Dress Code at Infosys

Along with the Infosys offer letter we were given an INFORMATION SHEET . One of the things it contains is the dress code which I have typed in here for your benefit and/or knowledge.

For Gentlemen:
(a)Mondays and Tuesdays:
You are expected to dress in business formals, i.e, a full-sleeved shirt, formal trousers, formal leather shoes and a tie.
(b)Wednesdays and Thursdays:
You may opt to wear full/half-sleeved formal shirt, but formal trousers and formal shoes(brown, black or tan) are a must
(c)Fridays
You may opt to wear jeans, a t-shirt, and sport shoes. However shorts, sundresses, slippers, sandals are not considered appropriate. Slippers/sandals are not appropriate at all working days.

For ladies:
You are expected to dress in western business formals, saree or salwar/churidar kameez from Monday to Thursday. On Fridays, you may opt to wear jeans and a t-shirt. Rubber slippers are not appropriate at all.

Implementation of Dress Code
Infosys is very particular about it’s dress code. Supposedly there is a fine of Rs.200 for breaking this code. Even during the Induction programme(Induction is a two to two and half day programme which takes place in the Infosys Multiplex where in we are shown a lot of powerpoint slides by the various departments in Infosys Mysore and bombarded with a lot of Infosys propoganda) there was a session on Grooming and Dressing. One of the prime implementers of this dress code is the security inside the campus. eg. If you are found without a tie on a Monday or a Tuesday then the first security guard you encounter will stop and question you about the same.

Another important part of the attire which is not mentioned is the ID card that hangs around ones neck. This is an absolute must. One has to wear it inside the campus at all times. There are very few places where one can take it off.

After-Hours
One can slip out of formal wear once the office hours are over. It is quite common for trainees to stay in GEC’s(Global Education Center) after hours to complete assignments, projects or study for tests. So, many trainees(including me) go back to our rooms as soon as the session is over, change and then come back later. Tracks, T-Shirts, kitos etc are okay. But sandals, three fourths, sleeveless are not.

The Infosys Mysore Multiplex

The 4 screen multiplex in Infosys Mysore is used to screen movies during weekends as well as hold various events one of which is the Initiation of a new batch of trainees. This is what Infosys has to say about the multiplex:

The Multiplex in the campus boasts of a 4-screen digital cinema which is in a geodesic dome and auditorium complex with a capacity of 1,500 seats. Its built over a State-Of-Art Architecture which makes it one of a kind. It comes with an excellent DTS sound system.

The Infosys Multiplex is located near the Employee Care Center(ECC) which is at the heart of the Infosys Mysore DC(Development center). The ECC is built on Spanish architectural lines and houses a gymnasium, badminton courts, table tennis, & squash courts, pool tables, aerobics center, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, bowling alley, climbing wall, meditation hall, bank, Laundromat, company store and 5-bed medical center(phew!).

The largest of the screens(Screen-4) has a capacity of 1040 while the rest of the screens have a capacity of 140. It is in Screen-4 where our Initiation was held and also where the movies are screened.

Weekend Movies:
Generally two movies are screened every weekend. One is from Hollywood while the other is a Bollywood product. In all, 3 shows of each of the movies takes place. So in all total, 6 screenings takes place. The movies screened belong to the latest batch of releases.

The tickets are available to Infosys Employees at no cost. Each of us has been given a Facilities Card which enables us to avail unlimited usage of Multiplex, lawn tennis, rock climbing etc. Rs 150 are automatically deducted from our salary for the Facilities Card.

The Rush for Tickets:
The tickets are available 2 hours before the show starts. Generally, the show timings are 2pm, 6pm and 9:30pm. On showing ones facilities card the tickets are provided. But it is not easy as it seems.

The 1040 capacity of screen 4 is small as compared to the capacity of the Mysore DC. In Mysore DC not only training takes place but also Production(in other words: Work). These Production people live outside the campus. There are in all 4 SDB’s(Software Development Blocks) in Infosys Mysore which can accommodate around 5100 software professionals. Combine this number with another 5000 (or maybe more) trainees and you get the potential target audience vying for the ticket.

