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IT companies keen on bench management
By siliconindia
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Tuesday, 13 November 2007, 20:30 IST
Bangalore: Major IT service companies are not in a mood to cut down their bench even though the Indian rupee is having an appreciating rise. The bench strength in major IT firms comprises about 20 percent of their total off shore work force, reported The Economic Times (ET).
"Bench level keeps changing even during the course of the financial year. For instance, utilization levels could be at 73 percent during the beginning of the year when new contracts are signed. We have to be ready for market opportunities that knock at our door," V Balakrishnan, CFO, Infosys told ET.
Infosys alone tracks about 15 deals each worth $100 million and winning deals results in increasing the number of staff. Many companies maintain bench as an easier way of immediate deployment. Bench is not a dirty word in IT industry, even though many employees in IT firms are idle. Many companies usually maintain an onsite free pool also.
"Most of these employees are in shadow-billing mode or in training modules. So, it is not as if they are totally idle. Most of us try to keep the onsite bench to below three percent, as the cost of keeping employees there is high. We prefer to fly back employees who have a waiting period of even one or two weeks," said a senior official at Satyam.
Most of the companies are trying out new ways to utilize the free pool in a better way. At Satyam, a bench is not maintained depending on a particular product or vendor specification, and this allows the employees to multi-skill themselves.
Many companies also keep an active offline bench of job seekers who could be hired at short notice. Marinating a bench is an easy way of urgent employment.