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COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGIES SOLUTIONS

REFERENCE CHECK PROCESS

PROJECT STUDY REPORT

SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT

(PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT & HUMAN RESOURCES)

PROJECT GUIDE: Ms. SHWETA SHUKLA

BY TRIPTI GHOSH

PM & HR

SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES 2nd MAY - 7th JULY 2006

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Sr.No Subject Page No. 1. Certificate

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2. Acknowledgement

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3. Executive Summary

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4. Cognizant at a glance 4.1 Passion with focus 4.2 The best of both the worlds 4.3 Key ingredients of success 4.4 Commitment to excellence 4.5 Management and governance

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5. Objective of the project

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6. Career model at Cognizant

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7. Hierarchy of Global Resource Management Group

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8. Lateral recruitment system 8.1 Job description 8.2 Algorithm 8.3 Flowchart

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9. Introduction to reference check 9.1 Certain cases 9.1.1 HSBC case 9.1.2 WIPRO case 9.1.3 Other cases 9.2 Few facts

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10. Reference check process at Cognizant 10.1 Algorithm 10.2 Flowchart 10.3 Format of the reference check report 10.4 Points to remember 10.5 Problems faced

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2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Company project study is meant to provide a student with hands on experience and to acquaint those with the actual work culture. Project at CTS provided me with a lot of exposure to the resourcinig cycle of the company which included the lateral recruitment process and the reference check process. I have gained immensely from my project in terms of experience and expertise and take this opportunity to extend the warm thanks to all those people who have devoted their valuable time and extended support as and when called for. I would like to convey my sincere regards to Mrs. Nivedita Naithani (Hr Manager GRMG) and Mrs.Shweta Shukla (my mentor) for their guidance and encouragement. Working at CTS has been learning and a worthwhile experience, thanks to culminated efforts of many. I feel a deep sense of gratitude

To Miss Rachna Ramachandra, Mr. Vikas Kanwar, Mrs.Hitu Garg, Miss

Gauri Sathe and Mr.Kulbeer for being patient to my queries and concern.

To Miss. Kavita Rao for providing me the necessary information for carrying out my work efficiently.

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3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

My project aimed at streamlining the entire process of Reference Check which is an important part of the whole Recruitment cycle and is a relatively new concept.

Initially the process of Reference check in Cognizant was very concise, only limited to the Criminal check and Current Employment check and hence it was carried out internally by the recruiters themselves. This system however wasnt very efficient .There were a lot of irregularities.

Later the spurt of Fake CVs in the market and the demand of the foreign clients as well as the SOX certification promoted Cognizant to initiate a thorough Background check which include Education check, Employment check and Criminal check.

Due to recruitment in outsized numbers and time crunches Cognizant had to outsource this activity to a third party which takes about 12 15 days to complete the entire process of Reference check of an individual and should be completed before the person joins the company.

This new method of Reference check was made applicable to all the Joiners from November 2004.Since this new method started in the end of 2005 there was a huge Backlog that had to be cleared.

My function was to clear this Backlog and to ensure that for every joiner from November 2004 to till date, we had their Reference check report ready and filed. I also had to propose a systematic method so that from henceforth, for all the new joiners we had their Reference check done and their status updated in the database and their reports filed. I was asked to propose an action plan to deal with employees who had Negative reference check report.

My profile also included the analysis of the entire Lateral Recruitment cycle starting from Resource Request to Resource Allocation. I was obliged to see my recommendations and proposals regarding Reference check process being implemented by the company.

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4. COGNIZANT AT A GLANCE 1994: Incubated as the technology arm of The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. 1996: Started looking at third-party clients and began servicing the best across industry segments. 1998: Became the first IT company leveraging India to get listed on NASDAQ. 2002: Became the first company to be assessed enterprise-wide against mature industry process certifications such as P-CMM level 5, BS 7799, SEI-CMMi Level 5. 2004: Acknowledged as a leading provider of IT services by industry analysts such as Gartner, Forrester, AMR and IDC. 2004: Added to the prestigious NASDAQ 100 Index among companies that defined newer business paradigms 2006: Became the fastest IT Services company globally to clock a $1 billion run rate in nearly 12 years. 4.1 PASSION WITH FOCUS Cognizants single-minded passion: dedicating our global resources, industry intelligence and systems expertise to working with our clients to make their businesses stronger. One Goal

Every application Cognizant develop, every challenge Cognizant embrace, every investment in new resources, every recommendation Cognizant make - is dedicated to one goal: Making our customers' businesses stronger by empowering them to be more responsive to their customers and to the competitive environment.

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Cognizant will achieve this by focusing on the intersection of their clients' emerging needs and the acceleration of business and technological change. Their commitment to innovation keeps them focused on the future and being ready at every level to service change. More than 29,000 people working together to serve their clients. Cognizant has the passion for: 4.1.1 A Passion for Strategic Partnership As their clients increasingly recognize the business value of the Global Delivery model, they are taking a more strategic approach to outsourcing. They are evolving from a tactical focus to the power of a more strategic partnership. What makes an ideal strategic partner? It begins with leadership and always results in delivering the highest quality work. Cognizant understands the key components of partnership: from sufficient scale and a strong financial profile to technology leadership and strong client management by the best teams. While the early days of outsourcing were about performing functional tasks more cost-effectively and productively, the future is about partnering on a global scale to meet strategic goals and win market share. The future is about partnerships and they have been defining that future with their

clients. 4.1.2 A Passion for Specialized Expertise To meet the specialized needs of these industries, Cognizant has continued to

invest in deepening their vertical organization. Cognizant has added team members with distinguished track records in key sectors, who can serve as subject matter experts to provide clients with valid insights and viable solutions into particular industry issues. And, Cognizant has focused on developing competencies in the service areas that will be essential to each industry, be it supporting clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies, or integrating point-of-sale systems in retail. Their team members have distinguished track records in every industry that it

serves.

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4.1.3 A Passion for Leadership & Innovation Cognizant understands that leadership and innovation go hand in hand. That's

why they have taken a pioneering role in the following areas: Vertical Business Process Outsourcing (V-BPO). Manage entire business

processes end-to-end. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Make global supply chains more

productive Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Optimize the value of every

customer relationship. Cognizant also has a growing foothold in Business Intelligence (BI), web-

interface/web-deployment, remote infrastructure management and testing programs. For them, leadership means innovation that solves problems. 4.1.4 A Passion for Seizing Global Opportunities More and more businesses around the world are seeking the competitive

advantages of IT outsourcing. To serve the growing demand, they are extending their geographic reach across

the globe. Last year alone, Cognizant broadened its global delivery capacity by adding or expanding centers in India , China , Europe and North America . Cognizant now have team members on the ground in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, India, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and China . Their geographic reach allows their clients to follow the sun. 4.1.5 A Passion for Embracing Change Another critical technology trend is the movement toward service-oriented

architectures, which will allow their clients to achieve new business value by seamlessly and efficiently integrating disparate legacy IT systems. RFID technology, which uses radio frequency transmissions to track and manage products in real time as they move through the supply chain, is another groundbreaking technology, especially for retailers, manufacturers and distributors. Cognizant is uniquely positioned to build the solutions that will deliver the maximum benefit. What allows Cognizant to stay ahead of change? Cognizant Academy. Their in-

house university offering educational programs in a broad range of disciplines, the

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Academy keeps their employees updated in their areas of competency and maintains consistently high performance standards. This year, Cognizant Academy offered over 3 million hours of courses both on-site and on-line. Change is not an obstacle. It's an opportunity to grow.

