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SUMMER TRAINING REPORT ON:

DESIGNING KEY PROCESSES FOR THE SCALING AND


SUSTAINING OF START UP IT CONSULTING ORGANIZATION
For

STEPPING CLOUD CONSULTING PVT. LTD


Submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of

MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF
MR.TAUSIFUR RAHMAN
DIRECTOR, STEPPING CLOUD CONSULTING PVT LTD
BY
SUMAIYA MAHROSH
13MBA-04

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH
ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH
2014-15

Table of Contents
Table
of
Contents....................................................................................3
Executive Summary................................................................................4
CHAPTER-1
Industry
Profile
.5
Porters five forces
analysis
.6
CHAPTER-2
STEPPING CLOUD PVT LTD An Introduction

Solution Offering

Partnership with SAP-SuccessFactors

Stepping cloud customers..........


8

Stepping cloud
employees.................................................................................................
.....8

SWOT
Analysis
...9

7
8

CHAPTER-3
Research
Methodology.............................................................................................................
............10
CHAPTER-4
Challenges with Start-up Consulting/IT
organization...........................................................................11
CHAPTER-5
Onboarding
Process.....................................................................................................................
....13-34
CHAPTER-6
2

Organizational
Structure.................................................................................................................
35-44
CHAPTER-7
Branding and
Marketing.................................................................................................................
.45-48
CHAPTER-8
Statutory
Compliance..............................................................................................................
........49-54
Conclusion.............................................................................................................
.........................55
Glossary.................................................................................................................
..........................56
Bibliography and
References..............................................................................................57

Acknowledgement
After the completion of this project its my duty to show gratitude towards those who
helped me to achieve the objective directly and indirectly. I am highly indebted to Mr.
Tausifur Rahman, Director of Stepping Cloud and my supervisor for his valuable
guidance, constant support and encouragement. His confidence in my abilities gave me
opportunity to look into the corporate world and its operations so closely.
I extend my sincere thanks to Mr Tanzilur Rahman for his inputs and suggestions that
were crucial in understanding the project work.
My work would be incomplete if I dont acknowledge my teachers specially Prof.Parvez
Talib for his class room teachings which really helped me in understanding organizational
structure and communication process.
Last but not the least I thank my family and friends for their moral support and
motivation.

Sumaiya Mahrosh

Executive Summary
The objective of this project is to help design key processes for Stepping Cloud (start-up
IT Consulting organization specializing in HR Technology implementations) and prepare it
for next level of growth. The objective of project basically revolves around the effective
utilization of resources both human and financial.
For any organization resource utilization is an important aspect of its management and
when it comes to start-up firm effective resource utilization is not just important but also
plays a pivotal role for sustaining and scaling of the firm.
The mechanism adopted for this project is to analyse at the industry structure and key
challenges faced by start-up organizations in IT consulting space and then decide on
high value process interventions and streamlining required for the start-up. Industry
analysis using Porters Five Forces Model and the company analysis using SWOT model is
undertaken to assess the key challenges for the organization.
On the basis of the above, following four process areas were identified for further
investigation and action:

Build an on boarding process for new hires

Design an organizational structure in line with organizational needs and


aspirations.

Research and recommend approaches to leverage social media for marketing and
brand building.

Research and document all the HR/ Other compliance requirements for the
organization and help design employee policy document.

First part of the study deals with the building rapid organization capability through the
strategic use of onboarding.Onboarding is the process of helping new hires adjust to
social and performance aspects of their new jobs quickly and smoothly. Second part of
the study covers building an effective organizational structure for expanding workforce of
the firm that facilitates management and clarifies relationships, roles and responsibilities,
and levels of authority. Third part of this project deals with the use of social media for
branding and marketing in order to keep the marketing costs down. Last part of this
assignment includes the statutory requirements of start-up firm such as Payroll, PF,
Regulatory reporting, Taxation to ensure compliance for the start-up.
Research type is descriptive in nature and secondary data has been used in general
along with some primary data for the organization Stepping Cloud

CHAPTER-1
INDUSTRY PROFILE
IT consulting is a field that focuses on advising businesses on how best to use
information technology to meet their business objectives. IT consultancies implement,
deploy, and administer IT systems on businesses' behalf.

Indian IT/ ITes sector is growing substantially with its:

expansion into varied verticals


well differentiated service offerings
increasing geographic penetration

The phenomenal success of the Indian IT- ITeS industry can be attributed to the
favourable government policies, burgeoning demand conditions, healthy growth of
related industries and competitive environment prevalent in the industry. The interplay of
these forces has led to putting the industry on the global map.

Industry Segmentation
IT industry can be broadly classified into three sectors:

Software
IT Services
IT enabled Services (ITeS)- BPO

Present Industry Structure


The Indian IT industry comprises of well-established billion dollar firms as well as startups or the emerging players. The industry can be described as fragmented yet
concentrated. In terms of the expanse of presence of the small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) and their offerings, they can be termed as Fragmented. But, on the other hand,
when the dominance of the leading players are taken into consideration, because of their
earnings as well as their offerings, the industry can be referred to as Concentrated.
The industry can be categorized into:

Tier I Players
Tier II Players
Offshore Global Services Provider
Pure Play BPO Providers
Captive BPO Units
Emerging Players

Competitive Landscape of the Industry


The competitive landscape of the industry can be understood using the Porters five
forces model.
Threat of New Entrants: When the barriers of entry are low, the threat of new
entrants becomes very high. Since in IT software and services, the players enjoy
significant economies of scale and the switching costs are also very high, therefore, the
entry barriers for the IT Software and Services are very high. In contrast to this, in ITeSBPO, lower economies of scale are reached and the switching cost is also very low. This
leads to very low entry barriers.
Therefore, there is high threat of new entrants in the ITeS- BPO sector while it is low in
the case of IT software and services.
Rivalry among players: When the number of players increases in a sector, the
intensity of rivalry also increases. With the increase in rivalry, the players resort to a
number of strategies being followed by the players to acquire new customers or to retain
older ones. Earlier players used to provide customized services to attract customers, but
now this practice, also fails to attract them. Therefore, they resorted to providing end to
end solutions, niche services etc.
Bargaining Power of Buyers: Since the switching costs in case of IT Software and
Services, is very high, the Bargaining power of the buyers becomes low. But just
opposite to this, in case of ITeS- BPO sector, the switching cost is relatively very low,
which makes the bargaining power of the buyer very high. However, with the onset of

Cloud Based subscription models in IT services, switching costs have come down giving
customers flexibility of the service providers.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Suppliers for the industry can be categorized into: (a)
Knowledge Professionals, (b) Hardware Manufacturers and (c) Telecom industry players.
Knowledge Professionals have a high bargaining power in the IT Software and Services
sectors because they demand high level of skill and expertise to render their services. In
the ITeS- BPO sector, the level of skill and expertise required is low, therefore, they have
a lower bargaining power on the industry.
For the IT industry to function properly, proper hardware infrastructure is required.
Therefore, the bargaining power of hardware manufacturer grows. This is supported by
the fact that hardware manufacturing industry is very concentrated (HP, IBM, Dell etc.)
While a robust telecom network is a pre-requisite for proper functionality of the IT
industry, but the presence of a number of players in the industry reduces their
bargaining power.
Threat of Substitutes: Since the IT industry is driven by technology, which itself is ever
evolving, therefore, there is a high risk of substitutes for the industry.

