Hiring, interviewing, experience zones: How TCS is infusing AI into its operations 

Tata Consultancy Services chief human resources officer Milind Lakkad.

With an artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI project pipeline of more than $1.5 billion, India's largest software firm is now working on integrating artificial intelligence into its operations to build “AI-first TCS”, a top executive has said.

The AI push would revamp the way more than 600,000 of Tata Consultancy Services employees work. In India, it has set up "AI Experience Zones" where engineers and employees can innovate and experiment with building AI and gen AI solutions. TCS is also upgrading internal operations such as its human resources (HR) function by developing AI-based interview coaches for hiring and training.

“As much as we are doing it (AI proof of concepts and implementation) for the customers, we also need to do it internally so that we practice what we preach,” TCS chief HR officer Milind Lakkad told Moneycontrol.

“We are now looking into building a pyramid of these skills. We are doing many things to build AI-first TCS internal operations. We are looking at how do we bring together all aspects of talent and talent management, and infuse AI into each of those aspects – such as AI-based talent acquisition, talent engagement, talent deployment, and talent development.”

On the talent development front, TCS is already working on building an AI-based interview coach for interviewing people on certain skill sets for a specific customer situation. Tthe coach can respond to not only the content of the response by the employee getting trained but also look into his/her body language, the tone and help correct it, Lakkad said.

TCS has also built labs to provide environments and simulations to customers and employees depending on their use cases to build skills and learn from real-world challenges.

The company has over 270 AI and generative AI engagements in its pipeline.  “Obviously, when we create those 273 engagements we are working on (for customers), that will also drive some of this… These applications will also be helpful in the context of other functions, whether it's marketing or finance, compliance; it is a very big aspect of using AI and GenAI,” Lakkad said.

TCS has upskilled more than 300,000 employees, so far, in AI. But these big numbers are only for foundational training or learning basics of generative AI, Lakkad said.

TCS is the process of developing these pyramid of AI skills and build expertise around it, Lakkad said. "To drive this pyramid of AI skills within their respective businesses, a whole lot of it is being done by our own experts -- whether it is in our own organisation or doing it for our larger other organisations within the businesses," he said.

The CHRO said the company was working on if at a pyramid level, it should only be basic prompt engineering to start with or should it use prompt engineering for specialised understanding of fine-tuning certain LLMs in the context of the business. “We will continue to build this pyramid in a very quick period,” he said.

According to TCS chairman N Chandrasekaran, AI and generative AI will lead to job losses in areas that are getting automated, resulting in higher productivity.

He emphasised on reskilling employees to prepare them for this disruption. Speaking at the company’s AGM in May, he said, “In certain areas, AI and Gen AI will automate stuff that will result in higher productivity and job losses. But in some other cases, AI will require a lot more capability and a lot more jobs will be created in certain areas like data management, and so on and so forth…it’s a mixed bag and we have to actively embrace it to reskill people and prepare them to embrace the change.”

TCS shifted its focus on AI when it started a dedicated AI Cloud business unit in July 2023, during the company's first restructuring under then new CEO and MD K Krithivasan.