Date:24/12/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/24/stories/2005122402890400.htm

Back Accenture India develops HR tool

V. Rishi Kumar

Abacus has been developed in India on the .NET platform and provides an integrated HR management functionality.

Hyderabad , Dec 23

FOR Accenture, India is one of the most happening centres bubbling with action and driving major innovations.

This can be gauged from the fact that some of its new technology and management initiatives are being first developed and deployed in India and later replicated in other parts of its global operations spread across 40 integrated development centres in 30 countries.

One such is Abacus, a HR management system. Accenture India has successfully deployed this across its delivery centres in the country and is now poised to implement it in other centres across the world.

For a large enterprise that has about 16,000 plus employees in India of the 1,23,000 plus globally, a streamlined technology-driven HR has made a world of difference.

The Head of Human Resource, Accenture India, Mr Rahul Varma, told Business Line that Abacus has been developed in India on the .NET platform and provides an integrated HR management functionality.

Right from forecasting of resource requirements to candidate selection to monitoring efficiencies of resources among other issues, the software handles it all. In effect, it is like an ERP system for HR management. Manufacturing and marketing companies have been traditionally using supply chain management technologies that have brought about significant efficiencies.

Give the complexities HR brings to the table in a knowledge-driven industry, Accenture India has taken a cue from the traditional industry and developed Abacus, Mr Varma said.

Abacus enables companies to manage its human resource better, right from prospective candidates applying for a job online to employees quitting, covering the entire spectrum within the enterprise.

Most large companies have bits and pieces of technology that are laced together to function as a system in HR management environment.

Abacus seeks to eliminate all of this by providing a uniform integrated system that helps manage its resources as if they were all present at one place.

"Accenture in India has registered significant growth from being a 200-people organisation to 16,000 plus and we continue to recruit at a hectic pace and the flow is steady. Therefore, HR is a critical part of meeting the multiple objectives of an enterprise that is now serving more than 170 clients through several delivery centres."

IT is playing a key role in managing the employee lifecycle, right from a prospect's application to training and development, performance management, promotion, and incentives.

Even a referral has the advantage of tracking the movement of a candidate's interview status.

The best part is, it aligns with business objectives and goals of the company and CEO. This software is complemented by an engagement portal that tracks the work progress, Mr Varma said.