Thursday, November 23, 2006

Brands are not always the Best!

Just settled down with my work, I received yet another mail from the HR division of India's best known e-learning company based in Delhi. This was one of the several mails that I have received in the past. I was irritated. Inspite informing the company that I cannot join them, several times over, I was still receiving mails from this company. It was time I gave them a fitting reply, point-by-point. They deserved it.

THE EMAIL I WROTE

Dearest [],


Thanks for your offer. Unfortunately, as I have communicated to your earlier, I do not have any plans to join your company. To say the least my experience with your company has been extremely unpleasant. Your woeful remuneration, highly politicized work culture and poor recognition of performance makes it one of the worst places to work in the e-learning industry today. My allegations not baseless but are actual facts and is based on hard evidence. I have gathered these facts by talking to nothing less than 100 resources who have left your company in the recent past for reasons that I have mentioned above. The people who have left your organization also includes several senior resources (PMs and senior IDs) who have now joined companies like Genpact, Accenture and Satyam. Your attrition rates are amongst the highest in the industry. Just a few comparitive points where your company I feel scores low:
 
1. My present company gives me a flexi-timing that enables me to work more productively.

2. The work is project driven and no one is concerned how long I sat on my desk or wandered around (that makes me more responsible)

3. The annual increment is GUARANTEED between 25% to 100%. I am part of the strategic group in this company which means that I decide the communication strategy here and do not take the dictats of petty, incompetent managers.

4. I have a strict 5 days a week. And a 5 day strictly means 5 day.

5. A 5-star standard food (breakfast, lunch, dinner) that is supplied completely free.

7. I have free health insurance for me and my family.

Try rating your company on any of these points and see where it stands. For guys like me we are rarely fascinated by brands like yours. Your display of net profits and financial figures holds little value for me as I fail to see how it concerns me, whether you earn in millions or billions. For me, what matters the most are the finer organizational cultures.

I remember appearing for 5 rounds of interview in your company about 2 years back. And even while your incompetent HR executive kept saying all the while that the remuneration is not an issue, in the final round I was offered a 30k package per month -- a remuneration that was far less than what I was earning then. My writing this big mail has a specific purpose. I want to help you realize that all resources in Delhi cannot lured with false promises, tall claims or silly raazmataaz. There still are professionals like us who demand respect, who have a personal brand that is more credible, and who cannot beat around the bush sounding goody-goody words about brands like yours. Your International clients maybe awed with your brand but I am not.

Cheers!

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am sure this must be NIIT. Sad to learn that it has stooped so low. With such standards they will rarely find resources. I too have a few friends who have given me a very pathetic picture about NIIT e-learning division.

Anonymous said...

That was a pretty strong mail! That is one company that you are not going to hear from again :) Isn't that like burning the bridges?

Hope they take the things you listed seriously and make some changes.... :) I doubt it somehow. Somethings never change.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm so finally someone's spilled the beans. This was destined to happen. There are two things in the story. If NIIT reads this mail seriously and tries to modify its recruitment system so that Senior guys are not harrased it might be termed to be more matured. If it shies away from this and blacklists this author it might be called insane.

Lets wait and see whether NIIT is a truly global company (as it claims) or another Lala masquerading as a leader.

Anonymous said...

NIIT should call it quits from e-learning if it cannot afford to offer industry-standard remuneration and a good work culture. NIIT is definately highly politicized and I was witness to that. Politics has crippled NIIT to the extent that good resources are leaving by the dozen. Recently the company had organized a walk in interview -- and I hear that even PM-level resource were selected there.

Anonymous said...

NIIT has grown from pathetic to worse and joining it is like committing professional suicide. Current employees report more than 12 hours of work,shabby work environ,a hire-and-fire policy and extremely pathetic management.

There is nothing about NIIT that one can appreciate. Its an example of an inhuman workplace.

Anonymous said...

Hey, thanks for touching upon a very important issue. NIIT is definately one of India's worst e-learning company.

I agree that there is little gain for employees who get awed with the financials of the company. Afterall its not going to part its profits with its employees.

Anonymous said...

