Chief executive of Wipro’s IT business TK Kurien is going after the company’s middle management bulge, having identified it as the software major’s Achilles Heel. The firm, which is undergoing a massive restructuring exercise under Kurien, is looking at sweeping cultural changes within the organisation, to get a firm grip back on sustained growth.
?Wipro requires a cultural change. It?s about who can deliver and who cannot. It is longer about who’s the nice guy,? Kurien said, bringing to the fore his reputation as a hard task master.
Wipro has reasons to worry. Cognizant has raced past it and TCS is increasing its lead over everyone. Its latest Q4 numbers have not been encouraging either. The muted guidance has been surprising and analysts are not confident about its ability to meet industry growth figures. Kurien has attributed the disappointing show to certain delays in deal closures during the quarter. One of its largest customers (unnamed by Wipro) has shown a decline in business as well. A slowing India business ? a traditional Wipro stronghold ? is another worry. The $1.52-1.55 billion revenue guidance, representing a -1 to 1% growth in the first quarter, hardly inspires confidence.
No wonder, Kurien is looking at hard measures. ?For too long, the middle management has slowed things down. Today, I?m encouraging employees to write to me directly. Every day, I get 20-30 e-mails from them from various levels in the organisation and I make sure I write back to them within 24 hours,? Kurien told FE, explaining the need to be a much nimbler outfit.
Wipro had experienced a few tough quarters under former joint CEOs Suresh Vaswani and Girish Paranjpe during the years of global downturn, prompting founder chairman Azim Premji to bring in Kurien, known to take the toughest of decisions without batting an eyelid.
Those who can’t fit into this new culture will be left behind, Kurien said. ?They have no place in Wipro. This is a time when the company is looking to become a differentiated firm. We want to be sharper and more impactful.?
There is no doubt that Wipro needs to be more incisive across verticals. The January-March period saw financial solutions, which account for 27% of its revenue, declining 0.6%. Global media and telecom sunk 2.1% and consulting dipped 1.1%. Its BPO business slipped by 2% as well. Wipro, which is trying to script a turnaround, needed to see better numbers.
?The future is clearly the non-linear model. We are already seeing signs of it. The linear model will break. Our focus will now be on cloud, mobility and analytics,? said Kurien. ?I want to leave behind a legacy of growth. Thought leadership will not bring revenues.?
