Case Study: HCL Technologies Puts Employees First, Customers Second

HCL Technologies (HCL) was growing at 30% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2000 to 2005. Sounds good, right? Well, not so — its competitors were growing faster, and HCL was falling behind. Between 2005 and 2010, HCL's new CEO, Vineet Nayar, embarked on an all-out effort to transform the systems integrator into a high-performing organization. Nayar's efforts started with a simple premise: By putting employees first, HCL could create a culture that attracted and retained creative employees. Putting the customer second may sound heretical, but it worked. HCL transformed its business by practicing radical transparency and increasing the autonomy of individual development teams. HCL also turned its traditional organizational pyramid on its head by making shared-service organizations such as tech support and management accountable to frontline developers. Developers are responding with innovative ideas and creating a self-sustaining "can-do" culture. The financial results were also impressive: a 35% growth in revenue per employee and a sector-leading 25% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through the 2008 to 2010 recession.