Tuesday, March 17, 2009

First the shock, then the groping, now returning hope

New Delhi March 18, 2009,
“It was a shocker,” says an associate of Satyam Computer Services, recalling what he went through on January 7. “We came to the office as usual and all of a sudden people started calling about the television channels which were running this expose and started asking things over the phone. We were totally dumbfounded... They (people, relatives) thought the organisation was going to crumble to pieces. ‘Are you still there? Do you still have a job?’ — we had to face these questions almost continuously.”


This quote, printed in one of the newsletters Satyam has published in the past 45 days, gives us a peek into the mind of Satyam employees, an aspect largely ignored as everyone has focused on the sensational fallout of Ramalinga Raju’s confessions.

Very little has come out of the company as communication, with the exception of an email interview given by AS Murty, the new CEO, which went through several stages of legal clearances, and some off-the-record quotes. But the newsletters hold a mirror to the company’s psyche. They include inspirational quotes from the likes of Winston Churchill, Harrison Ford, Viktor Frankl (who braved the Nazi concentration camp), Francis Bacon and even Confucius. Here are some glimpses of an organisation in transition.

February 6: “Today, I stand before you with all humility, humbled by the onerous task that lies in front of us, but determined to reinstate Satyam to the rightful place in the industry.” — AS Murty, appointed CEO by the government-appointed board.

February 9: “There have been some claims made in the media based on an external email circulation, that large-scale layoffs are being planned in Satyam. As stated earlier, four task forces have been formed. One of the task forces pertains to the issue of cost optimisation. This will involve exploring various options such as optimising infrastructure costs, non-billable travel, balancing onsite-offshore people-related costs, sabbaticals, etc, to keep our expenses in tune with our revenues. Large-scale layoff is definitely not among the options the company is considering at this time.” — Global HR head, SV Krishnan.

February 17: “Spending time with the associates (as staffers are termed) in face-to-face interaction is indeed very rewarding, though we may not have answers to all their questions. We personally try to answer them in the best possible way; we also we try to meet them in groups of 50-60 and normally time such meetings with a crucial story like whether Satyam has 53,000 employees or not and whether they will get their salaries.” — Vijay Rangineni, COO, Satyam BPO.

February 18: “It is almost like you are in a boxing match and you get hit so hard that you are flat on the ground, but you still have enough passion, energy and spirit left in you that you can still come up and take on your opponent with confidence…We need to break the timeline from here on. I would probably break the timeline to maybe the next six-eight weeks and then another two months after that and then I would have a good sense of where we have reached.” — Rajan Nagarajan, head, solutions.

February 25: An internal survey with about 120 respondents showed the support associates received from family and friends during these times. “A lot depended on how we explained to our families, they formed ideas on our feedback, too, stress levels were high then, but now it is ok, we‘ll take it.” – Sudha, an associate.

“You (Satyam employees) are the primary reason because of which Satyam will be able to return to its leadership position... Fortunately, baseless rumours and inaccurate reports are beginning to die out as people see that Satyam has made its way back and is doing so well.” – Kiran Karnik, chairman of the new government-appointed board.

March 17: “It will take some time for us to get accustomed to the HR policies of the investor that takes over the company. We find solace in the board’s decisions to safeguard the interests of the employees and barring the to-be investor from selling the company’s assets for at least three years after it takes over. We are still committed to Satyam and will continue to do so even after an investor acquires it, as we will still be associated with the same brand.” — a Hyderabad-based Satyam associate.

The last one is not from a newsletter. The company no longer shares these with the media.

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