Contents2.1 IT Infrastructure Management.........................................................................................................5

2.2 Remote Infrastructure Management.............................................................................................5

2.2.2 Available Infrastructure Management..................................................................................6

2.2.3 Agile Infrastructure Management........................................................................................6

HISTORY................................................................................................................................................8

LOCATIONS..........................................................................................................................................9

ABOUT FOUNDER..............................................................................................................................10

CORE VALUES OF MICROLAND.....................................................................................................11

REMOTE INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT (RIM)..................................................................12

OVERVIEW..............................................................................................................................................13

COLLABORATION.................................................................................................................................14

Microland’s Collaboration Services......................................................................................................15

Design and Deployment........................................................................................................................15

Manage – Managed UC Services...........................................................................................................15

MOBILITY...............................................................................................................................................16

Microland’s Mobility Services..............................................................................................................16

Design and Implement Mobility Solution..............................................................................................16

Manage Mobility Infrastructure Management.......................................................................................17

End User Help Desk..............................................................................................................................17

CLOUD COMPUTING.............................................................................................................................18

Now2cloud Consulting Services............................................................................................................18

Desktop Virtualization Services............................................................................................................19

Cloud Migration and Build Services......................................................................................................19

Hybrid Cloud Management Services.....................................................................................................19

INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT..................................................................................................20

Remote IT Infrastructure Management Services...................................................................................20

Microland’s Remote IT Infrastructure Management Services...............................................................20

IT MODERNIZATION.............................................................................................................................21

Microland’s IT Modernization Services................................................................................................21

END USER SERVICES............................................................................................................................22

Practice Focus Areas.............................................................................................................................22

Interleaving Fun with Work...................................................................................................................23

Investing in Our Employees..................................................................................................................23

Rewards and Recognition......................................................................................................................23

The Microland Trailblazer Award.........................................................................................................24

The Spot Recognition Award................................................................................................................24

Problem Statement....................................................................................................................................27

Objectives of Study...................................................................................................................................27

OBJECTIVES.......................................................................................................................................28

NORMAL EXIT....................................................................................................................................28

Procedure for Normal Exit:................................................................................................................28

FORCED EXIT.....................................................................................................................................29

Forced exit can be of the following types:.........................................................................................29

1. Termination:..............................................................................................................................29

2. Separation of employee on non-performance:...........................................................................29

3. Abandonment of Services:.........................................................................................................29

NOTICE PERIOD:................................................................................................................................30

LAST WORKING DAY (LWD)...........................................................................................................31

NO DUES CERTIFICATE (NDC)........................................................................................................31

LEAVE ENCASHMENT......................................................................................................................32

FULL AND FINAL SETTLEMENT (F&F).........................................................................................32

NOTICE PERIOD BUY OUT...............................................................................................................33

SUGGESTIONS....................................................................................................................................33

RESEARCH APPROACH....................................................................................................................34

DATA COLLECTION..........................................................................................................................34

MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE.........................................................................................................34

SAMPLING METHOD.........................................................................................................................34

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CHAPTER -1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Microland is the leading IT Infrastructure management services and a comprehensive Cloud lifecycle services provider based out of Bangalore. A pioneer of the remote infrastructure management concept, it has its operations hub in India with global presence across USA, UK and Middle East. Incorporated in 1989, Microland has deep and broad expertise in all areas of technology infrastructure set up, management & optimization. A team of over 2700 highly skilled and motivated employees, equipped with the right tools and systems, work round-the-clock out of our world-class facilities to optimize the performance of our clients’ technology infrastructure with strategic partnerships with technology leaders such as Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, Amazon Web Services and Citrix.

Microland being such a huge company with offices in USA, UK and Middle East, employee management becomes a colossal task. Being a services company, maximum client satisfaction can only be leveraged if the company is backed by an enthusiastic, hardworking and gratified employee force. In view of this, Microland believes its employees are its greatest asset and hence has formulated the HR policies and practices around four core values: Integrity, Respect, Transparency and Teamwork.

I had a lifetime opportunity of working with Microland and understanding their Employee Exit Management process. Understanding why employees leave is almost as important as understanding why they stay. Some would say it is even more important. Every company needs a feedback system to improvise on their best practices and mitigate the areas which are hindering to employee growth and satisfaction.

Although Microland had HR policies and practices in place directly dealing with employee exit, it functioned as a localized process rather than a feedback process to the higher management. Hence, attrition of employees was high compared to the market standards. The practice involved general checklist based exit interviews with HR and documenting them without going in detail of why the employee were exiting. The function of HR involved the issuance of relieving and experience certificates. This led me to investigate and analyze the complete employee exit process with an intention to improvise and bring in a systematic feedback process to the higher management.

The following were my inferences found after the analysis and findings:

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Most of the employees were exiting because of ill treatment/mismanagement by their immediate supervisors.

Although the remuneration was as per the industry standards, awards and recognition policy was not elaborate and ineffectively used.

Exit procedure checklist and questionnaire were not exhaustive.

Work was not being assigned to employees as per training and in some instances employee was being cross-trained into other technologies leading to employee dissatisfaction.

The reasons provided by the employee was not being communicated with his supervisor. In most of the exit cases, exit interviews never happened. In some cases, employees were terminated due to bad attitude and /or unprofessional

behavior.

The following are the suggestions given after the study:

All employees who have resigned should compulsorily have a face to face exit interviews with the supervisor and the HR manager.

The exit questionnaire should document the reason of the employee’s exit and the same should be shared with his Supervisor and up to two levels of higher management.

Training programs should be held only after the demand is forecasted. Appropriate action should be taken if the employee is mistreated or unprofessionally

behaved with. Staffing should be done by giving due importance to employee’s behavioral aspects along

with experience and his skills.

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CHAPTER 2

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

2.1 IT Infrastructure Management

IT infrastructure refers to the composite hardware, software, network resources and services required for the existence, operation and management of an enterprise IT environment. It allows an organization to deliver IT solutions and services to its employees, partners and/or customers and is usually internal to an organization and deployed within owned facilities.

Typically, a standard IT infrastructure consists of the following components:

Hardware: Servers, computers, data centers, switches, hubs and routers, etc. Software: Enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management

(CRM), productivity applications and more. Network: Network enablement, Internet connectivity, firewall and security. Meatware: Human users, such as network administrators (NA), developers, designers and

generic end users with access to any IT appliance or service are also part of an IT infrastructure, specifically with the advent of user-centric IT service development.