CHAPTER-2
STEPPING CLOUD CONSULTING PVT LTD An Introduction
Stepping Cloud is a start-up IT consulting organizationfounded by a group of consultants
with rich experience of Human Capital ManagementConsulting and ERP Implementations.
They Design and Implement the HR solutions that engage and energies organizations
workforce and help firms gain insight. They are the certified implementation partners of
SAP SuccessFactors which is a market leading HR solution.

Solution Offering
Stepping cloud offer wide range of Process and IT consulting services in the domain of
human capital management. Following is the brief overview of the bouquet of
servicesoffered by Stepping Cloud.

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Partnership with SAP-SuccessFactors


Stepping Cloud is an implementation partner of SuccessFactors.

SuccessFactors

provides the leading cloud-based HCM Suite that help organizations


manage all their people processes from recruit to retire. SuccessFactors
solutions are supported by a global partner ecosystem and the experience
and commitment of global major SAP which has acquired the company in
2011. It has more than 3,900 customers and it serves organizations of all
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sizes across more than 60 industries in more than 177 countries using its
application suite in 35 languages.
SuccessFactors provides the necessary implementation mastery trainings
to Stepping Cloud in order to enable them to implement its solutions. The
relationship between Stepping Cloud and SuccessFactors is primarily for
implementations within India with a provision to extend it to other
geographies if needed.
Stepping Cloud Customers
Stepping Cloud is focused on delivering its HCM consulting services to
large Indian customers. They are currently engaged at organizations such
as Axis Bank, Titan Industries and Tata Communications. They are
expanding their operations and have a healthy pipeline of projects. They
also intend to focus on other emerging markets such as Middle East and
South East Asia.
Stepping Cloud Employees
Stepping Cloud has close to 10 employees currently. Management team comprises of
experienced

professionals

with

extensive

consulting,

HCM

domain

and

Project

Management experience. Rest of the team comes with few years of experience and have
gone through mastery programs and extensive training on the solution. Most of the
employees have engineering background. They are planning to expand the workforce but
in order to keep the costs down they intend to hire fresh engineering graduates and train
them for these roles.

10

SWOT Analysis Stepping Cloud


SWOT analysis (alternatively SWOT Matrix) is structured planning method used to
evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or
in a business venture.
A comprehensive SWOT analysis is carried out for Stepping cloud, its services and its
market position.

Strengths

Stepping Cloud has strong domain and project management capabilities due to

the background of its founders


Because of good partnership with SuccessFactors , they have got a good market
reach

Weaknesses

Stiff competition from other leading industry players means restricted market

share.
Brand visibility and advertising lesser than some industry majors.
Relatively inexperienced pool of resources

Opportunities

Build on initial customer referencibility to enter some large Indian organizations


Tie up with other cloud based solution providers for diversification
Expand into adjoining regions such as ASEAN and Middle East

Threats

Entry of larger IT services and consulting organizations in the niche Cloud HCM

Consulting space
High dependence on only one solution
Attrition of trained consultants

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CHAPTER -3
Research Methodology
Designing key processes is a task that requires knowledge and deep understanding of
theoretical concept of each process as well as the methods to convert this knowledge
into effective output which should be helpful to the organization. In addition
understanding of business context and challenges of start-up consulting organization is
of critical importance
Following methodology approaches were undertaken to build an understanding of the
above processes.

Articles and Blogs on the IT Services and Consulting business.


Interviews with the management team of the organization.
Conversation and interview with other experienced consultants in the field.
Researching the established companies in the same domain by going through

websites and articles related to them.


Researching the competitive organizations through their websites.
Studying the text book chapters related to organization structures and behaviour

based development and other processes.


Researching regulatory laws impacting the organization from Government of
Indias Department of Company Affairs resource base.

Research type is descriptive in nature and secondary data as well as primary data
have been used for the purpose of study.

CHAPTER -4
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Challenges with Start-up Consulting/IT organization

Start-up consulting and IT services organizations are faced with multiple challenges that
hinder their success and constrain growth and scaling. Following are some of the critical
challenges that they encounter in general and in early years in particular.

Revenue/Cash flow Stability:Most critical challenge they face is the stability of


revenue and cash flow. This includes both realized revenue and bookings as well as
pipeline. Visibility and health of the project pipeline is critical for sustaining operations
and decision on scaling it up.

Cost Optimization: Another critical parameter for the success is cost optimization.
Being the people and project based organization, the primary non-billable cost is
employee salaries, rentals for facilities and non-billable business development travel.
Billable cost typically includes project related travel. Optimizing both and non-billable
cost if critical for maintaining healthy margins.

Delivery Excellence:One parameter that differentiates between good and not-sogood consulting organizations is delivery excellence. This includes both client and project
management capabilities. It requires adherence to project methodologies and delivery
frameworks. This is the single most important driver in building referencability and
repeat business.

Domain Expertise: Building domain capabilities is crucial for growing the value
chain and expand from IT/Systems consulting to process and strategic consulting. This is
key in building customer confidence and comfort and becoming the trusted advisor to
the customer.

Resource Availability: Being a people centric business, maintaining a healthy


people supply chain is crucial for sustaining and scaling the business. This includes
effecting talent acquisition and onboarding, learning and development and engagement
and retention of top talent.

Resource availability can pose a serious risk to the

operations.

13

Process Interventions at Stepping Cloud


In the context of above challenges faced by start-up IT organizations, the current project
work focused on key process interventions that can help mitigate some of these risks
and enable Stepping Cloud to better manage scaling and growth. Following processes
were identified for transformation.

Onboarding For effective enablement and fast time to productivity


Organization Structure To ensure effective delivery and capability building
Online and social brand building For cost effective brand recognition and

business development
Employee Relations and Compliance For employee engagement and managing
compliance risk

Process-key challenges matrix


Process

Helps In

Onboarding

Resource Availability
Domain Expertise

Organization Structure

Delivery excellence
Resource availability

Online And Social Brand Building

Revenue stability/cash flow

Statutory Compliance

Cost optimization

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CHAPTER-5

Onboarding Process
Problem statement
To Build an onboarding process for new hires and create an Onboarding Document with
all relevant materials and links. Onboarding at the Stepping Cloud is an initiative
targeting new employees, which seeks to help them perform better in their jobs sooner,
with a closer connection to the stepping clouds own unique culture and way of doing
things.

Theoretical Concept

Definition
Onboarding is a business term used to describe the process of orienting, socializing,
training, and retaining an employee during his or her first year of employment.
Comprehensive onboarding programs have been shown to have dramatic and lasting
positive effects on retention and engagement rates of new employees.

