TCS Onboarding Issue

 

Onboarding delay

TCS has surprised many employees by pushing back the onboarding dates for some lateral hires from July to October. At the TCS office in ITPB, Bengaluru, scenes of chaos unfolded as employees arrived to complete their onboarding formalities on Wednesday. Frustrated employees were observed engaging in discussions with TCS officials, seeking clarity on the reasons behind the delay. These individuals, some with up to a decade of work experience, find themselves in a difficult situation, especially after resigning from their previous jobs in May with the expectation of an immediate transition to TCS. Last year the onboarding was done quickly by joining letter were given immediately after the month of 8th semester exams.

According to an email sent to an employee from the talent acquisition team, TCS stated, “As per corporate instruction, all onboarding across TCS has been halted. We received the communication today morning. This is a corporate decision so we will not be able to get any exceptional approval for any candidate.” Another email from the TCS team to another affected employee explained, “Date of joining has been rescheduled to October week 2 and the new confirmed date of joining will reflect in TCS ibegin (onboarding) portal based on your background clearance status and project commencement dates.”

When TCS EVP and chief human resources officer (CHRO) Milind Lakkad was questioned about this at the June quarter press conference, he stated, “For many years, we have honored all the offers and will continue to do so. You’re aware that there are certain delays because of the environment we are in and project delays. The onboarding of those associates is being delayed. But we will honour all the offers.”

Several IT companies have delayed joining dates due to a sluggish macro environment and extended decision-making cycles in the key sectors of the Indian IT industry, particularly in banking and financial services. This has led to a softening in IT budgets and discretionary spending. One employee expressed their concern, saying, “We were supposed to join in May and now, it has been postponed to October. I quit my job with my previous employer in April. I am without a salary for six months; we have bills and EMIs to pay.” The source mentioned that the email regarding the deferment of the joining date was sent on Tuesday.