2.2 Remote Infrastructure Management

It refers to remotely managing information technology (IT) infrastructure such as workstations (desktops, laptops, notebooks, etc.), servers, network devices, storage devices, IT security devices, etc. of a company.

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Major sub-services included in RIM are:

Service desk / Help desk Proactive monitoring of server and network devices Workstation Management Server Management Storage management Application support IT security Management

Remote Infrastructure Management Services Remote Infrastructure Management (RIM) has achieved tremendous popularity amongst the businesses as it offers valuable benefits such as cost advantage, helping internal IT teams to concentrate on strategic goals and off load the day to day IT operations management and increased focus on innovation.

Infrastructure management comprises of:

2.2.1 Accurate Infrastructure Management

Library of known error database resulting in faster resolution Standard automation tools for day to day operations Organization wide best practices & SOPs implemented Best in class quality methodologies Productivity benchmarking to improve performance Regular training to keep abreast on emerging technologies

2.2.2 Available Infrastructure Management

Highly accessible fault tolerant design Multi location delivery eliminates single point of failure Disaster Recovery ready Access Solution: Multiple customer network for single desktop Pre-built integration with partner & other service lines Readiness for integration with customer’s existing tools

2.2.3 Agile Infrastructure Management

Readily available pool of skilled resources on all domains at all times Faster Ramp ups & Ramp downs

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Ready to use Command Centers across the globe Ready to use service management platform complaint with ITIL standards Plug & play monitoring, management and reporting tools available

CHAPTER – 3

THE COMPANY

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“Partner with Microland and experience Automation and Analytics based IT Infrastructure Service delivery to align your business to tomorrow.” – Pradeep Kar

Microland is an IT infrastructure services provider which offers services within infrastructure

management, end user services, cloud computing, virtualization, collaboration and mobility.

Microland is headquartered in Bangalore, India and has offices in several locations in India,

North America and Europe. Microland was started by Pradeep Kar in August 1989. The

company has over 2300 employees and it has worked with clients from business areas including

manufacturing, chemicals, aviation, banking and finance, mortgage, health care, software,

consumer level products, semi-conductors, retail chains and business process outsourcing.

It is an IT infrastructure services provider which offers services within infrastructure management, end user services, cloud computing, virtualization, collaboration and mobility.

Microland is headquartered in Bangalore, India and has offices in several locations in India, North America and Europe. Microland was started by Pradeep Kar in August 1989. The company has over 2300 employees and it has worked with clients from business areas including manufacturing, chemicals, aviation, banking and finance, mortgage, health care, software, consumer level products, semi-conductors, retail chains and business process outsourcing.

A pioneer of the remote infrastructure management concept, Microland has its operations hub in India with global presence across USA, UK and Middle East. Incorporated in 1989, Microland has deep and broad expertise in all areas of technology infrastructure set up, management & optimization. Microland has built extraordinary partnerships with global customers, nurturing them with rare commitment for years. Commitment to place the customer ahead of everything else. Commitment to highest standards of governance and business ethics. Commitment to provide solutions and services of the highest quality. Commitment to consistently deliver superior value through innovation and smart thinking resulting in reduced TCO, greater IT-Business alignment and higher performance to our clients. A team of over 2700 highly skilled and motivated employees, equipped with the right tools and systems, work round-the-clock out of our world-class facilities to optimize the performance of our clients’ technology infrastructure. Microland’s management team, with deep domain knowledge and industry leading expertise, ensures personalized client management. Our partnerships with leading global players help us stay ahead of the curve. We also have strategic partnerships with technology leaders such as Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, Amazon Web Services and Citrix.

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HISTORY

Microland was started in Bangalore, India in August 1989 with a key focus on hardware and

networking till date. In 2005 Microland signed a strategic alliance with Serco Solutions, UK, for

providing remote IT Infrastructure Management Services (IMS). Microland inaugurated a

dedicated operations center for providing remote IT infrastructure management services (IMS) to

Remote Solutions.

The same year Microland also announced a closure of USD 7.5 million in funding led by

existing investors for fuelling growth capital and investment in new infrastructure. This was

followed by a second round of funding of 11 million USD in 2006.

In 2007 Microland set up its multi network operations center by setting up six network

operations center, six tech labs, four data centers and a penetration testing lab. [5] In 2008,

Microland expanded its service lines through the inclusion of Managed Security Assessment and

ITSM consulting to its portfolio.

In 2011, a significant milestone for Microland was the signing of a strategic multi-year contract

valued at $55 million with Serco Limited, UK. As part of this contract, Microland would

continue to provide specialist support for a range of devices through an expanded team located in

Birmingham, UK, and Bangalore, India.

In 2012, Microland added Virtualization & Cloud Infrastructure Life Cycle Services (Design,

Deploy & Management of Public, Private & Hybrid Clouds including Cloud Integration &

Automation) to its portfolio and as part of this built partnerships with leading Cloud technology

providers.

LOCATIONS

Microland is headquartered at 1B RMZ Eco space Park, Bellandur, Bangalore. It also has

facilities at Cyber Park, Electronic City, Bangalore (Dedicated OMC).

It has offices at

India:

Venkatadiri IT Park, Electronic City.

Phoenix House, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai

Audi Nivas, Chinnaiah Street, T.Nagar, Chennai

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No 6 & 7, Palm court, Sector 14, 20/4 Sukrali Chowk, Gurgaon

USA:

1735, Technology Drive, Ste #830, San Jose, CA (US)

5, Independence Way, Suite 300, Princeton, NJ (US)

Canada:

5800, Ambler Drive, Suite #210, Mississauga, Ontario (Canada)

United Kingdom:

1 Bell Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire (UK)

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ABOUT FOUNDER

Pradeep KarFounder, Chairman & Managing Director

A visionary and industry pioneer, Pradeep leveraged the power of networking & e-business technologies long before they were recognized as critical business enablers when he founded Microland in 1989. In the late ’90s, he redefined the infrastructure outsourcing industry by leveraging the remote service delivery model and established Microland as an infrastructure management specialist. Microland has since been recognized as a key player in the Remote Infrastructure Management services space by top outsourcing industry analysts.

A serial entrepreneur, Pradeep founded and sold 3 technology companies notable amongst them was Indya.com, which he sold to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation; Planetasia.com, India’s first Internet Professional Services Company and Net Brahma Technologies.