Absolutly I agree to the fact that NIIT is really bad employer in todays market as I was one of the ex-niitian they dnt follow any company standards and they are not at all employee centric company this company never ever care for there employees comfort.

I have some of my own examples which I would like to share with all of you one day I was working in the company for abt 16 Hrs and completed my work in late night. After that when I asked for the cab I got the reply that company is not liable to provide any cab at this time for getting the cab you need to have the approval frm Sr Managment... that time I was not in a position to get any approval frm anyone then I waited for 4 hrs in office. Apart from all this my PM or SPM wanted me to come tomorrow again for some other work and worst part was that the work they wanted to assign that was actually out of scode area.

Another problem is that NIIT doesnt have any KRA's for any of there employees everyday you will get something new to work upon... they want that there employee shd be busy with one or the other thing which is not at all professional.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
While going through the letter, I had a hint which company you are referring to. By the time, I reached the comments, it seemed everyone knew about it. lol. By the way, which company do you work for presently? And, yeah do they have a vacancy. Because I am still stuck in the company you mailed that letter to. :-)

Anonymous said...

Things still have not changed for NIIT. After reading this no self-respecting person will continue to work here.

Anonymous said...

We at NIIT strongly agree

Anonymous said...

I am sure the ex-niitian's will also agree.

Anonymous said...

Not only the employees, the clients of NIIT are also not so happy with the work NIIT provides.

Anonymous said...

Aah! alas someone spoke my mind!!! i am still in the same ditch!!! :( But will rise like a phoenix!!! LOLZ!!!

Anonymous said...

shouldn't this be shown / shared with the senior management especially in content division?

Anonymous said...

hey you all out there...nothing in the original post says it's about NIIT--so why malign a company unecessarily. Someone might just be sharing his or her personal opinion or may have cooked up a nice interesting story (that reads like an e-mail and that might be interesting for all those net-savvy ppl out there who eat, breathe, and live internet!!)
I know this company (and from close quarters) and i'm sure what all has been said is farse.

It's true some ppl might have had bad experiences but which company has ALL SATISFIED EMPLOYEES--if that were the case, there would be no attrition and no new recruitments--now you all, stop blogging to malign, blog so you can share truths or at least true "feelings"

Maithili Kunal Soni said...

I strongly condemn all those, who have intentionally/unintentionally pointed to NIIT. Their personal experiences with the organization might be pathetic but why blame the org. as a whole!

Amandeep said...

I really don't agree with all that has been said about NIIT here. The Author no where mentioned that it's NIIT that's being talked about!! Some of you must have had unpleasant experiences out there, but then name one organisation that's perfect???! There are many of us who feel it's a great place to work at. I left NIIT 6 months back, and i really don't think i can ever again find as satisfactory a work place as NIIT !!

Priya said...

I left NIIT some 6 months back and would want to go back there whenever I get a chance. I had a great time working there. I think, we should not condemn any company based on our individual experiences/perceptions. We should be objective when we get into such discussions.

Akshay said...

I also get a general feel that this might be NIIT. I would like to say that although NIIT has it faults it is an amazing place to learn a fresher. The amount of ID knowledge you can gain is amazing the people i have worked with are very good. I have heard and met many people who have had problems with the organization so i guess its a mixed picture. I would always thank NIIT for providing me some very good mentors and giving me a head start in the Instructional Design field. The problem is they hire some project managers who have no ID experience and they run their teams like call centers.
Overall a very good place to learn and then move away from.

Anonymous said...

Even if it not NIIT, who cares! I guess we have many people who feel this way about NIIT. Having said that I do not condemn people who have something positive to say.
As you may have guessed, my experience at NIIT was also bad. And the reason was the management. Although, NIIT has some great people, who are experts at ID and software development, the management really needs to improve. The HR chief is really not great at human relations. :)

Anonymous said...

I agree with the people who say NIIT is a good place to learn. I personally give credit of my growth and learning to NIIT. The kind of exposure and training you can get in NIIT you cannot even imagine in any other eLearning company. I think it was and is a great organization to be associated with.

Anonymous said...

