No WFH, no Hybrid, let’s get to WFO!

At the recently concluded Nasscom Technology and Leadership Forum summit in Mumbai, K Krithivasan, CEO & MD of TCS made it very clear that WFO (Work From Office) was the way forward.

He said that when people work remotely, both collaboration and camaraderie are sorely missed. One cannot overlook the importance of the informal conversation that takes place in the office space. Company values are important, so how can they be taught to employees who do not come to the office? He was confident that they were backed by all their customers.

Krithivasan looked back at the past and his long stint with TCS. He talked of the importance of observing seniors continuously and learning from them. He pointed out how much they learned by watching the way their mentors behaved.

At this point, he declared that remote and hybrid is not the right way, but “WFO is the right way now”. He said all this in a fireside chat titled “Embracing Change Strategies Amidst Tech Volatility” moderated by Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18.

The theme of the event was AI.Krithivasan talked about that too. As far as GenAI is concerned, it is still in the experimentation stage. It will not lead to workforce reduction but on the contrary, it will end up making more work for more people. It will also increase the productivity of people.

He added that we need to change the way we train people and also the kind of people we hire who can adjust to this new world. One of the reasons for his confidence was the fact that critical thinking will not go away. Fundamental training will not go away. GenAI will first assist, then augment, and finally transform.

The TCS chief felt that India would greatly benefit from the AI revolution. India’s advantage is its people. We need to look at new areas for AI to benefit. Our software engineering talent pool will greatly benefit from this.