Need
Much research supports the concept of onboarding, which is well beyond the traditional
orientation. As confirmed by the Human Capital Institute (2008) that, Best-in-class
onboarding programs go beyond orientation, and include, for example, socialization into
the company culture to assure new hires that they have made the right decision
Research shows that employees make the critical decision to stay or leave within the first
six months and that having the newest talent participate in an onboarding program can
maximize retention, engagement, and productivity.
Onboarding is designed for the whole employee, keeping them connected to the
organization, and maintaining awareness of their needs in context of their new work
environment. It has a focus of retention, but also development.

Expected Benefits
Research shows that retention is a major theme to any onboarding program. By
retaining the great employees an organization has worked so hard to recruit and hire, an
organization can reduce their overall costs and work on developing those new employees
further:
Three significant talent management challenges companies face in todays economy are
engaging and retaining new hires beyond the orientation phase of employment,
maximizing their productivity as quickly as possible, and maximizing the return on
investment in the hiring process. Many companies find comprehensive onboarding

15

programs to be a key component in successfully meeting these challenge. Onboarding


can make a considerable difference in a companys brand, its ability to attract and retain
new employees, and decrease the cost of recruitment. (HCI White Paper, 2008, p. 2)
According to the Society of Human Resource Management, The difference between
employee orientation and onboarding is the amount of time spent connecting the new
employee to the job, to the team and to the companys values. The payoff is better
retention and a more fully engaged employee (Overman, 2005, p. 1).

Proposed Framework
Designed for the employee who is unfamiliar with the culture of the organization, this
program consists of a series of courses which will provide different facets to an
employees understanding of the firm, how stepping cloud do business here, policies and
procedures.
The training sessions and modules are held throughout an employees first three months
on the job and are designed with the employees overall development and engagement
in mind.

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Each training activity covers a new topic, opening up a new opportunity for learning for
the employee. Different components of the program include: a focus on the firm,

16

diversity training, professional and personal development opportunities, job-specific


trainings, and communications trainings.

Technical Training:
This is designed to increase the efficiency of consultants and is a part of mandatory
training. This gives deep insight of organizations core competencies and understanding
the process of project deliverables.

Behavioural training:
They are designed according to the needs and objectives of the organisation and the
participants. They can take organisations competency frameworks, values or other
policies or models into account and so be totally targeted to the behaviours required
within the organisation.

Mentoring:
To grow and prosper, the organization needs to think about training-up a new generation
of consultants. Organization may want to slow down some day, but at the same time
keep business going and growing. That will be possible if it begins to work with and train
other consultants to take on greater responsibilities.

Result/Outcome:
After the discussion of each training, there is need to discuss and elaborate behavioural
training or training of soft skills in detail. The focus of designing this process is mainly on
behavioural training because stepping cloud is start-up consulting firm which requires its
employees to be more interactive and deft in communicating their message.
Engagement Essentials:
1. Communication skills:
Definition
Effective communication means establishing a connection with an individual or group of
people that leaves a powerful and lasting impression. Developing good communication
skills also means incorporating the latest technology to reach greater audiences on
different levels and to be better at getting your message across.

Need:

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In any organization, it is necessary to communicate within different groups of people


including employees, business associates and customers who may be from different
backgrounds and skill levels. It is essential to communicate with each group to meet the
goals and mission of the organization.
Expected Benefits

Communication skills training assist candidates to develop the ability to perceive


how individuals and groups relate to each other and to the subject matter. This
allows the candidate to make the necessary adjustments to reach the target
audience.

Communication skills training will give the candidates the ability to evolve and
develop a strategy for improved communications that integrates the business plan
and the mission and goals of the company. Training is necessary to achieve
effective communication, enhance productivity, deal with difficult customers,
improve customer satisfaction and motivate employees.

Training on a regular basis offers candidates the ability to maintain functioning


communications while receiving the necessary feedback to update techniques and
change in an ever changing business environment. Periodic assessment of the
candidates communication skills will identify the areas that need to be
strengthened, realigned, re-established, as well as new areas of communication
that should be introduced.

Polishing communication skills will allow the employees to always deliver the
appropriate message to the appropriate individual or group and manage and
develop better assertive skills. Communication is the foundation to being a
competent and consistent manager, maintain business relationships over the long
term, and even form new alliances when meeting new peoples candidates the
ability to maintain functioning communications while receiving the necessary
feedback to update techniques and change in an ever changing business
environment.

Communication skills training will help the candidate to conduct meetings with
better focus, as well as keeping the discussion on track. With communication
skills come facilitation skills and the ability to open, maintain and end a meeting
while achieving the goals of the agenda and delegating duties to individuals and
teams.

Skills training will help candidates to deal with emergencies and difficult
situations that may arise from business relationships and employment conflicts. It

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is essential to keep the lines of communication open to all involved and be


effective when formulating solutions to bring a difficult situation to a peaceful
solution.

Training will help the candidate develop the best possible means of public
speaking and the ability to express the word of the business in the best possible
way.

Types of communication

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Workplace Communication:
The effective and efficient workplace communication is based in the organizations
structure and culture which are interrelated. Concurrently, the management style defines
the

nature

of

communication

communication

climate

networks

how

and

and

they

in

result

operate

the

within

formal
the

and

informal

organization.

The

management, in top or medium level, has the full responsibility to administer the
communication process, to define the communication channels and to form the policies
which should be followed; in other words, to create the communications framework. This
framework and its implementation scale employees involvement, morale and concern,
sense of belonging, trust and finally performance.

Conference Call:

19

Need
In these economic times business entrepreneurs dont need to be reminded that they
have to expand but at the same time be cost effective. One very important thing that
needs to be taken care of is to have clear lines of communications at internal and
external level for an organization which must be done without any waste of time or
money. You need to keep expenses to a minimum so you dont need to compromise on
the quality of your product or service.
One of the effective way through which an organization can keeps expenses to a
minimum which can be easily achieved is through the conference call system or even the
web conferencing which will be helpful is staying in touch with the staff, contacts,
customers, clients, associates etc. which can be used for the training purpose, for
pitching of new contracts or pitching the new clients or keeping the existing clients and
customers happy. This is high time for employees to learn to communicate effectively
through conference call.
Methodology

Without having the ability to use body language to assist you in conveying your
message to your listeners, you must rely on your ability to use your words

effectively. This begins with having something interesting to say.


Your conference call should be of benefit and interest to the people that will be

attending.
Make your voice sound interesting. Nothing will put people to sleep quicker than a

dull monotone. Use inflection and creative words.


Note the speed of your speech. If you speak too quickly your participants will
have a hard time keeping up and important aspects of your message may be lost.
If you speak too slowly, you risk losing the attention of your audience. There is no
point in having a conference call if you are not able to grab and keep your
audiences attention.

Meetings:-

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Objective
Verbal communication occurs in meetings when participants share their ideas. Effective
meeting organizers clearly define their objective, such as whether the intent of the
meeting is to make a decision, brainstorm ideas, approve a plan, communicate a change
or get a status report.

Methodology

At the beginning of the meeting, an organizer uses verbal communication to state


the priorities of the meeting, the desired outcomes and the amount of time

allowed to discuss each topic.


By asking for additional input from participants, organiser ensures the meeting

remains relevant for everyone.


The meeting organizer also ensures that every participant gets a chance to speak
without monopolizing the agenda.

