Introduction                                                                                                         (top) 

The BbyB Beacon is an electronic publication to keep the members of Bit by Bit informed about the current affairs of the company. It contains announcements of important events like training programmes, Management Review Meetings, etc.

Contact Information

Any contribution to the newsletter in the form of technical articles, or items of general interest, are welcome. Please send them to pratima@bbyb.com or sreedhar@bbyb.com

From the Management

It was nice to be back to work after taking a break for two weeks away from it. The point that I am trying to make is that all of us need a break. We need to take some time away from work to recharge our batteries. We all plan our working days but very few of us plan our breaks. Do something different from your regular schedule - trek through the western ghats, go watch wildlife at a National park, learn how to play a musical instrument, or just stay at home in bed!

What has been worrying me over the last few months is the high rate of attrition in the non - VB domains. What is the reason behind it? Are we unconsciously giving them a feeling that they are not as important as the VB programmers? Let me emphasize again that all our success is due to the effort of the entire team and not just the programmers.

We have had a couple of internal audits to monitor how our ISO procedures are being implemented though out the company and the results have been quite encouraging. All projects seem to be implementing the procedure well though a few areas of non-conformance still exist. Hopefully in the next few months we will be able to plug all these gaps and adhere 100% to our procedures.

Raghu.

From The Editor

Employee Turnover

It was over dinner last Sunday that my father and I got on to the subject of Employee Retention. He, who has been running a Tool Room for 30 years, had a lot to say on this subject.

A zero per cent employee turnover is both undesirable and impossible.

A zero per cent turnover would mean a sharp increase in salary expenses as the organization grows.

Besides, new employees, like a breath of fresh air bring in new skills, ideas, approaches, etc.

A heavy employee turnover is expensive.

The cost of hiring and training a new employee is not the only factor involved.

Costs of disruption of Customer Service, emotional costs, loss of morale, absenteeism amongst other team members, loss of continuity and experience are very difficult to measure.

Talented employees expect their remuneration to be on par with that offered by other organizations for similar work in the industry. They may also want to be paid equitably with others in similar positions making comparable contributions within the same organisation.

When a combination of the above factors with interesting work, a good working climate and good management practices exist, the prospect of making a little more money in another organisation where these conducive factors do not exist, is usually not enough to lure the employee away.

Job satisfaction of the employee is determined by the quality of his/her relationship with the manager. Most organisations are facing problems with employee retention because they are placing the responsibility in the hands of Human Resources rather than entrusting the managers with it.

Employee retention does not really call for the involvement of the top management, but commitment from the managers can make a big difference.

Pratima.

Other News                                                                                                          (top) 

TGIF

A TGIF was organised on 19-Sep-03. Shenoy showed the snaps from his cruise in the evening. This was followed by sumptuous dinner.

Quite a few of us watched 'Reservoir Dogs' after dinner.

Farewell to Usha Y H, Dev Anand and Chandrashekar...

Usha Y H left Bit by Bit on the 15th of September to work for Phoenix Software

Dev Anand left Bit by Bit on the 26th of September to work for Symphony

Chandrashekar left Bit by Bit on the 9th of October to work for DSL Software

Let's wish them the very best in their new endeavour.

News From Abroad                                                                                              (top) 

Shenoy was in Europe between 22nd August to 16th September

Here are some of the pictures from his cruise.

Click on the thumbnails below

Meetings and Events                                                                                           (top) 

Internal Audit

An Internal audit was conducted on 24th September. Vinay, Sreedhar and Shashi were the internal auditors. The project selected for the audit was StaffBank.

Achievements                                                                                                       (top)