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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Showing posts with label Best Employers India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Best Employers India. Show all posts
Friday, May 01, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
No.9 Domino Pizza
DOMINO’S PIZZA INDIA
Industry: Food services
Employees: 5,620
Workplace locations: 5
Business units: 176
Unique roles: 32
IN MOST organisations, a 106% attrition rate would be alarming. At Domino’s, it’s pizza as usual. That triple-digit rate is at the entry (delivery person) level, populated by 12th pass students who are still finding themselves. At the store manager level, the attrition rate is 21%, much better than the industry average of 40-45%. At the corporate office, it’s almost nil, with several employees having been in the company since it was formed in 1998-99.
The challenge for Domino’s is how to keep its 20-somethings interested, compete as it does with the BPO industry, which offers higher salaries and more perks. Still, people stay. Some even return to a system that empowers them to perform and gives a fair opportunity to the deserving to rise through the ranks. For instance, by clearing four training modules, a delivery boy can become a store manager in five years. Straight out of class 12, Raj Sahi joined as a delivery boy in 1996. Today, the 33-year-old oversees the Western region, and is responsible for a turnover of Rs 100 crore per year. With financial assistance from Domino’s, he also completed his graduation.
Employee education is a stated objective at Domino’s— it spent Rs 45 lakh in 2007-08 on training and will spend Rs 55 lakh this year. The company has tied up with leading institutes for distant education courses (both graduate and post-graduate). It also sends chosen employees for a one-year, residential, customised management course at IMT Ghaziabad. Says Ajay Kaul, Chief Executive Officer, “If they stay with the company for two to three months, they see the benefits flowing.”
Store managers are seen as the CEO of their stores. Says Basab Bordoloi, Vice-President (HR): “They practically run the business, which inculcates an entrepreneurial zeal among them.” Store managers handle their store as a separate business unit. They have the right to question corporate moves that have cost implications on their store. “The sense of responsibility and career growth keeps us motivated,” sums up 25-year-old R Devrajan, who manages six stores in Delhi.
Industry: Food services
Employees: 5,620
Workplace locations: 5
Business units: 176
Unique roles: 32
IN MOST organisations, a 106% attrition rate would be alarming. At Domino’s, it’s pizza as usual. That triple-digit rate is at the entry (delivery person) level, populated by 12th pass students who are still finding themselves. At the store manager level, the attrition rate is 21%, much better than the industry average of 40-45%. At the corporate office, it’s almost nil, with several employees having been in the company since it was formed in 1998-99.
The challenge for Domino’s is how to keep its 20-somethings interested, compete as it does with the BPO industry, which offers higher salaries and more perks. Still, people stay. Some even return to a system that empowers them to perform and gives a fair opportunity to the deserving to rise through the ranks. For instance, by clearing four training modules, a delivery boy can become a store manager in five years. Straight out of class 12, Raj Sahi joined as a delivery boy in 1996. Today, the 33-year-old oversees the Western region, and is responsible for a turnover of Rs 100 crore per year. With financial assistance from Domino’s, he also completed his graduation.
Employee education is a stated objective at Domino’s— it spent Rs 45 lakh in 2007-08 on training and will spend Rs 55 lakh this year. The company has tied up with leading institutes for distant education courses (both graduate and post-graduate). It also sends chosen employees for a one-year, residential, customised management course at IMT Ghaziabad. Says Ajay Kaul, Chief Executive Officer, “If they stay with the company for two to three months, they see the benefits flowing.”
Store managers are seen as the CEO of their stores. Says Basab Bordoloi, Vice-President (HR): “They practically run the business, which inculcates an entrepreneurial zeal among them.” Store managers handle their store as a separate business unit. They have the right to question corporate moves that have cost implications on their store. “The sense of responsibility and career growth keeps us motivated,” sums up 25-year-old R Devrajan, who manages six stores in Delhi.
No.8 LG Electronics
LG ELECTRONICS
Industry: Consumer durables
Employees: 3,000
Workplace locations: 41
Business units: 1
Unique roles: 417
THE PREMISE for HR at LG is if the company takes care of its employees, its performance will improve. Yet, just five years ago, LG India was losing 35% of freshers within a year of them joining the company. That number is now down to 5% and not one employee earmarked as core talent or in the successor group has left in the last one year.
Behind this turnaround is a change in the basis of expectations from employees and the way they engage with the company. Activities were introduced and processes were reoriented towards increasing inter- and intra-departmental interaction, promoting fun at work, providing instant recognition and improving work-life balance. LG was considered a tough place to work, especially at the branch level.People were slogging even on Sundays to meet targets. This workaholism ended when the HR imposed a blanket ban on employees working on Sundays. Initially, workers accustomed to chasing targets at the expense of personal lives still flouted the diktat, but HR followed through—they called up employee homes on Sundays and holidays to confirm that employees were not working.
