On Friday, IT major Infosys hit headlines when the company fired more than 300 freshers at its centre in Mysuru. The company chose to sack them as they failed to clear the internal assessment tests even after repeated attempts at their campus in Mysuru. The IT employees union, NITES, termed the assessments as an excuse for sacking freshers and even threatened to approach the labour ministry against the decision. These employees had already endured a two-year-long wait after receiving their offer letters.
Infosys had defended the move by saying they have a rigorous hiring process where all freshers, after undergoing extensive foundational training at their Mysuru campus, are expected to clear internal assessments. All freshers get three attempts to clear the assessment, failing which they will not be able to continue with the organisation, as is mentioned in their contract. This process has been in existence for over two decades and ensures a high quality of talent availability for our clients.
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Experts with whom THE WEEK spoke said internal assessments are a vital part of talent management in India's competitive IT industry. These evaluations go beyond just testing an employee’s technical abilities; they provide valuable insights into their overall skills, performance, potential, and how well they fit within the company's culture. By ensuring alignment with business objectives, these assessments contribute to organisational success. Many IT companies, especially large firms, have a probationary period ranging from three to six months before officially confirming an employee's position.
“Assessments in IT companies serve multiple purposes beyond just monitoring performance. These assessments measure both technical and soft skills. Employees are tested on their expertise in programming languages like Java or Python, database management tools such as SQL and NoSQL, and cloud computing platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP. Soft skills, including communication, teamwork, and problem-solving, are also considered essential. Depending on the project, specialised skills in areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data science may be evaluated. Besides, regular reviews, often conducted quarterly or biannually, help companies assess employee contributions based on set objectives. These assessments provide structured feedback, highlight strengths and weaknesses, and guide performance management,” explained space and industry expert Girish Linganna.
IT companies operate in a project-based environment, where shifting client demands, project cancellations, or delays can impact staffing needs. Firms often use probationary periods to assess how well employees fit within their workforce while evaluating their long-term project pipeline. “While interviews test theoretical knowledge, companies need to assess how well employees apply their expertise in real-world situations. Probation allows firms to monitor how new hires handle actual projects, work with teams, and adapt to company processes,” added Linganna.
Industry experts say although waiting for confirmation can be frustrating for employees, from a business standpoint, these delays are often necessary. IT firms work in a dynamic and unpredictable industry where hiring mistakes can have serious consequences. Ensuring that employees are the right fit for their roles through careful evaluation helps companies maintain efficiency and long-term stability. Confirming employees too soon without proper assessment could lead to mismatches, reduced productivity, and high turnover rates.
As IT companies operate in a highly volatile and changing environment and need to be able to acquire new skills quickly. “We don’t find plenty of candidates with such high levels of learning agility and intent. Hence companies despite having hired talent after a thorough process of screening and testing, find some of their employees unable to keep pace with the demand of the work environment. Some cannot absorb new knowledge and skills; some despite learning those skills cannot deploy them in real-life environments. And in a few cases, due to their personal circumstances, they become inflexible to adapt to the fast changing demands of work. These three factors have largely led the employers to do internal assessments and separate the employees who fail to make the grade,” remarked Aditya Narayan Mishra the MD and CEO of CIEL HR.
Experts also mention that IT services companies have been a paragon of virtue when it comes to optimisation of workflows, outcomes and resources. “The recent news (from Infosys) reflects that some of the marquee IT services are reflective of ham-handed segue. That they are willing to compromise their stellar brand equity, itself will worry their customers,” remarked Alok Shende of Mumbai-based Ascentia Consulting.