4.2 THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Cognizant brings your organization the best of both worlds: offshore development with a local consulting presence that integrates business strategy with execution. 4.2.1 Fourth Generation Offshore Outsourcing

"Offshore Goes Mainstream" Offshore Outsourcing has come a long way from its origins as a tactical source of inexpensive talent. It is now easy to use and to adapt to many business challenges. Cognizant is pioneering 4th Generation Offshore Outsourcing, services that combine the best of both worlds: the economics and "Follow the Sun" advantages of offshore development with industry experience, advanced technology expertise, cultural compatibility and a local consulting presence that integrates business strategy with execution. Today, Cognizant's clients are benefiting from 4th Generation services. Operating as their technology partner, Cognizant provides the expertise to help our clients realize their objectives. 4th Generation Offshore Outsourcing provides seamless integration between the customer and Cognizant. They go far beyond the established onsite/offshore model by offering in-depth local consulting presence, onsite teams focused on the customer's business applications, and the management depth that partners closely with their clients. Cognizant provides:

Vertical industry domain knowledge. They know their customers' businesses and have industry knowledge that is a powerful combination with their technology expertise.

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State-of-the-art technology expertise. Their core competencies range from legacy platform integration and major enterprise applications to emerging technologies such as Java, .NET, and XML web services

State-of-the-art tools to manage technology deployment Business transformation. They know how to help their clients rapidly

achieve their business transformation goals Highly disciplined program management and change management. Their

robust management processes eliminate the hurdles of managing complex offshore deployments along with managing change issues at the customer location.

Organizational agility. They have the speed and flexibility to marshal local consulting support and offshore development resources into a cohesive team that quickly delivers time-to-benefit.

Cognizant excel at helping their clients through the complex transformation projects that not only deliver real ROI, but true competitive advantage.

1st Generation: Offshore services originated as a tactical solution for importing high-quality, low-cost services in a staff augmentation mode. Typically, offshore professionals were brought onsite with temporary visas and were paid at lower hourly rates. In most cases, this approach was limited to application maintenance

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or development projects that were already highly defined. However, the potential for labor savings was limited because of the need to import talent. 2nd Generation: This was the pure "Offshore Production" phase where second-generation offshore outsourcers established small regional marketing offices near major clients, while sending work offshore. Although more cost-effective than 1st generation offshore, this approach was suitable for less complex engagements with well defined functional specifications that did not require extensive project management. 3rd Generation: The "Onsite/Offshore" model emerged, adding local project management and liaison staff to improve day-to-day coordination and problem resolution with projects sent offshore. With onsite project management, projects of slightly more complexity that required frequent change could be handled. 4th Generation: The "Seamless Integration" phase, 4th Generation Offshore Outsourcing provides the best of both worlds: the low-cost of offshore development coupled with critical management presence. This allows our clients to interact with us on a regular basis, forming meaningful partnerships. The client is free to focus on the business, while Cognizant focus on the technologies necessary to support it. This approach to outsourcing is suitable for projects of high complexity and large-scale transformational outsourcing. The 4th generation offshore outsourcing provider is the ideal partner for helping enterprises undergo profound business transformation. They are a pioneer in Offshore Outsourcing. They bring their clients the economic advantages, with the industry experience and the local expertise. 4.2.2 Local Decision Making Cognizant's decision making authority is located closer to the client than other offshore providers with their executive management team based in the US, Europe and India. Accessibility and accountability are key parts of our business culture. Our practice leaders are always available to our clients, and our team leaders are empowered to make decisions. The result is that our clients tell us that they are impressed by our responsiveness and ability to make decisions quickly. When you're close to your clients, it's easier to respond quickly and collaborate

effectively.

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4.2.3 Value Added Services Cognizant has an industry-leading technology architecture and strategy group,

program management capabilities, and stronger capabilities in business analysis and business process in our key verticals and horizontals than other offshore firms. Cognizant also have expertise in change management, portfolio analysis,

research & development, as well as proof of concept. From vision to action, Cognizant have the processes in place to perform better. 4.3 KEY INGREDIENTS OF SUCCESS 4.3.1 Business Culture

Cognizants business culture is neither India-centric or exclusively Western in style, striking the best balance of all the offshore firms. Most of Cognizant management team has extensive US or European experience, and understands their clients' culture.

In India , Cognizant is considered a 'local' player with a very strong reputation for excellence. Their clients benefit from Their non-hierarchical, responsive "can-do" approach to business.

4.3.2 Domain Expertise

Cognizant is the only major offshore company organized around verticals and horizontals rather than just regions and development centers. With their deep domain expertise in key verticals and large-scale horizontal solution, Cognizant is a highly project-oriented firm that can take complete responsibility for large development and integration projects, and for delivering bottom line results from application management.

Cognizant have a strong track record of successfully executing very large scale, complex, transformational development and integration projects offshore. These are the kinds of projects that have not been traditionally considered "off-shorable".

Cognizant have also developed proprietary CMM-Level 5 processes to successfully manage and deliver these projects offshore. Their level of success has not been matched by any other major offshore player.

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4.3.3 Technical Expertise

Cognizant has deep technology expertise across a wide range of competencies. Technology competency and the quality of their people are the highest-rated attributes in our Customer Satisfaction Survey.

4.3.4 Quality of Client Base

Cognizant has a blue chip client base with many industry leaders that they are proud to partner with and to contribute to the growth of their businesses.

Their clients go to extensive lengths to serve as references and champions of their growth and innovation.

4.3.5 Cognizant never lets you down

Their client testimonials say Cognizant people go to extraordinary lengths to solve problems, or just help out. Their people model attracts talented, highly motivated, client- focused individuals with a "can-do" attitude.

Cognizant have never had a termination for project failure or for non-performance. This fact is reinforced by all of their customers in the annual customer satisfaction survey conducted by a third-party.

Their flexibility, responsiveness, ownership and the assurance that they will never let their customers down is core to their delivery model. If problems arise, Cognizant swarm around the challenge and quickly work to get the job done without arguing about who's at fault. Their people are proud of their track record and work hard to contribute to their stellar service reputation.

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4.4 COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE 4.4.1 Program Management Cognizant brings a strong project culture to every engagement. They did not start as a staffing company, but instead as the development arm of Dun & Bradstreet. Their development heritage has given them an edge on delivering larger, complex, end-to-end projects. Their project expertise is reflected in a strong methodology and the development and use of their proprietary tools. They track the progress of projects and programs with eCockpit, their proprietary engagement management tool that is available to all of their clients. eCockpit provides a graphic representation of project-related status, such as productivity, effort, cash flow, and defects density. It also looks at personal metrics such as targets and individual progress. eCockpit benefits include:

Analysis. Conduct effective business analysis and decision making through targeted reports.

Standardization. Set uniform standards across an organization and build a repository of information for estimation and project monitoring.

Action. Understand project status and progress so you can easily make decisions and take action.

Continuous improvement. Identify strengths and potential areas of improvement.

Comparisons. Look at performance comparisons against set benchmarks to predict a future course of action.

Indicators. Set indicators to warn when metrics are non-conformant with established benchmarks.

Quality. Track project quality and trace deviations as well as to assess continuous project improvements.

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PMO The Program Management Office (PMO) is a strategic management structure designed to reduce the risk of project failure and ensure successful project deliverables. A PMO can deliver high value by integrating project management objectives with the business drivers of an enterprise. PMO can also help balance the project stakeholders' interest in the projects. The Cognizant PMO draws on the Networked Knowledge Assets of the Competency groups at Cognizant. Their PMO keeps abreast of the latest technology choices and emulates the best practices demonstrated in all of Cognizant projects. Cognizant focuses on delivering true business value to their clients and going beyond simply executing projects within boundaries of time, scope, cost and quality. PMI Savvy clients demand more, better and faster services. Time-to-market pressures force greater efficiency and professional project management skills play a key role in today's competitive, global business arena. The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the organization of choice for project management certification and is the leading nonprofit professional association in the area of Project Management. Cognizant encourages its associates and managers to earn a PMI certification and assists them in this goal through the Cognizant Academy. Their heritage is in development. Their drive is to deliver. 4.4.2 Elite Talent They are proud of their teams and their talent. Here are just a few of the reasons

that their teams consistently outperform the competition. Cognizant has some of the highest campus rankings in India. Their training and development capabilities are the best in the industry and stress

process and methodology, as well as client management. They have consistently received the highest employee satisfaction among Indian

software companies. Cognizant has extremely low turnover (10% voluntary). They offer equity ownership and have had a consistent stock performance. Behind their performance are the best people in the industry.