Written communication:
Written communication is the most common form of business communication. It is
essential for small business owners and managers to develop effective written
communication skills and to encourage the same in all employees.

Nonverbal Communication:
Nonverbal communication is sharing information without using words to encode
messages.
There are four basic forms of nonverbal communication:

Proxemics

Kinesics

Facial and eye behaviour

Paralanguage

Proxemicsis the study of an individuals perception and use of space. Territorial space
and seating arrangement are two examples. For instance, to encourage cooperation, coworkers working together on a quality control report should sit next to each other. To
facilitate communication, a manager should seat a subordinate at a 90 degree angle in
order to discuss resolving staff complaints.

21

Kinesicsrefers to body language, which is used to convey meanings and messages.


Pacing or drumming fingers are signs of nervousness. Wringing of the hands and rubbing
temples signal stress.
Facial and eyebehaviouris another example of nonverbal communication. For
example, when a healthcare manager interviews a candidate for a position as a clinical
care coordinator, the manager attaches meanings to frowns and eye contact. Avoiding
eye contact tends to close communication. However, cultural and individual differences
influence appropriate eye contact. Moderate direct eye contact communicates openness,
while too much direct eye contact can be intimidating.
Paralanguage consists of voice quality, volume, speech rate, and pitch. Rapid and loud
speech may be taken as signs of anger or nervousness. The communication process is
impeded by negative nonverbal cues.

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Training Schedule

Agenda

1. The base of Communication

Approaches/Methods

Duration

Lecture / Group

2 hours

Discussion
2. Setting clear goals for your communication

Lecture / Group

4 hours

Discussion
/ Individual
Activities
Lecture / Group

3. Communication in person

2 hours

Discussion /
Work in pairs /
Role playing
Lecture / Group

4. Feedback

3 hours

Discussion /
Role playing
Lecture / Group

5. Listening for improve understanding

2 hours

Discussion /
Role playing
Lecture / Group

6. Difficult communication situations

Discussion /
Role playing

1. The base of Communication


Learning objectives:

Identify basic communication principles.

Recognize perceptual filters that hinder communication.

2. Setting clear goals for your communication.


Learning objectives:

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3 hours

Determine outcomes and results

Initiate communication

3. Communication in person
Learning objectives:

Create value in their conversations

Strength their relationships

Distinguish value from waste

Take personal responsibility

Recognize their role in creating successful communications

Identify internal and external factors that impact their communications

Communicate non defensively

Match their body language to their message

4. Feedback
Learning objective:

Establish message feedback.

Getting feedback

Giving feedback

Feedback matrix

5. Listening for improved understanding.


Learning objectives:

Ask clarifying questions

Confirm the message

Demonstrate respect, empathy and sensitivity

Listen for the entire message

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Interpret nonverbal cues

6. Difficult communication situations.


Learning objective:

Create openness

Identify appropriate degrees of disclosure

Establish value and trust

Employees are also required to look at these websites to improve communication skills

gaurdian.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Teamwork
Objective
The ability to work as part of a team is one of the most important skills in todays job
market. Employers are looking for workers who can contribute their own ideas, but also
want people who can work with others to create and develop projects and plans.
Teamwork involves building relationships and working with other people using a number
of important skills and habits:

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Working cooperatively
Contributing to groups with ideas, suggestions, and effort
Communication (both giving and receiving)
Sense of responsibility
Healthy respect for different opinions, customs, and individual preference
Ability to participate in group decision-making
Methodology
Activities To Enhance Teamwork:
Group Juggle
"Group juggle," from corporate trainer and motivator Kirk Weisler, is designed to help
employees release stress, improve time-management skills and conflict resolution skills.
Three different kinds of balls or other soft objects are needed. This is a 30-minute
exercise that uses a facilitator to introduce new balls into the exercise. Group juggle
starts with all the employees standing in a circle with only a small amount of space
between each person. The first ball represents primary tasks. The ball is thrown to
someone in the group. That person then must state what his primary work tasks are and
then throw the ball to another person in the group. Each person who catches this ball
must also state his work tasks. While the first ball is still circulating in the group, the
second ball is thrown. The second ball is the "curve ball," things in life that people have
no control over. As with the first ball, the person catching this ball must state one item
he has no control over. The third ball follows the same pattern and represents
distractions. All three balls will be circulating in the group at one point. When everyone
has caught each ball once, the game is over.
Mine Field: "Mine field" is a teamwork exercise that builds communication and
relationship building through trust. Objects are scattered about the centre of a room.
The area is taped off in a square. Employees are paired up with one employee
blindfolded, while the other is the guide. The challenge is for the blindfolded employee to
make it from one end of the course to the other through the mine field, being guided
verbally by the other employees.

Socialization
Objective
In an ideal world, every employee you hire already displays strong social and
interpersonal skills. However, in the real world, this is not always the case. The right
candidate for the job may be lacking in the social skills department. It is necessary to
help improve employee social skills, particularly if the employees interact with the public
on a regular basis. You want your company to be known as people friendly, and helping
your employees build these necessary skills is an essential part of management.

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Interactive Methods
There are many ways that you can break up training sessions and keep trainees
attentive and involved, including:

Small group discussions. Break the participants down into small groups and
give them case studies or work situations to discuss or solve. This is a good way
for knowledgeable existing employees to pass on their experience to newer
employees.

Case studies. Adults tend to bring a problem-oriented way of thinking to


workplace training. Case studies are an excellent way to capitalize on this type of
adult learning. By analysing real job-related situations, employees can learn how
to handle similar situations. They can also see how various elements of a job
work together to create problems as well as solutions.

Q & A sessions. Informal question-and-answer sessions are most effective with


small groups and for updating skills rather than teaching new skills. For example,
some changes in procedure might easily be handled by a short explanation by the
supervisor, followed by a question-and-answer period and a discussion period.

Question cards. During the lecture, ask participants to write questions on the
subject matter. Collect them and conduct a quiz/review session.

Role-playing. By assuming roles and acting out situations that might occur in
the workplace, employees learn how to handle various situations before they face
them on the job. Role-playing is an excellent training technique for many
interpersonal skills, such as customer service, interviewing, and supervising.

Participant control. Create a subject menu of what will be covered. Ask


participants to review it and pick items they want to know more about. Call on a
participant to identify his or her choice. Cover that topic and move on to the next
participant.

Demonstrations. Whenever possible, bring tools or equipment that are part of


the training topic and demonstrate the steps being taught or the processes being
adopted.

Time Management
Objective
Teaching time management skill to other employees can be an essential tool to
guarantee that time is spent practically and wisely to get things done. Without practical
time management you may have employees that are struggling to get projects done by a
deadline, or getting essential work finished by the days end. Teaching them the skills
that they need to manage their time can improve their work performance drastically.

