company Profile 13

2.3 Introduction to the Topic 15

2.3.1 Talent Acquisition - Recruitment and Selection 15

2.3.2 Overview of the Process In TCS 19

3. PROBLEM DEFINITION 22

3.1 Background To The Problem 22

3.2 Statement Of Problem 22

3.2.1 Objective Of Study 22

3.2.2 Approach to Problem 22

3.3 Scope Of Study 23

4. RESEARCH DESIGN 24

4.1 Type Of Research Design 24

4.2 Information Needs 24

4.3 Data Collection From Primary Source 24

4.4 Scaling Techniques 24

4.5 Questionnaire Development And Pretesting 24

4.6 Sampling Techniques 25

4.7 Fieldwork 25

5. DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 26

5.1 Pilot Study 26

5.2 Descriptive Analysis 30

5.3 Factor Analysis 35

5.4 Discriminant Analysis 41

5.5 Perceptual Mapping 46

6. LIMITATIONS 51

7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 52

5 | P a g e

8. ANNEXURE - I 55

9. ANNEXURE - II 58

10. REFERENCES 60

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE TITLE PAGE

Table 1:

Result of Fisher MSD - Q9 - Transparent negotiations by HR (i.e.

letting you know their limitations when it comes to salary and role

during negotiations) - Pilot Study

29

Table 2: Result of Fisher MSD - Q11 :Query Resolution by Personnel after

selection until offer - Pilot Study 30

Table 3: Information provided regarding the pre-requisites of interview -

Descriptive Analysis 30

Table 4: Time taken for Registration - Descriptive Analysis 31

Table 5: Time between the call interview and actual interview - Descriptive

Analysis 31

Table 6: Communication – Venue & Interview schedule - Descriptive

Analysis 31

Table 7: Interaction with Panellist - Descriptive Analysis 32

Table 8: Interaction with HR - Descriptive Analysis 32

Table 9: Seating & Other Infra at Venue - Descriptive Analysis 32

Table 10: Level of Difficulty Interview as against your years of experience -


Table 11:

Transparent negotiations by HR (i.e. letting you know their

limitations when it comes to salary and role during negotiations) -


Table 12: Interaction with HR personnel after selection - Descriptive

Analysis 34

Table 13: Query Resolution by Personnel after selection until offer -


Table 14: Process Co-ordination at venue - Descriptive Analysis 34

Table 15: Overall Experience at Venue - Descriptive Analysis 35

Table 16: Case Process Summary and Reliability Statistics :Reliability Test -

Factor Analysis 36

Table 17: KMO and Bartlett‟s Test - Factor Analysis 36

Table 18: Total Variance Explained :Validity Test - Factor Analysis 37

Table 19: Rotated Component Matrix :Validity Test - Factor analysis 38

Table 20: KMO and Bartlett‟s Test - Factor Analysis 39

Table 21: Total Variance Explained - Factor Analysis 39

Table 22: Rotated Component Matrix - Factor analysis 40

6 | P a g e

Table 23: Classification Processing Summary - Category I : Gender of the

Candidate - Discriminant Analysis 42

Table 24: Prior Probabilities for Groups - Category I : Gender of the


Table 25: Classification Results - Category I : Gender of the Candidate -

Discriminant Analysis 42

Table 26: Classification Processing Summary - Category II : Years of

Experience of the Candidate - Discriminant Analysis 43

Table 27: Prior Probabilities for Groups - Category II : Years of Experience

of the Candidate - Discriminant Analysis 43

Table 28: Classification Results - Category II : Years of Experience of the


Table 29: Classification Processing Summary - Category III : Source of

Information on Walk-In - Discriminant Analysis 45

Table 30: Prior Probabilities for Groups - Category III : Source if

Information on Walk-In - Discriminant Analysis 45

Table 31: Classification Results - Category III : Source of Information on

Walk-In - Discriminant Analysis 45

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE TITLE PAGE

Fig 1 Indian IT and ITES Sectors: Growth in Professionals 12

Fig 2 A Flow Chart of Recruitment Process at TCS 19

Fig 3

Communication - Venue Details & Interview Schedule Vs

Information provided on pre-requisites

46

Fig 4 Seating & Other Infra Vs Overall Experience 47

Fig 5 Transparent Negotiations Vs Overall Experience 48

Fig 6

Interaction with HR after selection Vs Overall Experience at

Venue 49

Fig 7 Query Resolution by HR Vs Overall Experience 50

7 | P a g e

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 BACKGROUND TO PROBLEM

The recruitment process is not just about employers identifying suitable employees for the

future, it‟s also about candidates finding out more about the business, and considering

whether the organisation is one where they would like to work for.

The experience of candidates (both successful and unsuccessful) at each stage of the

recruitment process will impact on their view of the organisation. This could be both from the

perspective of a potential employee and, depending on the nature of the business, as a

customer.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

With an upsurge in interest in the idea of „employer branding‟, more employers are giving

thought to ensuring a positive candidate experience and the kind of company material and

communications received by individuals as part of the recruitment process. Hence, this

project aims at realising how TCS is perceived by candidates with respect to few attributes

identified and in comparison to other Tier I companies in Chennai.

1.2.1 OBJECTIVE

To realise the factors that contribute to effective/ineffective recruitment process.

This objective when attained will show us how closely TCS recruitment process is

related with other Tier I companies with respect to the various attributes considered.

1.2.2 Approach to the Problem

These objectives have been realised by the method of Perception mapping

Perception mapping:

Perceptual mapping is a graphics technique used by marketers that attempts to visually

display the perceptions of customers or potential customers. Typically the position of a

product, product line, brand, or company is displayed relative to their competition.

8 | P a g e

1.3 MAJOR FINDINGS

The Major findings from Descriptive Analysis:

By the Descriptive Analysis it is found TCS has fared well in all the variables. Majority of

the respondents 50% and above have always rated TCS with a high score.

Two variables „Query Resolution by HR after selection‟ and „Seating arrangements‟ have a

similar ratings with equal proportion of candidates rating TCS with a mid score.

The major Factors as identified by Factor Analysis:

1. Interaction the candidate has with the HR or the Interview Panel creates a certain mental

map of the company in the minds of the candidates.

2. The factor of Time matters to the candidate and this is directly helps in quantifying the

effectiveness of the whole interview process in the minds of the candidate.

3. The third factor is Experience of comfort - Level of difficulty perceived, HR negotiations

and Query Resolution once the candidate is selected. The infra structure provided also has an

impact on the experience candidates has and this has been explained in tandem with the

above variables by the third component of Factor Analysis.

4. Communication and information shared by the organisation before and during the

process are also considered a major factor by the respondents.

The major findings as identified by Perceptual Mapping:

From the scatter graph it is evident that as per respondent‟s perception, TCS scores high on

the factor of communication with regards to venue details. However, CTS and Infosys are

ahead of TCS when it comes to information shared before the interview process.

The variable „Seating & Other infrastructure‟ is cause of bad experience as attributed by

candidates. It is evident that candidates perceive CTS and Infosys are far ahead of TCS with

regards to Seating & Other Infra contributing to Overall Experience as perceived by the

candidates.

TCS has the highest score in transparent HR negotiations and stands ahead of the rest of the

Tier I organizations used in comparison.

9 | P a g e

CTS and Infosys are major competitors of TCS with regards to many factors such as query

resolution by HR, Interaction of candidates with HR and Overall Experience.

1.4 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

As evident from the above findings the basic four factors identified although simple and

common has deep impact on the perception of an organization in the minds of the candidates.






candidates.

Recommendations: The Seating arrangement is one variable that most of the respondents

felt as unsatisfactory. This is with respect to the Velachery facility (captured through the open

ended questions and attached in Annexure II ) of TCS.

An alternate arrangement of seating can be made in one part of the cafeteria for the weekend

drives. This would certainly make perception of seating arrangements better.

CTS and Infosys are ahead of TCS when it comes to information shared before the interview

process.