He sits on the board of UBM plc. A global live media and B2B communications, marketing service and data provider listed on the London Stock Exchange; on the Advisory Board of Leaders’ Quest, an international social enterprise based in London and on the South Asia Board of Trinity College, Dublin. Pradeep is the Past President of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Bangalore Chapter and is the Founding Member of the Bangalore Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization. Pradeep also chairs the Infrastructure Management Services Forum of NASSCOM, the apex body of the Indian Software & Services industry.

Pradeep has been recognized with numerous accolades; notable among these is the Indian Express ‘India Young Business Achiever Award’ as well as being selected by the World Economic Forum as a ‘Global Leader for Tomorrow’. He has been featured in ‘Newsweek International’s ‘Stars of Asia’ and in ‘Business India’ as ‘Stars of India’.

He holds a postgraduate degree in Management and a Bachelor of Engineering degree. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus award by the National Institute of Technology, Nagpur in 2010.

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CORE VALUES OF MICROLAND

People are the pillars of Microland and an important reason for our success. At Microland, we have taken a series of measures to make people our greatest asset. Microland believes in crafting careers rather than just being an employment provider. We have an employee friendly HR policy, which gives due attention to the growth of the employee in the organization. We encourage employees to take charge of their career, and lay great emphasis on pursuing long-term goals to retain good talent in the organization. We offer our employees many opportunities to enhance their learning while contributing to the organization.

IntegrityOur value system, founded on the principles of mutual respect, openness and meritocracy, is reflected in the way we deal with all our stakeholders.

RespectMicroland is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer with an inclusive and positive work place. We value each individual for the unique skills, experience and perspective that he/she brings to the organization.

TransparencyMicroland has an open-door, open houses are conducted often to provide the opportunity to ‘speak up’. Employee satisfaction surveys are conducted to identify any gaps and corrective action taken.

TeamworkAs the leading specialist infrastructure services player in India, and a pioneer of remote infrastructure management, we offer IM professionals exciting opportunities. You will be a part of a highly skilled team of over 2300 professionals who are constantly augmenting their technology capabilities.

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CORE BUSINESS OF MICROLAND

REMOTE INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT (RIM)

It  refers to remotely managing information technology (IT) infrastructure such

as workstations (desktops, laptops, notebooks, etc.), servers, network devices, storage devices, IT

security devices, etc. of a company.

Major sub-services included in RIM are:

Service desk / Help desk Proactive monitoring of server and network devices Workstation Management Server Management Storage management Application support IT security Management

Remote Infrastructure Management Services Remote Infrastructure Management (RIM) has

achieved tremendous popularity amongst the businesses as it offers valuable benefits such as cost

advantage, helping internal IT teams to concentrate on strategic goals and off load the day to day

IT operations management and increased focus on innovation.

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CHAPTER -4

MICROLAND IT INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES

OVERVIEW

Microland’s services are designed to deliver value to enterprise IT operations today and over the years to come, and are offered in modular fashion so that you can pick the ones that truly address your needs. You have a need to make sure that IT is aligned to the future needs of your business. Services are game changing solutions that are directly aligned to the strategic needs of your business for years to come. Microland’s vast experience and deep expertise are at your disposal to assess, strategize and execute solutions that will maximize business impact.

Microland’s smart transform portfolio of services includes:

Collaboration Services Mobility Services Virtualization Services Cloud Computing Services.

Microland’s consultants bring thought leadership, hands on experience and a consultative solutions framework to engineer the best solution for your real needs. Microland’s partnership with key technology principals such as Microsoft, Cisco and VMware ensures access to in depth knowledge and expertise, so you never need to look beyond Microland for any of your strategic needs. While you are redefining the future of your enterprise, Microland understands you also have an urgent need to restructure your current IT operations for effectiveness and efficiency. SMARTNOW services leverage Microland’s remote operations capabilities to deliver high quality services that make your IT operations world-class, while delivering immediate cost savings, improved security and compliance.

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Microland’s smartnow portfolio of services includes - Infrastructure Management Services - IT Modernization Services - End User Services We have the right technological capabilities supplemented by partnership with leading providers to ensure you stay ahead in the game.

COLLABORATION

In today’s business world, the workforce is geographically dispersed and uses mobile devices such as laptops, smart phones, etc. on-the-go to communicate with clients, suppliers and people within the organization. Travel and budgets have been reduced and information overload is considered normal in any environment. Effective business collaboration that lets businesses, people and devices connect seamlessly across time and distance barriers has become an absolute must.

Microland’s Collaboration Solution enables enterprises to improve the way employees, partners, customers and other stakeholders, both internal and external, will interact and perform. Microland provides an integrated environment to collaborate across messaging applications, voice and video conferencing applications that will integrate multiple communication channels (IP Telephony, Instant Messaging, Presence, Voice, Video, Web Conferencing, Voice mail, Telepresence and Mobile) and ensures seamless integration with business processes and applications.

Microland adopts a unique lifecycle based approach for Unified Communications (UC) wherein Microland engages in a strategic consulting engagement and draws up an enterprise Unified Communications roadmap, designs, and implements and manages the Unified Communications solution. The roadmap begins with the simple migration of phones from traditional TDM based networks to IP Telephony and goes right up to a Unified Messaging environment with Telepresence.

Microland’s Partnership with Microsoft

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As Microsoft’s Gold Certified Partner and Best IT Infrastructure Services Partner for eight years in a row, Microland has always been a preferred partner for delivering Microsoft solutions to clients. The Collaboration solutions covered under this partnership include:

Microland’s Microsoft SharePoint Services Microland’s Microsoft Lync Services Microsoft Office 365

Microland’s Collaboration Services

Our assessment service allows you to better understand the Unified Communications technology landscape and helps evaluate the organization’s collaboration maturity and recommend a road map for UC technology. Our assessment service maps broad business goals to investment in technology such as IP Telephony, Instant Messaging, etc. and makes recommendations that would enhance productivity and address current and future business challenges. Microland can also recommend appropriate conferencing solutions to meet the cost and business needs of any organization.

Design and Deployment

Microland offers the expertise to help design and deploy Unified Communications technology based on a unique framework to ensure seamless integration with existing technologies. Microland will test, and deploy UC solutions effectively and efficiently to maximize ROI on UC. Our phased approach and end user training workshops ensure easy adoption of the new collaborative technology being deployed.

Manage – Managed UC Services

Microland’s managed services for UC are designed to improve end-user productivity and utilization of the IT infrastructure. Our services help standardize processes and ensure maximum availability through 24×7 management of the entire UC environment. Microland provides L1, L2 and L3 Unified Communications support for enterprise customers who want to outsource part of their work like Change Management and Incident Management for cost efficiency and improved SLA.