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4.4.3 Research & Development Their R&D takes place in focused research centers and technology labs where

engineers identify the technology, tools and methodologies which are most appropriate to solve specific customer challenges. They work closely with their clients to develop proofs of concept. The R&D team also regularly develops re-usable frameworks and components to

solve generic industry problems. They are continually looking at new technologies from leading vendors and developing alliances with industry leaders. They are a certified Microsoft developer, and a Java and Sun Solaris development partner for Sun Microsystems. IBM maintains a developer connection with them, along with serving as a framework partner and providing free evaluation software, support and training. They also focus on consultation with industry specialists such as Gartner, Inc.,

Forrester Research, and IDC. They maintain research alliances with Indias premier academic institutions such as IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur. They are also part of the Membership of Standard Bodies which includes ETSI, IEEE, UMTS and IETF. They regularly participate in technology conferences and publish research papers in both academic and industry journals.

Typical R&D to Business Application Solution Lifecycle

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4.4.4 Cognizant Academy Their greatest strength is their people: their expertise and their ability to consistently deliver outstanding work. They are committed to continuous learning, and giving their associates the opportunity to stay current with leading-edge technologies and to develop communication skills so that they can perform their roles effectively and efficiently. 4.4.5 Training Programs Cognizant conducts all their learning programs through Cognizant Academy , their in-house training center. Through this dedicated center, they offer many conventional and leading-edge educational programs for employees at all levels. Last year, the Academy offered over 46,000 person-hours of technical training, and an array of programs to advance the personal, managerial and cross-cultural skills of their associates. Four Key Educational Programs:

1. Continuing Educational program offering training on a need-to-know basis and for continuous knowledge and upgrading skills.

2. Role-based Training program. 3. Executive Training program which includes Effective Personal Productivity,

Time Management, Acculturation programs, and language programs. 4. Certification programs which are both external certification programs offered

by Microsoft, Sun, PMI, etc., and internal certification programs such as IBM WebSphere, DB/2 and software engineering.

In addition to the internal training programs, they also send their software professionals across the globe for technology or management-specific training. Notable universities and colleges where they send their professionals include Harvard University, Indian Institute of Management, and the Indian Institute of Technology.

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Training Methodology Cognizant uses conventional and leading-edge learning methodologies. In addition to the formal learning in classrooms, Cognizant Academy takes learning to their employees' desktops. They use multi-mode learning, as well as Technology-Based Training (TBT) material. They encourage their associates to get certified across key technologies. They provide assistance through formal training and mentoring, and access to all certification material through their dedicated Learning Server. More than 1500 of their employees have formal external certification across technologies, including:

Microsoft Oracle Lotus Sun Cisco, Novell network management Project Management Institute Quality Assurance Institute

Cognizant Certified Professionals Apart from external certification programs, Cognizant have an internal certification program, where employees become Cognizant Certified Professionals. This allows us to systematically evaluate competencies. The following is the list of internal certifications included under the "Cognizant Certified Professional" program:

Certification in IBM Mainframe Certification in IBM Web Technologies Certification in AS/400 Certification in Telecom Certification in e-Business Certification in Software Engineering Certification in Quality and Process Management Certification in Business Development and Client Management

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Partnerships with Academia They have strategic partnerships and alliances with several premier institutions to help its associates get trained in a variety of areas, and also obtain higher degrees. Here are a few of the institutions that Cognizant have alliances with:

British Open University for distance education MBA program Birla Institute of Technology and Science (Pilani) for MS and Ph. D

programs Project Management Institute for Effective Personal Productivity and

Effective Leadership programs Venkateswara College of Engineering, Chennai Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Tamilnadu Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai

4.5 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE 4.5.1 Executive Team Lakshmi Narayanan - President and CEO Francisco D'Souza - Chief Operating Officer Gordon Coburn - Executive Vice President and CFO

Chandra Sekaran - Executive Vice President and MD

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4.5.2 Powerful Partnerships Cognizants partnerships are market-driven. They partner with organizations

whose products and services complement their own service offerings. Their strategic alliances with some of the best companies in the world give them the ability to provide its clients with complete solutions to their IT challenges. Cognizant is the preferred partner for 10 of the top 50 Life and P&C insurers in

the USA..

SOME OF OUR PARTNERS INCLUDE:

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4.5.3 Client List With more than 29,000 employees and growing, Cognizant serves its clients with

the breadth and depth of capabilities to deliver on the most complex business challenges. Their combination of vertical industry expertise and technology innovation brings their clients the insight to move forward strategically and the experience to move quickly. Some of our clients list in different sectors involve: Banking & Financial Services:

Wells Fargo Rabobank Lehman Brothers Chicago Board Options Exchange Automatic Data Processing Citi Group CompuCredit Union Bank of California

Healthcare:

Aetna Inc AMERIGROUP Corporation Blue Cross Blue Shield Florida Blue Cross Blue Shield MA Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Blue Cross of N/E Pennsylvania Blue Shield of California Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan CareGain, Inc. Central Benefits Fidelis Care HealthNet Healthnow Newyork Inc Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Intermountain Health Care Intervalley Health Plan John Deere Healthcare Inc.

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Molina Healthcare Multiplan, Inc Network Health PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc Rocky Mountain TMG Health Trizetto Group

Manufacturing & Logistics:

United States Cold Storage CNH eGM The Schwan Food Company Swire Group Vauxhall

Telecommunications:

Orange France Telecom Telepak Networks Nokia Cox Communications KPN Dish Network Focal MCI QuantumShift TellerX Covad CoreComm Looking Glass Networks

Retail:

AC Nielsen Ace Hardware Brinker International H.E. Butt LVMH's DFS Unit RadioShack Darden

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ESB Retail Insurance:

MetLife CSAA (AAA affiliate in Northern California) Farmers Royal & Sun Alliance Liberty Regional Agency Markets Mercury

Information Management, Media & Entertainment:

AC Nielsen Arbitron Intrum Justitia Dataplace Cadmus Communications OTX United Business Media PCF Pearson Maritz Viacom/MTV CBS Corporation Macrovision

Technology:

World's largest online advertiser World's largest online marketplace ADP Dealer Services AMD Autodesk Computer Associates E*TRADE Financials Earthlink Intuit Ingres Network Appliances SAP Lab Serena SpikeSource

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4.5.4 Services From the depth of Cognizants domain expertise and the proprietary intellectual property to their onsite/offshore delivery model, their work is not finished until there's a solution that meets the challenge.