Touches like this make Dr Yasho V Verma, Director (HR and Marketing Sales), LG, say: “On paper, every HR team is strong, it is implementation that matters.” Small things, like the 30-minute freewheeling session with the boss, count. Team leaders managing less than 15 people have to do this once a month; those managing more than 15 people, once in two months. They also have to take their team out every month, at the company’s expense.The bonding and interaction improves trust and team spirit, and creates a better working environment. After these measures were introduced, late sitting in the office reduced by about 80%.
A similar concept exists at the blue-collar worker level too. An HR person takes line guardianship of 30-40 employees, and meets them once a month for at least 15-20 minutes to hear them out and understand their mindset. The onus of resolving employee issues lies with the HR person, and processes in place make them accountable.
For employees, professional growth is important. So, the HR team prepares a five-year plan for employees based on a three-day workshop with them, where behavioural and functional capabilities are assessed. A clear training plan is drawn up on how to achieve the goals. Two months back, this programme covered 1,250 employees. Every month, 40 more employees are added, with the eventual objective of covering all 3,400 employees at LG. Verma sees HR people as “psychologists” who can read employee minds and take quick action. LG’s numbers show they have been doing that.
Industry: Consumer durables
Employees: 3,000
Workplace locations: 41
Business units: 1
Unique roles: 417
THE PREMISE for HR at LG is if the company takes care of its employees, its performance will improve. Yet, just five years ago, LG India was losing 35% of freshers within a year of them joining the company. That number is now down to 5% and not one employee earmarked as core talent or in the successor group has left in the last one year.
Behind this turnaround is a change in the basis of expectations from employees and the way they engage with the company. Activities were introduced and processes were reoriented towards increasing inter- and intra-departmental interaction, promoting fun at work, providing instant recognition and improving work-life balance. LG was considered a tough place to work, especially at the branch level.People were slogging even on Sundays to meet targets. This workaholism ended when the HR imposed a blanket ban on employees working on Sundays. Initially, workers accustomed to chasing targets at the expense of personal lives still flouted the diktat, but HR followed through—they called up employee homes on Sundays and holidays to confirm that employees were not working.
Touches like this make Dr Yasho V Verma, Director (HR and Marketing Sales), LG, say: “On paper, every HR team is strong, it is implementation that matters.” Small things, like the 30-minute freewheeling session with the boss, count. Team leaders managing less than 15 people have to do this once a month; those managing more than 15 people, once in two months. They also have to take their team out every month, at the company’s expense.The bonding and interaction improves trust and team spirit, and creates a better working environment. After these measures were introduced, late sitting in the office reduced by about 80%.
A similar concept exists at the blue-collar worker level too. An HR person takes line guardianship of 30-40 employees, and meets them once a month for at least 15-20 minutes to hear them out and understand their mindset. The onus of resolving employee issues lies with the HR person, and processes in place make them accountable.
For employees, professional growth is important. So, the HR team prepares a five-year plan for employees based on a three-day workshop with them, where behavioural and functional capabilities are assessed. A clear training plan is drawn up on how to achieve the goals. Two months back, this programme covered 1,250 employees. Every month, 40 more employees are added, with the eventual objective of covering all 3,400 employees at LG. Verma sees HR people as “psychologists” who can read employee minds and take quick action. LG’s numbers show they have been doing that.
No.7 Eureka Forbes
EUREKA FORBES
Industry: Consumer durables
Employees: 9,400
Workplace locations: 243
Business units: 4
Unique roles: 106
AT EUREKA Forbes, employees who have put in two years in the company are eligible to contest an in-house election for ‘councillors’ and ‘senators’. In 2008, 270 candidates contested for 56 seats (42 councillors and 14 senators); they even drafted their own manifestos, and articulated plans to develop their ‘constituencies’. All employees cast their votes through a secret ballot to elect the ‘house of Eurochamps’. Councillors meet once a month, the senate once a quarter, to address employee issues. “The idea is to ensure the voice of our people is heard in the decision-making process,” says Suresh Goklaney, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Eureka Forbes: “The concept has helped us eliminate barriers in the flow of knowledge and communication across hierarchies.”