27

Methodology
Keep a Log
When you first begin teaching time management, have your employee keep a log for a
week of everything they do throughout the day. Then have them analyse the log they
have kept and look for any time that was wasted throughout each day and how much
that wasted time can add up to. If you keep the wasted time to a minimal then you can
use that time for doing something useful. Talk to them about basic time management
tips and how to organize their time wisely, while eliminating useless time wasters
throughout the day.
Set Goals
Teach them to set goals each day and to prioritize things between what is important and
what is urgent. Teach them the difference between those two words. Important tasks
may be things that will lead you to your goal but they are not always urgent.
Once they have set their goals for the day, teach them to make a plan for achieving
those goals. Look ahead for possible crises and conflicts that may arise throughout the
day and be prepared for delays.
Schedule Time for Tasks
Schedule time for each task that needs to be done. If you have a specific time that a
certain task is to be finished, be sure to finish it at that time. Having a set time and plan
of action helps to organize tasks so that you will be sure to have them finished in a
timely

manner, instead

of

just

thinking

of

what

needs

to

be

done

all

day.

The main goal of time management is to help people refocus their mind and give the
majority of their attention to the things that are most important. It also helps to
eliminate burn out and stress because there will be no need to worry about getting
everything accomplished on time. If you eliminate wasted time, more useful things will
come out of it in the end.

Wellness
Objective
Work stress is recognised world-wide as a major challenge to workers health and the
healthiness of their organizations.
Workers who are stressed are also more likely to be unhealthy, poorly motivated, less
productive and less safe at work. Their organizations are less likely to be successful in a
competitive market. Stress can be brought about by pressures at home and at work.

28

Employers cannot usually protect workers from stress arising outside of work, but they
can protect them from stress that arises through work.
The experience of work stress is a challenge to the health and safety of workers and to
the healthiness of their organizations. Employers should have a policy for the
management of worker health that makes reference to work stress. They should enable
that policy to be implemented by putting the appropriate arrangements in place.

Methodology
All workplaces are conducive to becoming stressful environments at times. Some places
are worse than others. So its essential employers be aware of this and proactively look
at ways of helping employees deal with stress so they can do their jobs properly.

Its essential that you have an open door policy whereby employees can come
and discuss serious problems that may be affecting their work.

Encourage employees to discuss problems because other staff may be able to


relieve some of the burden easily enough if asked.

Re-allocation of certain duties may work to make team actually becomes more
productive and that benefits the company, the employees and the employer.

Have regular methods in place to acknowledge good work in a public manner so


staff do feel that appreciation.

Break up the work day by changing specific duties so jobs dont become
monotonous.

Final Document:
This is the final document which after the completion of project was handed over to
Stepping cloud.

Welcome aboard
It is often said that an organization can grow only if it empowers its employees to grow!
At Stepping Cloud, we consciously realize this fact and have developed path for

29

individual enlightenment that not only covers basic monetary benefits for employees, but
also takes care of their professional growth by providing congenial environment for
professional growth and development

The whole training program is divided into three levels:


1. Level -1
Getting Started
Learn about SuccessFactors Product suite
2. Level -2
Master Training
Training on Project Methodology
3. Level -3
Communication Training

Objectives:
Level 1 Training
1. The objective of this exercise is for you to be familiar with the services of
Stepping Cloud
2. The objective of this exercise is for you to be familiar with the services of
SuccessFactors
3. The objective of this exercise is for you to be familiar with the Cloud Computing
4. The objective of this exercise is for you to be familiar with SuccessFactors product
suite.

WHAT YOU

Time period

Agenda

Resources

ARE
LEARNING

Introduction to Company
(Enclosed with offer letter)

Getting

What We Do

Mission, Vision,

Started

Culture

Organizational

30

Structure

www.steppingcloud.com

Pre
Orientation

Joining prerequisite
Report with these document

Passport copy
Pan card copy

(mandatory)
Home rent agreement

on the day of joining.

or electricity bill [ to
support the current

address]
Experience letter
Letter of Relieving

Orientation

Induction program

31

Welcome your new employee to the


organizations Employee Orientation.
Describe the work place.
Organisation Structure
Supervisor
Key elements of the job
Organisational strategy

Day 1

Provide laptop
Open bank account
Email id
IT policies
Solidify the organizational vision, goals and
objectives e.g. client service; Career

Day 2

development

Post orientation

Mandatory

Optional Training

Engagement Essentials

Training

32

First 30 days
Technical Training

On the recommendation of
immediate supervisor

Master Training

Communication
Team Work
Socialization
Time Management
Wellness

Technical Training:
This training is a part of mandatory training.

Product Demo

Employee Profile

- Employee

Watch a short demo by clicking


the hyperlink

Profile
Product Demo

Goal Management

Watch a short demo by clicking

- Goal

and Dashboards

the hyperlink

33

Management

Product
Demo

Product Demo

Performance

Watch a short demo by clicking

- Performance

Management

the hyperlink

Management
Product Demo

Calibration

Watch a short demo by clicking

Calibration
Product Demo

Compensation

the hyperlink
Watch a short demo by clicking

Management

the hyperlink

Management
Product Demo

Succession

Watch a short demo by clicking

- Career

Management

the hyperlink

Planning
Product Demo

Recruiting

Watch a short demo by clicking

- Recruiting

Management

the hyperlink

Management
Product Demo

SF Learning, our

Watch a short demo by clicking

- Learning

new LMS

the hyperlink

Management
Product Demo

Workforce Analytics

Watch a short demo by clicking

- Workforce

and Planning

the hyperlink

Compensatio
n

Development
and
Succession

Analytics and
Planning

Product

Performance

Complete this eLearning course to

Essentials-

Management and

understand key concept of Goal and

Goals and

Goals Essentials

Performance module. You will need

Performance

SuccessFactors Learning Management

Product

Pay for

System access to complete this


Complete this eLearning course to

Essentials-

Performance

understand key concept of Compensation

Compensatio

Sales Essentials

Planning and Pay for Performance You

will need SuccessFactors Learning

Management

Management System access to complete


this

34

Product

Product

Recruiting

Complete this eLearning course to

Demo

Essentials-

Product

understand key concept of Recruiting

Recruiting

Essentials

Management You will need

Management

SuccessFactors Learning Management

Product

System access to complete this


Complete this eLearning course to

Essentials-

Marketing

understand key concept of Recruiting

Recruiting

Essentials

Marketing You will need SuccessFactors

Recruiting

Marketing

Learning Management System access to

Product

Learning Product

complete this
Complete this eLearning course to

Essentials-

Essentials

understand key concept of Learning

Learning

Management. You will need

Management

SuccessFactors Learning Management

Product

JAM Product

System access to complete this


Complete this eLearning course to

Essentials-

Essentials

understand key concept of collaboration

JAM

tool JAM. You will need SuccessFactors


Learning Management System access to

Product

Employee

complete this
Complete this eLearning course to

Essentials-

Central Product

understand key concept of Core HR

Employee

Essentials

system Employee Central. You will need

Central

SuccessFactors Learning Management


System access to complete this
Complete this eLearning course to

Product

Workforce

Essentials-

Analytics and

understand key concept of Workforce

Workforce

Planning

Analytics and Planning. You will need

Analytics

Essentials

SuccessFactors Learning Management

and Planning

System access to complete this

35

CHAPTER-6
Organizational Structure
Problem statement:
Build an organizational structure and reporting relationship model appropriate for the
stepping cloud.. It is important both for the scaling and the sustaining of the
company.The

importance

of

organizational

structure

is

particularly

crucial

for

communication. It enables the distribution of authority. It is also important in achieving


goals and results. Organizational structure allows for the chain of command. In essence,
organizational structure fosters teamwork, where everyone in the department works
toward a common goal.