I agree to what all is said here and am sure it is all about NIIT. Software business is a bit better though. I was part of Software division and was forced to work for e-learning because no software development project were coming around year 2001 or so. Everything mentioned is true, i will also validate all this.They still pay salaries as per year 1999 market rates.

Anonymous said...

I have spent 2 years almost with NIIT and believe me I am fully agree with the author. I left the organisation for teh same reasons and saw lot many good resources for same before or after that.

Anonymous said...

I truely agree with the mail and respect you more now. This mail won't have much an impact till the time it doesn't reach the heads and hearts of such people. I know it is NIIT, and here eberyone tries to save his own ass by cicking others and they never have resources during crunch time to lend a helping hand.
Apart from that the processes here are just on papers not meant for implementing, of which they talk about so much. To put it correctly it is like 'Har shaakh pe ullu betha hai to anjaame gulista kyaa hogaa.."

prachi said...

This seems to have become an outlet for all those who have had a bitter experience at NIIT! My own experience was not anything to write home about. Having said that, I cannot blame the organization per se. There were a few bad fish. The problem is that the grievances are seldom addressed. The dreadful working hours add fuel to fire.I owe whatever little I know about ID to the immensely talented and knowledgable senior IDs and reviewers that NIIT has in abundance. If only the useless senior management and the HR could be replaced with more decent and responsible people.

prachi said...

This seems to have become an outlet for all those who have had a bitter experience at NIIT! My own experience was not anything to write home about. Having said that, I cannot blame the organization per se. There were a few bad fish. The problem is that the grievances are seldom addressed. The dreadful working hours add fuel to fire.I owe whatever little I know about ID to the immensely talented and knowledgable senior IDs and reviewers that NIIT has in abundance. If only the useless senior management and the HR could be replaced with more decent and responsible people.

Anonymous said...

Hey Guys

It is NIIT and i was sure about it. I am an employee at NIIT and I have resgined and am going to Join a very small company though but i am still very very happy that i ll be getting out of this Equeal to HELL place.

I am an M.COm and was initially hired for Content Authoring. I was movied rather I would say THROWN to the Content tech Dept Just Bcuz Amit Vikram - The DM of the Studio dint like me. And this dislike came up once I escalated my appraisal. Oh Gosh this co claims to be employee friendly and this happens whebn u raise a VOICE


I ll tell u guys 3 Key factors of Success and FGrowth at NIIT --

1. Jee HUJURI of your seniors ... Do it .. in english we call it ASS LICKIN which i aint gonna do at all ...

2. Shut ur mouth and do whatever the PMs and Seniors ask you to ....


3. Most importantly - Stay in Office till 9 even if you dont have work .. ( watch you tube, download music ) but show them that u are there till 9 ...


Do all these and U ll GROW

Anonymous said...

Will somebody please ask the original blogger if it indeed is NIIT? As far as I know, the NIIT HR employs job consultants. It doesn't blindly send mails to the prospective candidates.

Dajji said...

I agree with Amandeep that there is no company in this world which is perfect. This is for the simple reason that everyone has his/her own expectations from the management and perspective about everything. No company can cater to all these expectations. First of all there is no evidence that this letter is referring to NIIT. If it is then I personally feel that there would be problems with any company and it's up to you how you cop with these problems. You skills of handling these problems will come in handy. If you don't have enough skills, you would react like this only. My experience with NIIT has been great and I would like to continue working here for a long time. Khalnayak Of NIIT has written that if you raise your voice you will be screwed up. That's completely wrong in my case because I raised voice against something and got proper attention and response. Sometimes you get to work with people of different nature, work conditions and work style. If you aren’t flexible enough, you face issues anywhere you work. It’s not the issue with a particular company. It’s with you. Just analyze why you faced problems. Were there some solutions? Am sure there must be.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm...I read all the comments posted here but no one had given their names. I can understand that people who still work for the company cannot but people who have left it can do so without any fear. Or does that mean they still want to keep a chance to work for the company again (and fear that the company might blacklist them if they disclose thier identity).

It may be a possiblity that the people who are blaming the company might be those who have worked together in a team may be as subordinates or co-workers who have made each other's life hell and now they are blaming the company!