For a direct-selling company like Eureka Forbes, employees are its single biggest asset. The company looks to take people with average educational qualifications and turn them into performers through a mix of training and performance-based incentives.The company runs an induction programme for newcomers and a refresher course for front-line employees. In 2000, Eureka Forbes tied up with Narsee Monjee Institute of Management and Higher Studies, and floated an academy to offer management diploma courses to its employees. The academy is still active. The company is now planning to team up with premier B-Schools to co-develop sales-centric training programmes.
Succession planning is also a critical item on the company’s agenda. It is working on a programme that will help it spot potential managers and mould them for bigger roles. So, a front-line sales person can grow to become a Vice-President.
Eureka Forbes, says Goklaney, is highly performance- driven. “Compensation at all levels is performance-linked and the variable component varies from 40-60%,” he says. However, attrition is high. “Although it is 4% at senior levels, it is 30% at the front-line,” says Harsimran Singh, Senior Vice-President-Human Resources & Organisational Effectiveness. Still, she says, there’s a silver lining to this high rate of attrition: “It helps to align the employee base with regular performers.” And that helps the business—and, in turn, the people who run it.
Source : outlook business
Industry: Consumer durables
Employees: 9,400
Workplace locations: 243
Business units: 4
Unique roles: 106
AT EUREKA Forbes, employees who have put in two years in the company are eligible to contest an in-house election for ‘councillors’ and ‘senators’. In 2008, 270 candidates contested for 56 seats (42 councillors and 14 senators); they even drafted their own manifestos, and articulated plans to develop their ‘constituencies’. All employees cast their votes through a secret ballot to elect the ‘house of Eurochamps’. Councillors meet once a month, the senate once a quarter, to address employee issues. “The idea is to ensure the voice of our people is heard in the decision-making process,” says Suresh Goklaney, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Eureka Forbes: “The concept has helped us eliminate barriers in the flow of knowledge and communication across hierarchies.”
For a direct-selling company like Eureka Forbes, employees are its single biggest asset. The company looks to take people with average educational qualifications and turn them into performers through a mix of training and performance-based incentives.The company runs an induction programme for newcomers and a refresher course for front-line employees. In 2000, Eureka Forbes tied up with Narsee Monjee Institute of Management and Higher Studies, and floated an academy to offer management diploma courses to its employees. The academy is still active. The company is now planning to team up with premier B-Schools to co-develop sales-centric training programmes.
Succession planning is also a critical item on the company’s agenda. It is working on a programme that will help it spot potential managers and mould them for bigger roles. So, a front-line sales person can grow to become a Vice-President.
Eureka Forbes, says Goklaney, is highly performance- driven. “Compensation at all levels is performance-linked and the variable component varies from 40-60%,” he says. However, attrition is high. “Although it is 4% at senior levels, it is 30% at the front-line,” says Harsimran Singh, Senior Vice-President-Human Resources & Organisational Effectiveness. Still, she says, there’s a silver lining to this high rate of attrition: “It helps to align the employee base with regular performers.” And that helps the business—and, in turn, the people who run it.
Source : outlook business
No.5 ITC Welcome Group
ITC Welcomgroup
Industry: Hospitality
Employees: 2,000
Workplace Units: 26
Business units: 14
Unique roles: 21
THE DOWNTURN, THE MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS, AND MOST recently, the shifting of the IPL to foreign shores, have affected the hospitality sector adversely, but the Rs 2,300 crore ITC Welcomgroup hotel chain has no plans to slow down. The company isn’t lowering growth projections or reducing its workforce. In fact, ITC’s cash-rich, debt-free hospitality division plans to double the number of rooms in its luxury hotels to 5,000 in the next three years, to be in a good position to ride the upturn when it happens.
At a recent conference in Gurgaon, senior officials from across the country discussed how to weather the current difficulties without any major internal upheaval. The message that went out to employees at the end of the three-day conclave was: “no layoffs or pay cuts’’. Given how most other companies are taking drastic cost-cutting measures just to stay afloat, that message would have been very reassuring for employee morale.
Employees have always been treated well, even after they retire. Although it is the ideal hunting ground for other services players such as airlines, business process outsourcing (BPOs) and banks, especially at the junior management level, ITC Welcomgroup has managed to keep attrition down to 11%, well below the industry average. “That has been made possible,’’ says Anil Sharma, Vice-President and Head of HR at ITC Welcomgroup, “by benchmarking our salaries to those paid in these industries, ensuring that the cash component is the highest in the salary, and also paying a handsome retention bonus at the end of three years.’’
For middle-level managers, the benchmark is the hospitality sector: hospitals, competing hotels and real estate companies, because these companies were luring away its managers. ITC Welcomgroup also added the best in lifestyle benefits—houses in good locations and expensive cars—to take care of employees’ family needs. For those at the very top, it is Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) that became the competition.