Theoretical Concept
36

Definition
Organizational structure is the back bone of any organization especially when an
organization is dealing with human resource. Structuring organization basically means
how the reporting relationships and work teams are organized. It reveals a great deal
about the culture, function and leadership of a company.
Need
Organization structure is very important part because the wrong organization structure
will delay the business success. Aim of the organization structure is maximize the
productivity. An effective organizational structure can built relationship between various
function of organization.
Types of organizational structure
In a business world we can find lot of organization structures.

Flat structure
Tall structure
Hierarchical structure
Network
Bureaucratic structure
Matrix structure

Flat Structure Organisation


Compare to all other organizations flat structure is very simple. These types of
organisation will have fewlayers or just one layer of management. This means that the
chain of command from top to button is very short so easy to control. Normally new
companies are using this flat structure. So this structure common in small organizations
Advantages of flat Organisations

Easy to communicate between managers and workers


Workers may have more than one manager.
Better team spirit.

Disadvantage

May be have some limit to growth of the organisation.


Decision making process is very easy.

37

Only few of people are involving in decision making process so decisions are

might be wrong.
Function of each department/person could be blurred and merge into the job
roles of others.

Tall Structure
In this structure have more steps comparing with flat structure. There is along chain of
command, running from top of the organisation e.g. Chief Executive down to the bottom
of floor workers/ workers. This structure basically exceeds 8 levels of management.
Advantages of tall Organisations

Each manager has a small number of employees under their control. This means

that employees can be closely supervised.


There is a clear management structure
Most of decision is right. Because many people are involve taking that.
The function of each layer will be clear and distinct. There will be clear lines of

responsibility and control.


Clear progression and promotion ladder.

Disadvantages

The freedom and responsibility of employees is limited.


Decision making could be slowed down as approval may be needed by each of the

layers of authority.
Communication has to take place through many layers of management.
High management costs because managers are generally paid more than other
workers. Each layerwilltend to pay its managers more money than the layer
below it.

Hierarchical Structure
In this structure employees are ranked at various levels within the organization. Each
level is one above the other. Number of employees is working under one person. Every
stage is in the chain. Hierarchical structure divided in two parts, which is Tall Hierarchical
structure and Flat Hierarchical structure. Flat hierarchical structure only has few stages.
Traditional hierarchical structure tells each employee duties clearly.

38

Matrix Structure
Matrix structure simple and very effective one. Each person has specific function or role
in the organization. This structure design to show each employer has an important part
in the organization. This structure does not show that one person important or valuable
than another. Another special thing is one person is working under two managers
So he gets right direction. And every person has freedom and autonomy to take
responsibility for their work activities, it is like motivation method.
Advantages of matrix structure

Motivate people from giving responsibilities


Able to communicate between team members
Have a chance to solve problems by face to face speaking, through team
Facilities regular change of membership in product team

Disadvantages of matrix structure

Employers might get confused, because of working under two managers


Not more chance to get promotions.(not vertical to upper management position,

go team to team )
High level of stress

Bureaucratic Structure
The large organizations are using this structure. The essential part of this bureaucratic
are
a. Use all standard method and perform at work
b. High level of control to make sure standard performance.
There are two types of bureaucratic structures one is stranded and other one is
professional bureaucratic.
Standard bureaucracy is based on well-organized performance of all the same schedule
work.
Professional bureaucracy depend winning well-organized performance of all the same but
complex work. So it needs specialised skill or knowledge. The structure of standard

39

bureaucracy is based on functions, large technical staff and many mid-level managers.
In contrast, professional bureaucracy has few mid-level managers.
Organization Models in IT Delivery and Consulting Organizations
Basically there are two types of organizational structure model followed by IT
consultancy firms:

Partnership model
Service delivery model

Partnership model: A flat organization better known as partnership model in IT


service organization (also known as horizontal organization or delayering) is an
organization that has structure with few or no levels of middle management between
staff and executives. The idea is that well-trained workers will be more productive when
they are more directly involved in the decision making process, rather than closely
supervised by many layers of management.

This structure is generally possible only in smaller organizations or individual units within
larger organizations. Smaller firms consist of a one-level tier configuration with a lead
partner at the top who is responsible for executive managementof the firm. Directly
under the lead partner is the senior, junior and apprentice consultants with other
processes such as administration, project management and finance.
However, for decades, management consultants and the popular business press have
urged large firms to flatten their hierarchies. While flattening is said to reduce costs, its
alleged benefits flow primarily from changes in internal governance: by pushing
decisions downward, firms not only enhance customer and market responsiveness, but
also improve accountability and morale.Flat structures empower employees to take
charge, help make decisions and feel responsible for the companys success.

40

Therefore, many big giants like Mckinsey and BCGhave embraced this model of
organizational structure.

In order for this model to succeed, partnership structures requires a fully competent
staff with likeminded interest in the success of the company. Employee retention is
among some of the reasons why more businesses are trying to flatten their hierarchical
structure. KPMG, a global audit and tax firm, tried to make their hierarchy flatter similar
to Apple or Facebooks organizational structures. KPMG experiences nearly 20 percent
turnover in its global workforce every year. If a company wants the employees to be
cooperative, better alignment and engagement across the structure, then flat structure is
better. Employees have strong voice and any changes are easily adapted in this
structure. This encourages the employees independent thinking and teamwork
Besides the advantages, flat organisational structure has some disadvantages as well.
Flat structure may hold back the growth of an organisation to a certain level. In situation
where there is more than one boss, there could be a power struggle of having maximum
control on employees.

Service delivery model:


Globalisation and technological advancement, over the past few years, has created
challenges and opportunities for companies to rethink their business strategies for IT

41

services delivery in order to compete in the flat world. To combat globalisation and to get
competitive advantage pioneered Infosys an IT consultancy firm a new model called
Global Delivery Model.
Global Delivery Model (GDM) enables its customers to leverage varied locations across
the globe that provide optimized value for every component of delivery. Whether it is
procuring the best skills, covering 24x7 service spread, lower cost of ownership or
leveraging domain expertise, the global delivery model ensures that each of these
objectives are met. The model is customized for every project and objectives such as
project cost, criticality and level of expertise are determined in advance. Based on this,
organizations evaluate client location (onsite) and to determine which location would
provide the best value in terms of cost, skills availability, service coverage, efficiency and
quality of deliverables and move the delivery to a location that provides the best fit.
The GDM is based on the onsite-analyst and offshore-developer framework which allows
organizations to split the delivery based on the project lifecycle.

Advantages of GDM:

42

Access to a large pool of highly talented professionals.

24 hr. execution capability with operations spread across different time zones.

Expedite large projects by simultaneously processing the project components.

Enhanced security through physical & operational separation of clients project.

Cost competitiveness across geographic regions.

Uninterrupted services through built in redundancies.