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MOBILITY

In today’s increasingly competitive business world, enterprises are addressing the pressing need to retain the global talent by offering flexibility through remote working. The global workforce needs to transact on business processes at customer and partner locations, or during travel. Information on the move enables workforce to take informed decisions, reduce business cycle times and be more responsive in order to ensure rapid business growth. Consumerization and populism are driving heterogeneity into mobile device environment within an enterprise.

Enabling and managing mobility for the workforce of tomorrow poses significant challenges to enterprise’s IT operations:

Securing flow of information Simplifying enterprise mobile device management and mobility infrastructure Enabling mobile transactions across multiple business processes

Microland’s Mobility Services help enterprises adopt and manage mobility for the growing business needs of tomorrow. Microland helps enterprises devise and implement mobility strategy, enables end to end enterprise mobile device management on a 24×7 basis, and supports the mobile workforce.

Microland’s Mobility Services

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A rapid design of mobility strategy based on business needs and evaluation of your mobility environment. Key deliverables include mobility scorecards, roadmap for mobility and quantified business benefits from mobility solution.

Design and Implement Mobility Solution

Identify high impact processes and applications which need to be mobilized and implement the mobility platform to support current and future mobility needs.

Manage Mobility Infrastructure Management

Complete enterprise mobile device management including- provisioning, monitoring and decommissioning of heterogeneous mobile devices and 24×7 management of mobility infrastructure.

End User Help Desk

Technical support and help desk services to mobile workforce on mobile devices, security and connectivity to guarantee a high performance environment.

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CLOUD COMPUTING

Cloud computing is redefining the IT world in every possible way. The enterprises are moving towards delivering “IT as a service” concept and cloud is the new delivery paradigm. It might be a private cloud accessible only within the enterprise, the public cloud provided by an external vendor or a hybrid enterprise cloud that is a mix of both. It is making enterprises relook their infrastructure planning, refresh cycles, investments and IT Infrastructure Management delivery mechanism in a completely different and business driven way.

IT managers are embracing the cloud in a big way. However, to extract the full benefits of the cloud, IT managers need expert guidance to navigate through the intricate and complex steps on their journey from the traditional IT to an On-demand world. And who else can be a better expert than Microland, a comprehensive Cloud Infrastructure Lifecycle Services Provider.

Microland’s suite of cloud services helps enterprises handle their journey to cloud in a seamless manner. We enable enterprises to transform their delivery and consumption of IT services to an On-demand model leveraging hybrid cloud environments through our Consulting, Solution Integration and Infrastructure Management Services offering. We work with global enterprises helping them with their cloud roadmap across different stages.

Microland’s Cloud Computing Services portfolio includes

Now2cloud Desktop Virtualization Cloud Migration and Build Hybrid Cloud Management

Now2cloud Consulting Services

IT managers looking to transform their enterprise IT through cloud-based solutions often find the process riddled with challenges. Microland’s Now2cloud Consulting helps clients create a detailed roadmap for their cloud journey.

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Desktop Virtualization Services

With all the hype around Desktop Virtualization, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Application Virtualization, organizations are unsure of the best path forward. Microland’s Desktop Virtualization Services assist enterprises by addressing all the challenges at various stage

Cloud Migration and Build Services

Creating the perfect cloud roadmap is just the beginning of the long cloud migration journey. Microland’s Cloud Migration and Build Services handhold enterprises through the cloud migration and build roadmap covering both private cloud and public cloud. Hybrid Cloud Management Services

The emerging IT environment is a combination of traditional IT, public cloud and private cloud services. Microland’s Hybrid Cloud Management Services tackle the key challenges an enterprise faces in this hybrid environment, such as scalability across clouds, extending enterprise security to the realm of cloud and managing disparate cloud and traditional IT systems.

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INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT

Remote IT Infrastructure Management Services

Enterprises look toward remote IT infrastructure management services to provide a competitive advantage. A robust IT infrastructure enables efficient delivery of services and improves overall business performance.

Microland’s Remote IT Infrastructure Management Services can help design, build, run and manage your IT infrastructure services in a flexible manner that allows for better integration with the existing processes and resources. Microland can help achieve the highest levels of business transformation by enabling companies to get the most from their IT infrastructure services. Microland addresses virtually every aspect of the IT discipline with one of the industry’s broadest suite of service offerings. Whatever your IT infrastructure challenges are, Microland’s Remote IT Infrastructure Management Services can help keep your infrastructure up and running.

Microland’s Remote IT Infrastructure Management Services Server Management Database Management Managed Backup Services Storage Management Archival Management Network Management Managed Communications Security Device Management Managed Messaging Enterprise Service Desk Desktop Management

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Microland approaches remote infrastructure management as a lifecycle service that encompasses four phases viz. Design, Deploy, Manage and Review. Microland’s delivery model (Model for Operational Excellence & Continual Improvement) is designed to address the needs of clients across various geographies and time-zones encompassing Remote/Onsite Management, Best Shore Hybrid Models, Shared Services or Dedicated Center

IT MODERNIZATION

The typical IT organization at enterprises today spans multiple locations and usually has a variety of platforms, with each business unit sometimes making its own IT decisions. With the increasing pressure on the CIO to make the most of every dollar in the IT budget, infrastructure optimization can help CIOs achieve that

Microland delivers IT Infrastructure Modernization Services by leveraging on its significant experience as well as best practices frameworks prevalent in the industry today.

Typically IT Modernization Services are spread across four phases:

Assess the existing infrastructure and environment Identify gaps Define remedial measures Define implementation roadmap

Microland’s IT Modernization Services Network Optimization Messaging Migration Windows 7 Migration Windows 8 Migration

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END USER SERVICES

IT consumerization, workforce diversity and device heterogeneity across organizations are changing the paradigms of workplace productivity and end user satisfaction. End User Services is longer equated with providing technical support services.

Microland’s End User Service practice builds services that help organizations standardize processes and the end user environment by facilitating centralized Enterprise Service Desk, IT Asset Management, Windows 7 Migration lifecycle services, Application Packaging and Remediation services, Deployment & Migration, Desktop Virtualization and Imaging services.

The End User Services practice at Microland has over 10 years of experience in delivering improved end user productivity at optimized costs for a range of clients in multiple locations across the world.