A high basic pay is just one part of the package; other intangible benefits such as job satisfaction, ability to move within the organisation and the freedom to express opinions also help in employee retention. Moreover, the company’s distributive leadership model, as opposed to centralised leadership followed by most companies gives strategic business unit (SBU) heads full autonomy and authority to run their respective businesses as they see fit. Also, its emphasis on collective action has built team spirit among employees.
Nakul Anand, CEO, ITC Welcomgroup, feels that morale is high because the company takes care of most employee needs. And he should know, having spent 33 years in the company. Every employee gets ample opportunities to rise up the ladder. Says Sharma: “The only limits to growth in our company is our own competence.” He cites the example of Sunil Sikka, who rose from bellboy to general manager over a 30-year period, after getting 17 promotions.
Anil Sharma recruited Jeevan Unnithan, who was a captain in the army, as an assistant manager nearly six years ago. Today, Unnithan has risen to the post of Divisional Human Resource Manager. “Even in these troubled economic times,
I know I can sleep soundly because I am working with ITC Welcomgroup,’’
says Unnithan .
Source : outlook business
Industry: Hospitality
Employees: 2,000
Workplace Units: 26
Business units: 14
Unique roles: 21
THE DOWNTURN, THE MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS, AND MOST recently, the shifting of the IPL to foreign shores, have affected the hospitality sector adversely, but the Rs 2,300 crore ITC Welcomgroup hotel chain has no plans to slow down. The company isn’t lowering growth projections or reducing its workforce. In fact, ITC’s cash-rich, debt-free hospitality division plans to double the number of rooms in its luxury hotels to 5,000 in the next three years, to be in a good position to ride the upturn when it happens.
At a recent conference in Gurgaon, senior officials from across the country discussed how to weather the current difficulties without any major internal upheaval. The message that went out to employees at the end of the three-day conclave was: “no layoffs or pay cuts’’. Given how most other companies are taking drastic cost-cutting measures just to stay afloat, that message would have been very reassuring for employee morale.
Employees have always been treated well, even after they retire. Although it is the ideal hunting ground for other services players such as airlines, business process outsourcing (BPOs) and banks, especially at the junior management level, ITC Welcomgroup has managed to keep attrition down to 11%, well below the industry average. “That has been made possible,’’ says Anil Sharma, Vice-President and Head of HR at ITC Welcomgroup, “by benchmarking our salaries to those paid in these industries, ensuring that the cash component is the highest in the salary, and also paying a handsome retention bonus at the end of three years.’’
For middle-level managers, the benchmark is the hospitality sector: hospitals, competing hotels and real estate companies, because these companies were luring away its managers. ITC Welcomgroup also added the best in lifestyle benefits—houses in good locations and expensive cars—to take care of employees’ family needs. For those at the very top, it is Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) that became the competition.
A high basic pay is just one part of the package; other intangible benefits such as job satisfaction, ability to move within the organisation and the freedom to express opinions also help in employee retention. Moreover, the company’s distributive leadership model, as opposed to centralised leadership followed by most companies gives strategic business unit (SBU) heads full autonomy and authority to run their respective businesses as they see fit. Also, its emphasis on collective action has built team spirit among employees.
Nakul Anand, CEO, ITC Welcomgroup, feels that morale is high because the company takes care of most employee needs. And he should know, having spent 33 years in the company. Every employee gets ample opportunities to rise up the ladder. Says Sharma: “The only limits to growth in our company is our own competence.” He cites the example of Sunil Sikka, who rose from bellboy to general manager over a 30-year period, after getting 17 promotions.
Anil Sharma recruited Jeevan Unnithan, who was a captain in the army, as an assistant manager nearly six years ago. Today, Unnithan has risen to the post of Divisional Human Resource Manager. “Even in these troubled economic times,
I know I can sleep soundly because I am working with ITC Welcomgroup,’’
says Unnithan .
Source : outlook business
No.4 Cisco Networks
Industry: Networking
Employees: 4,600
Workplace Units: 7
Business units: 4
Unique roles: 72
CISCO PRIDES ITSELF ON ITS NETWORKING ABILITIES—HUMAN networking. So, one would expect the company to stress on HR practices that pamper employees. Surprisingly, HR boss Subhash AK Rao is remarkably blasé on what differentiates Cisco as a workplace. “By itself, we don’t do anything out-of-the-ordinary—rather it is the degree to which the attributes of a good workplace come together that makes us unique.” To top it all, this isn’t your usual MNC, where control rests outside India. With 20% of Cisco’s leadership based here, India calls the shots too. Rao explains: “India today leads 28 sectors for Cisco worldwide, up from just five earlier. This has opened up new opportunities.” Because a chunk of Cisco’s work is driven out of India, people here are exposed to a wider canvas.