This could be explained as many non-eligible candidates who report to the venue unaware of

the eligibility criteria and certain candidates reporting with wrong skill set at the walk-in.

The onus of this not only lies on TCS as there have been cases where candidates have chosen

to ignore certain specifications.

To improve the information sharing quotient before interview of TCS in the minds of the

candidates:

Recommendations: To minimize the number of candidates report with incorrect skill set /

Technologies we can get the sourcing team to understand different technologies under a

10 | P a g e

category of skill for which opening is available. Also, team can clarify the same with the

candidates while scheduling their interview.

For eg: While recruiting for Testing openings project requirement is either for Performance

or Automation Testing. Within Automation testing there are applications further

classifications like QTP (for which opening is available) and RFT and manual scripting.

Similarly under Performance Testing there is Load runner, win-runner etc. Hence this the

sourcing team can specifically clarify with the candidates in case of scheduled interviews.

Also, one common are of miscommunication seems to be confusion between performance

testing and performance engineering. The latter is into hardware testing of ICs etc. While

scheduling the candidates need to be asked specifically for their area of work.

TCS needs to look into the interaction factor selected candidates have with the HR personnel

and also its Query resolution process one the candidate is selected. These two factors majorly

influence any candidate‟s decision while joining an organization.

Recommendations: Query resolution by HR personnel after the selection of the candidate

greatly influences his decision to join the organisation. Hence the HR for the respective skill

set or any other HR personnel can be given the responsibility of handling queries such as

joining formalities, change of candidate‟s information etc.

The person can be the SPOC to answer such queries and can redirect the candidates to

recruiters of specific skill set. The details of communication (email ID or extn number) of this

SPOC can be given to the candidates after the HR interview. This makes the HR easily

accessible to the candidate.

Interaction with HR after selection as been pointed out to be minimal by responses captured

by the open ended questions administered in the questionnaire. This can be improved in

tandem with Query Resolution process.

11 | P a g e

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE

The information technology (IT) industry has become of the most robust industries in the

world. IT, more than any other industry or economic facet, has an increased productivity,

particularly in the developed world, and therefore is a key driver of global economic growth.

Economies of scale and insatiable demand from both consumers and enterprises characterize

this rapidly growing sector.

Over the past decade, the Indian IT-BPO sector has become the country‟s premier growth

engine, crossing significant milestones in terms of revenue growth, employment generation

and value creation, in addition to becoming the global brand ambassador for India. However,

the industry performance was affected by these recessionary headwinds as the clients cut

their IT budgets, cancelled deals, delayed payments and deals, went bankrupt while others

renegotiated pricing, looking for severe pricing cuts and stretching the dollar.

The changing demand outlook, customer conversations and requirements acted as a driver to

build in greater efficiencies and flexibility within the service delivery and the business

models – one which is here to stay. 2009 was also instrumental for more ways than one for

the industry. While the industry displayed tenacity and resilience, it also commenced its

journey to achieve its aspirations in view of the altered landscape. It commenced working on

its agenda to diversify beyond core off earnings and markets through new business and

pricing models, specialises to provide end-to-end service with deeper penetration across

verticals, transform the process delivery through re-engineering and enabling technology,

innovate through research and development and drive inclusive growth in India by

developing targeted solutions for the domestic market. All these measures, along with India‟s

game changing value proposition has helped India widen its leadership position in the global

sourcing market.

The advent of 2010 has signalled the revival of outsourcing within core markets, along with

the emerging markets increasingly adopting outsourcing for enhanced competitiveness. Key

demand indicators in the last two quarters such as increased deal flow, volume growth, stable

pricing, and faster decision making has made the industry post good results. Though full

12 | P a g e

recovery is expected in another two quarters, development of new growth levers, improved

efficiency and changing demand outlook signifies early signs of recovery.

THE IMPACT OF KNOWLEDGE PROFESSIONALS

Indian software and services industry‟s strong value proposition – existence of a large,

English speaking, technically qualified manpower, competitive billing, high productivity

gains and scalability - which had helped the country emerge as a key IT services outsourcing

destination, continue to hold India in good stead. These intrinsic strengths and advantages

gave India a leg up in the burgeoning ITES-BPO space as well, taking it beyond the realms of

IT services.

The country is at an important juncture in its history, having completed the transition from an

agrarian economy to a fully-fledged, first-world economy, operating at the leading edge of

contemporary technology. A key element in taking the country forward and maintaining its

growth momentum will be the provision of a highly skilled and competent global workforce.

Having apt IT and management skills, in fact, is assuming an ever-greater importance, in the

current day environment, where the IT sector is emerging as a major driver of the Indian

economy. IT manpower development today, is not only crucial for sustaining the growth of

the Indian economy, it is also important for maintaining the country‟s edge in the global

markets, where competition is on the rise.

GROWTH OF IT AND ITES PROFESSIONALS IN INDIA

The total number of IT and ITES professionals employed in India has grown from 284,000 in

1999-2000 to over 1 million in 2004-05, growing by over 200,000 in the last year alone.

Fig 1: Indian IT and ITES Sectors: Growth in Professionals

56000160000

284000

430114522250

670000

841500

1045000

0

250000

500000

750000

1000000

13 | P a g e

Break-up of Professionals in the IT industry

Most of the new recruits in the industry are fresh graduates indicating the availability of a

large pool of fresh resources each year as opposed to the siphoning off of resources from

other industries. A break-up of the 1 million professionals in different sectors indicate that the

number of employees in the ITES-BPO segment has witnessed the highest levels of growth

over the last few years – attributed to the tremendous growth in demand for these services.

ITES companies recruited approx. 100,000 professionals in 2004-05. Companies in the IT

software exports sector recruited 75,000 professionals in 2004-05, compared to 65,000

professionals recruited in 2003-04.

Given the growing demand for skilled professionals, and the rapid changes in technology,

there is an increasing need to keep the academia abreast of the skill set requirement of the

industry.

As the global economic recession begins to become a thing of the past and companies across

the world start hiring with gusto, the issue of talent will once again take centre stage. The war

for talent is getting extremely acute in 2010, with most industry sectors, including the sunrise

IT-BPO segment facing a challenge in terms of hiring right and holding on to expertise. As

hiring becomes the norm, so will attrition. Interestingly, IT-BPO organisations will not only

face pressure from peer firms, but also from organisations operating in other industry

verticals as well. The IT-BPO industry will therefore have to focus on its internal customer,

its people. This year, companies will be compelled to relook at their people management

practices and embrace policies that create a conducive work environment and help retain

valuable employees.

2.2 COMPANY PROFILE

Tata Consultancy Services started in 1968. Mr.F.C Kohli who is presently the Deputy

Chairman was entrusted with the job of steering TCS. The early days marked TCS

responsibility in managing the punch card operations of Tisco. The company, which was into

management consultancy from day one, soon felt the need to provide solutions to its clients

as well.TCS was the first Indian company to make forays into the US market with clients

14 | P a g e

ranging from IBM, American Express, Sega etc. TCS is presently the top software services

firm in Asia.

It benchmarked its quality standing, invested heavily in software engineering practices and

built intellectual property-in terms of patents, code and branded products. At the same time, it

expanded its relationships with technology partners and organizations, increased linkages

with academic institutions and incubated technologies and ideas of people within TCS and

outside. TCS has already patented 12 E-Commerce solution product packages and has filed

six more applications for patent licenses.

Over $25 million were spent on enhancing hardware and software infrastructure. The

company now has 72 offices worldwide. As many as seven centers were assessed at SEI

CMM Level 5 last year(3.4 mistakes in a million opportunities).These include Chennai,

Mumbai, Bangalore, Calcutta, Hyderabad and Lucknow. Several business and R&D

relationship with global firms like IBM, General Electric, Unigraphics Solutions have been

made.

The country‟s largest IT services company by revenues Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

also happens to be the country‟s biggest IT employer. Growing by over 30% in net profit and

witnessing an 8% increase in revenues. The company added over 30,000 employees during

this fiscal.

