David Kirkpatrick, senior editor of Fortune, reckons that he has seen the future of management, and it is epitomised by Vineet Nayar, president of India's HCL Technologies (Research), who is creating an IT outsourcing firm where employees come first and customers second.
"Every employee rates their boss, their boss' boss, and any three other company managers they choose, on 18 questions using a 1-5 scale. Such 360-degree evaluations are not uncommon, but at HCL all results are posted online for every employee to see. That's un-heard-of!
And that's not all. Every HCL employee can at any time create an electronic "ticket" to flag anything they think requires action in the company.
Explains Nayar, "It can be 'I have a problem with my bonus,' or 'My seat is not working,' or 'My boss sucks.'" The ticket is routed to a manager for resolution."
Significantly, over the year during which Nayar has been at the helm, the attrition rate has dropped in half and the stock price more than doubled.