In a day, a Cisco employee could be working for four different geographies, two technologies and three markets. Employees find this variety exhilarating, but admit its hard work. Long hours are common in Cisco, but employees have the flexibility to work according to their timelines. “If you want to take off early on Friday or get into office late on Monday, nobody will stop you. We are treated as mature adults—there’s no nagging,” says a young hire.
The opportunity to work across different technologies and diverse customer groups is another attraction at Cisco. This is possible, says Rao, because Cisco does not follow a single technology religion. “We started with routers, moved into switches and followed up with data, voice, video and now mobility. There are 20 technologies in which Cisco is either number one or number two globally. At Cisco, we cover the gamut of the hi-tech industry—not many organisations give you this opportunity,” adds Rao.
Although the size of the organisation is $40 billion with 60,000-plus employees on the rolls, Cisco works like a cluster of businesses (built around a particular echnology area). An old Cisco hand says each business unit runs like an independent company, and is responsible for its products and revenue stream. “Targets are set internally and people within the business unit are responsible for these targets. You are pretty much on your own, and that’s what keeps the spirit of innovation alive,” he adds.
At Cisco, innovation is not just about technology and engineering—it’s also about how to run the business. Explains Rao, “Our mantra is collaboration and teamwork. For example, formal reporting is a very insignifi cant part of what defines you—you are defined more by how many councils you are on, what you are leading and what initiatives you are a part of.” Also, as Cisco transitions from simply selling a product to sharing risk and revenues with customers, everyday brings with it new lessons.
Cisco’s tagline of ‘changing the way we live, work, play and learn’ may sound a little exaggerated to outsiders, but Rao says the company actually walks the talk. For example, the use of technology at the workplace enables employees to work anywhere and collaborate with anyone—whether it’s a video-conference at the touch of a button or a ‘virtual office’ router at home. Cisco does not believe in commute to compute— the rationale is that you should be able to compute from anywhere and commuting should be more around collaboration.
People inside Cisco use the phrase ‘worklife integration’ to describe the Cisco culture. “If you enjoy what you do and are able to do it at your convenience, I can’t think of a better alternative,” sums up Rao.
Source : outlook India
Employees: 4,600
Workplace Units: 7
Business units: 4
Unique roles: 72
CISCO PRIDES ITSELF ON ITS NETWORKING ABILITIES—HUMAN networking. So, one would expect the company to stress on HR practices that pamper employees. Surprisingly, HR boss Subhash AK Rao is remarkably blasé on what differentiates Cisco as a workplace. “By itself, we don’t do anything out-of-the-ordinary—rather it is the degree to which the attributes of a good workplace come together that makes us unique.” To top it all, this isn’t your usual MNC, where control rests outside India. With 20% of Cisco’s leadership based here, India calls the shots too. Rao explains: “India today leads 28 sectors for Cisco worldwide, up from just five earlier. This has opened up new opportunities.” Because a chunk of Cisco’s work is driven out of India, people here are exposed to a wider canvas.
In a day, a Cisco employee could be working for four different geographies, two technologies and three markets. Employees find this variety exhilarating, but admit its hard work. Long hours are common in Cisco, but employees have the flexibility to work according to their timelines. “If you want to take off early on Friday or get into office late on Monday, nobody will stop you. We are treated as mature adults—there’s no nagging,” says a young hire.
The opportunity to work across different technologies and diverse customer groups is another attraction at Cisco. This is possible, says Rao, because Cisco does not follow a single technology religion. “We started with routers, moved into switches and followed up with data, voice, video and now mobility. There are 20 technologies in which Cisco is either number one or number two globally. At Cisco, we cover the gamut of the hi-tech industry—not many organisations give you this opportunity,” adds Rao.
Although the size of the organisation is $40 billion with 60,000-plus employees on the rolls, Cisco works like a cluster of businesses (built around a particular echnology area). An old Cisco hand says each business unit runs like an independent company, and is responsible for its products and revenue stream. “Targets are set internally and people within the business unit are responsible for these targets. You are pretty much on your own, and that’s what keeps the spirit of innovation alive,” he adds.
At Cisco, innovation is not just about technology and engineering—it’s also about how to run the business. Explains Rao, “Our mantra is collaboration and teamwork. For example, formal reporting is a very insignifi cant part of what defines you—you are defined more by how many councils you are on, what you are leading and what initiatives you are a part of.” Also, as Cisco transitions from simply selling a product to sharing risk and revenues with customers, everyday brings with it new lessons.