I am not totally in favor or against the company. Yes I agree that the compensation structure is not that good as compared to the industry standards. They pay much more to the newly hired ones than the oldies who have much more experience in the field. That is frustrating for the existing employees. I do not exactly belong to the same lead of oldies but strongly agree with this.

As far as other problems are concerned, its the people who make an organization not the building or the walls. I agree that you cannot change the Sr Management decisions but can always raise your concerns. Its a business for the company..like it you stay..dont like it you can leave. Think from a different angle...you as an individual would leave the company if you get better paid leaving everything in mess for others who would then comment that the place is hell and nothing is in place here. Now who do you blame.

I would also like to comment on "internal politics". I would say if you consider yourself being a victim of it..then try being a part of it. Try it. You would soon call it professionalism not politics!

The company under dicussion is a good learning ground. I can bet that about 70% of the total task force of elearning in India comprise of ex-employees of this company!

Any comments!

Amandeep said...

Hmmm.... even u did not disclose your identity!!!

Although all that u said is very right and true...

Anonymous said...

Ok guys!!! thanks a lot for all your responses and Predictions... NIIT is not that bad as you think... Its a good company and everyone who is successeful in elearning have their roots from NIIT. This company I was talking about is FCS in Noida... People in FCS know me well because of my Knowledge and intelligence. to mention the best one... People at FCS didn't know why American cars have left side Steering... Its only me who explained them that most of the Americans are left-handers and thats the reason they opted left-side steering... can you imagine how dumb are people at FCS... anyways as for me and my intelligence.... I have crossed all boundaries...

---AC

Anonymous said...

Guys, read the first comment. It doesn't look like you all are talking about FCS. Is FCS in DElhi? No its in Noida. Is FCS a leading elearning company? NO. So it cannot be FCS!

Anonymous said...

Asim: I read your blog. Its an interesting work of fiction. However, I've so far been a mute spectator sitting back and enjoying all the bullshit you are throwing people's way. However, now that you have dragged the good name of FCS into the fray, the gloves are off.

For the information of all the people out there, this guy is the world's biggest fake. His knowledge is limited to whatever he cooks up in that piece of junk that serves as a brain for him. You can infer that from his comment about americans being left handed and their cars being left hand drives. If there is any moron on this earth who could have put two and two together and come up with twenty two, it is this guy. I know because I had the misfortune to be associated with this guy for almost one year (I still haven't quite recovered from the trauma). For all those who are taking this blog as the holy grail, let me inform you of two pieces of facts. This guy served as an ID in FCS for a while. That was before he screwed up a major project. His storyboards were rejected three times by the reviewer. Secondly, he was FIRED by FCS because of his utter ignorance and total lack of original thought. (contd...)

Sean Bernardino said...

Interesting, how most readers jumped at NIIT. I'll be honest, being an ex-NIITian thats what I guessed first. Now I'm sure there's a pretty good reason everyone assumed the same organization.

Anonymous said...

I received the link to this blog by a member of my team. He was very agitated. How could anyone write about NIIT like this? I must respond to this nonsense, he goaded me. I went through the blog and comments. Then I went through various other blogs by the author on this site and a few others. I liked the tag line of the author’s blog – The Indian Guru Speak. I read through various blogs by this author, searching for the Guru Speak. I am still searching. I was hoping to find some insights into elearning, new ideas perhaps radical ones, and thoughts on how people learn and how to make better elearning products. Alas that wasn’t to be. Almost all blogs by this author seemed to stem from his frustrations that I couldn’t quite understand why. I wondered, Asim Chowdhury ko gussa kyon aata hain?

The person who forwarded me the link met in the corridor and reminded me that I must respond to this blog. Yeah sure, I thought. By the time I started framing my response, there were many new comments. Many of the comments indicated that the author had not really mentioned NIIT and we shouldn’t assume that he is writing about NIIT. Yet everyone seems to be convinced that this piece is actually about NIIT. Finally the author clarified that the piece was about a different company. So should I even respond now that we know the author isn’t talking about NIIT? Of course, my colleague said, see how many respondents have misconceptions about NIIT.

I guess in the process some good will come for NIIT. It provides insightful feedback from people who might not otherwise give this feedback. So I thank the people who have commented here for providing feedback and inputs.

