Outsourcing: Naresh Lakhanpal And Hiro Notaney Of Patni Computer Systems (Part 4)

By guest author Tony Scott

Naresh: So, once again, it’s giving people permission to say it’s okay to be different, and it really is because we believe that diversity of thought, diversity of mind is going to get us further in the end.

I would say that it’s the idea of having permission to do these things that is opening up folks, and that’s been interesting. I can tell you for my organization, one of the things that was a shock to me was after they realized I was here, I started getting all these e-mails asking for my approval for all sorts of things that were exceptions. I went back to my people and said, “Wait a second, how many exceptions can I deal with? You have to work with each other to figure these things out. Your peer group is going to help solve more issues for you than if you bring it to me, because I may be on an airplane to India, and if you’re expecting a response right now, it won’t happen.”

It’s really about empowering people. That I think has been a big change in the organization. Obviously there’s a need to be thoughtful, but it’s really taking the perspective of getting people to think things through, take a step back, and determine who they need to talk to resolve the issue among their peers.

That is number one change that’s happened. I brought folks together and made them accountable. I told them: “It’s your business, you run it as appropriate, you have proper peers there. My job is to help you directionally, to be in the marketplace with you, supporting you always.” That’s why top leaders don’t sleep, because they will always do the right things for their folks.

It’s also about identifying very quickly who the people are who will be out there thinking it through by themselves, and identifying those who need support to help them get there, because at the end of the day the organization must be focused on performance – and that is customer driven. Then you’ve got to give your team the tools to deliver on that.

Hiro: One thing that I did want to discuss further is this continuing arbitrage around innovation. A pretty important success story for us is our product engineering group.  This group has a bunch of blue-chip clients, and they are actually building products for them.

Tony: So what kind of products does this team build?

Naresh: I can tell you that they touch your life every day, and you don’t realize it: pacemakers, MRI machines, elevators, all brand names that you will interact with.

Hiro: Even cash registers – which we all interact with every day. [Laughter.]

Tony: So, this group is actually doing engineering product designs?

Naresh: Yes, absolutely.  What that does is helps us not only get our name differentiated in the marketplace, but because the quality of their work is so high, it allows us to cross sell and up sell, which is key to what we’re trying to do.

The same kind of thinking and approach can be applied to our global accounts as an example, because they touch multiple regions. That means we have to make sure the structures are in place such that each region is getting the love, tenderness, care, and support that its customers require, so there is a lot of work there.

Tony: Let’s talk about your product development organization. How much of what is on the delivery side is here in the U.S. versus in India or elsewhere?

Hiro: Our main labs are in India.

Tony: So where do you have the interface with your clients?

Naresh: That’s mostly here in the U.S. But it’s not like they’re giving us a requirement, it goes into the black hole, and then, “Poof! Here’s your product.” We have good relationships with our customers, and because of these relationships they trust us a lot and are always interacting with us. They’re actually walking the halls and interfacing with our folks, who are creating new technologies and solutions. So, while our people may be physically located in India, there’s heavy interaction going on. Customers are there in India all the time.

Tony: That brings us back to the point earlier when you talked about having people know that it’s okay to express themselves. Have you been able to instill that into your teams in India that the interface with customers from Europe and the United States?

Naresh: Absolutely. Let me give an example. When I went to India as part of my induction, they took us to meet our engineering services group. It was just me and one of my colleagues, and in a short amount of time, what we realized was that once folks knew that it was cool to talk openly, they would do so.  We started to realize that when our folks get the green light for creativity to addressing customer issues with a really strong solution, if they’re allowed to have that conversation, they’ll come up with the answer. There’s no question about it. They will do it.

Tony: That is a big distinction, because the historical model of the outsourcing force was all based on labor-rate arbitrage.  Those customers would say: “We know what we want to have done, this is what it is, tell me how much you’re going to charge to do it for me.”

Hiro: Right, and here is how to do it.

Tony: Exactly – they would say, “We want you to do it exactly in this way because even though it may make no sense whatsoever to you in terms of a process, it is our process and we want you to follow the process exactly.”

Naresh: That’s the body shop model, where you’re not a value-added service provider, and I think that is a clear distinction we try to make. As an example, we are not going to be a call center; it won’t happen. Just never will.

This segment is part 4 in the series : Outsourcing: Naresh Lakhanpal And Hiro Notaney Of Patni Computer Systems
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