TCS COO N Ganpathy Subramaniam has a ‘warning’ on moonlighting

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) chief operating officer N Ganpathy Subramaniam has termed moonlighting as “unethical and unacceptable”. In an interview to Economic Times (ET), the COO of the country’s largest IT company has warned that the whole industry could fall apart due to moonlighting. “It is unethical and unacceptable from an employer perspective. Unacceptable for my clients as well. The whole industry could fall apart due to this. Businesses are built based on integrity and certain values. You can’t do such a thing just to earn more money,” said Subramaniam.
During the interaction, the TCS COO also stressed on the importance of employees working from office, “You need to build a career. That is also why it is also important to come to the office. Being there, watching how your peers work, comparing your work with them, it is all a learning process. They can choose their role models and mentors and learn how to conduct themselves – especially the people who have joined over the past two years. That is how organisational cultures are built,” he said.

Late last week, TCS chief executive officer and managing director Rajesh Gopinathan too expressed similar views on moonlighting. While talking to media during the company’s Q2 earning call, Gopinathan said that an employee is barred from working for any other organisation as part of the service contract.
TCS global HR head Milind Lakkad said that moonlighting is against the company’s core values and culture. “Moonlighting we believe is an ethical issue and it is against our core values and culture,” Lakkad said. He added that TCS has a long-term commitment towards its employees and the employees also have a “reciprocal commitment” towards the company, and also acknowledged that at present its peers in the IT industry may have different views on the subject.
TCS reports “milestone quarter”
The IT giant reported its earnings for the second quarter ending September 30 (July-August-September). For the first time ever, the Mumbai-headquartered company’s net profit surpassed Rs 100 billions. Chief executive officer Gopinathan termed the quarter as the a “milestone quarter” for the company.
The company reported revenue of Rs 55,309 crore, up 18% year-on-year (YoY) slightly above estimates of 17.5% growth for the quarter. The net profit jumped 8.4% growth to Rs 10,431 crore over the last year. In constant currency terms, the IT major’s revenue grew 15.4% YoY. The TCS’ order book for July-September stood at $8.1 billion.