Advanced Solutions Delivery Business Process Outsourcing Business Technology Consulting Customer Solutions Practice Data Warehousing & Business Intelligence Enterprise Resource Planning Information Security & Privacy IT Infrastructure Services Portals & Content Management Program Management Software Applications Services Supply Chain Management Testing Solutions

4.5.5 Awards & Recognition Cognizant is proud of being recognized by leading industry analysts and by the press. Their most important recognition comes from serving the clients and knowing that they are a partner in growing their businesses. Cognizant named ranks #16 among Business Week's 100 Hot Growth Companies for 2006. Cognizant ranks among 100 Fastest Growing Tech Companies. Cognizant ranks among top IT services companies in Healthcare. Cognizant ranks among the best new issues of the past 20 years in Forbes' study of post IPO stock performance Cognizant named one of the best 5-year stock performers in WSJ's "Shareholder Scoreboard" Cognizant one of the most shareholder-friendly companies in America Cognizant Technology Solutions is named the "Public Company of the Year"

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Cognizant is the Top IT Services Company in the Forbes 200 Best Small Companies List Cognizant founders chosen for "Entrepreneur of the Year" award Cognizant Selected as the 'Best U.S. Company in India' by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Cognizant is Top U.S. Outsourcing Firm on Business 2.0 Magazine's Annual "B2 100" Ranking of The Fastest-Growing Technology Companies Cognizant named best small company in America Forbes, October 2004 Cognizant is Top Tech Firm in Business Week's List of "Hot Growth Companies" Top IT Services Company in 25 fastest-growing tech companies 2003 Forbes, April 2003 Cognizant is the Top Tech Company in the Forbes 200 Best Small Companies List Cognizant Technology Solutions named one of "Americas Fastest Growing Companies" Individual Investor, November 1999 Cognizant Technology Solutions is named the "Public Company of the Year" New Jersey Technology Council, 1999 Cognizant Technology Solutions is named one of the top 25 technology IPOs of 1998 Red Herring, July 1999

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5. OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

To study the process of Reference Check in the company To identify the loopholes in the existing system and

recommend suggestions

To streamline the process of Reference Check To assist and analyze the Lateral recruitment at Cognizant

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6. CAREER MODEL AT COGNIZANT

Senior Manager (14 + years)

Manager (10 + years)

Assistant Project Manager (7 + years)

Senior Associate (6 + years)

Associate (3 + years)

Programmer Analyst (2 + years)

Programmer Analyst Trainee (Fresher)

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7. Hierarchy- Global Resource Management Group

GRMG-Global Resource Management Group

GRG- Global Resource Group

V.P (GRMG)

DIRECTOR (GRMG)

SR. MANAGER (GRMG)

MANAGER (GRMG)

ASSISTANT MANAGER (GRMG)

SENIOR EXECUTIVE (GRMG)

JUNIOR EXECUTIVE (GRG)

JUNIOR EXECUTIVE (GRMG)

TRAINEE (GRMG)

TRAINEE (GRG)

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8. Lateral recruitment system 8.1 Recruitment Job Description In order to understand the recruitment process and analyze the same for its efficiency, it is imperative to understand the basic skills and competencies required in employees forming the Global Resource Management Group (GRMG) at Cognizant. The primary roles that GRMG plays are: Sourcing resumes Scheduling interviews with relevant technical experts HR interviews Induction Candidate management/ Pipeline management Job Description: Manager (GRMG) Job Summary: The Manager manages the recruitment team (recruiters and resource management group) to achieve the demand targets and decide a suitable approach to meet them efficiently. Key Responsibilities: Strategic: Define and set the recruiting strategy for specific skills based on the recruiting targets and budget and ensure that it is in line with the companys business and marketing strategy. Create and refine the recruiting plan as needed. Manage contact with the external vendors /agencies and contract negotiations. Focus on external marketplace and internal availability of candidates befitting the requirement. Ensure that the recruitment processes are effective, recommend and implement process improvements. Manage the companys image in the marketplace Contribute to the strategy for building competitor intelligence Identify and analyze the potential of new recruiting practices. Influence decisions made affecting the sourcing/recruiting organization. Participate in strategic projects impacting the sourcing and recruiting.

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Operational: Manage team and/or execute recruiting plan and meet recruiting targets. Maintain database of internal resources and allocate them appropriately to meet the skill demands. Allocate targets and resources to meet them. Take daily updates from the recruiters on the status of their respective pipeline movement Report on status, effectiveness and quality of recruiting efforts, team member productivity/activity and issues and recommend action. Provide external market place intelligence and trend analysis to GRMG leadership. Handle issues like level mismatches and delivering training to recruiters Policies for weekend recruiting event and final interviews Interviewer empanelment process Interviewer training Supervision: Manage a small to medium team of recruiters who are responsible for all activities related to management of the CV pipeline. Facilitate teamwork, identify issues affecting team progress and recommend solutions, coordinate workload and establish priorities. Coach the team on the relationship and communication with their stakeholders to understand resource plan and specific needs. Select recruiters. Cooperation and communication: Develop communication strategies for educating stake holders and other recruiting professionals on pipeline management directives. Act as interface between the recruiting team, management and project managers. Provide regular status updates Cooperate and share knowledge with other pipeline managers. Knowledge and Skill Requirements: Strong understanding of the companys business needs and organizational structure Strong understanding of companys position in the market place Strong knowledge of sourcing strategies and channels Strong understanding of and expertise in analyzing external marketplace trends Strong understanding of recruiting and sourcing market industry skills. Strong understanding of recruiting and sourcing processes and organization, processes, systems and tools

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Strong understanding of the local recruiting market Strong understanding of marketing concepts and image promotion Strong understanding of recruiting resource and marketing plan. Deep negotiation and relationship management skills Strong communication and interpersonal skills Job Description: Recruiter (GRMG) Job Summary: A recruiter is responsible for administering the recruiting process and meeting the demand targets for a small to medium sized recruitment plan or share the administration of a large recruitment plan. Key Responsibilities: Operational: Understand the recruiting demand and skills profiles within an area of responsibility. Estimate the resources required to close the requirement. Responsible for small to medium sized recruiting pipeline. Meet the recruiting targets and provide regular status report. Coordinate the process from screening CVs , arranging appropriate panel , conducting HR interviews, making an offer and final acceptance. Participate in recruiting events and sourcing activities. Ensure all documents and paperwork is received and complete according to policy. Coordinate skill requirements with consultants. Act as a single point of contact for a designated skill. Update and utilize database effectively. Ensure that the candidate is reverted to regarding an offer or rejection. Identify issues relating to a particular skill and recommend actions Each recruiter is the owner for a certain skill and a backup for others Each month responsibility for various skills is assigned depending on the targets. Supervision: May coach or direct a small team of schedules or recruiters or delegate work. Cooperation and communication: Serve as a single point of contact for client group, project manager and for issues related to that skill. Cooperate with the team members and provide regular status update to the manager. Communicate with the candidates and the interviewers to fix schedules.

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Knowledge and Skill Requirements: Deep understanding of the recruitment profiles Strong team player Analytical and problem solving skills Deep negotiation skills and relationship management ski Strong team player Analytical and problem solving skills Deep negotiation skills and relationship management skills Proficiency in MS Word, Excel Good understanding of pipeline management Ability to streamline distribution of skills and demand Good people skills Job Description: Candidate Pipeline Management (GRG) Job Summary: Pipeline management coordinator can be better understood as a transition coordinator, who coordinates with the candidate the formalities of joining from the time he/she accepts the offer till joining so as to enable smooth transition. Key Responsibilities: Operational: Getting in touch with the candidates and confirming their joining date Sorting out their issues and getting them on board Maintaining information regarding the joinee pipeline Maintaining information regarding the transit accommodation, inform the candidate and update the database Cooperation and coordination: Establish and maintain relationships with the people recruited Communicate with the candidates and answer their queries Regular communication with Manager (GRMG) regarding the status of transition of joinees

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8.2 Brief summary about the Process: The recruitment team in cognizant is known as the Global Resource Management Group. It is divided into two parts : RMG: Resource Management Group, which is the internal resourcing group. It tries to close the demand for a resource on bench. RG: Resourcing or Recruitment group, which is the external resourcing group. It tries to meet the demand for a resource through recruiting fresh talent from various channels as discussed below: A demand sheet is prepared by GRMG with the help of various Project Managers to ascertain the resource requirement for a particular period and accordingly a plan is formulated to recruit candidates with the desired skills. However due to the dynamic nature of business, several unplanned, unforeseen requirements also arise. In such a case, the project manager raises a resource request to GRMG and the steps in the recruitment process followed are the same thereafter. A sample of the resource request is as under: Total number of resource required One Project Manager ABC RR# requested by XYZ Offshore/ Onsite Offshore Designation SA Location Pune Project ID/Name X Required Start Date (mm/dd/yyyy) 8/2/2006 Billability Yes Description 6-7 years of experience Skill Sets Oracle,Pl/SQL ,MDX,MS OLAP,good

communication skills RR# 043176 GRMG checks from amongst idle resources and allocate the same to meet the requirement. In case that no resource matches the profile required, a recruitment request in turn raised to the GRG.

