No Plans To Link Variable Pay With Bringing People To Office: HCLTech's CEO

The report also cites HCLTech's CPO, Ramachandran Sundararajan, who mentioned during the company's Q1 earnings conference on July 12 that variable pay constitutes a minimal cost for the IT firm

HCL Technologies (HCLTech) has chosen not to implement similar policies like its peers to force employees to work from the office. In a recent interview, CEO C Vijayakumar stated that HCLTech currently has no intention of connecting variable compensation with employees' physical presence in the office.

“Return to office continues to increase, and it varies from business line to business line. Some business lines, we're able to comfortably work remotely. And for some business lines, we think getting people back to work is the right strategy. We don't have any such plans to link variable compensation with bringing people to office,” Vijayakumar told moneycontrol.

The report also cites HCLTech's chief people officer, Ramachandran Sundararajan, who mentioned during the company's Q1 earnings conference on July 12 that variable pay constitutes a minimal cost for the IT firm. Sundararajan clarified, “The quarterly variable pay is only applicable for the junior level employees and not the mid and senior levels. And there is no significant shift in that decision; it’s the same quarter on quarter.”

HCL Tech CEO previously brushed aside concerns about technology insourcing impacting the market share of Indian software exporters. Vijayakumar clarified that technology insourcing is primarily confined to large captive players and a few conglomerates. He remarked, "I don't believe it's widespread. There are ongoing opportunities to establish India centres for global clients. It's mainly very large institutions, particularly major banks, that have the capability to significantly increase their operations in India and may choose to insource to a greater extent."

He expressed confidence that the company's slowdown in growth in engineering, research and development (ER&D), as well as in financial services, will recover starting from the third quarter. However, he acknowledged that the following three quarters of the fiscal year ending March 2025 are expected to remain subdued, similar to FY24.