GODREJ CONSUMER
Industry: FMCG
Employees: 1,354
Workplace locations: 8
Business units: 1
Unique roles: 105
“WE SEE our employees, and not our brands, as our greatest assets,” says Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Rs 7,500 crore Godrej Group. It’s a healthy giveand- take relationship, and it is more pronounced in a slow market like this. Says Sumit Mitra, Executive Vice-President (HR), Godrej Consumer, the Rs 1,200 crore group flagship: “The company’s philosophy is do more for people, but also demand more from them.”
The company has always followed a policy to weed out non-performers. Now, it has made its rewards structure sharper than ever before. Says Godrej: “We have a strong performance-linked bonus system and have even extended employee stock options across all levels of management.”
The group believes in empowering its employees and taking initiatives for their development. So, Godrej Consumer offers multi-skilled training to its employees so that they can play multiple roles, instead of hiring afresh and adding to costs. More recently, it launched a consumer immersion programme. Employees, across functions, are encouraged to interact with consumers on Godrej products and pass on feedback to the product development team. One outcome of such engagement is greater emphasis on fragrance and packaging. Says Mitra: “The rough consumer interaction, they realised that, besides core values, fragrances and packaging play a key role in buying decisions.”
In May 2008, the group unveiled a new brand identity that promised “brighter living”. It wasn’t just a cosmetic change, says Mitra. “We took every employee through the attributes of brighter living at a mindset level, and told them that we meant it.” The Godrej brass gives two numbers to make their point. Attrition, says Mitra, is just 1%. Adds Godrej: “In 2008, only 20 stocks gained, and Godrej Consumer was one of them.”
—Ajita Shashidhar
Source :outlook business
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