HRM331: Apigee: People Management Practices And The Challenge Of Growth: Talent Management Assignment, SUSS, Singapore

Case Study

Apigee: People Management Practices And The Challenge Of Growth

It was another pleasant morning in October 2015 in the city of Bangalore, India when Srinivasulu Grandhi met with senior staff at the Apigee Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Apigee) office to discuss the road ahead for the company. Apigee was doing well and had established itself in the technology space as a well-known application programming interface (API) provider.

The enthusiasm among senior management was infectious, and everyone wanted to be a part of the Apigee growth story. Much had happened since Grandhi had joined as vice-president and managing director of Apigee’s Bangalore office in 2011. The company had been growing very fast, and its revenues had increased significantly.

When Grandhi joined Apigee, approximately 250 staff worked at the Bangalore office, which, by 2015, had increased to more than 400 employees. To compete in high-technology markets, Apigee needed to build a culture of innovation and learning. At the Bangalore office, Grandhi had taken forward the vision of the chief executive officer (CEO), Chet Kapoor, by building a culture of collaboration, openness to experimentation, and an emphasis on learning.

As the company was poised for major growth, there were doubts about whether Apigee would be able to sustain and nurture its existing culture. A few members of the senior team wondered whether Apigee would need to modify its crucial human resources (HR) practices in light of its anticipated growth. Would it be possible to connect the growing number of employees with the organizational values of sustaining passion and excellence without creating organizational conflict?

Although the fervor of the staff was evident, Grandhi knew that he needed to discuss with the HR team and the senior management the integration of Apigee’s unique culture with its growth plans.

APIGEE

Apigee was founded in 2004 and had its headquarters in San Jose, California, and regional offices in Bangalore and London, England. The CEO, Chet Kapoor, joined Apigee in 2007. A proven leader and innovator in the high-tech industry, Kapoor had spent more than 20 years in leadership positions at innovative software and hardware companies.

PART A:

Please read the case study provided and answer questions 1 to 5.

Question 1

Analyze the unique DNA of Apigee. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of Apigee’s culture of freedom and empowerment.

Question 2

Analyze the specific HR management, talent management activities Apigee should carry out to support its core values of passion, a bias for action, and respect.

Question 3

Critique the talent management strategies of Apigee by highlighting associated risk factors and possible adverse impact. Design a plan on how Apigee can mitigate the risks you have identified above. At the same time, articulate the limitations of your plan. 

Question 4

Propose changes Apigee needs to make to its talent management strategy as the number of employees rapidly expands.

PART B:

Question 5

Create a competency framework for employees reflecting the competencies that are needed for employees to thrive in at work during the Covid-19 crisis.

In your competencies framework, be sure to do the following:

1) Identify core relevant competencies

2) Explain how these competencies are relevant to working from home

3) Come up with 3 to 5 specific behavioral indicators under each competency.