Here we look inside employee make up of TCS, which includes the no. of foreign employees,

women employees, average experience, average age and more.

TCS has total employee strength of 160,429. Of these 140,619 are TCS employees. The

company‟s 93.3% of workforce is Indian. It employs associates from 80 different

nationalities. These include Argentina: 2.4%; Mexican: 8.0%; American: 11.9%; Chinese:

8.6%; Brazilian: 10.7%; Uruguayan: 8.4%; Ecuadorian: 11.9%; Hungarian: 5.6%; Chilean:

13.4%; Colombian: 2.3%; British: 5.8%; Other 11.2%. The number of American employees

at TCS is just under 12%.

The average age of TCS employees is 28 years and Thirty percent of TCS employees are

women. Of the total workforce, 57% have three years or more experience. The attrition rate at

TCS during the fiscal year 2009-10 stood at 11.8%. In IT services division the attrition rate is

11%, while in BPO it is 18.8%.

15 | P a g e

The fiscal year 2009-10 saw gross addition of 38,063 professionals and net addition of 16,668

professionals. The Jan-Feb-March quarter (Q4) saw largest ever organic gross addition of

16,851 professionals and net addition of 10,775 employees. Of the total addition, 8,429 were

trainees and 5423 laterals in India; 981 people were taken in overseas branches.

TCS made 20,000 campus offers for FY 11 and visited 294 institutes in Q4. This takes the

taking total campuses visited to 371 with 98.4% day 1 slots. The company's global regional

delivery centres are 4,020.

2.3 INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

2.3.1 TALENT ACQUISITION - RECRUITMENT & SELECTION

It is the discovering of potential of applicants for actual or anticipated organizational

vacancies. It actually links together those with jobs and those seeking jobs.

Flippo’s definition: “It is a process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating

and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an organization.”

Thus the purpose of recruitment is to locate sources of manpower to meet job requirements

and job specifications.

Recruitment and selection is not only about choosing the most suitable candidate. The

recruitment and selection experience can also impact on the likelihood that a candidate will

accept a job offer and on their subsequent commitment to remaining with the organisation.

Committing time and resources to develop a comprehensive recruitment strategy is a

worthwhile investment. Poor recruitment choices (i.e., poor person-job fit) can have a range

of undesirable consequences for the organisation and the worker including:

• Higher rates of turnover

• Reduced performance effectiveness

• Lowered job satisfaction

• Reduced work motivation

16 | P a g e

SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

Internal Recruitment

The first source of recruitment to fill up the vacancies happens from within the concern or

organization. Internal sources of recruitment are readily available to an organization. Internal

sources are primarily three – Transfers, promotions and Re-employment of ex-employees.

Re-employment of ex-employees is one of the internal sources of recruitment in which

employees can be invited and appointed to fill vacancies in the concern. There are situations

when ex-employees provide unsolicited applications also.

Internal recruitment may lead to increase in employee‟s productivity as their motivation level

increases. It also saves time, money and efforts.

However, a drawback of internal recruitment is that it refrains the organization from new

talent. Also, not all the manpower requirements can be met through internal recruitment.

Hiring from outside has to be done.

Primary Internal sources:

a. Transfers

b. Promotions (through Internal Job Postings)

External Recruitment

External sources of recruitment have to be solicited from outside the organization. The

external sources of recruitment include – Walk-in, advertisements, employment agencies,

educational institutes, labour contractors, recommendations etc.

Primary External Sources used:

Walk - In (Direct & Scheduled): This a source of external recruitment in which the

applications for vacancies are presented on jobsites and candidates can walk-in to the venue

of the recruitment process and apply for the vacancies available.

A NEW TREND: There is also an internal sourcing team works on scheduling interviews for

eligible candidates who have applied in the organization‟s websites. The candidates are given

an electronically generated reference ID which is unique to each for further correspondence

till they become a part of the organisation in case they are successful.

17 | P a g e

Placement Vendors / Third Party Vendors: – There are certain professional organizations

which look towards recruitment and employment of people, i.e. these private agencies run by

private individuals supply required manpower to needy concerns. These are proving to be

strategic partners to any organisation as they provide immediate supply of candidates

whenever there is an urgent need to satisfy a requirement, and when organisations do not

have the time to plan a recruitment drive for those vacancies in hand.

Referrals: Employee referral is employed by organizations to identify potential candidates

from their existing employees' social networks. An employee referral scheme encourages a

company's existing employees to select and recruit the suitable candidates from their social

networks. As a reward, the employer typically pays the referring employee a referral bonus.

Recruiting candidates using employee referral is widely acknowledged as being the most cost

effective and efficient recruitment method to recruit candidates and as such, employers of all

sizes, across all industries are trying to increases the volumes they recruit through this

channel.

Campus recruitment:

Campus Recruitment is one of the most common and widely used recruitment methods for

hiring the best and most suitable talent while still in college. Most colleges have a designated

College Recruitment season during which time recruiters from various Companies visit

specialized colleges and meet students with an intern to screen, interview and select talented

individuals to join their Company.

Entry Level Hiring: Most campus recruiters interview college students with an aim of filling

up entry level positions in various departments.

Long Term Benefits: Such early association with suitable candidates can also open up

avenues for hiring individuals who may go a long way with the current Company.

FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT:

1. The size of the organization.

2. The employment conditions in the community where the organization is located.

18 | P a g e

3. The effects of past recruiting efforts which show the organization‟s ability to locate and

retain the good performing people.

4. Working conditions, salary and benefit packages offered by the organization.

5. Rate of growth of the organization.

6. The future expansion and production programs.

7. Cultural, economic and legal factors.

RECRUITMENT IN A NUT SHELL:

Recruitment is a process of identifying manpower needs and filling the gap through:

1. Identifying the Manpower needs per the Project requirement.

2. Sourcing- various media like Job Portal, head hunting, Paper Ad, references etc.

3. Conferencing: Identifying the prospective Candidates.

4. Scheduling: Interviews, video conferencing etc.

5. Negotiation & verification: based upon CTC, Allowances, and Compensation etc.

6. Background Check: Candidates background and reference check is done

7. Selection: Last phase in which after positive verification and negotiation, an offer is rolled

and candidate is put On board for delivery.

19 | P a g e

2.3.2 OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS OF RECRUITMENT IN TCS

Requirements /

Vacancies in

Project

Reported to

Resource

Management

Group (RMG)

Checks for

internal

availablitly

Then the candidate is

redirected to project for

internal absorbtion

Yes

TAG for

RecruitmentNo

CAMPUS

TEAM for

Freshers

Interview Process

Sources Of Recruitment

1.Direct Candidates

2.Careers Portal

3.Regional Fast Track (RFT)

4.Referrals BYB

5.Placement Vendors

1.Technical Round

2.Management Review

3.HR Round

Offer Acceptance

by Candidate

Initiation of BGC

by the candidate

BGC Positive?

Induction

Program

1.5 Days YES

Proje

ct A

lloca

tion

Drop The

Candidate -

Reject

NO

END

Registration at

Venue

Check for

Eligibility

Criteria

YESDrop candidate

NO

1.Sourcing Team Checks

profiles in careers portal or

career websites and

schedule Interviews

2.Placement Vendors

inform candidates in their

database

3.Direct Candidates report

directly at the Venue

4.Candidates through BYB

report directly with EP Ref

ID created by the referee

EP TEAM for

Experienced

Professionals

Start

Fig 2: A Flow Chart of Recruitment Process at TCS

Opening of Requisition

The recruitment process at TCS Chennai starts at the Project / ISU followed by the Resource

Management Group (RMG) Any requirement or vacancy in a project the business / ISU is

20 | P a g e

first checked against internal availability of resources with the Resource Management Group

(RMG). The requisition is thus opened by the RMG with the creation of RGS ID.