Practice Focus Areas Windows 7 Migration Windows 8 Migration Service Desk Desktop Management Desktop Virtualization Mobility Management

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CHAPTER-5

LIFE AT MICROLAND

Interleaving Fun with Work

Our world-class facility is not only equipped with the latest tools and technologies, but also has a food court and an entertainment center for our employees to unwind and relax. Birthdays and anniversaries are also celebrated with great enthusiasm. Offsite get together are also organized at regular intervals. “FITO: Fun in the Organization Team” is another initiative where we organize events and games for employees who want pursue their individual interests.

At Microland, work is a celebration…

We are a recipient of the MAIT award for “Organization with most Innovative HR Practices”. Microland also won the Pink Slip award by Times Ascent for “Creative Excellence in Recruitment Advertising”, 2007.

Investing in Our Employees

Microland invests substantially in its people to equip them with the latest skills and competencies. Quarterly appraisals are one of the important HR initiatives undertaken by Microland towards this objective. The appraisal focuses on identifying the training and development needs of employees and charting out a plan to address the gaps.

Microland also encourages its employees to obtain industry certifications such as Six sigma, ITIL, MCSE, CCNA, and Project Management Professional. We fully fund such programs. Other training programs on soft skills and client service also form part of the human resource development initiative. At Microland, one never stops learning.

Rewards and Recognition

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Compensation package is attractive – based on qualifications and experience, and comes with performance based incentives. An annual compensation review makes sure that employees are compensated according to their performance.

Microland has a fast tracker program which focuses on grooming the top 20% performers into effective leaders. Microland has instituted numerous awards for its employees on different parameters. Some of them are: The Microland Trailblazer Award and the Spot Recognition Award.

The Microland Trailblazer Award

The Microland Trailblazer Award is the highest form of employee recognition at Microland. It recognizes leadership, Innovation, application, excellence in business practice and exceptional demonstration of Microland’s core values. The performance and actions of Trailblazers leads the company to achieve distinction in areas of customer delight, social responsibility, stakeholder value, company goals and process innovation and employee satisfaction.

We have Trailblazers in three categories:

ML Values Role Model Award Best Practice Award Customer First Award

The Spot Recognition Award

The Award ensures that employees are motivated to give their best on a day-to-day basis and the humble act of recognizing them instantly notifies others of their performance.In addition to the awards, we also have provision for rewarding true-hearted employees. On our Annual day (26-August), employees who complete 10 years, 15 years and 20 years of service in Microland are rewarded by the CMD himself.

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CHAPTER – 6

ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

All the employees both technical and non-technical are leveled in five different levels, P1 is the lowest and P5 is the highest these are called pyramid level.

Figure 1: Organization Tiers

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The global delivery organization structure comprises of the Delivery, Design and Business excellence teams assisting the management of different projects under the Run – Global unit. The Run – Global unit oversees the operation of different Run verticals which are divided based on geography/dedicated/hybrid infrastructure.

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Figure 2: Global Delivery Organization Structure

CHAPTER-7

PROBLEM DEFINITION

Problem Statement

Employee Exit process has to be defined in such a way that it should talk about the end to end process and transactions of the resigned employee. This should also include the voluntary and involuntary exit.

Objectives of Study

The following are the objectives of this study:

Understand the exit process. To help employee for a smoother exit. To get better knowledge of the workflow of exit process. To interact with different stakeholders who sign-off is needed during the exit process. To simplify the process of calculation of Full and Final settlement. Document and action on the feedback received from the resigned employee. To analyze the active head count and attrition report of the company. To forecast the manpower head count for the replacement positions. Which would in turn

help the talent acquisition team for fulfilling the vacant positions.

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CHAPTER – 8

MICROLAND EMPLOYEE EXIT PROCEDURE

OBJECTIVES

To provide a detailed account of the Exit process in the company. An employee can exit the company in 6 different ways:

NORMAL EXIT

Normal exit happens when an employee voluntary leaves an organization.

Procedure for Normal Exit:

1. Employee should communicate to reporting manager over email stating, he is going to resign from his current job mentioning the reason.

2. Manager will have discussion with Employee within 2 days from the date of mail sent by employee.

3. Manager will intimidate BU HR about the employee resignation.4. BU HR will have discussion with employee one more to know the reason of his

resignation. Most common reasons of attrition are salary, designation, performance, Manager Issue, peer issue etc.

5. BU HR will initiate his resignation on the tool and send a formal mail to his reporting manager and to the employee on his last working day (LWD).

6. Once the resignation details are entered in the tool, the Exit team will take over the job of notifying the employee on any documents to be returned/assets to be returned /any amount to be paid by the employee in terms of training cost.

7. On employee’s last working day, Exit team will collect his ID badge, assets given to him, and issue resignation acceptance letter.

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8. No dues certificate to be collected by the employee on his last working day from each department.

9. Full & final settlement, relieving letter & experience will be given after 45 days of employees’ LWD.

10. The feedback of the exit discussion undertaken by the employee will be documented.11. Manager will have right to mention whether employee can be re-hired or not.

FORCED EXIT

This type of exit happens when an employee falls under disciplinary action by the employer. Sometimes Employer will have the right to exit employee with immediate effect without giving any notice period and may not issue relieving letter.

Forced exit can be of the following types:

1. Termination:

a. Termination can happen on misconduct, fraud, dishonest, misuse or causing damage to the company or client property which are breach to confidentiality. BU HR can concur with Business function head and can initiate termination.

b. Termination can happen if background report suggest the employee has faked his personal information in terms of education, employment, current address, and permanent address. Or reference check from Managers whether employee worked or not with their company.

c. No Experience or Relieving letter will be given to the employee if he/she has been forcefully terminated from the services, even if the employee settles his/her dues with the company. Instead, the employee would receive a “Settlement Letter” stating there are No Dues against the employee.

2. Separation of employee on non-performance:

a. Separation of employee on non-performance can happen if i. Training is provided and an employee fails to clear training.

ii. Confirmation Rejection (i.e., if Performance is not good)iii. No improvement shown in Performance Improvement Plan.iv. Client Feedback

b. Business HR in consensus with the Business/Function Head can initiate Separation subject to dependencies

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c. Experience or Reliving letter will be given to employee provided she/he settles her/his dues with the company.