Remuneration is an interesting discussion to have. Many here seem to be convinced that NIIT has lowest remuneration in the industry. If remuneration was the lowest, NIIT wouldn’t be the largest content developer. And surely NIIT wouldn’t be able to hire from its competitors. Well surprise surprise, NIIT has people who have joined from Genpact, TIS, Accenture and IBM, and at all levels. When the salary discussion comes up internally, my senior colleagues from some of these organizations wonder what the fuss is all about. After all NIIT probably pays better in many cases than some of the competition, they say. I can relate to this because I have personally interviewed many people at various levels from most of these organizations and have found that salaries aren’t very much different in these organizations.

I will be happy to initiate an informal survey of salaries. Send me the salary ranges you have seen in various organizations and I will publish the findings. Send me name of the organization, role in the organization, education and experience, and salary. I don’t need names of individuals. I will publish the findings if I get sufficient data points. Send me this info at manishm@niit.com.

There were a few other things that caught my attention in the blog. GUARANTEED annual increments sounded really cool. So does that mean that the author has this in his appointment letter as one of the terms of your employment issued by the company that guarantees these annual increments? Hats off to the company that can do this.

In response to some the misconceptions in various comments about NIIT’s policies, some specific points:
- There is a documented and published work-from-home policy at NIIT.
- You can now take a paid sabbatical leave of up to 6 months. Haven’t yet found another company that provides this policy.
- Everyone has mediclaim insurance cover for themselves and their families.
- There is reimbursement of fees for higher education courses and specific professional certification exam fees.
- There are roles and responsibility documents defined for each role and these are available on the company intranet site. There are competencies, KPAs and objectives defined for each role.
- There is a defined process and intranet workflow to book a cab that will drop you home if someone works late.

And we could go on and on and on about NIIT and even many of the other companies. The point is what have you done about any of this other than crib? Have you made any attempt to fix the problems at the organization you work for? I urge you to work towards making things better around you, whichever company you are in. Identify areas that you can improve, and you indeed can, even if it is improving your own skills. Every small bit that you do will change your surrounding and give you an opportunity to learn. Take charge of your life and your surroundings. Ask yourself, what difference I can make and where can I contribute. And then go ahead and make that contribution.

For those of you “still stuck in the hole”, feel free to write to me, call me, walk up to me, or even initiate discussion/post your blog on Tecknowpark.

And those who left and want to come back, would love to have you back. Let me know when you want to join back.

Manish Mohan
manishm@niit.com

Anonymous said...

Good to hear from such a senior person of NIIT. But Sir, there is one thing, 'Without fire, there can't be smoke'. There must be something because of which the people are coming to this conclusion (that the company is NIIT).

I am an Ex-NIITian, and feel that this is a good company to learn. It is surely one of the largest company in elearning business. Look at the client list.

But, there are some problems for sure.
First of all, the internal processes. Processes are there, but very few people actually follow it. Some people don't follow it as they think that these are mere processes and look good on papers only. Some can't follow it because of the pressure.

For some of the PMs delivery to the client is more important than the Qyality. They dont think that the client would be happy to get a quality product delayed by a day than getting a bad quality product on time.

Work timings are very flexible. When I say flexible that means, you come at 9 in the morning and leave at 11 in the night. And, when there is a time crunch (which happens frequently), you may even have to stay back the whole night.

I beg to differ from Mr. Manish Mohan on the salary point, as most of the companies pay better than NIIT. And trust me most of the employees leave due to this reason only. I remember people used to say "We are working for PEANUTS".

One thing I dont understand about the company is the CONTRACT mantra. People are working as contract employees for 2 years. They work like hell, and in return get almost nothing. I would like you to take some action in this regard. If the person is not capable, throw him/her out. But, if he/she is good, then why do you want them to work as a contract employee? Make them permanent.

Roles are well defined, but only on papers. As, in reality, ID person is doing integrator's job as well, Quality person is doing the Editor's job, Writers are doing ID's job also...............