34

GRG runs the profile through the existing database of skill profiles to close the demand. The various channels available to build the database are: Employee referral Walk ins Resumes received in response to advertisements. Resumes posted through CTS website. Job Portals In case the resource requirement is of urgent nature or is in large volumes, the consultants are contacted to furnish resumes to close the demand. The resumes are then screened to shortlist those that meet the skill profile and telephonic interviews are conducted. If the candidate is found suitable after this round; an appointment is fixed for a face to-face technical interview. The number of technical interviews varies from case to case. On clearing the technical interview, the candidates HR interview is taken to resolve fitment issues. Various forma and documents are filled and submitted by the candidate if found suitable after the HR interview. Subsequently, an offer is made, negotiations performed and consensus reached. Upon acceptance of the offer, a joining date is confirmed and the candidate is considered an offer accept. In case the candidate does not join though he/she had accepted the offer and a joining date had been confirmed upon, he /she is considered an offer renege.

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8.3 The Recruitment Process

Manpower Requirement Analysis

Raise Resource Request

Check availability of resource internally

Allocate the resource to close the demand

Raise a requirement request

Check availability of CVs in internal

job site & job portals

Contact consultants

Screen the CV

1.

START

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Is the Resume Screening clear? Reject

Conduct telephonic interview

Is telephonic interview

clear?

Reject

Conduct face to race technical interview

Is technical interview

clear?

Reject

Conduct HR interview

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Is HR interview

clear? Reject

Position the candidate

Make the final offer

Has the candidate

accepted the offer?

Offer reject

Make him fill up the Application form

Send his application form for REFERENCE CHECK

Wait for the report

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Report Positive? Offer revoked

Offer Reneged

Make him join the company

Has the candidate

joined?

Candidate is confirmed

STOP 1.

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9. INTRODUCTION TO REFERENCE CHECK PROCESS

EVEN as India Inc continues its hiring spree, it has to cope with the growing menace of smart alecks fudging their CVs. The problem is not restricted to the IT and BPO industry, which adds about 1, 00,000 new staff every year, but has spread across retail, banking, insurance and other sectors. These sectors hire about 2, 00,000 employees a year. According to industry estimates, 10-12% of the recruits submit fake CVs, fake reference letters, fake certificates or are simply overstating skills and experience.

The IT industry spends an average of Rs 25,000 in recruiting a candidate. The average spend on 1, 00,000 recruits comes to Rs 250 crore a year. Overall, for the 2,00,000 jobs in the hot sectors, the industry spends over Rs 400 crore a year in hiring candidates, and there are quite a few bad apples among the lot. Fresh recruits to replace those who forged documents only adds to the cost. Most of the cases are among those with one-to-three years of experience.

The rising trend in fake certificates pertaining to education and employment has spawned a new industry in India: Background screening. Estimates put the industry size currently at about Rs 250 crore and it is growing AT 30 % annually.

About one in five resumes contain discrepancies. This could often be minor such as non-explanation of a few months' gap between various items in the resume. But it may also contain false claims relating to the study/completion of courses or work experience in companies or projects.

While security, detective agencies and a couple of audit firms have done background screening earlier, a few multinational firms, specializing in this field, such as Quest Research and Hill & Associates, have now begun to consolidate their presence.

And the business has been good for them. Quest Research seems to have grown five-fold over the last year. Yogesh Bhura, Managing Director, South Asia, Quest Research Ltd, says, "We are doing in excess of 15,000 background checks a month now."

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Vivek Aggarwal, Senior Manager, Marketing and Corporate Strategy, Hill & Associates, says they are now doing about 1,200 checks a month compared to 700 checks a month last year.

These checks can cost companies anything from $80 dollars to $300 per person (Rs 3,487 to Rs 13,078).

US firm First Advantage Quest Research receives 45,000 employee screening requests a month. About 35% are from the IT and BPO industries and the rest from banking, retail and insurance. The background screening business, which was non-existent till a few years ago, is now estimated to be about Rs 75-100 crore a year, thanks to large number of fake resumes. First Advantage, Verifacts, KPMG and Global Screening Services offer employee background check services.

When asked about the problem, Yogesh Bhura, MD, FAQR told ET: Potential recruits are fudging past employment and education credentials. Usually, fakes look better than the original. Companies want us to check that the people hired have the qualifications they claim. Throwing light on the issue of fake CVs, Achuthan Nair, V-P, strategic sourcing, Wipro Technologies, said: There are certain organisations which see demand for candidates in specific sectors, and play consultants to them, often fudging their CVs to make a quick buck.

Seeing the boom in recruitment, over 1,500 HR vendors have sprung up across the metros in past couple of years.

Initially, it was other multinational companies that provided business to these companies. Now, local companies are also opting for background checks on employees, both existing and potential.

The background screening industry received a fillip in the aftermath of the September 11 WTC attacks in the US. Many companies, especially those in the information technology and financial services sector, began to opt for such practices, as part of the security requirements laid down by clients overseas.

Bhura says, "More and more professionally managed companies are initiating background screening practices. It is business logic which is driving the growth of the industry and not legal requirements, as was the case earlier."

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Indian companies benefiting from the off shoring wave are doing a bit of sleuthing. They are making sure their US clients' data is safe by screening potential employees. As US companies send more business to Indian companies here, a significant chunk of data that is critical in nature is getting offloaded here for processing. The responsibility of making sure that this data is not misused lies with the Indian companies or the vendors in this instance. In the absence of proper data-protection laws, these vendors have started taking steps to prevent leaks in manpower-related security. As a first step, companies have begun background checks on their potential employees. Employee screening, considered critical in emerging markets due to lack of criminal databases, involves hiring an external agency to conduct personal and background checks. As the industry witnesses a significant churn in employees because of high attrition rates, screening the background of potential employees becomes imperative considering the fact that quite a chunk of potential employees lie about their education, experience, and so on to gain jobs. A study of 3,000 screenings by risk management consultancy firm Hill & Associates (India) Pvt Ltd has revealed that 30 per cent of the candidates had falsified their resumes. Pre-employment screening has started gaining ground with Indian vendors too, says Ashish Sonal, country manager, Hill & Associates. "At present, about 30 per cent of the requests we receive for pre-employment screening are from Indian firms," says Sonal. Global firms that carry out pre-employment screening and that have been operating in India include Kroll, ChoicePoint and Intelysis. Indian firms such as Globe Detective Agency also carry out pre-employment screening. The monthly volumes of all the players operating in the pre-employment screening could be in the range of 8,000-10,000 screenings,

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9.1 CERTAIN CASES.

9.1.1 HSBC CASE AND COMMENTS

After employee fraud last year at MSource, an Indian BPO centre in Pune in the western part of India another one has come to light and this time it is in Bangalore. An HSBC employee has been charged with stealing confidential data of the banks customers in UK to illegally transfer their money without their knowledge.

The complaint was lodged by the HSBC shared services centreHSBC Electronic Data Processing India (HDPI), against its employee Nadeem Kashmiri with the Cyber Crime Police Station in Bangalore on June 22.

The company has alleged that Nadeem has accessed personal information; security information and debit card information of some of its customers in the UK and has passed it to co-fraudsters, for conducting fraudulent transactions through ATM, debit cards and telephone banking services at the behest of Nadeem.

The loss was estimated at 233,000 pounds.

The fraud came to light after 20-plus UK customers of HSBC realized that money was suddenly missing from their accounts and subsequently lodged a complaint with the bank stating that funds were transferred without their knowledge, between March and May this year and that they did not know, who transferred the monies.