Cisco’s tagline of ‘changing the way we live, work, play and learn’ may sound a little exaggerated to outsiders, but Rao says the company actually walks the talk. For example, the use of technology at the workplace enables employees to work anywhere and collaborate with anyone—whether it’s a video-conference at the touch of a button or a ‘virtual office’ router at home. Cisco does not believe in commute to compute— the rationale is that you should be able to compute from anywhere and commuting should be more around collaboration.
People inside Cisco use the phrase ‘worklife integration’ to describe the Cisco culture. “If you enjoy what you do and are able to do it at your convenience, I can’t think of a better alternative,” sums up Rao.
Source : outlook India
No. 3 Taj Hotels
Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
Industry: Hospitality
Employees: 13,500
Workplace Units: 43
Business units: 64
Unique roles: 395
WHEN TERRORISTS ATTACKED MUMBAI’S TAJ MAHAL HOTEL ON November 26, last year, hotel employees immediately swung into action trying to save the lives of the guests trapped inside. The heroic manner in which they saved the lives of hundreds, at great personal cost, is well known. When the ordeal was over, the Taj Group not only had to undertake the huge task of restoring the 106-year-old structure to its erstwhile glory, but also to renew the confidence of its traumatised employees.
While some were scared of getting back to work, others were wondering if they had a job to go back to. The day after the attack was snuffed out, the company set up a trauma centre, and with the help of 15 counsellors and psychiatrists from the Tata Institute of Social Services, got each employee and his/her family counselled. “We convinced them that the Taj was safe and so were their jobs,” reminisces an emotional HN Shrinivas, Senior Vice- President, Human Resources, Taj Hotels. “Each one of them had their share of anxieties, but in the end, they all pledged to work together to once again make the Taj Mahal the best hotel in Mumbai.”
Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata personally met the families of the deceased, and distributed a compensation package of Rs 7 crore. This included a lumpsum payment and other facilities such as ensuring a spouse got the last-drawn salary of the deceased throughout his or her lifetime, taking care of the children’s education, and so on.
This humanitarian approach has underlined how the Taj Group backs its employees even during times of crisis. Employee well-being, says Raymond Bickson, Managing Director, Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, has always been a priority. “We want to be recognised among the best employers in the country.” It is the people who are in the trenches that have made the Taj what it is, he says. A guest at the Taj interacts with the hotel staff on at least 42 occasions each day, right from getting a wake-up call from the operator and getting room service to getting information at the front desk and being greeted by the doorman, says Bickson. “All these employees can be at their best only if they love what they do and feel a sense of belonging.”
To instill this, the company has put in place several programmes such as the ‘speed programme’, through which it identifies good performers and gives them a double promotion. It has also put together an ‘emerging leaders programme’, under which hundreds of managers with leadership potential have been selected and put through a rigorous training programme. “We need 2,000 leaders in the next 10 years and we have already charted out a career plan for these candidates,” says Bickson.
Good employee retention practices help maintain market share and margins. “There are 37 global hospitality brands wanting to enter India and we have to keep up with the times.”
Despite the economic slowdown, the Taj Group is expanding aggressively. The hotel chain plans to double its rooms from 10,000 to 20,000 in the next couple of years. To do so, it will need a lot of manpower. “One can’t open hotels and not hire. However, we will first look at internal movements,” says Bickson.
Industry: Hospitality
Employees: 13,500
Workplace Units: 43
Business units: 64
Unique roles: 395
WHEN TERRORISTS ATTACKED MUMBAI’S TAJ MAHAL HOTEL ON November 26, last year, hotel employees immediately swung into action trying to save the lives of the guests trapped inside. The heroic manner in which they saved the lives of hundreds, at great personal cost, is well known. When the ordeal was over, the Taj Group not only had to undertake the huge task of restoring the 106-year-old structure to its erstwhile glory, but also to renew the confidence of its traumatised employees.
While some were scared of getting back to work, others were wondering if they had a job to go back to. The day after the attack was snuffed out, the company set up a trauma centre, and with the help of 15 counsellors and psychiatrists from the Tata Institute of Social Services, got each employee and his/her family counselled. “We convinced them that the Taj was safe and so were their jobs,” reminisces an emotional HN Shrinivas, Senior Vice- President, Human Resources, Taj Hotels. “Each one of them had their share of anxieties, but in the end, they all pledged to work together to once again make the Taj Mahal the best hotel in Mumbai.”
Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata personally met the families of the deceased, and distributed a compensation package of Rs 7 crore. This included a lumpsum payment and other facilities such as ensuring a spouse got the last-drawn salary of the deceased throughout his or her lifetime, taking care of the children’s education, and so on.
This humanitarian approach has underlined how the Taj Group backs its employees even during times of crisis. Employee well-being, says Raymond Bickson, Managing Director, Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, has always been a priority. “We want to be recognised among the best employers in the country.” It is the people who are in the trenches that have made the Taj what it is, he says. A guest at the Taj interacts with the hotel staff on at least 42 occasions each day, right from getting a wake-up call from the operator and getting room service to getting information at the front desk and being greeted by the doorman, says Bickson. “All these employees can be at their best only if they love what they do and feel a sense of belonging.”
To instill this, the company has put in place several programmes such as the ‘speed programme’, through which it identifies good performers and gives them a double promotion. It has also put together an ‘emerging leaders programme’, under which hundreds of managers with leadership potential have been selected and put through a rigorous training programme. “We need 2,000 leaders in the next 10 years and we have already charted out a career plan for these candidates,” says Bickson.
Good employee retention practices help maintain market share and margins. “There are 37 global hospitality brands wanting to enter India and we have to keep up with the times.”
Despite the economic slowdown, the Taj Group is expanding aggressively. The hotel chain plans to double its rooms from 10,000 to 20,000 in the next couple of years. To do so, it will need a lot of manpower. “One can’t open hotels and not hire. However, we will first look at internal movements,” says Bickson.
No. 2 Hindustan Zinc Limited
Hindustan Zinc
Industry: Metals
Employees: 6,363
Workplace Units: 12
Business units: 13
Unique roles: 221
OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE,’’ SAYS AKHILESH JOSHI, CHIEF Operating Officer, Hindustan Zinc (HZL), the world’s second largest integrated zinc and lead producer, “is to attract the best talent to some of the remotest areas of the country, where our mines are.’’ Fortunately, for HZL, a part of the global Vedanta Resources Group, the task hasn’t been difficult, thanks to the company’s employees, who have been its “brand ambassadors” and helped rope in talent. Industry-topping salaries and a great work culture have also helped.
HZL’s expansion plans and global operations have added to the lure. Production capacity of zinc and lead (metals) has jumped from 204,000 tonnes in 2002 to 754,000 tonnes in 2008, and is expected to touch 1 million tonnes by 2010. Mining capacity has also increased from 3.45 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2002 to 7.1 mpta in 2008.
For HK Mehta, Vice-President, Human Resources, HZL, the company’s policy of empowering individuals and giving them the freedom to carry out their responsibilities makes HZL an exciting place for its 6,363 employees. Its attrition rate of 12% is much below the industry average of 18%.
There’s also the lure of global career growth opportunities in other Vedanta group companies, to get familiar with cutting-edge technology at mines and smelters across the world, and to add educational qualifi cations. HZL helps science graduates in the company become engineers. It has tied up with the Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences, Pilani, located within its Chanderiya smelter plant complex, for a three-year process-engineering course. Chosen employees can study alongside work, with the company partly footing the course fee.
This has benefited many, including 43-year-old Abdul Waheed, a science graduate from Kota Government College, Rajasthan. Waheed joined HZL in 1991 as a plant operator. Today, the Associate Manager, soon to become an engineer, has set his sights even higher. “In 18 years, I have got five promotions and my salary has more than doubled,’’ says Waheed. Like him, as many as 261 workmen have become executives from 2004 onwards.
Every year, HZL selects 50 ‘stars of business’ based on their performance and puts them on the fast track of growth and development.These stars become heads of ‘strategic business units’ in five to six years,occupying the second-in-command position in one of the verticals of the plant.This is a jump that would have taken 15-20 years earlier.
Sunipa Roy, 28, is one such star. A graduate from Regional Engineering College, Durgapur, she is already the strategic business unit head of the leaching and purification division of Chanderiya smelter complex, commercial unit-II, after just five years in the company. Her salary has risen from Rs 14,000 per month to Rs 75,000, not to forget the bonuses— three times a year—and other generous perks.
There is active employee interaction. “Every quarter, junior members of the company interact with the group Chairman, Anil Agarwal, to understand the vision and philosophy of the company,’’ says Mehta.CEO workshops are also common.
As MS Mehta, CEO, Vedanta Group puts it: “We provide employees a vibrant working environment that helps them to innovate, discover their potential and realise their professional dreams.”