People are coming from good companies but they are leaving also. I know attrition is there in every company. What matters is the retention policy, which I dont think is effective in NIIT (I would say it doesn't exist). Next, the HR is not bothered about why people are leaving. They should try to find out the reasons and should work towards rectifying them.
You said that people are joining NIIT from big companies, which is true. But have you ever thought that why people are willing to go to smaller companies leaving the job in a company like NIIT. Do think about this.

Next comes the infrastructure, they are still working on 256 RAM, 40 GB machines. That sometimes don't even meet the minimum client requirements. No separate test labs for testing purpose. You can do away with these, but when you say, NIIT is one of the largest companies, these things are necessary.

Next comes the experience of handling bigger accounts, which is missing in NIIT. Take examples of the recent acounts and the hiccups. Work force is there, but the motivation is missing.

I know increments are there, but it's minimal. I sometimes used to feel, it is not performance-based. It is more of PR-based.

I won't say that every thing is bad in NIIT. But you should know the things, which needs to be addressed, so that atleast a person like you can take some actions in this regard.

Lastly, No business is perfect. Business is a game of progress, not perfection. No business will be perfect. It's an impossibly unattainable goal. But while that goal is unattainable, the businesses seem to always aspire to reach perfection. They always make progressive steps to improve their business and how their business connects with people. Sure, they will stumble along the way. But the true measure of a company is how they recover and forge ahead making progress along the way to overcome their mistakes. And NIIT has the potential to succeed.

Rgrds,
D

Anonymous said...

Hi D

All very good points. Some of the answers are in various comments above (not just mine). Yes, there are many things to improve upon. So why don't you call me or write to me and let's discuss.

Manish Mohan
manishm@niit.com

Anonymous said...

I read Mr. Manish Mohan's response. Its great that after all the maligning that NIIT got at the hands of the several unnamed people, someone finally stood up and clarified the organization's stand.

However, isn't everyone losing focus here. This is one very frustrated guy who is taking his own biased version of fact, distorting it beyond all recognition and serving it up for general consumption as the undisputed, uncontested, gospel truth.

And sadly, the general public seems to be lapping it all up. No one seems to be asking where the author is getting his information from and on what he is basing his opinion.

I agree that this is a land of free speech where everyone is entitled to his own opinion. But where this opinion leads to disinformation on a large scale I believe someone should raise a cry.

Mr. Mohan has taken a firm step in this regard.

I ask everyone who reads this blog to stop blindly accepting this self-proclaimed Guru's version of the industry. This blog is worth reading only if you are looking for some light entertainment, for those times when you are looking to divert your mind and refresh yourself.

The opinions expressed in this blog carry only entertainment value.

ARP said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ARP said...

To all these speculation i would say that there are two types of people in the industry, there are ones who look for problems and there are ones who look for solutions.... which one are u???

No company is perfect by its inception...Use perfect banana padta hai (remember RDB)
Today, people fire salvos at the company, tomorrow at the country, then for the continent and later probably for the comsopolitian.
May be we need to understand that its the people who make a company and not the other way round.
If you feel that something is not progressing the way it should be...take the ownership and raise the real voice instead of talking in the virtual world.
NO HARD Feelings... that was just a thought.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Gone through with all the views related to NIIT either the views consist of Strong hatred or Very Strong Liking about the Work Culture, environment, Colleagues or Senior Mgt. Though I am also an ex-NIITian I too have some grudges with the Sr. Mgt. but yes for one I agree nothing is perfect it you who has to make it.
Although I have been recruited as a Technical Trainer for Overseas project but due to mis mgt or wrong Mkt Strategy and yes to some extent favourism to few people I was never being able to landup there for which I was recurited. Anyhow HR forced me to settle down as Content Developer's role though having exceptionally huge experince as a faculty I was forced to settle down with the junior profile. But Yes, i agree on more point also that for your successful survival (at Least in NIIT) you need to 2 things:-
1. Keep on saying Yes to your boss even if you know that boss is wrong.
2. Stretch your timing even after 6:00p just to show how hard worker you are and in reality HOW HARD WORKER YOU ARE

if you follow this then only you will get good appraisal score and nice role change otherwise your life is anyway mess.

Anonymous said...