3. Abandonment of Services:

a. It arises when an employee does not report to work for 3 consecutive work days without prior authorization and there is no intimation from the employee on his/her absence from work.

b. In case of an employee abandoning services, a call notice would be sent to the employees last contact address and 5 work days would be given to him/her to respond

c. If there is no response, the company will construe that the employee has discontinued from the services of the company and BU HR will initiate action to complete the “NO Due Certificate” on behalf of the employees.

d. A detailed letter on “Closure Of Employment ” will be sent to the employee’s last contact Address with details of last working date , dues payable , returnable assets etc. and clearing notifying the employee of probable legal action, in case of no response .

e. No Experience or Reliving letter will be given to an employee if he/she is abandoned services, even if the employee settles his/her dues with company. Instead the employee would receive a “SETTLEMENT LETTER” stating ‘NO DUES COMPLETION’ only.

NOTICE PERIOD:

An employee will leave organization after serving his notice period. Notice period vary from one band to other band.

a. During notice period any employee cannot avail leaves. Leaves can be en-cashed by the employer paying out money to the employee. Notice period can be bought-out in a critical situation faced by the employee, where he will try and convince his manager and accordingly he will payout the notice period amount to the employer.

b. In notice period if any leaves are waived off those leaves cannot be taken into consideration.

Notice period duration for Pyramid level - P1

Pyramid level During probation (in days ) Post confirmation (in days)P1 30 60

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An employee at pyramid level – P1 resigning during the probation period i.e. prior to his/her confirmation has to serve a minimum notice period of 30 days.

Notice period duration for Pyramid level – P2 to P5

Pyramid Level Notice Period Duration (in Days )P5 120P4 90P3 90P2 60

c. An employee cannot avail any leave during the notice period. The notice period would increase in case of any leave availed by the number of days of leave availed.

d. Any waiver/adjustment in the notice period will be at the discretion of the Business/ Function Head & Business HR subject to employee’s performance/availability of replacement /business impact of the position.

e. Notice period can only be adjusted against the ‘unserved ’ portion of the notice period .In case the notice period is partially waived off using leave balance the employee cannot claim leave encashment for the period waived off . In case the notice period is fully waived off, the employee cannot claim any leave encashment.

LAST WORKING DAY (LWD)

Last working day will be calculated by the employer from date of resignation date raised by the employee.

LWD = Resignation date + Notice Period Duration

a. If the LWD is after 10th of the following month, then the preceding months’ salary would be paid out as per the regular payroll. If the LWD is on or before 10 th of the following month, then the preceding months’ salary will be put on hold and will be paid out at the discretion of the business HR, subject to the clearance of all his/her dues with the company.

b. The reporting manager can communicate the LWD to the employee, only post discussion with the BU HR.

c. Resignation formalities will not be considered complete unless there is a sign- off given by the Business/Function Head/Reporting Manager, BU HR, resigning employee and the replacing employee receiving the hand – over.

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NO DUES CERTIFICATE (NDC)

NDC is initiated by the business HR for the resigned employee on or before the LWD.

a. No dues certificate to be submitted to the various departments as part of the exit formality.

b. A sign off from the below mentioned stake holders is mandatory for the positive clearance of NDC, post which the Experience/Relieving letter would be issued to the employee.

i. Business HR ii. Info Centre

iii. CIS iv. Finance v. Reporting Manager

vi. Adminvii. Payroll

c. Laptop, accessories, confidential documents to be given back to the particular department and obtain no objection certificate.

d. ID card to be returned to Manager.e. Any money in terms of training cost be occurred, employee has to pay back that amount

to the finance team.f. Company can hold back employee salary without any notice given to the employee.

LEAVE ENCASHMENT

Leaves can be en-cashed by the employee if he is eligible for leaves during the financial year. Leaves will be carried forward by the employee for the last year to current year those can also be en-cashed.

Maximum leave entitled for encashment cannot exceed 28 days.

Leave encashment is computed of the two alternatives as below:a. 100% of the latest leave balance as on the LWD as encashment.b. If the LWD of the employee is on or before 20th July of the same calendar year then the

employee is entitled for encashment, the opening leave balance of the current calendar year along with 3.5 days of additional leave. If LWD is on or after 21st July of the same calendar year, then the employee is entitled for encashment, the opening leave balance of the current calendar year along with 7 days of additional leave.

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FULL AND FINAL SETTLEMENT (F&F)

Full and final settlement copy will be provided to an employee post clearance from all the departments.

Bills which are pending for reimbursement can be taken approval from various business heads and can be sent it across to the managers. For the approvals, most of the cases it will get approved by the manager before an employee gets existed from the organization.

Provident fund will be withdrawn by an employee after getting exit from the organization until then that cannot be withdrawn.

NOTICE PERIOD BUY OUT

Notice period will be paid out by the employee on his own interest post having detailed discussion with his BU HR Manager, if they agree for buyout they will inform the employee about amount to be paid out by him and they will send out an email confirmation to the employee regarding the same.

SUGGESTIONS

a. Manager should have good repo with his peers on daily basis. He should understand employee and see there won’t be any lacking in terms of his technical skills

b. Taking team outside on weekends, doing celebration on birthday, festivals in officec. Weekly once get together with family membersd. Daily team lunch, team building activity will reduce employee drop outse. Giving equal opportunity and band promotions based on the promotionsf. Giving variable pay accurate on their performance. Will reduce drop outsg. Identifying the skills and proving internal training to enhance skills

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CHAPTER – 9

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH APPROACH

The approach to the research is explanatory as well as descriptive.

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DATA COLLECTIONBoth primary and secondary data are required to be collected for the purpose of the research. The primary data collection will be done through the structured interview and questionnaire. The secondary data will be collected from the organizations records and website.

MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUEThe measurement technique used to collect data is through questionnaire.

SAMPLING METHODThe sampling method will be done through systematic sampling with sample size of 140.

CHAPTER – 10

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The following questions were put forward to various employees of the organization. The data was collected and analyzed to arrive at the corresponding conclusions.

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1) At approximately what point in time did you begin making your decision to resign?

Options No. of Response

Percentage

6-9 months 60 42.90%

3-4 months 40 28.60%

1-2 months 20 14.30%

Other 20 14.30%

6-9 months 3-4 months 1-2 months Other0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Interpretation: From the above graph, I concluded that 42.90% of employees decide to leave the job, 6-9 months in advance, with the rational that it would give them enough time to plan out for their exit.

2) Please indicate reason(s) below, which contributed to your decision to resign from your current position?