Knowledge management system, through which solution could be re-used.

Despite of all these benefits, GDM also suffers from disadvantages.one of the most
important drawback of this model is its complexity to understand. Due to its global
nature of working, management and communication overheads are difficult to address.
The global delivery model (also called blended outsourcing) has become a trademark
offering of multinational service providers such as Accenture, EDS, and IBM that
combines onsite, offsite onshore, and offshore resources.
Offshore outsourcing has surfaced as both a strategic and tactical method of meeting
new business demands. Similar to most business ventures, the challenge of offshore
outsourcing lies not in envisioning it but in executing it.

Proposed Framework
After the detail discussion of both the models which an It consultancy firm adopts, we
are in position to recommend an appropriate model for STEPPING CLOUD for its
organizational structure.
Stepping cloud is a start-up HR technological consultancy firm with not more than 20
employee.so the firm has adopted a partnership model of organizational structure where
the director of company is at the apex position and all other consultants report directly
to him. Communication is fast and there is no delay in decision making process. At the
same time company is growing in terms of workforce .For the effective management and

43

functioning Stepping Cloud needs changes in organizational structure and reporting


relationship.

DC
io
rn
es
cu
t
ot
ra
n
t
4321

E
n
g
g
l

e
m

e
t

M
a
n

21
The figure shown above is a proposed three tier structure that stepping cloud may adopt.
Here director of the firm is at the highest position who would be responsible for business
development of the organization. There would be two engagement managers at the next
level of hierarchy. Each engagement manager would have some consultants under their
supervision. Consultants may work on different projects simultaneously under different
engagement manager because of the nature of projects that require a team of two or
three consultants at max.

Engagement
Manager 2

Engagement Manager
1
Consultant 1

Consultant 2

Project 1

Project 2

Multiple reporting may create dissatisfaction among consultants as who will be


responsible for his/her career development and growth. To avoid this confusion and
dissatisfaction, consultant would report to one engagement manager but overall
evaluation would be done by second engagement manager.

44

eSDCaTPrFuplfEnivbmMojctyg/Bd

The above figure shows different functions performed by engagement manager and
consultants in stepping cloud.

Escalation Matrix:Sharing of resources may create complexity and conflict in the


organization but the organization needs to maximize the utilization rate of its employees
for the effective growth and sustenance. Hence to resolve the issues of resource sharing
organization needs escalation matrix.

45

CHAPTER-7
Marketing and Branding
Problem Statement:
Research and recommend approaches to leverage social media for marketing and brand
building. Review and recommend changes to Website and LinkedIn/FB/Twitter presence
and build a plan for implementation and maintenance of the same. Social media is the
most preferable platform for stepping cloud brand building due to its cost effectiveness
and collaborative power.

Theoretical Concept
Need
As pervasive technologies enable demanding customers to become more networked,
companies need to:

Establish direct connect with their customers.


Derive awareness on their products and services.
Provide platform for their end customers to seek support and discuss issues.
Make their diverse employee base more productive and derive innovation.
Monitor and maintain their brand value.

46

Expected benefit
The affirmative power of social media offers a transformational opportunities for
companies, making a significant impact in the way they do business .From connecting
directly with the end customers and engaging with employees to collaborating with
partners, social media provides the significant value proposition that companies ignore at
their peril. As stakeholders increasingly adopt social technologies, the potential of social
media can help companies grow customer loyalty, accelerate growth and unleash their
potential.

Proposed Framework
Marketing and branding is an important process for the business development of any
organization, however for the start-up this is not just important but an essential
requirement.
Presently stepping cloud get customers on the recommendation of successFactors
because of their partnership. Top management alsousing its contacts due to large
experience in consultancy for the expansion and development.
Stepping

cloud

can

leverage

social

media

communication, community and collaboration.

47

using

the

4C

strategy-

content,

Content:
It refers to user generated content and content published by company. Wildly available
tools and technologies enable users to generate content video, audio and images and
facilitate the participative process. Stepping cloud social media strategy must empower
customers and employees to create content in a trouble free manner.

Communication:
Stepping cloud must have a clear strategy on the varied channels through which it wants
to communicate with its partners, employees and customers. Blogs cab be an effective
means of communication where key stake holders register their thoughts on key issues
and strategies.Direct external and internal communication of key messages from top
management can have significant effect on stakeholders.

Area
Community:

Purpose

Social Media Tools

This is a powerful means of bringing together likeminded people on a single platform


Where they can connect with each other and collaborate on common themes.
Community establishes a sense of belonging and engenders a trust factor among
members which help in the sharing knowledge and enables co-creation.

Collaboration:
This tools provide diverse teams to work together effectively to achieve common goal.
Effective utilization of collaboration tools improve team productivity and enhance output
quality. This tool is basically based on three process listen, engage and act.

48

Content
Communication
Community
Collaboration

Creation
and
distribution
of
External
and
internal
official
Collaboration
among
Collaboration
among
Bringing
likeminded
people
quality
content
communication
employees
partners
employees
and
partners
for
commonand
purpose

Videos,
Photos,
Audios,
Discussion
Discussion
Forums,
Forums,
Ask
Ask
and
and
Blogs,
Microblogging,
Events,
Community
applications
Content
Aggregation
Answer,
Answers,
Review
Review
and
and
Ratings
Ratings
Chats

Tools to leverage social media:

49

CHAPTER-8
Statutory Compliance
Problem Statement

50

Research and recommend all the HR/ Other compliance requirements for the
organization such as Payroll, PF, Regulatory reporting, Taxation. Build a process
document with all required process steps and artefacts.

Theoretical Concept
Definition
Statutory Compliance means adhering to all laws, rules and regulations applicable to that
particular unit.
Manpower legislation is a very important factor that shapes the overall labour
environment of a country. Protection of the interests of labour is the responsibility of the
State in the democratic countries. Under the Constitution of India, Labour is a subject in
the Concurrent List where both the Central and the State Governments are competent to
enact legislations subject to certain matters being reserved for the Centre. Union List
includes: - (i) Regulation of labour and safety in mines and oil fields; (ii) Industrial
disputes concerning Union employees; and (iii) Union agencies and institutions for
"vocational training. While, the concurrent List includes:- (i) Trade Unions; industrial and
labour

disputes;

(ii)

Social

security

and

social

insurance;

employment

and

unemployment; and (iii) Welfare of labour including conditions of work, provident funds,
employers' liability, workmen's compensation, invalidity and old age pensions and
maternity benefit
The Ministry of Labour and Employment has the responsibility of protecting and
safeguarding the interests of workers in general and those of the poor, deprived and
disadvantaged sections of the society, in particular. It also has the responsibility of
creating a healthy work environment for higher production and productivity and to
develop and coordinate vocational skill training and employment services. These
objectives are sought to be achieved through enactment and implementation of various
labour laws, which regulate the terms and conditions of service and employment of
workers. Broadly, the ministry has been allocated the work of:

Labour policy (including wage policy) and legislation.

Safety, health and welfare of labour.

Social security of labour.

Policy relating to special target group such as women, child labour.

51

Industrial relations and enforcement of labour laws in the Central sphere.