In the first information report (FIR), HDPI has stated that the bank conducted an internal investigation and found Nadeem to be the main culprit. He has accessed the customers account without any business requirement and changed the

43

personal information, security information and debit card information. He did not log his access on the front end of the business application, as is the mandatory procedure, the FIR stated.

The backend system logs indicated that Nadeem accessed the information. Later, his accomplices called and cleared the procedural security requirement and requested him for the balance information and conducted the fraudulent transaction. Nadeem facilitated his accomplices to impersonate the actual customers to enable them to cheat the HDPI and HSBC customers, the FIR stated.

In the process of investigation, the HSBC also found that Nadeem joined HDPI on December 12, 2005 using false records and misrepresentation.

He omitted to mention his employment with Accenture and provided false references for conducting reference checks.

The bank has alleged that Nadeem joined HSBC with the intention to deceive and cheat the bank and its customers. He accessed customers accounts without authorization from the day he was deputed on the processing floor, on February 6.

Last year in April five employees of Msource, the BPO arm of MphasiS BFL (now acquired by EDS) were arrested for allegedly pulling off a fraud worth nearly $425,000 from the Citibank accounts of four New York based account holders. The case is under investigation.

A couple of months later, the Sun tabloid in a sting operation purchased the bank account details of 1,000 Britons for about $5.50 each from one Karan Bahree, an employee of Gurgaon-based BPO company Infinity E-Search, who allegedly sold the information to an undercover reporter. The case was registered in London.

The reason for such lacunae in the system is the fact that BPO firms are feverishly recruiting and there is not enough time for inadequate employee verification.

According to a verification company, an interview for a candidate lasts an average of about 5 minutes. How well can you verify that candidate in that time frame? It is critical to get a proper verification of candidates education, employment and other details done but most companies are willing to let that pass because it costs

44

about $ 200 per employee and they are not willing to foot that says a CEO of a verification firm.

In the HSBC case, the employee had furnished false information about himself. As per the police complaint, he had not mentioned his previous employment with Accenture and had provided false references for conducting reference checks. But HSBC appears to have overlooked all of this.

After the MSource fraud, employee verification has become a serious issue and companies have put in place stringent rules for security and employees providing false information have been fired in some BPOs, said Nasscom president Kiran Karnik.

NASSCOM is building a national skill registry for IT employees to create a database of employees that employers can access. But till these steps are implemented, experts advise firms to strengthen their own security systems, especially in the absence of a data protection law.

9.1.2 WIPRO CASE AND COMMENTS

Corporate India was under attack and this time, the attack is from within. Much to their horror, companies are discovering a large number of their workforce has made its way in on the back of forged documents for experience and other qualifications. Some estimates say every third curriculum vitae, CV that is coming in, could be fake or forged. Many employees are now being sacked and at least two leading IT companies have filed criminal complaints.

But the malice may run much deeper and corporates have reason to worry. On March 22, 2006, Wipro, one of the biggest Indian IT firms sacked 25 employees. But this had nothing to do with their performance. A day later, Wipro lodged police complaints against not just the employees, but also the placement agencies that were responsible for them being there in the first place.

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Wipro found to its horror, that in some cases, employees had shown in their work experience records, having worked for companies that did not even exist.

Vice President, Strategic Sourcing, Wipro Technologies, Achuthan Nair had never expected a routine internal audit to turn this ugly. The human resources, HR department at Wipro was checking its CVs of employees. Suddenly, Nair noticed a pattern among the CVs.The language and the kind of education backgrounds they had, their work experience and even the companies where they had worked - everything was similar.

So much so, that even the spelling mistakes in many resumes were the same. It was enough to make Nair suspicious and he dug deeper. The trail led him to over 30 placement agencies from whom Wipro had hired some of its employees.

Further investigations revealed the entire plot. The organisations from where these employees had claimed to have worked for two years did not even exist. What's more, Wipro had been relying on these very agencies for its pre-employment background checks. The placement agencies had created these fake software firms, which existed only on paper. And for a price, they were accredit ting the work experiences of the employees.

9.1.3 FEW MORE CASES

Valencio more than met the requirements for the job of vice-president (marketing) of a multinational IT company in Hyderabad. His resume boasted many years of experience with some of the best companies and an excellent track record. His overwhelming presentation and communication skills, and the companys urgency to get him on board, landed him the coveted position.

Ten days into the job, Valencio disappeared. And with him confidential information of the company. The company soon realized that every information he provided was fake. His name, address and contact numbers. It was concluded that Valencio was a corporate spy from a rival company.

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In another case, Brinda Anthony submitted a forged degree certificate to one of the top five BPOs in India. A background check with Mumbai University revealed that the certificate was forged. When this was communicated to Brinda, she submitted another document: this time a verification letter on the universitys letterhead authenticating that she was a graduate. Later, it was found that even this was forged. When Brinda was asked to be present at the University along with the company representative she did not turn up.

Shrinivas Sastri of Covansys India got the shock of his life when Wipro sent him a copy of a letter submitted by a candidate claiming to have worked at Covansys. Said Sastri, "The forgery had been committed with elan. I could not believe someone could imitate my signature so well."

Sastri cited an instance when a candidate applying for a job at Covansys falsely claimed that he had worked with a Mumbai-based BPO. "Operational pressures forced us to hire him immediately but a few weeks later we found that he had faked his experience. I checked with the Mumbai company only to find that such a person had never been on their pay rolls," he said. "When I asked the candidate to leave, he had the gall to make me a counter offer saying we could demote him to a lower level and salary scale but let him continue at the organisation."

9.2 FEW FACTS

With IT-enabled services and business process outsourcing (BPO) generating an employment boom, companies are discovering a staggering vulnerability to malpractices by applicants. This, in turn, has led to the growth of an ancillary industry that conducts background checks on prospective employees, verifying their identity, education, pre-employment status and even past criminal records. Industry sources say that a major demand for pre-employment screening comes from industries like banking, insurance and financial services.

The cost of a bad hire far exceeds the amount of money you pay to conduct a background check. Most companies apply this business logic. The size of the

47

market in Asia is $6 million and projections show it will grow to $10-15 million in the next two years.

On an average, depending upon each companys recruitment practices, 10-20 per cent discrepancy is found in the claims made by applicants and our findings. The disparity could range from overstating qualifications, salary and designation to presenting fake certificates and giving false references.In some cases, one even finds a complete fudging of the CV and the names of universities and companies that do not exist.

The screening industry in India is at a nascent stage, but with 100 per cent growth estimates in the next couple of years, a background check could well be the norm rather than the exception. More and more companies are now recognizing the high dividends of going through a stringent screening procedure. "We deal with international customers and data security issues are of utmost importance to us. We take no chances and outsource pre-employment screening for everyone at all levels," said Milind Jadhav, vice-president (Human Resources) of Patni Computer Systems. "It has paid off. Many cases where serious attempts to hide information and people misrepresenting their employment or academic history have come to light.

The level of screening a few years ago was limited to report-writing and internal HR policies were not comprehensive enough for a sound background check. Even today, many companies limit screening to a phone call. Also, the time, effort and overhead costs involved in creating a separate team for background checks seemed unaffordable. But once the companies started conducting the screening, it was an eye-opener. The levels of falsifications by job applicants in the industry are alarming."

Soma Jeevan, HR head of the Chennai-based Electronic Data Systems Corporation, looks at screening as an elimination procedure. "We conduct pre-employment screening only while recruiting for our BPO centres since we hire in large numbers. For the rest of our employees, we have a reference check that includes a medical examination as well. It is better to be safe than sorry," he said.

KPMG released its India Fraud Survey Report 2006, that had covered over a thousand organizations across India. The findings of the KPMG report and the

48

Wipro incident confirmed the reality on ground zero. Scrutiny revealed that close to 24% of CVs comprised forged documents, outright lies about previous employment and incomplete degrees.

