TCS says 70% employees already back in office, ‘advisable for all to return’

Amid reports that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has ended its work-from-home/hybrid policy, the IT giant’s management on October 11 said that 70% of its employees are back to office and that it is "advisable for all to return" to understand the TCS way of working.

Both N Ganapathy Subramaniam, Chief Operating Officer (COO), and Milind Lakkad, Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO), at a press briefing following the September quarter results announcements said that the matter has been discussed internally and the advantages of employees coming to office are being realised.

“We hired a large number of people in the last three years and for most of the period they were working in hybrid/virtual mode. We strongly believe they need to come to work so that the new workforce gets integrated with the larger workforce of TCS,” Lakkad said, adding that TCS is asking people to come to office on all days of the week.

He added that the firm will continue to asses work models and to evolve depending on what works best for customers as well as employees.

Lakkad also said, “We have recalibrated our hiring numbers and as a result, our total hiring is less than our attrition in this quarter and hence the negative number.”

Lakkad’s remark comes as TCS total employee headcount has declined by more than 6,300 employees even as the company boasts of a over a lakh strong poll of GenAI-ready workforce. The attrition rate, on the other hand, has reduced to 14.9% during the quarter against 17.7% in the previous quarter.

As has been TCS’ stance in the past two quarters of “disciplined and efficient” hiring, this time Lakkad said the firm’s strategy of proactively hiring bright freshers and investing in training them with the right skills is paying off.

TCS had earlier set a target of hiring 40,000 freshers during the fiscal. When asked if the hiring was on track, Lakkad, without divulging a specific number, said the company continues to onboard trainees and will honour all contracts.

Talking about variable pay, he said, 70% of the TCS workforce will get 100% variable while for the rest, it would be based on the business performance.

COO Subramaniam, meanwhile, pointed out that the firm has over 250 employees in war-hit Israel and that it is in touch with its staff and ensuring that they are safe.