Business Responsibility Report 2012-13
Summary
Mindtree’s sustainability approach is built on the principles of triple bottom line i.e. People, Planet and Profit. This framework enables us to adopt an expanded spectrum of values that will lead the way to measure the traditional economic parameters along with the environmental and social dimensions.
Introduction & Scope
Our Business Responsibility Report follows the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) proposal and is in accordance with the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic (NVG-SEE) Responsibilities of Business issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
This year, Mindtree will publish its first public domain Sustainability Report, based on the AA1000 framework and the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) guidelines. As a reporting organization, we see the disclosure of our sustainability efforts as a valuable platform that will expand our reach and facilitate richer engagements with our stakeholders.
Scope
This Business Responsibility Report encapsulates Mindtree’s sustainability journey for the financial year 2012-13
Mindtree’s Sustainability Framework
Our mission drives the corporate sustainability approach: “We engineer meaningful technology solutions to help businesses and societies flourish”. We view sustainability as a business imperative that helps our customers, societies and Mindtree – for the present and future generations. Our sustainability framework is designed to promote transparency, accountability, sound environmental practices and social responsibility. The framework is built on three pillars:
Ecological sustainability
Mindtree aims to minimize the environmental impact of our business operations by engaging Mindtree Minds as evangelists and leveraging a comprehensive environmental management system. This includes resource conservation practices, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) footprint reduction, efficient energy management, water efficiency and sustainable waste management.
Governance & control
We comply with all applicable local, national and international laws, regulations, codes of practice, directives and conduct our business operations with high honesty and integrity. Mindtree pledges itself to be transparent about its progress on sustainability and stated goals with all stakeholders.
Workplace sustainability
Mindtree believes in a non-discriminatory environment that promotes equal employment practices, health, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion. With an occupational health and safety management system in place we encourage and maintain a safe work environment by providing fair working conditions to all Mindtree Minds.
Additionally, Mindtree recognizes social responsibility as an integral part of its corporate citizenship. We commit to support and nurture societies through innovative solutions to satisfy evolving needs of the society. The nine principles of the NVG guidelines are closely linked to our sustainability dimensions and programs. The principal sustainability topics covered in this report are ordered to provide a logical flow.
Their mapping to corresponding NVG principles are shown in the diagrammatic representation.
Stakeholder engagement
Management approach
Effective stakeholder engagement is an integral component of an expertise led organization. Our approach towards our stakeholders is driven by following the highest standards of customer orientation, ecological protection, corporate governance and community development.
We collaboratively partner and engage with our stakeholders to achieve a significant sustainable change. This provides us valuable insights and catalyzes continuous improvement. Our stakeholders include our employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, communities, academias, Government and regulatory bodies and the environment. We have a stakeholder based engagement model that acts as a value base for inputs and feedback on our sustainability programs. The stakeholder feedback is a crucial input to our strategy setting process and defines our future actions.
Corporate Governance & Advocacy
Management approach
Mindtree believes that good Corporate Governance is a key driver of sustainable corporate growth and longterm shareholder value creation. Mindtree’s values have been integrated into every system and process. To us, sustainability begins with integrity; we conduct ourselves with the highest standards of integrity and are transparent in our professional transactions and dealings that may impact the place of work. Mindtree has a zerotolerance threshold to bribery of or by any business partner, government agency or public authority.
Business strategic planning at Mindtree takes appropriate measures to integrate sustainability views and programs with our business strategy. This helps us identify, assess and manage business risks. In the conduct of Mindtree’s business and our dealings, we abide by the principles of honesty and transparency.
Mindtree has a comprehensive code of conduct policy that sets broad direction for all business dealings. This encompasses specific guidelines on information security, third party relationships, equal opportunity, human rights, breach in discipline and workplace etiquette. Additionally, the code of conduct bears linkage to three other policies, as described below.
Integrity policy
Our shareholders appoint and authorize the Board of Directors to conduct business with objectivity and ensure accountability. Each Mindtree Mind is issued a booklet on the Integrity Policy. All Mindtree Minds, irrespective of level, role and location are bound by the policy.
Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption policy
We are committed to the prevention, deterrence and detection of fraud, bribery and all other corrupt and unethical business practices. It is our policy to conduct our business activities with honesty, integrity, and the highest possible ethical standards while vigorously enforcing our business practice of not engaging in bribery or corruption across our operations.