So around two and half hours ago, a queue starts forming. And within no time a huge line forms. The tickets are alloted on first come first serve basis and only one ticket per person. Those in front of the queue get the privilege of watching the movie from the balcony. People further down the queue are the ones who have to crane their necks to watch the movie.

My first experience in acquiring movie tickets was akin to climbing into the crowded local trains of Mumbai. Most of the line is kept outside of the multiplex. But every few minutes the glass doors are opened by the security guard for a brief period of time to let some of us in. At this moment everybody forgets that they are employees of a multinational company and starts pushing like their life depends on it.

The situation has changed now. A memo was sent to all of us regarding this issue. To avoid such commotion extra security guards have been posted to make sure the queue behaves and nobody sneaks in the queue.

A Day In The Life Of An Infoscion Trainee

Let me tell you what an Infy trainee goes through on a working weekday. Official work timings are from 9Am - 5Pm, but we are expected to be in our seats by 8:45 Am and leave by 5:45 Pm.

Before entering our training rooms we are supposed to swipe-in our ID Cards which are placed at the entrance of all buildings in campus except the multiplex (which, obviously, people flock anyways). My classroom is in Global Education Center (GEC), but I can swipe-in in any of the other buildings in the campus. Swipe-in has to be done before 9Am but thankfully, there are many terminals to swipe them on so doing that is not much of an issue. Some of you clever ones must be thinking if you could give your cards to your friends so that they swipe them for you while you gaze at the campus or mumble sweet nothings to your girlfriends/boyfriends on the phone. However, you will be disappointed to know that this cannot be done as there are guards who will make sure you swipe only one card.

The Schedule
Each day is divided into 4 sessions by 3 breaks. The first break occurs around 10:30 Am for about 15 minutes. The timing and the duration of this and the other breaks varies from educator(read: professor) to educator. We have been given Infosys branded black mugs which we can use to avail tea or coffee from Lipton and Nescafe dispensers provided. Being a part of this prestigious company, we get unlimited free coffee and tea.
The next break i.e. lunch break occurs from 12:30pm to 2.00pm. One might think one and half hour for lunch break is a bit too much. However, considering that the nearest food court is 5 to 10 minutes away and there are queues at coupon counters as well as food counters, one and half hour seems duly justified.
The last break occurs around 3:30pm for about 20 minutes in which one can again avail free tea and coffee provided by the good folks of Infosys.

The Attendance System
At the beginning of each session we have to key in our attendance. This is done using custom software created by Infosys. As soon as the session starts, the educator will start software knows as Attendance Collector on the server. After that we have around 2 minutes to run an Attendance Client on the PC’s assigned to us. Logging our attendance is achieved by pressing the 4 random keys displayed on our monitors, simultaneously for 5 seconds. It is very important to be on time during these sessions. Missing one or two sessions might cause Infosys to dock half a day or entire one day’s leave.

The Assignments saga
Each day of our course is run according to a grand plan created by the E&R Department (Education and Research). So as a part of this plan we have certain assignments each day. The number of assignments varies from module to module. This is only my first week of Technical training, but the schedule so far has been that teaching occupies a few sessions and remaining sessions are left for us to complete assignments. Since I am in the Long Cycle batch and undergoing training for Generic Stream, the number of assignments is less. The poor blokes from Fast Track batch were given around 10 assignments on the very first day of their technical training. Some had to stay back after office hours till 8pm to complete these assignments. And from what I heard it gets worse from here. For certain modules with project we might have to camp in GEC itself for the entire night. The assignments have to be submitted online on the same day itself.

Self Assessment Test
Everyday at 6pm a self assessment test is made available to us. Like the attendance application there is another application for the Self Assessment test. The purpose of the test is to gauge for ourselves what we learnt during that day. It is based on the slides used by the educator. These slides along with a lab guide (a PDF document) are also available to us through a Trainee Portal on the Infosys intranet.

'I' here refers to a infoscion