Adjudication of industrial disputes through

Central Government Industrial

Tribunals- cum-Labour Courts and National Industrial Tribunals.

Workers' Education.

Labour and Employment Statistics.

Employment Services and Vocational training.

Administration of Central Labour & Employment Services.

International Cooperation in Labour & Employment matters.

The major legislations that have been enacted for regulating manpower are:The Factories Act,1948 to regulate the working conditions in factories; to ensure
provision of the basic minimum requirements for safety, health and welfare of the
factories workers as well as to regulate the working hours, leave, holidays, employment
of children, women, etc.
The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 to safeguard the interests of workers, mostly in the
unorganised sector by providing for the fixation of minimum wages in certain specified
employments. It binds the employers to pay their workers the minimum wages fixed
under the Act from time to time.
The Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, with
the main objective of making some provisions for the future of industrial workers after
their retirement and for their dependents in case of death, etc.
Need
Most startup companies face enormous challenges in their attempts to remain
compliant on the accounting and regulatory fronts. The Indian regulatory environment
can be especially taxing regardless of the size of the company. It is mandatory for even
small companies to have a statutory audit under the Companies Act, besides mandatory
filing of Income Tax Return and a plethora of other regulations to comply with. These are
the various acts which needs to be taken into consideration by the organizations

Factories Act

52

PF &Misc. Provision Act

ESI Act

Minimum Wages Act

Bonus Act.

Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act

Professional Tax Act

Shop and Establishment Act

Labour Welfare Fund

Maternity Benefit Act

Payment of Wages Act

Other Labour Regulations as applicable for the establishment

Stepping Cloud Compliance Requirements


Stepping Cloud being a business services organization with no blue collar workers needs
to comply with the following.

Minimum Wages Act

Maternity Benefit Act

Payment of Wages Act

Professional Tax Act - Professional tax is state level tax not applicable for Delhi
where Stepping Cloud is based. They will however need it as they expand.

PF & Misc. Provision Act Currently exempted as the employee strength should
be 20 or more. They need to comply as they scale up.

From a compliance standpoint following returns need to be filed:

Quarterly Tax Deduction at Source

Profession Service Tax Returns

Stepping Cloud Employment Policy Document


Following Employee Policies have been recommend for Stepping Cloud:

Working Hours

The normal hours of attendance will be from 10.30 A.M to 6.30 P.M-Monday to
Friday.

53

Saturdays and Sundays are weekly holidays for all employees but they may
be required to attend the office on a Saturday or work late on a weekday, if
necessary.

The firm does not have any policy on overtime payment or compensatory off for its
regular employees
Working on weekends and holidays

Food expenses when working on holidays or on weekends can be claimed as Staff


Welfare, up to a maximum limit of INR 200. Expenses incurred on alcohol and
tobacco are not allowed and the Firm will not reimburse such expenses

Leave Policy
Annual Leave

All regular employees will be allowed to avail 1.5 days leave every month. There
is no policy for advance leave i.e only the earned and accrued leaves can be
availed and extra leave taken will be deducted from the salary for that month.

Holidays

The Firm, in addition to the Annual Leave, also grants 12 days as holidays per
year to celebrate various festivals and other important days in the annual
calendar.

Working Days Vs Calendar Days

Only working days are counted towards annual leave and all intervening weekly
offs (Saturday and Sundays) as well as any holidays falling within the period of
annual leave would not be counted for the purpose of determining the total no. of
days of annual leave availed.

Leave Carry Forward

Maximum leave of 20 days can be carried forward to the 1st of January.

Leave Encashment

54

Leave encashment is available only at the time of separation or retirement. For


encashment purposes, PTO will accrue @ 1.25 days per month, not exceeding 15
days annually and can be carried forward to a maximum entitlement of up to 30
days. Vacation time of 0.25 days in each month would be non-encashable.

Maternity Leave

All female employees are eligible for Maternity Leave of 12 weeks (84 Calendar
days). The leave may start before the expected date of childs birth. However, the
total days of leave would not extend beyond 12 weeks. ML will automatically start
(if it has not already begun) when the baby is born or absence from work for a
reason wholly or partly related to pregnancy at any time before the six weeks in
which the baby is due [Maternity Benefits Act, 1961]. The policy is applicable for
only first two living children

Paternity Leave

Male employees who have completed at least 6 months of service with the Firm
are eligible for Paternity Leave. They are entitled to seven consecutive calendar

days within a month of the date of delivery.


The policy is applicable for only first two living children

General Guidance

Planned leaves need to be communicated at least two weeks prior to availing the

same.
All leaves need to be approved by your Manager.
Leave balance on a monthly basis will be capped at 24 [carry forward + current
month accrual]. Any leave beyond 24 days would lapse and any leave taken

beyond the balance in employee account would be treated as Loss of Pay [LOP].
Leave taken without prior approval/consent would merit verbal & written warning.
3 such instances of unauthorized absence within 6 month period could lead up to

termination from services.


In emergency/exigency situations only [accident/death of family etc.], unplanned
leave can be taken. This however needs to be intimated at the first available
opportunity

55

Health Insurance Policies

Health insurance policy would be communicated to employees along with the offer
letter

Reimbursement Policy
Eligibility Criteria

Band

Level

Band 1

Directors

Band 2

Senior Managers, Associate Directors, Vice


President

Band 3

Senior Consultant, Manager, Associate Vice


President

Band 4

Consultant, Associate Consultant, Senior


Executive, Analyst, Management Trainees

Band 5

Office Boys, Guards, Office Assistant,


Executive Secretary

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57

Conclusion
Being a start-up organization Stepping cloud needs to roll out processes in order to
sustain and scale. Critical processes have been defined and recommendations made to
Stepping Cloud based on the above work. The expected benefits can be concluded as
follows.

Simply writing down a formal plan will not help new employees succeed in
stepping cloud. The key is to engage important stakeholders and new employees
in interactions that help them understand one another and how they interact over
time. Effective onboarding will result in a faster learning curve for new hires,

improved communication, and a more productive and engaged workforce.


Stepping cloud can have the advantage of being flexible and much more

opportunistic because of this proposed configuration of organizational structure.


Stepping cloud may leverage social media and make its presence felt through
blogging, mails, forum and frequently updating its LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter

page with valuable, relevant and informative content.


Complianceincludes teaching employees basic legal and policy-related rules and
regulations.It is important that policies apply consistently throughout the
organisation. A breach of a policy should be dealt with promptly and according to
the procedures set out in the policy.

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Glossary
HCM: Human Capital Management
ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning
GDM: Global Delivery Model
SDM: Service Delivery Model

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Bibliography and References


1. www.steppingcloud.com
2. www.workday.com
3. www.pwc.com
4. www.citehr.com
5. www.slideshare.com
6. www.scribd.com
7. www.mca.gov.in
8. http://advalue-project.eu
9. www.ukessays.com
10. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/06/27/7-critical-seo-mistakesmost-website-owners-make/
11. Snow, R. E. (2003). Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process. stanford
university press.

http://ahttp://advalue-project.eu dvalue-project.euhttp://advalue-project.eu

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