These IDs map the requirement with a particular and act as a reference number for the that

particular vacancy (Skills, experience, role taken in tandem). Once the RMG reports the

unavailability of internal resources the requisition is then passed on to the Talent Acquisition

Group (TAG).

TAG at TCS is broadly classified into two teams, one dealing with recruitment of

Experiences Professionals (EP) and the other with Campus Recruitment. The EP team has an

internal sourcing team and a team of recruiters handling specific Technology skill set like

Java, Oracle, Sap, Mainframes, Testing etc.

Sourcing Profiles

Once the requirement for the projects reach TAG, it allocates the task of sourcing profiles of

eligible and interested candidates to the Internal Sourcing Team. The internal sourcing team

does the task of corresponding with the candidates who have applied through TCS‟s online

portal careers.tcs.com and scheduling interviews for them during the planned weekend

recruitment drives.

The Sourcing team also sources profiles through job sites like Naukri.com, monster.com etc.

And sends invites to candidates who clear the basic eligibility criteria of TCS. There might

also be candidates who have been referred by employees in TCS through the BYB referral

(Bring Your Buddy) scheme or those who have been referred by placement vendors who are

in contract with TCS. The initial screening of profiles is done by the sourcing team.

Candidate Screening and Introduction

One the day of the walk-in the candidates are first screened during the registration process at

the venue. Scheduled candidates or those referred through Placement Vendors are usually

informed to create their online profile in the TCS online portal. These candidates also

undergo the initial screening process at the registration.

21 | P a g e

Few Checks at the Registration

Information about a person‟s professional qualifications and experience can be obtained from

their Curriculum-vitae (CV) and their written applications. This information needs to be

verified as far as possible before the person is hired. The first Step is to affirm the candidates

meet the basic eligibility criteria of TCS.

During the review of CV and written application certain clarifications are asked for such as:

• Unexplained gaps in employment history

• Unanswered or partly answered questions

• Inconsistent information

• Past Employers

• Frequent job changes

Interview Process

After the registration Process eligible candidates are put through the Interview Process. The

interview process of TCS has three stages:

• Technical Interview

• Management Review

• HR interview

Once the candidate clears all the three stages he is prompted to complete his online

application form for offer generation. The offer initiation takes a minimum of 5 days from

the day of complete online application.

After the offer has been rolled the candidate accepts the offer and then initiates the

Background Check (BGC) process and submits the relevant supporting document.

If the BGC process is positive for the candidate, he/ she is called for the induction process at

a date close to the joining date. The candidate is then redirected to the specific ISU for

project allocation.

22 | P a g e

3. PROBLEM DEFINITION

3.1 BACKGROUND TO PROBLEM

The recruitment process is not just about employers identifying suitable employees for the

future, it‟s also about candidates finding out more about the business, and considering

whether the organisation is one where they would like to work for.

The experience of candidates (both successful and unsuccessful) at each stage of the

recruitment process will impact on their view of the organisation. This could be both from the

perspective of a potential employee and, depending on the nature of the business, as a

customer.

3.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

With an upsurge in interest in the idea of „employer branding‟, more employers are giving

thought to ensuring a positive candidate experience and the kind of company material and

communications received by individuals as part of the recruitment process. Hence, this

project aims at realising how is perceived by candidates with respect to few attributes

identified and in comparison to other Tier I companies in Chennai.

3.2.1 OBJECTIVE:

To realise the factors that contribute to effective/ineffective recruitment process.

This objective when attained will show us how closely TCS recruitment process is

related with other Tier I companies with respect to the various attributes considered.

3.2.2 APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM

These objectives have been realised by the method of Perception mapping

Perception mapping:

Perceptual mapping is a graphics technique used by marketers that attempts to visually

display the perceptions of customers or potential customers. Typically the position of a

product, product line, brand, or company is displayed relative to their competition.

23 | P a g e

Perceptual maps can have any number of dimensions but the most common is two

dimensions. Any more is a challenge to draw and confusing to interpret.

Items that are positioned close to each other are seen as similar on the relevant dimensions by

the consumer. Some perceptual maps use different size circles to indicate the sales volume or

market share of the various competing products.

Apart from displaying the consumers‟ perceptions of related products, many perceptual maps

also display consumers‟ ideal points. These points reflect ideal combinations of the two

dimensions as seen by a consumer. On such a map, each dot represents a respondent's ideal

combination of the two dimensions. Areas where there is a cluster of ideal points indicates a

market segment. Areas without ideal points are sometimes referred to as demand voids.

Perceptual maps need not come from a detailed study. There are also intuitive maps (also

called judgmental maps or consensus maps) that are created by marketers based on their

understanding of their industry.

This method brings out positioning of various entities of one category on candidate‟s mind,

on the basis of any kind of similarity that is perceived by the candidate (respondent)

3.3 SCOPE OF WORK

The study was conducted among the Experienced Professionals who came in for weekend

and weekday drives at TCS facilities in Chennai with the aid of a questionnaire. Candidates

currently working in Tier I companies as well as earlier employed by Tier I companies have

been chosen as the respondents of this survey. It should also be noted that majority of the

respondents have attended interview process of more than two companies and have been

selected through at-least the MR round of interview process.

24 | P a g e

4. RESEARCH DESIGN

4.1 TYPE OF RESEARCH DESIGN

The exploratory research design was used in this project for the purpose of analysis using

surveys. The questionnaire has tried to capture certain factors which have been obtained

through discussions with the employees, and which have been observed during the course of

the project duration.

4.2 INFORMATION NEEDS

The information collected from the sample of respondents was to identify the major factors

out of those already captured in the questionnaire and where TCS stands against other major

Tier I companies with respect to certain factors in the minds of candidates who walk-in for

the recruitment drive.

4.3 DATA COLLECTION FROM PRIMARY SOURCES

The data for this project was mainly primary data. The respondents were Experienced

professionals from Tier I companies or those who had been employed by Tier I companies in

their past.

4.4 SCALING TECHNIQUES

Scaling involves creating a continuum upon which major objects are located. For this project,

an interval 5 – point Likert scale has been used to collect the responses. In an interval scale,

numerically equal distances on the scale represent equal values in the characteristic being

measured. It contains all the information of an ordinal scale and also allows comparing the

differences between the objects. There is a constant or equal interval between scale values.

4.5 QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT AND PRE-TESTING

The development of the questionnaire was on a five point scale. The questionnaire had

questions which were based on Information sharing, communication, time taken for the

interview process, Interaction between candidates and the HR / Panellist, response of HR

personnel regarding queries from selected candidates etc,. The questions were kept short and

were close ended and had two open ended questions. Total number of questions in the

questionnaire was kept as 15. Pretesting was done and chron-bach alpha value was found to

25 | P a g e

be above 0.5. The pre-test was found to be satisfactory and thus the questionnaire was

continued to be administered as before.

4.6 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

The population considered included experienced professionals only from Chennai who were

able participate in the Weekend & Weekday walk-in drives conducted by TCS in three of its

facilities in the city. The sampling technique used was convenience sampling. Out of the

population a sample of around 43 based was taken into account.

4.7 FIELDWORK

The field work was done by going for each of the walk-in drives held during Saturdays &

Sundays and sometimes during weekdays on Wednesday & Thursday to collect data from

candidates. Internet, direct mail and personnel interview were the modes by which responses

were collected from samples.

26 | P a g e

5. DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

5.1 PILOT STUDY

A pilot study was conducted with a limited number of respondents to pre-test the

questionnaire. Pretesting refers to the testing of the questionnaire on a small number of

respondents to identify and eliminate potential problems. Initially, a sample of 20 people

were administered the questionnaire and their responses were collated and tested for

consistency.

Therefore, sample size n=20, alpha =0.05

The hypotheses tested include:

Q1 Information provided regarding the pre-requisites of interview

H0: All the companies are similar in terms of the Information provided regarding pre-

requisites for a walk-in drive.