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OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageSalary 140 100.00%Family Responsibility 40 28.57%Job Advancement 100 71.43%Dissatisfied Advancement 100 71.43%Personal Benefits 0 0.00%Return To school 40 28.57%Relocation 0 0.00%Health Concern/Retirement 0 0.00%

Salary

Family Resp

onsibilit

y

Job Advance

ment

Dissatisfi

ed Advance

ment

Personal B

enefits

Return To school

Relocation

HealthConce

rn/Retirement

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Interpretation: From the above graph, we come to know that majority of the employees exit the company because of Salary, Job advancement or dissatisfaction.

3) Is there any offer from any other company?

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OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageYes 80 57.14%No 60 42.86%

Yes No0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Interpretation: From the graph above we can infer that most of the employees resign with a job offer in hand.

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4) If yes, why? Select the relevant reasons from below.

OptionsNo. of

Response Percentage

Better Compensation 80 57.14%Designation Level is higher than current role 90 64.29%

Better roles and responsibility 80 57.14%

Better work environment 20 14.29%

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most of the employees are attracted by higher designation and salary in their job search.

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Better Compensa

tion

Designation Le

vel is

Higher than cu

rrent r

ole

Better roles a

nd resp

onsibilit

y

Better work

environment

020406080

100

Chart Title

5) Aspirations not being met at Microland?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageSlow career growth 100 71.43%No Technology up-gradation 40 28.57%No salary/band change 100 71.43%No work satisfaction 80 57.14%

Slow career g

rowth

No Technology u

p-gradation

No salary/

band change

No work

satisfa

ction

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most employees leave the organization because of slow career growth and lesser salary than the market standards.

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6) How effectively were your skills put to use at this company?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageExtremely effective 0 0.00%Very Effective 20 14.29%Moderately Effective 120 85.71%Not at all Effective 0 0.00%

Extremely

effective

Very Effecti

ve

Moderately Effecti

ve

Not at a

ll Effecti

ve

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

43

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most employees feel their skills are moderately effectively put to use.

7) How easy was it to get the resources you needed to do your job well at this company?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageExtremely Easy 0 0.00%Very Easy 20 14.29%Moderate Easy 100 71.43%Not at all Easy 20 14.29%

Extremely Easy Very Easy Moderate Easy Not at all Easy0

20

40

60

80

100

120

44

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that employees didn’t have much issues with respect to resources being provided by the company.

8) How much room for professional growth did you have at this company?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageA Great Deal 20 14.29%A lot 0 0.00%A moderate Amount 100 71.43%Not at all 20 14.29%

A Great Deal A lot A moderate Amount

Not at all0

20

40

60

80

100

120

45

Interpretation: From the graph above, employees had only a moderate amount of room to grow professionally.

9) How well were you paid for the work you did at this company?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageExtremely well 20 14.29%Very well 0 0.00%Moderate well 120 85.71%Not at all well 0 0.00%

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Extremely well

Very well Moderate well

Not at all well

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most of the employees were moderately paid for their work.

10) How fairly were you treated by your supervisor at this company?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageExtremely Fairly 20 14.29%

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Very Fairly 20 14.29%Moderate Fairly 100 71.43%Not at all Fairly 0 0.00%

Extremely Fairly

Very Fairly Moderate Fairly

Not at all Fairly

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Interpretation: From the graph above we can infer that employees felt they were treated moderately fairly by their supervisors.

11) How consistently did your supervisor reward you for good work?

OptionsNo. of

Response Percentage

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Extremely Consistently 0 0.00%Very Consistently 0 0.00%Moderate Consistently 80 57.14%Not at all Consistently 60 42.86%

Extremly

Consistently

Very Consis

tently

Moderate Consistently

Not at a

ll Consis

tently0

102030405060708090

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that supervisors reward their employees moderately or not at all for their good work.

12) How realistic were the expectations of your supervisor?

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OptionsNo. of

Response Percentage Extremely reasonable 0 0.00%Very Reasonable 40 28.57%Moderate Reasonable 80 57.14%Not at all Reasonable 20 14.29%

Extremely

reasonable

Very Reaso

nable

Moderate Reasonable

Not at a

ll Reaso

nable 0

102030405060708090

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that employees felt that supervisors were moderately and very reasonable with their expectations.

13) How reasonable were the decisions made by your supervisor?

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OptionsNo. of

Response Percentage Extremely reasonable 0 0.00%Very Reasonable 40 28.57%Moderate Reasonable 80 57.14%Not at all Reasonable 20 14.29%

Extremely

reasonable

Very Reaso

nable

Moderate Reasonable

Not at a

ll Reaso

nable 0

102030405060708090

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most of the employees thought that supervisors’ decisions were moderately reasonable.

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14) How often did your supervisor listen to employees' opinions when making decisions?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageExtremely Often 0 0.00%Very often 20 14.29%Moderate Often 100 71.43%Not at all Often 20 14.29%

Extremely Often Very often Moderate Often Not at all Often 0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most employees felt their supervisors listened to them moderately often while decision making.

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15) How easy was it for employees to disagree with the decisions made by your supervisor?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageExtremely Easy 0 0.00%very Easy 20 14.29%Moderate Easy 100 71.43%Not at all Easy 20 14.29%

Extremely Easy very Easy Moderate Easy Not at all Easy 0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most employees felt it was moderately easy to disagree with their supervisors.

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16) How well did your supervisor handle employee problems?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageExtremely well 0 0.00%very well 20 14.29%moderate well 100 71.43%not at all well 20 14.29%

Extremely well very well moderate well not at all well0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most employee felt their supervisors handled their problems moderately well.

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17) How well did the members of your team work together to reach a common goal?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageExtremely well 0 0.00%very well 60 42.86%moderate well 80 57.14%not at all well 0 0.00%

Extremely well very well moderate well not at all well0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most employee felt their team members worked towards a common goal moderately well.

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18) In a typical week, how often did you feel stressed at work?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageExtremely Often 0 0.00%Very often 100 71.43%moderate often 40 28.57%not at all often 0 0.00%

Extremely Often Very often moderate often not at all often0

20

40

60

80

100

120

56

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most employee felt stressed out very often.

19) How easy was it to balance your work life and personal life while working at this company?

OptionsNo. of

Response PercentageExtremely Easy 0 0.00%Very Easy 20 14.29%Moderate Easy 120 85.71%Not at all Easy 0 0.00%

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Extremly Easy Very Easy Moderate Easy Not at all Easy 0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most employee were able to handle work life and personal life balance moderately easy.

20) How safe did you feel at your employer's workplace?