I really cannot understand why Asim is so aghast with Indian e-learning companies. In 2005, he had similarly criticized Maximize Learning. I was then an employee of ML, and I know how wrong his criticism was. The issues raised by him this time are so generic that any employee of any organization can relate with them. I think the fact that most readers have associated the comments with NIIT only proves that most of the readers are either associated with NIIT or have been so in past. I have been in NIIT since six months, and I think the work environment is much more relaxing than what I had experienced b4 in my last 4 years of working in E-learning field. Just for the info, we work on 80 GB disks, Intel core 2 and 2 GB RAM. And most e-learning companies Do Not work with high-end machines. I do not say that everything is ROSY with NIIT, but neither is so with any e-learning company in India. A major e-learning co requires its employees to leave their cell-phones at the locker of Office gate!! At least, I am not that unlucky.

Sean Bernardino said...

A very interesting discussion forum I must say with the perfect blend of baseless accusations, strong attacks and stonewall defences. Addressing Mr. Mohan, I would like to say that I think it's excellent the way you backed NIIT up by asking all the bloggers/readers to provide you with facts, data and even email you to discuss issues and problems that employees face(d). I think this is a very healthy of dealing with problems as it clears misconceptions, avoids bad air and most importantly there's a high probability of the discussion actually leading somewhere, i.e. come to a conclusion that serves both parties interests. My own two cents for what it's worth (being an ex-NIITian of course). I definitely think that remuneration is slightly on the down-low where NIIT is concerned, nonetheless I think it is a wonderful organization that gives you a great foundation as a professional in the E-Learning industry, of course you must know how to make the best it. Some areas that I think NIIT definitely needs to work on (though already addressed) are: The Processes - I see the documentation and used to think to myself "This is awesome, they've thought of everything" however in reality the documented processes are quite similar to traffic signals all around Delhi... They're there, some obey them, some don’t, and it's hard to really say what impact it would have if they'd never existed, maybe a lot.. maybe nothing at all. The processes and systems need to be adhered to and followed rigorously and religiously but in reality people follow them or violate them depending on CONVENIENCE. This is definitely one area that needs to be looked into.
Also to be a little forward, during my time, I’ve also worked with /seen many slackers at NIIT and also feel that maybe NIIT should be a little tight with them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that NIIT has to blindly join the hire ‘em & fire ‘em bandwagon of companies, but I definitely feel that the bare minimum that each employee needs to contribute or carry is his/her own weight and mind you, I say minimum. However, I have felt that NIIT has been slightly lenient with slackers (many who’re not even carrying the minimum) and this can have a huge impact on those employees who’re working like mules (not mindless mules, but mules nonetheless..emphasis on pure hard work).
Having said that, personally I’ve had a wonderful time at NIIT. I’ve worked hard and been appreciated for it whilst enjoying what I did (despite the inevitable hiccups or episodes of all hell breaking loose). Mr. Mohan I may definitely take you up on your offer, i.e. in reference to the ones who’ve left and would definitely like to come back.

Gambit

Anonymous said...

Unofficial salary survey for elearning/content development jobs

Starting an unofficial survey of salaries in elearning/content development companies in India. Submit your responses in my blog. Also add what you want the salaries to be. More responses means more data points for comparison. So contribute to the survey.

Go to the link below or click on my name above.

http://manishmo.spaces.live.com/blog/

Priya said...

First of all would thank Mr. Mohan for finally doing a talk back into this series of fictious accusations. Also, I agree with your objective way of discussing by asking all the readers to provide you with actual statistics rather than cribbing and condemning the company. I think NIIT is a great place to work and gives one a great go ahead in the E-Learning industry. As far as some people having bad experiences in the organization, I would say that it depends on the individual himself/herself.

Manish Mohan said...

Unofficial salary survey for elearning/content development jobs

Seems you can't leave anonymous posts on the live spaces blog site. So starting a blog on this site. Log on to the link below to leave your inputs on salaries in elearning/content development industry in India.

http://manishmo.blogspot.com/2007/06/unofficial-salary-survey-for.html

e Learning said...

I like this blog post. Very interesting topic. Plus lots of people are engaging to a conversation and debate. Great job.

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