H1: There is difference between the with respect to information regarding pre-requisites by

different companies.

Q2 Time taken for Registration

H0: All the companies are similar with respect to the time taken for registration.

H1: There is significant difference time taken for registration by different companies.

Q3 Time between the call interview and actual interview

H0: All the companies are similar with regards to the time given to the candidate i.e time

between the call for a scheduled interview and the actual date of interview.

H1: There is significant difference with regards to time given to the candidate for his

scheduled interview in different companies.

Q4 Communication – Venue & Interview schedule

H0: All the companies are similar in communication regarding Venue & Interview Schedule.

27 | P a g e

H1: There is significant difference in the communication with regards Venue details and

Interview schedule among different companies.

Q5 Interaction with Panellist

H0: All the companies are similar with regards to the interaction the candidates have with

panellist during the interview process.

H1: There is significant difference with regards to the interaction the candidates have with

panellist during the interview process among organizations.

Q6 Interaction with HR

H0: All the companies are similar in the interaction a candidate had with the HR during

interview process.

H1: There is significant difference with in the interaction a candidate had with the HR during

interview process among different companies.

Q7 Seating & Other Infra at Venue

H0: All the companies are similar in the Seating and other infrastructure provided to the

candidate during an interview process.

H1: There is significant difference in the Seating and other infrastructure provided to the

candidate during an interview process among organizations.

Q8 Level of Difficulty Interview as against your years of experience

H0: All the companies are similar in the level of difficulty a candidate perceives as against

years of experience.

H1: There is significant difference in the level of difficulty a candidate perceives as against

years of experience between companies.

Q9 Transparent negotiations by HR (i.e. letting you know their limitations when it

comes to salary and role during negotiations)

H0: All the companies are similar in terms of transparency during HR negotiations.

28 | P a g e

H1: There is significant difference in transparency during HR negotiations among

organizations.

Q10 Interaction with HR personnel after selection

H0: All the companies are similar with regards to the interaction a candidate has with HR

personnel after selection.

H1: There is significant difference with regards to the interaction a candidate has with HR

personnel after selection among different companies.

Q11 Query Resolution by Personnel after selection until offer

H0: All the companies are similar in their approach to resolution queries from selected

candidates.

H1: There is significant difference their approach to resolution queries from selected

candidates among different companies.

Q12 Process Co-ordination at venue

H0: All the companies are similar in effective co-ordination of interview process at the

venue.

H1: There is significant difference in effective co-ordination of interview process at the venue

among different organizations.

Q13 Overall Experience at Venue

H0: All the companies are similar with regards to the overall experience of a candidate at

venue of walk-in.

H1: There is significant difference with regards to experience of a candidate at venue of

walk-in among different companies.

A Fisher MSD test was conducted to test these hypotheses. Finally form the final set of data

we could conclude that there is no significant difference between majority of the factors

among the Tier I companies since these processes are more or less standardised in the IT

Industry.

29 | P a g e

However, there are two hypotheses that have been rejected by Fisher MSD.

Q9 Transparent negotiations by HR (i.e. letting you know their limitations when it

comes to salary and role during negotiations)

H0: All the companies are similar in terms of transparency during HR negotiations.

H1: There is significant difference in transparency during HR negotiations among

organizations.

The minimum significant difference which causes this rejection can be obtained from Fisher

MSD.

TCS CTS Infosys Wipro HCL Patni

TCS - 0.7281 0.7629 0.8921 0.8075 1.0332

CTS 0.24975 - 0.8617 0.9780 0.9015 1.1082

Infosys 0.5128 0.26304 - 1.0041 0.9298 1.1313

Wipro 0.932* 0.6823 0.4192 - 1.0384 1.2222

HCL 0.5746 0.3248 0.06176 0.3575 - 1.1619

Patni 0.4961 0.24638 0.016667 0.4359 0.07843 -

Table 1: Result of Fisher MSD - Q9 - Transparent negotiations by HR (i.e. letting you know their

limitations when it comes to salary and role during negotiations)

Here the rejection occurs due to significant observed absolute value of the difference in

means between each pair of groups i.e TCS Vs Wipro. Since 0.932 > 0.7629 The null

hypothesis is rejected.

Q11 Query Resolution by Personnel after selection until offer

H0: All the companies are similar in their approach to resolution queries from selected

candidates.

H1: There is significant difference their approach to resolution queries from selected

candidates among different companies.

30 | P a g e

The minimum significant difference which causes this rejection can be obtained from Fisher

MSD.

TCS CTS Infosys Wipro HCL Patni

TCS - 0.6838 0.7164 0.8378 0.7583 0.9702

CTS 0.4307 - 0.8093 0.9184 0.8466 1.0407

Infosys 0.9047* 0.4739 - 0.9430 0.8732 1.0624

Wipro 0.6816 0.25084 0.22308 - 0.9752 1.1478

HCL 0.487 0.05627 0.4176 0.19457 - 1.0911

Patni 0.7158 0.28502 0.18889 0.03419 0.22876 -

Table 2: Result of Fisher MSD - Q11 - Query Resolution by Personnel after selection until offer

Here the rejection occurs due to significant observed absolute value of the difference in

means between each pair of groups i.e TCS Vs Infosys. Since 0.9047 > 0.7164 The null

hypothesis is rejected.

5.2 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

Table 3: Information provided regarding the pre-requisites of interview

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 14 32.6 32.6 32.6

2 22 51.2 51.2 83.7

3 4 9.3 9.3 93.0

4 3 7.0 7.0 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

31 | P a g e

Table 4: Time taken for Registration

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 15 34.9 34.9 34.9

2 19 44.2 44.2 79.1

3 5 11.6 11.6 90.7

4 3 7.0 7.0 97.7

5 1 2.3 2.3 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

Table 5: Time between the call interview and actual interview

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 14 32.6 32.6 32.6

2 19 44.2 44.2 76.7

3 6 14.0 14.0 90.7

4 3 7.0 7.0 97.7

5 1 2.3 2.3 100.0

Tota

l 43 100.0 100.0

Table 6: Communication – Venue & Interview schedule

Frequenc

y Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 20 46.5 46.5 46.5

2 18 41.9 41.9 88.4

3 3 7.0 7.0 95.3

5 2 4.7 4.7 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

32 | P a g e

Majority of the factors above have got a rating of 2 (1 being highest and 5 being lowest). As

seen from the percentage score many candidates have rated TCS with score of two which is a

high end score.

Table 7: Interaction with Panellist

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 17 39.5 39.5 39.5

2 22 51.2 51.2 90.7

3 3 7.0 7.0 97.7

4 1 2.3 2.3 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

Table 8: Seating & Other Infra at Venue

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1.00 13 30.2 30.2 30.2

2.00 16 37.2 37.2 67.4

3.00 10 23.3 23.3 90.7

4.00 4 9.3 9.3 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

Table 9: Interaction with HR

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 18 41.9 41.9 41.9

2 17 39.5 39.5 81.4

3 7 16.3 16.3 97.7

5 1 2.3 2.3 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

33 | P a g e

Table 10: Level of Difficulty Interview as against your years of experience

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 16 37.2 37.2 37.2

2 16 37.2 37.2 74.4

3 9 20.9 20.9 95.3

4 2 4.7 4.7 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

The above factors seem to be slightly skewed to the right with Seating & other Infra having

almost similar percentages across first three scores.