Whistle blower policy
Mindtree has a robust Whistleblower Policy that establishes mechanisms to allow secured disclosures of incidents related to corporate governance, related party transactions, siphoning of funds, noncompliance to the law of the land, concealing legal mandatory disclosures, breach of fiduciary responsibilities, financial irregularities, sexual harassment, misuse of intellectual property, breach of integrity and any suspicious activity/event which indicates a potential threat to the security of Mindtree’s assets and employees.
The whistleblower enterprise is governed by the Culture Protection Committee (CPC) that is responsible for case investigation, case closure and provision of adequate safeguards for whistleblowers. Details of the cases in
2012-13 are detailed in the table below:
Advocacy
At Mindtree, we believe that business sector participation is key in meeting the challenges of development. We actively engage in a dialog as part of industry networks such as NASSCOM and CII in areas such as business excellence and strategic reviews.
Workplace Sustainability
Management approach
We believe in the Power of People. This belief is incorporated in meeting the strategic drivers that shape our people practices and processes. Mindtree’s values create a global foundation for context drivers such as engagement, learning and empowerment which are led by our People Function throughout an employee’s lifecycle - from candidate selection to exit interview. Mindtree’s practices create a culture of openness and fairness. Our practices in performance management, compensation models, diversity and inclusion, learning & development and health & wellbeing embrace globally recognized standards and are prime in building a fair and free workplace.
Employee engagement and recognition
Mindtree’s culture consists of a foundation of leadership, vision, values, effective communication, strategic plans and people policies that are focused on the employee. We believe that commitment, cooperation and responsibility are the foundations of engagement that provides an empowering platform connecting Mindtree Minds with different levels of the organization.Drivers such as communication, performance clarity and feedback, organizational culture, rewards and recognition, relationships with managers and peers, career development opportunities and knowledge of the organisation’s goals and vision are some of the factors that facilitate Mindtree’s employee engagement practices.
Mindtree’s engagement forums such as MiVoice, Mindspace, Fundo Club, Shadowing programs, mentoring programs, Emerging Leaders programs and informal engagement programs such as Konnect act as information sharing and interactive platforms that facilitate a regular channel of engagement at various levels of organization. We participate in the Great Places to work survey to externally validate our processes.
One noteworthy source of employee feedback and opinion, globally, is the MiVoice survey. This survey is a key input to our materiality matrix. MiVoice looks to evaluate aspects such as great workplace relationships, differences in perception across dimensions and demographics, understand employee experiences, effectiveness of people practices and connects and disconnects between people practices and employee perception.
The Fun@Work Charter brings lighter moments to work place by establishing fun events under one global umbrella.
Our rewards and recognition charter enables us to encourage a spirit of gratitude and build a culture in rewarding for performance. This is an important exercise in both engagement and retention. We have several programs to recognise great efforts as well as a range of awards to reward exceptional work performance.
Employee retention
Mindtree has a robust retention council that supports business in improving retention levels. The council fosters an open and reliable culture that creates models of best retention practices and strategies. The council has driven a decreasing pattern in our attrition levels in comparison to previous years. Our attrition levels are currently at 13.4%. We hope to reduce this further next year. We have also revamped our rewards and recognition system to motivate our employees.
Fair work practices
Mindtree strongly believes in fair work practices, our efforts in this area align themselves to those stated in the human rights section of this report. Our initiatives include:
- An open session by the CEO conducted twice a year
- A direct communication wall known as KK’s Wall, where people can post questions for the CEO that is visible to everyone
- Tackling favoritism: Over the next 12 months the Chairman will personally monitor leaders to identify any inadvertent actions that may be taken as favoritism
- Communication: Regular communication on a series of internal job openings, coaching and instrument based sessions that explain the need for transparency
We ensure equity and fairness at the workplace through MindSpeak, an issue redressal forum, with regard to fairness in performance, career progressions, promotions, etc.
Learning and development
Learning and development at Mindtree is a strategic priority that is part of our Culture and Competence (C2) framework. The C2 initiative is conceptualized with the objective of facilitating learning and development within the organization. Learning plans are structured to cater a variety of learning opportunities through diverse channels that ensure a natural learning channel. The foundation of the learning culture in Mindtree is built with the current realities in mind. The Key focus in 2012-13 has been to build and develop domain expertise. We believe this will help us partner with our clients in their business transformation initiatives. The C2 team develops competence through certifications and training programs.
During 2012-13, Mindtree Minds across levels benefited from over 1470 programs. Our Certifications are rigorous and cover aspects related to one’s role.
They impart essential technology, domain, leadership and behavioural based skills that extends over an individual’s career map. For engineers with 0-4 years of experience, we offer domain knowledge training program called Archers. Furthermore, an emerging leaders program has been developed to build leaders for current and future roles.
