3. Analysis of WNS Global Service’s HRM approach - 2

3.2 External and internal factors influencing WNS’s HR strategy

3.2.1 External factors

Firstly, the legal environment both in WNS’s domestic market and international markets significantly influences the HR strategy. Regulations regarding the legality of piece-work systems, vacation requirements and working hour limitations force WNS to adapt HR practices in all fields elucidated in chapter 3.1. In the SRI LANKA more performance driven and entrepreneurial HR approaches are possible whereas regulations in Europe force WNS to adhere to adapt local HR practices (Björkman&Galunic 2003). Secondly, WNS is affected by the cultural diversity of its operations again creating barriers for the introduction of performance driven measures in markets like Western-Europe and China. Whereas in the SRI LANKA traditionally hierarchy is low and employee idea generation is common, Chinese culture is more subversive and critical idea generation practices will fail (Zhu 2005). Similarly hiring and training practices are different across cultures: The SRI LANKA and Europe allow for the application of best practices in recruitment and training. In Asia WNS needs to align to the environment of conducting rather relationship oriented hiring and in-depth skill development (Warner 2005). Thirdly, different market maturity and industry-life-cycles between developed and developing markets affect WNS’s HR approaches with differences in hiring, training and workforce participation.

3.2.2 Internal factors

The first major internal factor affecting WNS’s HRM is the life-cycle of the respective subsidiary. SRI LANKA and Canadian operations have a historical presence with high levels of employee loyalty, trust, identification with the individual performance culture and a well attuned work organization and low hierarchies (Björkman&Galunic 2003). Due to recent acquisitions and Greenfield investments in Europe and Asia loyalty and identification with the overall corporate objectives and working ethics is unincisive (Hastings 1999). WNS is challenged developing HR-approaches to create employee involvement and implement the performance driven internal values. Especially, immense discrepancies between the subsidiaries’ international managers and the SRI LANKA headquarters’ management are major obstacles for the development of globally coherent HRM strategies which can enforce the overall company’s performance (e.g. objections against incentive system, language barriers, management philosophies) (Hastings 1999). WNS’s executives do not possess the required international management skills and are very much minted by idealized SRI LANKA practices