Table 11: Transparent negotiations by HR (i.e. letting you know their limitations when it comes to

salary and role during negotiations)

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 23 53.5 53.5 53.5

2 8 18.6 18.6 72.1

3 9 20.9 20.9 93.0

4 2 4.7 4.7 97.7

5 1 2.3 2.3 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

34 | P a g e

Table 12: Interaction with HR personnel after selection

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 13 30.2 30.2 30.2

2 19 44.2 44.2 74.4

3 5 11.6 11.6 86.0

4 4 9.3 9.3 95.3

5 2 4.7 4.7 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

Table 13: Query Resolution by Personnel after selection until offer

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 4 9.3 9.3 9.3

2 17 39.5 39.5 48.8

3 16 37.2 37.2 86.0

4 4 9.3 9.3 95.3

5 2 4.7 4.7 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

Table 14: Process Co-ordination at venue

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 16 37.2 37.2 37.2

2 20 46.5 46.5 83.7

3 4 9.3 9.3 93.0

4 3 7.0 7.0 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

35 | P a g e

Table 15: Over all Experience at Venue

Frequency Percent

Valid

Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 1 12 27.9 27.9 27.9

2 23 53.5 53.5 81.4

3 6 14.0 14.0 95.3

4 2 4.7 4.7 100.0

Total 43 100.0 100.0

Descriptive Statistics thus give us a fair idea how TCS scores in each of the above mentioned

factors. From the above percentage score we can see that TCS has high scores when with only

one or two factors having scored a score of three.

5.3 FACTOR ANALYSIS

Factor analysis is a correlation technique to determine meaningful clusters of shared

variances. Factor analysis begins with a large number of variables and then tries to

reduce the interrelationships amongst the variables to a few number of clusters or factors.

It finds relationships or natural connections where variables are maximally correlated

with one another and minimally correlated with other variables, and then groups the

variables accordingly.

After this process has been done many times a pattern appears of relationships or factors

that capture the essence of all of the data emerges. Factor analysis refers to a collection of

statistical methods for reducing correlational data into a smaller number of dimensions or

factors

36 | P a g e

Reliability Test:

Table 16: Case Processing Summary & Reliability Statistics

From the results above it can be concluded that the data is reliable. The Cronbach‟s Alpha

being 0.879 shows data is highly reliable.

Table 17: KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. .690

Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 332.193

Df 78

Sig. .000

As the value of KMO is 0.690, this shows that the number of sample is adequate for doing

factor analysis. The high value of Bartlett‟s Test and the sig. Value of 0.000 (<0.05) indicates

appropriateness of data for factor analysis.

N %

Cases Valid 43 100.0

Excludeda 0 .0

Total 43 100.0

Cronbach's

Alpha

N of

Items

.879 13

37 | P a g e

Table 18: Total Variance Explained - Validity Test

Com

pon

ent

Initial Eigenvalues

Extraction Sums of Squared

Loadings

Rotation Sums of Squared

Loadings

Total

% of

Variance

Cumulative

% Total

% of

Variance

Cumulative

% Total

% of

Variance

Cumulative

%

1 5.587 42.975 42.975 5.587 42.975 42.975 2.809 21.609 21.609

2 1.574 12.104 55.080 1.574 12.104 55.080 2.767 21.282 42.891

3 1.203 9.253 64.333 1.203 9.253 64.333 2.397 18.438 61.328

4 1.134 8.724 73.057 1.134 8.724 73.057 1.525 11.728 73.057

5 .914 7.033 80.090

6 .740 5.690 85.780

7 .564 4.341 90.121

8 .420 3.233 93.354

9 .321 2.470 95.824

10 .242 1.864 97.688

11 .143 1.103 98.791

12 .102 .782 99.573

13 .055 .427 100.000

Extraction Method: Principal Component

Analysis.

The above table shows that 13 variables have been reduced to 4 factors explaining 73.057%

of the total variance.

38 | P a g e

Table 19: Rotated Component Matrix - Validity Test

Component

1 2 3 4

5. Interaction with Panelist .875 .301

10. Interaction with HR

personnel after selection .819 .406 .229

6. Interaction with HR .745 .462

3. Time between the call

interview and actual

interview

.775 .140

2. Time taken for

Registration .141 .660 .441

12. Process Co-ordination

at venue .471 .657 .315

13. Over all Experience at

Venue .605 .650 .204

9. Transparent negotiations

by HR (i.e. letting you know

their limitations when it

comes to salary and role

during negotiations)

.243 .603 .513 .109

7. Seating & Other Infra at

Venue .195 .142 .839 .100

8. Level of Difficulty

Interview as against your

years of experience

.479 .737 .177

11. Query Resolution by

Personnel after selection

until offer

.305 .136 .564 .124

1. Information provided

regarding the pre-requisites

of interview

.248 .819

4. Communication – Venue

& Interview schedule -.103 .368 .702

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

a. Rotation converged in 7 iterations.

Questions or variables which load substantially high on one component than the other are

retained. Other variables are thus eliminated. Here we eliminate the Variable 4 and proceed

further.

39 | P a g e

Table 20: KMO and Bartlett's Test

As the value of KMO is 0.733, this shows that the number of sample is adequate for doing

further factor analysis. The high value of Bartlett‟s Test and the sig. Value of 0.000 (<0.05)

indicates appropriateness of data for further factor analysis.

Table 21: Total Variance Explained

Com

pone

nt

Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings

Total

% of

Variance

Cumulative

% Total

% of

Variance

Cumulative

% Total

% of

Variance

Cumulative

%

1 5.516 45.965 45.965 5.516 45.965 45.965 2.690 22.420 22.420

2 1.481 12.343 58.308 1.481 12.343 58.308 2.621 21.844 44.264

3 1.171 9.756 68.064 1.171 9.756 68.064 2.496 20.803 65.066

4 1.036 8.632 76.696 1.036 8.632 76.696 1.396 11.630 76.696

5 .822 6.851 83.547

6 .569 4.739 88.287

7 .430 3.581 91.868

8 .355 2.956 94.823

9 .257 2.141 96.964

10 .166 1.386 98.350

11 .142 1.183 99.533

12 .056 .467 100.000

Extraction Method: Principal Component

Analysis.

The above table shows that 12 variables are still being reduced to 4 factors explaining

76.696% of the total variance.

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. .733

Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 309.773

Df 66

Sig. .000

40 | P a g e

Table 22: Rotated Component Matrixa

Thus there are 4 main components that explain the 13 variables

1. From the rotated component matrix we see that questions like

Q5 - Interaction with Panellist, Q6 - Interaction with HR and Q10 - Interaction with HR

personnel after selection load high on the first Component.

Component

1 2 3 4

5. Interaction with Panelist .881 .293

10. Interaction with HR

personnel after selection .791 .456 .227

6. Interaction with HR .763 .465

3. Time between the call


interview

.793 .166

13. Over all Experience at

Venue .555 .716 .205

12. Process Co-ordination

at venue .428 .695 .325

2. Time taken for

Registration .592 .153 .534

7. Seating & Other Infra at

Venue .230 .870

8. Level of Difficulty

Interview as against your

years of experience

.345 .809 .229

9. Transparent negotiations

by HR (i.e. letting you know

their limitations when it

comes to salary and role

during negotiations)

.233 .468 .610 .266

11. Query Resolution by


until offer

.282 .294 .477 -.111

1. Information provided

regarding the pre-requisites

of interview

.109 .129 .934

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

a. Rotation converged in 6 iterations.

41 | P a g e

Hence we can name this component the factor of Interaction during the process of Walk-In.


Q3 - Time between the call interview and actual interview, Q13 - Over all Experience at

Venue, Q12 - Process Co-ordination at venue and Q2 - Time taken for Registration load high

on the second component.

Hence second component explains the factor of Time and its correlation to effectiveness of

the process.


Q7 - Seating & Other Infra at Venue, Q8 - Level of Difficulty Interview as against your years

of experience, Q9 - Transparent negotiations by HR ( i.e. letting you know their limitations

when it comes to salary and role during negotiations) and Q11 - Query Resolution by

Personnel after selection until offer load high on the third component.

Hence third component explains the factor of experience a candidate has in different stages

of interview.

4. From the rotated component matrix we see that question Q1. Information provided

regarding the pre-requisites of interview loads high on the fourth component.

The fourth component thus explains the factor of information shared by the organisation

before the Interview process.

