Abstract 

This case discusses software design and development company Menlo Innovations' (Menlo)
Recruitment and selection practices. The company had a unique work culture and tried to attract
employees that fitted into this culture. It used a unique selection approach called 'extreme
interviewing' to achieve this objective.

Issues:

» Recruitment
» Selection
» Interview
» Socialization 

Introduction

In 2008, Menlo Innovations LLC (Menlo), a Michigan-based software

design and development company, received the Alfred P. Sloan Awards
for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. It was also selected as
one of the finalists at the '2008 Top Small Workplaces'...

Questions for Discussion:

1. Discuss the recruitment and selection process of Menlo Innovations.

2. Critically analyze the extreme interviewing technique adopted by Menlo Innovations. Compare and
contract this technique to other commonly used interviewing techniques.

Abstract:

This case discusses software design and

development company Menlo Innovations'
(Menlo) approach towards project management
and innovation. Menlo's founder and president,
Richard Sheridan (Sheridan) established the
company in association with his colleagues based
on Thomas Edison's Invention Factory. Sheridan
advocated the use of project management during
software implementation. Menlo adopted agile
project management practices namely extreme
programming that helped it simultaneously run
several projects successfully.

This required employees to work in pairs

encouraging knowledge sharing and learning from
each other.
Similar to Edison's Invention Factory, the culture at Menlo was characterized by an open, flexible, and a collaborative
working environment. 

The case also discusses Menlo's flexible workplace practices that helped it in curbing attrition and employee retention
while its innovative approach to project management encouraged employee engagement and led to innovation.
However, a few analysts opined that it remained to be seen whether Menlo's flexible workplace approach could also
be applied in a corporate environment

TCS BPO bags HR excellence honors at Asia’s Best Employer Brand

Awards 2010
MUMBAI, July 29, 2010: TCS BPO Services, the business process outsourcing arm of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE:
TCS.BO, NSE: TCS.NS), the leading IT services, business solutions and outsourcing firm, announced today that it has won six
awards for outstanding HR leadership at the recently concluded Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards 2010 in Singapore. TCS
BPO was nominated across six different specialty areas of HR excellence and was recognized among the frontrunners across Asia
Pacific in all six of these categories, receiving the Award for Talent Management, Award for Excellence in HR through
Technology, Award for Continuous Innovation in HR Strategy at Work, Award for Innovation in Recruitment, Award for
Innovative Retention Strategy and Award for Excellence in Training.
The high-decibel ceremony, hosted by the Employer Branding Institute in association with the Stars of the Industry group and the
World HRD Congress, was attended by the CEOs, Country Managers and HR Heads of the most coveted organizations across
Asia. At the awards, a select group of organizations from Asian economies were honored, in recognition of their work in different
areas of HR expertise, on the basis of their current practices as well as the strategic HR roadmap.
Commenting on the achievement, Abid Ali Neemuchwala, Global Head, TCS BPO Services said, “The entire industry has
witnessed some difficult times during the last 6-7 quarters, with the BPO sector facing its own unique set of challenges. Against
this backdrop, receiving not one but six honors at Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards 2010 bears testimony to our successes in
talent acquisition, retention and development strategies, as well as innovation and technology adoption within our HR function.”
Ranjan Bandyopadhyay, Global Head HR, TCS BPO Services added, “I’m very excited. We knew our HR practices were among
the most competitive within the industry, but being recognized across six categories at the Asian level is extremely heartening.
Our sincere, dedicated efforts towards making our HR organization nimble and technology oriented have paid through.”
TCS BPO Services recently also won the Best Employer Award at the BPO Excellence Awards 2009-2010 in Mumbai.
About Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards 2010
Hosted by the Employer Branding Institute, along with Stars of the Industry Group and World HRD Congress, Asia’s Best
Employer Brand Awards have assumed a place of pride during the last decade or so. The Employer Branding Awards have been
very active in the last five years across Europe, parts of America and some parts of the Asia-Pacific region such as Singapore,
Malaysia and India. The attention and spotlight has been on India because of the growth and the opportunity that it offers. The
awards presented on July 23, 2010 at The Suntec, Singapore.
About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS)
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, business solutions and outsourcing organization that delivers real results to global
businesses, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT and IT-
enabled services delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in
software development. A part of the Tata Group, India’s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 160,000 of the world's
best trained IT consultants in 42 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of over US $6.3 billion for fiscal year
ended March 31, 2010 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India.