MindTree out to teach errant staff a lesson

MindTree, a $100 million software services company based in Bangalore, announced to have taken initiatives to stem the malpractices indulged in by a section of employees hoodwinking the employers for gains by any means.

The move comes close on the heels of the initiatives undertaken by some frontline companies like Wipro.

According to MindTree, the company asked around 10 per cent of the people it had hired during the last financial year to leave the organisation as they were found to be indulging in malpractices "� ranging from false experience certificates to fake payslips. MindTree hired close to 800 people during 2005-06.

"What is shocking is that they had the required expertise to get through our recruitment process and earn pretty well. They did not need to resort to such malpractices," Subroto Bagchi, COO, MindTree, said.

Most of the CVs coming from Andhra Pradesh were now being monitored carefully, as there were a number of misleading applications from the region, he added.

MindTree and Wipro are adopting various internal practices to educate their employees on how to maintain integrity in workplace as well as in their daily lives.

Companies like these two have to take these measures as the demand for talent in the IT industry today is at its peak, and with the demand comes the challenge of building a shared understanding on integrity.

MindTree, on its part, has come out with a book titled 'All About Integrity' for all stakeholders of MindTree, including its employees and partners.

This book will also be circulated to other organisations, including educational institutions so that issues are understood at a larger social level.

"We cannot afford to have even a small element of malpractice in the system when we are planning to go public shortly," Bagchi said. The company is planning to go in for a public offer by February next to raise around $80 million.