5.4 DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS

Discriminant Analysis may be used for two objectives: either we want to assess the

adequacy of classification, given the group memberships of the objects under study; or we

wish to assign objects to one of a number of (known) groups of objects. Discriminant

Analysis may thus have a descriptive or a predictive objective.

Here we use Discriminant analysis as confirmatory research as against the factor analysis

carried out in the previous section.

42 | P a g e

Classification Statistics I - Gender of the Candidate

The first category used for the analysis is the gender of the candidates.

1. Male

2. Female

Table 23: Classification Processing Summary

Processed 43

Excluded Missing or out-of-range

group codes 0

At least one missing

discriminating variable 0

Used in Output 43

Table 24: Prior Probabilities for Groups

15.

Experience

of

Candidadte Prior

Cases Used in Analysis

Unweighted Weighted

1 .465 20 20.000

2 .488 21 21.000

3 .047 2 2.000

Total 1.000 43 43.000

Table 25: Classification Results

a

15.

Experienc

e of

Candidad

te

Predicted Group Membership

Total

1 2 3

Original Count 1 14 6 0 20

2 1 20 0 21

3 0 1 1 2

% 1 70.0 30.0 .0 100.0

2 4.8 95.2 .0 100.0

3 .0 50.0 50.0 100.0

a. 81.4% of original grouped cases

correctly classified.

43 | P a g e

„Classification Results‟ is a simple summary of number and percent of candidates classified

correctly and incorrectly. Hence from the above analysis we see that of the total 33 male

candidates we are able to re-classify 32 male candidates. Similarly of the 10 female

candidates 6 six of them have been correctly re-classified. Hence 88.4% of the original

groups were correctly classified.

Classification Statistics II - Years of experience of the candidate

The second category is the Years of experience a candidate falls into.

1. Less than 4 years

2. 4 to 7 years

3. 7 to 10 years

4. 10 to 13 years

5. Above 13 years


Processed 43

Excluded Missing or out-of-range group

codes 0

At least one missing discriminating

variable 0

Used in Output 43


15.

Experience

of

Candidadte Prior


Unweighted Weighted

1 .465 20 20.000

2 .488 21 21.000

3 .047 2 2.000

Total 1.000 43 43.000

44 | P a g e

Table 28: Classification Resultsa

15. Experience

of Candidadte


Total 1 2 3

Original Count 1 14 6 0 20

2 1 20 0 21

3 0 1 1 2

% 1 70.0 30.0 .0 100.0

2 4.8 95.2 .0 100.0

3 .0 50.0 50.0 100.0

a. 81.4% of original grouped cases correctly

classified.

From the above classification results table we see that of the total 20 candidates belonging to

„less than 4 yrs experience‟ group, we are able to re-classify 14 candidates. Similarly of the

21 and 2 candidates belonging to the „4 to 7 yrs experience‟ and „7 to 10 yrs experience‟

respectively 20 candidates for the former and 1 candidate for the latter have been correctly re-

classified. Thus 81.4% of the original groups were correctly classified.

Classification Statistics III - Source of Information on the walk-in

The third category is the type of sourcing or the source of information through which the

candidate received information on the walk-in drive.

1. Job Portals (like naukri.com and monster.com)

2. Placement Vendors

3. I directly applied online through careers.tcs.com

4. Referrals (Friends or Family)

5. Newspaper and print media ads

6. I got a call from TCS HR

45 | P a g e


Processed 43

Excluded Missing or out-of-range group

codes 0

At least one missing discriminating

variable 0

Used in Output 43


16. Source

of Info on

Job Opening Prior


Unweighted Weighted

1 .163 7 7.000

2 .186 8 8.000

3 .093 4 4.000

4 .256 11 11.000

6 .302 13 13.000

Total 1.000 43 43.000

Table 31: Classification Resultsa

16. Source

of Info on

Job

Opening


Total

1 2 3 4 6

Original Count 1 5 1 0 0 1 7

2 0 4 0 2 2 8

3 0 0 3 0 1 4

4 0 2 0 5 4 11

6 1 0 0 1 11 13

% 1 71.4 14.3 .0 .0 14.3 100.0

2 .0 50.0 .0 25.0 25.0 100.0

3 .0 .0 75.0 .0 25.0 100.0

4 .0 18.2 .0 45.5 36.4 100.0

6 7.7 .0 .0 7.7 84.6 100.0

a. 65.1% of original grouped cases correctly classified.

From the above classification results table we see that 65.1% of the original groups were

correctly classified.

46 | P a g e

5.5 PERCEPTUAL MAPPING

The perceptual mapping for the various attributes are done on the basis of the responses

received. The mean of the responses are plotted in a scatter graph (one attribute against

another) and the perceived relations between the attributes are thus interpreted.

In this case, five pairs of attributes are formed on the basis of their relevance to each other

and the positioning of the brand as per the attributes is evaluated. The pairs of attributes are:

Communication – Venue & Interview schedule Vs Information provided regarding

the pre-requisites of interview

Seating & Other Infra at Venue Vs Over all Experience at Venue

Interaction with HR Personnel after Selection Vs Over all Experience at Venue

Transparent Negotiations Vs. Over all Experience at Venue

Query Resolution by Personnel after selection until offer Vs Over all Experience at

Venue

Fig 3: Communication - Venue Details & Interview Schedule

Vs

Information provided on pre-requisites

47 | P a g e

From the scatter graph it is evident that as per respondent‟s perception, TCS provides an apt

description of Venue & Interview Schedule. However TCS comes almost third with regards

to information shared on pre-requisites. This can be explained by missing pay-slips during

registration process / many non-eligible candidates who report to the venue unaware of the

eligibility criteria. The onus of this not only lies on TCS as the candidates can still choose to

ignore certain specifications.

Fig 4: Seating & Other Infra Vs Overall Experience

As per the graph it is evident that CTS and Infosys are far ahead of TCS with regards to

Seating & Other Infra contributing to Overall Experience as perceived by the candidates.

TCS, Infosys, Wipro are very similar in this attribute based perception by the candidates.

48 | P a g e

Fig 5: Transparent Negotiations Vs Overall Experience

As per the graph it is evident that HCL and Patni have almost similar transparency in

negotiations. Of all the six brands, TCS has the highest score in transparent HR negotiations

though slightly less in its contribution to Overall experience in the minds of candidates as

compared to CTS & Infosys. This is one key area where TCS stands ahead of the rest.

49 | P a g e

Fig 6: Interaction with HR after selection Vs Overall Experience at Venue

As per the graph it is evident that CTS, Infosys, Wipro as one category and TCS and HCL as

another are similar in their overall experience as perceived by the candidate, this contributed

by the interaction with HR personnel after the selection process.

50 | P a g e

Fig 7: Query Resolution by HR Vs Overall Experience

As per the graph it is evident that Infosys leads in this attribute, whereas CTS, Wipro HCL

and Patni very closely associated when it comes to Query resolution in the minds of a

selected candidate. Of all the six organizations the Infosys seems to lead in as the candidate

friendly organization.

The open ended questions asked to respondents during the survey and their respective areas of

concerns as well as areas of differentiation have been attached in the appendix along with the

Questionnaire.

51 | P a g e

6. LIMITATIONS

1. Data collected for doing this project was taken from Only Experienced Professionals

at Chennai location of TCS. The experience of the candidates range from 2 yrs and

above to 10yrs. This makes it more specific.

2. Perception of candidates from few Tier I companies and candidates who had earlier

been employees of Tier I were considered. This makes the sampling very specific.

3. The respondents were chosen such that majority of the candidates had attended the

interview process of at least more than two organizations to assist in the comparison

of processes.

4. The research work is restricted to Chennai location only and hence the parameters

may vary when we consider other locations also.

52 | P a g e

7. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

The research was successful in identifying the various factors which helped the candidates

build a certain perception of the organizations interview process.

Also has given insights into various variables and factors that help in comparison with

selected Tier I companies.

The Major findings from Descriptive Analysis:

By the Descriptive Analysis it is found TCS has fared well in all the variables. Majority of

the respondents 50% and above have always rated TCS with a high score.

