Genpact strives to generate employability

At 7.30 am on a sunny Saturday morning in May, a group of 600 people gathered outside the Qutab Minar in Delhi on a special mission. They were part of a campaign lead by ‘Let’s do it! Delhi’ to clean up the city before the Commonwealth Games in October 2010.

Armed with gloves, black bags and pitchforks, these employees of Genpact spent the next two hours picking up garbage scattered around the areas surrounding the monument. Excitement levels were at a peak as they lugged bag after bag to the garbage vans provided by the local municipal authority. Their moment of exultation, however, came as they walked out of the premises to hear vendors in the nearby flower market comment; “Now, we too know how to keep the place clean.”

For days after the event, the company website was flooded with mail from employees who had participated as well as others who also wanted to be a part of such initiatives in the future. For the COO of Genpact, NV Tyagarajan, who considers employee engagement as a major matrix to measure the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility, this kind of branding in the minds of employees was invaluable. On one hand, it worked as an excellent retention tool. It also increased the scope for business by creating a positive impression in the mind of potential customers.

In fact, Tyagarajan claims that any corporate social responsibility, which is not linked to the broader business will lose steam. Which is why the company’s larger CSR strategy works around three ideas: employability, healthcare and environment, which are all linked to their business. Over the years, Genpact has worked with about 40 institutes, including small schools and colleges, in parts of the North East, in the hinterland of Andhra Pradesh and the interiors of Rajasthan, offering programmes that will help people in these areas become capable of finding jobs.

These include lessons to help them improve their pronunciation, grammar and fluency in English, business etiquette classes to help them handle interviews, as well as professional skills like accounting and customer service orientation.

“Over the years, we have understood the type of people who come for jobs, where they come from and why they do so. While we have already opened avenues to a lot of people, the aim of this exercise is to extend the possibilities of employment to those who are currently excluded by virtue of not having the opportunities. We know that a little bit of help can help people improve dramatically,” he says.

With healthcare being another strategic long-term area of business for the company, Genpact also attempts to cater to the medical needs of underprivileged citizens who live in the vicinity of their offices and cannot afford treatment.

In 2008, the company collaborated with local authorities in Gurgaon to restore a government run primary health centre which offers free medicine, has a few beds for emergencies and now caters to about 800 patients a month. They have also invested in an ambulance, which provides emergency services and transports patients to local hospitals for immediate treatment. As for the environment, the company has set a target of reducing their total energy consumption by 10% every year.

In the short term, however, Tyagarajan feels that it is initiatives which demand concentrated bursts of energy over short periods of time that work best with his young workforce. No wonders why the company is organising yet another employee campaign in early June.