KPMG survey found the IT, financial entertainment and telecom sectors face the highest risk and as is the case with Wipro, the largest exposure to fraud was from their own employees. In 13% of the cases observed, the fraud risk was because no background checks had been conducted on the employees.

Anil Roy has spent over thirteen years as an expert in fraud management and forensics. He says only 20% of the industry is doing proper background checks. Practice director, forensic services, Grant Thornton, Anil Roy says, "The top firms are doing their checks but fly-by-night ones are cutting costs. They open up 'mom and pop' shops and then work on background checks using a team of two people. How can it be possible, that two people are doing background checks for two hundred employees? These agencies performing checks for low costs, do not do due diligence."

But the past has a way of catching up with people - criminal pasts, forged documents, loan defaults - all skeletons come tumbling out of the closet, as background check agencies investigate employees' pasts.

While requests for background checks are still trickling in, corporates need to realize the danger of having within the system, someone who's very fundamentals are forged. Today, the industry should realize the threats of hiring people with a criminal past.

A national database of BPO employees launched by Nasscom and depository NSDL. An employee would have to add himself to the database after a mandatory background check organized by NSDL. He would then have to reveal his records to every new employer. The success of the database depended on participation, which is something that has not yet happened.

There will actually be two parallel lines for employing people for the industry. One from the database and one from the open market. Those people, who are fudging

49

their databases will go to the organisations who are not making it mandatory for people to become a part of this database. So there will still be fake CVs floating around.

Sources in the industry reveal that, many software firms are silently firing employees with problem CVs and yet Wipro and IBM are one of the few organizations that have taken the first step to bring an end to this racket. But what's to stop employees from the rest of the organisations, who have been fired from quietly slipping into their next job?

Corporate India will need to nip what seems to have already become a problem that is fast spiraling out of control. Otherwise, industries that are heavily dependant on human capital, could be facing anything from malpractice to a lot of embarrassment.

The HSBC BPO scam has brought back the need for a proper check on the credentials of the employees hired by BPO companies in India. Last year, another Mumbai-based BPO firm Intelenets employees were arrested for stealing information from the office.

After that Nasscom along with the industry decided to have a centralised database, which would contain information about BPO employees professional and educational background.

The database service called National Skill Registry was launched in January 06, but it seems that BPO firms are not utilising it to check background for its existing employees. The database works only if companies give details of both their existing employees and past employees. The HSBC scam has exposed that this is not taking place at all. The irregularities in background checks done at the time of hiring agent level employees continue.

But Background checks are not standard across all companies. There are some companies who do not conduct any checks due to the sheer volume of candidates and costs involved at the agent level.

Furthermore, considering the attrition at the entry level, some companies do not see any value in this procedure

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10. REFERENCE CHECK PROCESS AT

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGIES SOLUTIONS

In Cognizant, we have three types of checks. Education check Employment check

Current employer Employer 1 Employer 2

Criminal check

As early as November 2004, we have introduced background checks, conducted by an external agency, for all new lateral joiners - right from Programmer Analyst to Vice President level(s); (in fact, we started this on an experimental basis in August 2004 for those above Senior Associates).

As soon as a candidate expresses his intent to join our organisation (after successful interviews), we send an Application Blank where the candidate fills out details of his employment history, academic background and also suggests the names of at least two referees. In this application blank, the candidate also formally gives his assent for Cognizant to conduct background check by a third-party.

Based on the data given by the candidate the reference check is initiated with the previous employers and the academic institutions to verify the veracity of the information and documents provided by the candidates. However the reference check with the current employer cannot be carried out until the candidate comes on board. For levels of Senior Associates and above, criminal background check (with the police department) is also carried out.

If there is any adverse report pertaining to either professional background or academic qualifications, the Recruitment team immediately calls the associate and initiates action. If there is additional information to be furnished for reference check

51

(E.g Roll number for the Degree exam..), it is gathered. However if there is a case of faking work experience or academic qualifications, the case is referred to HR for appropriate termination action. The same applies to any adverse report from the police.

File used- MASTERSHEET OF REFERENCE CHECK 10.1 Algorithm for the Reference Check process- 1) The application form filled by the candidate after he clears the HR round is sent to the third party for thorough check if he accepts the offer. 2) The report is awaited from the third party. 3) When the Final report of the candidate is obtained, check if the report is positive or not. If the report is positive, check if the candidate has joined the organization or is he still yet to join. If he has joined the organization, update his reference check status in the master sheet of reference check as POSITIVE. Maintain the filing status. The candidates who are yet to join, when finally join the company, their names and status needs to be appended on the master sheet of Reference check file. This check is done at the end of the month. 4) If the report is negative, check if the candidate has joined the organization or is he still yet to join. If he has not joined the organization, revoke his offer. If he has joined the organization, update his reference check status in the master sheet of reference check as NEGATIVE. Maintain the filing status. 5) When the status is Negative, drop a mail to the concerned person as well as his Project Manager. Ask him to meet up ASAP. 6) Meet the person and discuss the issue with him. Make him realize the seriousness of the issue. 7) Check if the case can be closed with the help of an apology letter. It would be accepted only if the mistake was unconditional typographical error.

52

If the case can be closed with an apology letter ask the concerned person to submit the same and close the case after updating the reference check status as POSITIVE in the master sheet of Reference check file. 8) If the case cannot be closed with an apology letter ask him to submit necessary documents at the earliest to prove his ingenuousness within a given deadline. Documents would include Salary Slips of the previous company or ,Form16 or , Relieving letter of the previous employers in case of Negative Employment check and Mark sheets or College leaving certificates in case of Negative Education Check. 9) Keep following up till he doesnt submit the documents .Keep the Manager informed. 10) After receiving the supplementary documents send them to the third party for re-verification. 11) Check if the final supplementary report received from the third party is POSITIVE or NEGATIVE. 12) If the supplementary report is Positive, inform the project Manager and the concerned person about the same and close the case after updating the reference check status as POSITIVE in the master sheet of Reference check file. 13) If the supplementary report is Negative, inform the project Manager and the concerned person about the same , make him resign from the organization and update the reference check status as NEGATIVE in the master sheet of Reference check file. 14) Keep following up till he is actually relieved from the organization and close the case only after he has resigned and being relieved.

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10.2 FLOWCHART

Application form filled by HR round selected candidate

Send the application form to the 3rd party for Reference

Check.

Get the final report of the candidate from the 3rd party.

Send offer

Offer Accepted?

START

Offer Reject

1

54

Final report

Positive ?

Candidate joined?

Append his name & status in the master sheet when he

joins the organization.

Maintain the filing status.

Mark his reference check status as POSITIVE.

Candidate Joined?

Offer revoked Mark his reference check

status as NEGATIVE.

Maintain filing status.

11

55

Concerned person asked to meet. The Project

Manager kept informed.

Can the case be closed

with Apology letter?

Update the reference check status in the

master sheet as POSITIVE.

Has he submitted the documents within the deadline?

Ask him to submit an Apology letter.

Ask him to submit the necessary documents

to prove his innocence.

Meet the concerned person.

1.

56

Follow up with the person & his Project

Manager.

Get the documents.

Send the supplementary documents to the 3rd party.

Supplementary report

Positive?

Get the documents from the 3 rd party.

57

Update his reference check status in the

master sheet as POSITIVE.

Inform the person as well as his Project Manager

about his status.

Inform the person as well as his Project Manager about

his status. Make him Resign.

Keep following up till he is Relieved.

Case Closed.

STOP.