Two variables „Query Resolution by HR after selection‟ and „Seating arrangements‟ have a

similar ratings with equal proportion of candidates rating TCS with a mid score.

The major Factors as identified by Factor Analysis:

1. Interaction the candidate has with the HR or the Interview Panel creates a certain mental

map of the company in the minds of the candidates.

2. The factor of Time matters to the candidate and this is directly helps in quantifying the

effectiveness of the whole interview process in the minds of the candidate.

3. The third factor is Experience of comfort - Level of difficulty perceived, HR negotiations

and Query Resolution once the candidate is selected. The infra structure provided also has an

impact on the experience candidates has and this has been explained in tandem with the

above variables by the third component of Factor Analysis.

4. Communication and information shared by the organisation before and during the

process are also considered a major factor by the respondents.

The Major Findings from Perceptual Mapping:

From the scatter graph it is evident that as per respondent‟s perception, TCS scores high on

the factor of communication with regards to venue details and information on pre-requisites.

53 | P a g e

CTS and Infosys are ahead of TCS when it comes to information shared before the interview

process.

This could be explained as many non-eligible candidates who report to the venue unaware of

the eligibility criteria and certain candidates reporting with wrong skill set at the walk-in.

The onus of this not only lies on TCS as there have been cases where candidates have chosen

to ignore certain specifications.

To improve the information sharing quotient before interview of TCS in the minds of the

candidates:

Recommendations: To minimize the number of candidates report with incorrect skill set /

Technologies we can get the sourcing team to understand different technologies under a

category of skill for which opening is available. Also, team can clarify the same with the

candidates while scheduling their interview.

For eg: While recruiting for Testing openings project requirement is either for Performance

or Automation Testing. Within Automation testing there are applications further

classifications like QTP (for which opening is available) and RFT and manual scripting.

Similarly under Performance Testing there is Load runner, win-runner etc. Hence this the

sourcing team can specifically clarify with the candidates in case of scheduled interviews.

Also, one common are of miscommunication seems to be confusion between performance

testing and performance engineering. The latter is into hardware testing of ICs etc. While

scheduling the candidates need to be asked specifically for their area of work.




candidates.

Recommendations: The Seating arrangement is one variable that most of the respondents

felt as unsatisfactory. This is with respect to the Velachery facility (captured through the open

ended questions and attached in Annexure II ) of TCS.

An alternate arrangement of seating can be made in one part of the cafeteria for the weekend

drives. This would certainly make perception of seating arrangements better.

54 | P a g e



As evident from the Perceptual Maps TCS needs to look into the interaction factor selected

candidates have with the HR personnel and also its Query resolution process one the

candidate is selected. These two factors majorly influence any candidate‟s decision while

joining an organization.

Recommendations: Query resolution by HR personnel after the selection of the candidate

greatly influences his decision to join the organisation. Hence the HR for the respective skill

set or any other HR personnel can be given the responsibility of handling queries such as

joining formalities, change of candidate‟s information etc.

The person can be the SPOC to answer such queries and can redirect the candidates to

recruiters of specific skill set. The details of communication (email ID or extn number) of this

SPOC can be given to the candidates after the HR interview. This makes the HR easily

accessible to the candidate.







Overall, since in any recruitment process offer acceptance by the candidate and final decision

of candidates to join an organization is as important as selection the right number of

candidates, the experience a candidate has based on the four factors realised by this study and

the perception of TCS against its major competitors matters. Also, the major competitors of

TCS as realised from perception maps are CTS and Infosys followed by Wipro being the

minor competitor.

55 | P a g e

ANNEXURE I

Questionnaire to capture the perception of TCS Interview Process viz-a-viz

other Tier I companies in Chennai

1. Experience (in years)

Less than 4

4 to 7

7 to 10

10 to 13

Above 13

2. Source of Job Opening

3. Skill :

4. Current organization:

5. Last Employer (s) :

6. Gender :

Male

Female

Job Portals (like naukri.com and monster.com)

Placement Vendors

I directly applied online through careers.tcs.com

Referrals (Friends or Family)

Newspaper and print media ads

I got a call from TCS HR

56 | P a g e

7. Rate TCS Process of Interview based on the following attributes.

NOTE: 1- high rating, 5- low rating

1 2 3 4 5

Information provided

regarding the pre-

requisites of interview

Complete Incomplete

Time taken for

Registration Quick Long

Time between the call


interview

Sufficient Insufficient

Communication –

Venue & Interview

schedule

Effective Ineffective

Interaction with Panelist Satisfactory Not

Satisfactory

Interaction with HR Satisfactory Not

Satisfactory

Seating & Other Infra at

Venue

Convenient

/

Satisfactory

Inconvenient/

Not

Satisfactory

Level of Difficulty

Interview as against

your years of experience

Difficult Easy

Transparent negotiations

by HR (i.e. letting me

know their limitations

when it comes to salary

and role negotiations)

Satisfactory Not

Satisfactory

57 | P a g e

Interaction with HR

personnel after

selection

Continuous

/Satisfactor

y

Not frequent/

Not

Satisfactory

Query Resolution by


until offer

Satisfactory Not

Satisfactory

Process Co-ordination at

venue Efficient Inefficient

Over all Experience at

Venue Satisfactory

Not

Satisfactory

What differentiates TCS Interview Process from the other Tier I Companies (If any) :

Please suggest ideas for improvement/ comments regarding the process of Walk-In (if

any):

The above Questions are repeated for five other companies (CTS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL

and Patni)

58 | P a g e

ANNEXURE II

Few credible answers to “What differentiates TCS Interview Process from the other Tier

I Companies (If any):”

“Recruitment process as-such is good. And for me the best thing is the online application to

track the application status.”

“Tech, Management & HR interviews happen within 3-4 days which is quicker.'All-

Telephonic' method is much easier option here in TCS; I haven't encountered this in any

other companies.”

“TCS keeps the candidates informed as to how much more time would it take for his/her turn.

If its going to take a long time and if it is close to lunch, recruiters inform the candidates to

freshen up or to have lunch and return to the same place in a specific time”

“The HR Negotiations are very upfront and frank though a bit crude at times. It helps

unnecessary follow ups”

“The Process Co-ordination is good. But usually takes long due to crowd and less

interviewers.”

“HRs at venue are very friendly and help in case of any issues.”

Few credible answers to “Please suggest ideas for improvement/ comments regarding the

process of Walk-In (if any):”

“I attended my TCS interview at Velachery branch, Chennai and when i came to attend the

interview the security personnel didn't allow to part two-wheelers inside the campus and we

had to leave the bike somewhere outside in hot sun for about 3-4 hours... Would be happy if

this is addressed.”

“I Would prefer face to face interaction with the interviewer than a telephonic process. There

is always less satisfaction out of telephonic interview.”

59 | P a g e

“Instead of seating people in the basement car park, they could have provided us with seats

inside the building. I think the person who is coming for an interview gets a very bad first

impression with the way HR's treat their employees. Infosys is a lot more friendly and I can

definitely say that they are more understanding and compassionate.”

“Post interview & selection, the concerned folks are not reachable easily for queries or

issues regarding joining; this includes HR too.”

“Was filling up the same form twice after I had filled it up once in online as well. So it was

irritating to fill in the same details again and again. Had spent around 45 mins to fill up the

online form and i give them my unique number as well but still they ask me to fill the same

details again at the venue stating that it’s a mandatory form.”

60 | P a g e

REFERENCES

1. Naresh K. Malhotra Satyabhusan dash - Marketing Research an applied orientation -

Fifth Edition

2. K Aswathappa - Human Resource Management - Fifth Edition

3. John M Ivancevich - Human Resource Management - Tenth Edition

4. Christopher W. Pritchard - 101 Strategies for Recruiting Success Where, When, and

How to Find the Right People Every Time

recrutiment at tcs

Documents