IT SECTOR
Information Technology in India is an industry consisting of two major components: IT
services and business process outsourcing (BPO). The sector has increased its contribution to
India's GDP from 1.2% in 1998 to 7.7% in 2017 .According to NASSCOM, the sector
aggregated revenues of US$180 billion in 2019,with export revenue standing at US$99 billion
and domestic revenue at US$48 billion, growing by over 13%. As of 2020, India's IT workforce
accounts for 4.36 million employees. The United States accounts for two-thirds of India's IT
services exports.
SAP LABS INDIA
SAP India is the fastest growing subsidiary of SAP SE, the world's leading provider of business
software solutions. SAP India began its operations in 1996 with headquarters in Bangalore and
offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, and a direct presence in nine cities across India, besides
having marketing associates in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Declared as the ‘Hub of the year in Asia Pacific and Japan” in 2007, SAP India witnessed an
unprecedented growth of over 100% both in terms of license revenue and customer acquisition.
SAP is at the centre of today’s technology revolution. The market leader in the enterprise
application software. SAP helps organizations fight the damaging effects of complexity, generate
new opportunities for innovation and growth, and stay ahead of the competition.
HR PRACTICES AT SAP
The three primary criteria i.e. Honesty, Transparency and Trust that makes SAP Labs a great
workplace. SAP India shares that employees are a part of the solution and not the problem. SAP
Labs’ management ‘un’conference allows a bottom up approach to management. Employees
are also the chief designers of every major policy and subsequently, they present it to the
management forum for a decision. Policies like in-house childcare centre, sabbatical, work-from-
home, reward and recognition policy etc., were the brainchild of the employees with HR and
leadership playing a facilitator’s role. A recently launched program called ‘In the Spotlight’
provides opportunity for managers to become the HR head for a day. This initiative enables
managers to learn the complexities of a senior leadership role. Employees appreciate the culture
that embraces work-life balance, training & development opportunities and collaboration,
all of which contribute to make SAP Labs a great workplace.
SAP Labs India which has more than 5000 employees in India spread across various campuses
yet it does not have a system of recording or monitoring the attendance time in and out.
This clearly reflects a message to all employees regarding the faith that the organization has
on the employees and considers them as responsible employees. In fact, this system has
helped to build a culture of trust and bonding of the employees with the organization.
SAP Labs India started Social Sabbatical program, which sends high-performing employees
into emerging economies such as South Africa, India, Brazil, and China. During these
assignments, employees support entrepreneurs, NGOs, and government agencies, with the aim of
positively impacting the regions economically and socially; they also gain a better understanding
of how to effectively operate in these geographies.
SAP Labs India has a launched 'Care for Life Fund' Programme, essentially the classic
employee benevolent fund, which is a purely voluntary, employee-funded and employee-
managed Programme. This fund provides financial support to employees and their families in
times of unexpected and unforeseen emergencies.
With a goal of 'building the best people managers' in the industry and instilling a sense of pride
in being a people manager, SAP launched ManaGeRIGHT with a cross-functional, cross-
departmental group of colleagues. This Programme is built around three pillars of vision (job
vision, job positioning and exposure on-the-job), skill (assessing and benchmarking at different
levels of the management) and community (information sessions, networking and peer groups,
pride and exclusivity, events and celebration). It is a customized, structured and sustainable skill-
development framework where they focus on unique learning methodologies and
unconventional delivery of training to engage and build managerial capability.
Some of the other key initiatives are:
1) Propel Plus or Leading Foundations, an initiative that is designed to develop future people
managers on managerial competencies
2) Manager Day, an initiative to bring all the managers under one roof.
3) Cutting Chai Series: This is an informal interaction between employees and senior leaders to
not only discuss key management success factors, but also build a closer rapport with leaders and
network beyond department silos.