1

58

10.3 FORMAT OF THE REFERNCE CHECK REPORTS- A POSITIVE REFERENCE CHECK REPORT-

THIRD PARTY

Education & Employment Check Report AB

Feb 21, 2006/ Ref No.Feb06/EdEmC/096

Background Profile Subject Name

AB Date of Birth Fathers Name CD Phone Number

E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y

Check Status Remarks

Education Check Positive Employment Check I Positive Employment Check II Positive Criminal Check No Adverse Remarks

Education Check Report Respondent Name Ms. X

59

Respondent Designation

Staff Member - Placement Office

Feedback

Candidates Claim Feedback

Institute Name Engg.College Confirmed Year Passed 2003 Confirmed Qualification Gained Post Graduate Diploma in

Industrial Management Confirmed

Remarks (if any) Nil

Employment Check Report

HR Feedback: Employer I Respondent Name Ms. B Designation Assistant Officer - Human Resources

Candidates Claim Feedback Organization Name Company A Confirmed Employment Dates June 2003 January 2006 Confirmed Last Position Held Senior Business Analyst Confirmed

60

Remarks (if any) The respondent informed THIRD PARTY that: -

The subject worked in the organization from November 2002 - August 2003.

The subject worked as a Senior Business Analyst.

Professional Reference: Employer I Respondent Name Mr. C Designation Project Leader Organization Company A

Feedback Mr. C, the subjects previous supervisor (as per the application form) informed THIRD PARTY that: -

The subject reported directly to him. The subject worked as a Business Analyst. The subject had sound technical knowledge

primarily in Software Testing tools, Excel and SQL technologies.

The subject was hardworking and dedicated. The subject had commendable analytical skills. The subject had average communication and

interpersonal skills. The subject got along with his colleagues and had

no major disagreements. The subject could be considered for re-

employment.

61

HR Feedback: Employer II Respondent Name

Mr. D

Designation Incharge - Administration Department

Candidates Claim Feedback Organization Name

Company B Confirmed

Employment Dates

September 1999 - July 2000

Confirmed

Last Position Held

Maintenance Engineer

Confirmed

Remarks (if any)

The respondent informed H&A that: -

The subject worked in the organization from September 1999 - July 2000.

The subject worked as a Maintenance Engineer.

Professional Reference: Employer II Respondent Name Mr. E Designation Area Manager Organization Company B

62

Feedback Mr. E, the subjects previous supervisor (as per the application form) informed THIRD PARTY that: -

The subject worked as a Maintenance Engineer. The subject reported directly to him. The subject administered his responsibilities

impressively well. The subject was regular to work and had

commendable grasping abilities. The subject was hardworking and dedicated. The subject had well developed communication

skills. The subject got along with his colleagues and had

no major disagreements. The subject could be considered for re-

employment.

63

Criminal Check Report

Longest Stay Address Police Station Name Contact Person in Police Station

Feedback from Police Station

No Adverse Remarks

A NEGATIVE REFEERNCE CHECK REPORT-

THIRD PARTY

Education & Employment Check Report AB

June 21, 2006 / Ref no. May06/EdEm/637

Background Profile Subject Name

AB Date of Birth Fathers Name CD Phone Number

64

E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y

Check Status Remarks

Education Check Positive Employment Check I Negative

Education Check Report Respondent Name Mr. A Respondent Designation

Controller of Examination

Feedback

Candidates Claim Feedback

Institute Name College of Engineering, Confirmed Year Passed 2003 Confirmed Qualification Gained Bachelor of Engineering

(Computer Science)

Confirmed

65

Employment Check Report

HR Feedback: Employer I Respondent Name Mr. B Designation Executive - Human Resources

Candidates Claim Feedback Organization Name Company A Confirmed Employment Dates October 2004 - March 2006 Negative Last Position Held Technical Associate Confirmed Remarks (if any) The respondent informed that: -

The subject was working in the organization from

August 2005 April 2006. The subject worked as a Technical Associate. Please Refer Annex A

Professional Reference: Employer I Respondent Name Mr. C Designation Project Manager

66

Organization Company A

Feedback Mr. C, the subjects previous supervisor informed that: -

The subject worked as a Technical Associate. The subject was directly reporting to him. The subjects main obligations involved

developing, testing and coding. The subject was proactive, flexible and had the

ability to handle the given responsibility. The subject had fine communication and well

developed interpersonal/social skills. The subject was honest and trustworthy and had

not been involved in any disagreements. The subject got along well with his colleagues and

supervisors. The subject could be considered for re-

employment.

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Annex A: - Confidential.- Cannot be disclosed A POSITIVE SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT FOR A NEGATIVE CASE-

THIRD PARTY

AB

June 29, 2006 /Ref No. May06/EdEm/637

Background Profile Subject Name AB Date of Birth 14 September 1979

History: The subject claimed to have worked at Company A from October 2004 - March 2006. However Mr. B, Executive Human Resources (Company A) informed THIRD PARTY that: -

The subject worked in the organization from August 2005 April 2006.

SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT

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Employment check Result Comments

Organization Name Company A

Dates Employed October 2004 - March 2006

Last Position Held Technical Associate

Later the client asked THIRD PARTY to reverify the same and new documents from an outsourcing agency Company X were sent which was earlier not included in the application form. Mr. C Human Resources & Administration (Company X) was contacted on the number provided in the new documents and he confirmed that: -

The subject worked from 25th October 2004 to 3rd August 2005.

The subject was deputed by their agency at Company A.

The subject was working as Junior Programmer.

From August 2005 onwards the subject became a permanent employee of Company A and was designated as Technical associate.

Please refer Annexure A

Annexure A Confidential.Cannot be disclosed.

EMPLOYMENT CHECK Deleted: EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Deleted:

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10.4 POINTS TO BE KEPT IN MIND

1) Proper filing status has to be maintained. All the reports have to be arranged in serial order of their respective IDs.

2) At the end of the month master sheet of reference check should be updated.

Names of all the new joiners of the month and their reference check status should be appended and updated.

3) Reference check process should start immediately after offer acceptance by

the candidate to avoid any unnecessary delays.

4) Third party should complete the background check in the given time frame of 12 14 days .Necessary follow up should be done.

5) Aim should be to have the reference check reports of the new joiners before

they join the company to have better clarity, lesser confusion, and hurdle free execution of the project to which the candidates would be allocated.

6) Reference check process and the reports (especially the Negative reports)

are highly confidential because we do not want to betray the trust bestowed on us by our clients. Moreover from the teams perspective also it could affect the team cohesion.

7) In the master sheet for all the negative cases we should always have an

update of their current status. So we need to maintain a comments field in the master sheet just for negative case. The comments used-

Action to be taken- When the case is new and the concerned person

hasnt been called for verification. Reviewed and awaiting documents- The concerned person has been

asked to submit necessary documents to prove his innocence.

Supplementary awaited- The documents submitted by the concerned person has been sent to the third party for re- verification and we are awaiting the final supplementary report.

Supplementary received- The final supplementary report has been

received by us from the third party and the necessary action has been taken.

8) A late negative report causes problems to the project teams and it is tough to replace quickly.

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9) If there is any indication of a possible negative report, the Project Manager should be sensitized upfront so that contingency measures can be planned before the formal, detailed report comes.

10.5 SOME COMMON PROBLEMS FACED

1) Third party sometimes is not able to revert back on time. This could happen when-

The subject is not contactable on the numbers provided by him. The professional references are not contactable. Companies do not exist any more. Insufficient information provided by the candidate in the Application

blank - E.g they may not remember the exact dates in regard to the previous employments or the exam roll number for their degree is incomplete.

Some of the organisations where the candidates have worked take a longer time to respond to the reference check request by our agency.

Some of the MNCs have a clear policy of refusing to give reference check (apparently it is the practice in NA and most of Europe).

Universities, Govt agencies (police..) also take longer to respond and there is repeated follow-up required especially if it is in a remote location.

Spike in volumes (e.g after an advertisement campaign..)

2) The challenge lies in creating a higher level of awareness about this business and consolidating relationships with various sources of information like universities and employees.

A background screening outfit has to continuously build relationships with universities over a longer time frame to ensure timely response

3) We do not have online systems for public record searches and education and employment verification. Therefore, we have to rely on manual processes. The problems could get accentuated if human resources departments do not have processes in place to reply to verification requests quickly.

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