Tracking tools become mainstay in IT, BPM companies

BENGALURU: IT and BPM firms are accelerating the use of advanced productivity tools that provide clients with real-time operational insights. Many of these tools include built-in time tracking, analyse workforce patterns, and proactively flag inefficiencies in performance trends.

Tracking workforce productivity has been part of industry routines, largely at the clients' behest, as companies seek to monitor billable employees and maintain effective oversight. Cognizant, Wipro, and LTIMindtree are using workforce management platform ProHance's productivity solutions selectively, tailoring deployment to client requirements to shape project outcomes in hybrid work models. Meanwhile, TCS, French IT major Capgemini, and HCLTech are understood to rely on Sapience to gauge employee productivity, engagement, and performance, giving team leaders data-driven insights to strengthen overall efficiency.

Many firms use multiple tools to track workforce efficiency. Capgemini employees log their work hours through an electronic timesheet application and Sapience Buddy, which captures data on work patterns and productivity, sources told TOI.

Emails sent to TCS, Wipro, HCLTech, LTIMindtree, and Capgemini did not elicit responses till the time of going to press. Recent media reports also noted that a ProHance case study claimed Cognizant saved approximately $8 million in a year through the use of its productivity software.

When TOI reached out to Cognizant, its spokesperson said, "We occasionally use various productivity measurement tools, a common industry practice, in selecting business process management or intuitive operations & automation projects, at the request of customers The purpose of these tools is to help better understand the client process steps and related time metrics to assess process design inefficiencies as part of the process transformation efforts.

These tools are not designed or used to track or evaluate the individual performance of employees. Also, tools are used after obtaining the consent of employees, and it is made clear that these are not used for performance evaluation. Additionally, these tools have no impact on the composition of teams engaged in these projects, and any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect." Cognizant also uses the D+ Scorecard, which generates performance scores for business unit heads across delivery, practice, and transformation teams, while Ideabox captures comprehensive initiative details-including timelines, stages, nominees, approvers, and expected benefits and dollar savings. During the pandemic, many firms adopted AI tools to monitor the productivity of remote employees and prevent fraud-efforts aimed at boosting client confidence.