Ganesh Natarajan
Deputy Chairman and CEO, Zensar Technologies

Zensar is a leading software solutions provider from India and a part of 2 major business groups. Fujitsu (UK) and RPG Enterprises (India), a US$1.4 billion conglomerate and the 4th largest industrial house in India. Zensar is an enterprise-wide SEI CMM Level 5 company having expertise that spans banking, finance, insurance, manufacturing, retailing, distribution, utilities, telecommunications and wireless.

"Communicate, communicate and communicate." For an organization to be successful it is very important to communicate with its employees and therefore, an effective internal communication system is a must.

Interaction with the employees on one-to-one basis and communication of corporate policies is necessary these days. Employees cannot work in isolation from the management.
In a services company like ours with a workforce of 1350 professionals it is highly essential that every individual understands the rationale of the company and shares the same vision. Planning is an important prerequisite is any internal communication system to avoid any erratic communication. It should be a consistent on-going process.

At Zensar we use various methods of internal communication, depending upon the criticality of the information contained in the communication. For less important communication e-mails through the intranet, formal memos are used. We also have an in-house quarterly magazine "Zenscapes" which covers every area of activity in the company. However, face-to-face communication is the most ideal method. "India is a country with very emotional people who inherit a strong value system. I believe in talking to the people on a personal level to make them understand the policies of the company". To ensure this we have "Everybody Meets" once in three months and mini "EBMs" every week so that everyone gets together and shares their ideas over a cup of tea. Even at the time of induction of new employees the company policies are discussed in the presence of senior management so that they are able to imbibe them and know whom to approach with grievances if any.

Communicating change down the hierarchy is not an easy job. Any communication formal or informal should be continuous so that when a major decision is expected it does not surprise the employees and makes acceptance to change a smooth process. Moreover, it has to be a two-way process. If there is any attrition we try to find the reasons why it has happened by talking to the concerned people. Feedback enables improvement in the system and our "open-door policy" encourages everybody to put his or her ideas or resentments in front of the management.

This ensures the alignment of individual goals with that of the organization. I am always surprised when some CEOs feel that they have to drag the organization to achieve their objectives. The organization and the people should feel motivated to carry the CEO to achieve the vision of the company.