OptionsNo. of Response Percentage

Extremely Safe 0 0.00%Very Safe 100 71.43%Moderate Safe 40 28.57%Not at all safe 0 0.00%

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Extremly Safe Very Safe Moderate Safe Not at all safe 0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Interpretation: From the graph above, we can infer that most employee felt very safe at employers’ workplace.

CHAPTER – 11

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

All through my research on exit procedure, discussions with employees, discussions with management and analysis of replies to employee questionnaire, I have found the following strengths and shortcomings with the employee exit procedure in Microland.

1. Of all the employees who took the survey, 42.86% of them began pondering on their

decision to quit from 6-9 months before they quit, with 28.57% beginning to ponder by 3-

4 months.

2. All to most of the employees essayed Salary (100% of respondents), Job Advancement

and Dissatisfaction (71.43% of respondents each) as their primary reason for quitting the

company.

3. From the sample of 140 respondents, 57.14% of employees had a job offer when they

planned to quit the company whereas 42.86% of people had no offer.

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4. Most employees said, Better Compensation (57.14%), Higher designation (64.29%) and

Better role (57.14%), were the main reasons to look for other offers in the job market.

5. Employees felt their company provided them with Slow career growth (71.43%) and no

change in salary band (71.43%) when compared to the job market.

6. 71.43% of the employees felt their skills were moderately put to use at their current

company.

7. 71.43% of the employees said they had a moderate amount of professional growth in this

company.

8. Of the package being paid to the employees, 85.71% employees felt it was moderately

well.

9. Most employees said they were moderately fairly (71.43%) treated by their supervisors.

10. Most employees felt their supervisors rewarded them moderately (57.14%) and not very

consistently (42.86%).

11. 42.86% of employees felt their supervisor’s expectations were realistic, while 28.57% of

employees thought very realistic and 28.57% otherwise.

12. 57.14% of employees felt that supervisors’ decisions were reasonable, while 28.57% very

reasonable and 14.29% not at all reasonable.

13. Most of the employees were of the opinion that their suggestions were considered

moderately often (71.43%).

14. Most of the employees opined their team worked together very well (42.86%) or

moderately well (57.14%) towards a common goal.

15. 71.43% of employees thought employee issues were handled moderately well.

16. 71.43% of employees felt they were stressed out very often in a typical week.

17. Most of the employees (85.71%) felt it was moderately easy to balance their work and

personal life.

18. Most of the employees (71.43%) felt very safe at their workplace.

19. Employees opined their employer's health insurance plan was slightly better (85.71%)

whereas others said it was not.

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20. Most employees (71.43%) felt their training program needs to be more work specific and

robust.

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CHAPTER – 12

SUGGESTIONS

The following are the suggestions given after the study:

All employees who have resigned should compulsorily have a face to face exit interviews with the supervisor and the HR manager.

The exit questionnaire should document the reason of the employee’s exit and the same should be shared with his Supervisor and up to two levels of higher management.

Training programs should be held only after the demand is forecasted. Appropriate action should be taken if the employee is mistreated or unprofessionally

behaved with. Staffing should be done by giving due importance to employee’s behavioral aspects along

with experience and his skills.

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CHAPTER – 13

CONCLUSION

An employment termination is the result of a complex web of negotiations among multiple parties, each with their own distinct interests:

Central to this web are the employee and his supervisor. Without the employee’s performance and the supervisor’s perception of its unacceptability, there would be no need for a termination at all. However, other stakeholders are inextricably involved too. For starters, the supervisor has an ongoing reporting relationship with a more senior manager, who is likely to be evaluating the supervisor’s actions.

The senior manager also has a critical stake in determining an acceptable level of performance, an appropriate point for terminating employment, and the right balance between the costs and risks of termination and those of retention. The employer’s counsel is normally involved as well, assessing the merits of any claim that the employee may be anticipated to pursue post-termination. For example, an attorney will want to understand whether the employee has any legal protections and, if so, will review the personnel file to assess the ability to justify the termination decision and to determine the viability of possible defenses.

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The attorney may also get involved in structuring a severance agreement, often involving a general release of employment liability claims. This involvement in the termination gives the attorney her own set of interests, potentially distinct from those of the other parties.

Interacting with all of these parties is the HR manager. What is the role of HR in all of this? Is the HR manager an agent for one particular side, either the employee’s advocate or the management team’s executioner? Is he there to advance the lawyer’s interests, to make sure that the employee has no cause of action and, if challenged, that the employer can put forward a well-documented file in defense?

Alternatively, does an HR manager serve as a mediator, facilitating the conversations among these many different parties? As a mediator, HR might enable discourse between parties who otherwise would have no contact, e.g., the employee and the employer’s counsel, and those who can no longer communicate productively because of rancor and strong emotions, e.g., the employee and his supervisor. Does HR have its own role to play as a negotiating party unto itself? If so, what are HR’s interests?

The answers to these questions will depend in part on the organization itself. However, many cutting-edge organizations see HR as a distinct negotiating party, and this understanding is assumed here.

As suggested by the ensuing conversation, such an HR organization would have a separate interest in capturing as many of the compatible interests of the other parties as possible, thereby enabling Pareto improvements to employment transactions, in that they satisfy more of the parties’ interests without making anyone worse off.

HR also typically has overarching organizational interests in mind, such as fairness, high work expectations, and clear communication. In practice, as described below, HR’s involvement in the negotiation can be somewhat akin to mediation, but with an eye toward ensuring that its interests are satisfied for the benefit of the overall organization.

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CHAPTER – 14

LITERATURE REVIEW

1) Cf. ROBERTH. MNOOKIN ET AL., BEYONDWINNING: NEGOTIATING TOCREATE VALUE INDEALS ANDDISPUTES5 (2000). This analysis is inspired by a somewhat analogous discussion and depiction of multiple interrelated parties at a deal-making table.

2) WAYNE F. CASCIO, FROM BUSINESS PARTNER TO DRIVING BUSINESS SUCCESS: THE NEXT STEP IN THE EVOLUTION OF HR MANAGEMENT, (describing HR as a “strategic business partner” that “add[s] value” of its own to the organization, as illustrated by the example of SYSCO Corporation).

3) General Society for Human Resource Management reference materials at http:// www.shrm.org (directing HR professionals in the best practices of “leading people” and “leading organizations”).

4) RICHARDA. POSNER, ECONOMICANALYSIS OFLAW13-16 (4th ed. 1992). Economists define Pareto efficiency as the hypothetical state in which it is impossible to make any contracting party better off without making another worse off. A transaction is considered Pareto superior when it leaves at least one party better off and no one worse off.

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