Industry: Metals
Employees: 6,363
Workplace Units: 12
Business units: 13
Unique roles: 221
OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE,’’ SAYS AKHILESH JOSHI, CHIEF Operating Officer, Hindustan Zinc (HZL), the world’s second largest integrated zinc and lead producer, “is to attract the best talent to some of the remotest areas of the country, where our mines are.’’ Fortunately, for HZL, a part of the global Vedanta Resources Group, the task hasn’t been difficult, thanks to the company’s employees, who have been its “brand ambassadors” and helped rope in talent. Industry-topping salaries and a great work culture have also helped.
HZL’s expansion plans and global operations have added to the lure. Production capacity of zinc and lead (metals) has jumped from 204,000 tonnes in 2002 to 754,000 tonnes in 2008, and is expected to touch 1 million tonnes by 2010. Mining capacity has also increased from 3.45 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2002 to 7.1 mpta in 2008.
For HK Mehta, Vice-President, Human Resources, HZL, the company’s policy of empowering individuals and giving them the freedom to carry out their responsibilities makes HZL an exciting place for its 6,363 employees. Its attrition rate of 12% is much below the industry average of 18%.
There’s also the lure of global career growth opportunities in other Vedanta group companies, to get familiar with cutting-edge technology at mines and smelters across the world, and to add educational qualifi cations. HZL helps science graduates in the company become engineers. It has tied up with the Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences, Pilani, located within its Chanderiya smelter plant complex, for a three-year process-engineering course. Chosen employees can study alongside work, with the company partly footing the course fee.
This has benefited many, including 43-year-old Abdul Waheed, a science graduate from Kota Government College, Rajasthan. Waheed joined HZL in 1991 as a plant operator. Today, the Associate Manager, soon to become an engineer, has set his sights even higher. “In 18 years, I have got five promotions and my salary has more than doubled,’’ says Waheed. Like him, as many as 261 workmen have become executives from 2004 onwards.
Every year, HZL selects 50 ‘stars of business’ based on their performance and puts them on the fast track of growth and development.These stars become heads of ‘strategic business units’ in five to six years,occupying the second-in-command position in one of the verticals of the plant.This is a jump that would have taken 15-20 years earlier.
Sunipa Roy, 28, is one such star. A graduate from Regional Engineering College, Durgapur, she is already the strategic business unit head of the leaching and purification division of Chanderiya smelter complex, commercial unit-II, after just five years in the company. Her salary has risen from Rs 14,000 per month to Rs 75,000, not to forget the bonuses— three times a year—and other generous perks.
There is active employee interaction. “Every quarter, junior members of the company interact with the group Chairman, Anil Agarwal, to understand the vision and philosophy of the company,’’ says Mehta.CEO workshops are also common.
As MS Mehta, CEO, Vedanta Group puts it: “We provide employees a vibrant working environment that helps them to innovate, discover their potential and realise their professional dreams.”
No.1 HCL Technologies
HCL Technologies
Industry: IT
Employees: 37,426
Workplace Units: 41
Business units: 11
Unique roles: 76
EMPLOYEES FIRST! WHEN HCL TECHNOLOGIES CEO VINEET NAYAR unveiled this concept at the company’s 2005 ‘global customer’ meet, it left everyone stunned. No one could believe that the company was putting its employees before customers. The shock was even more pronounced as HCL was struggling to find its feet when other Indian IT companies were taking leadership positions in the global IT market.
The Employee First programme was part of HCL’s transformational blue-ocean strategy. Not only was it going aft er newer markets and segments in which other Indian IT companies had a minimal presence, it was also searching for differentiators that would put it six to eight months ahead of the competition. The focus was to consolidate business lines, invest in sales, internal IT processes and services, pursue big-ticket deals and raise bills on output-based pricing. However, all this meant a lot of pressure on the workforce, which was already dealing with high attrition rates.
The new strategy positioned employees as the biggest differentiator. The premise of employee first and customer second is that delighted employees will create delighted customers, thereby sustaining business success. The company was not chasing volume deals, but high-value deals. Nayar says value is created at the point of interface with the client, and this is done by employees. This, in turn, produces business results. “Though it was a transparent concept, it took time to sink in. But we were serious about it, we believed in it and we had the will to implement it,” says Dilip Kumar rivastava, Global Head (HR), HCL Technologies.
HCL’s entire HR policy was revisited to bring in a qualitative shift towards employees. Exposure was increased and skills were updated to enhance knowledge. Employees were empowered to have views about the company and given opportunities to express them. This was done through 360-degree appraisals, surveys and opinion polls. The transformation of employees happened through coaching and mentoring programmes. A reward and recognition system was also put in place. The growth in the business reflects employee and customer acceptance of the programme.
“Change is the only thing that is constant here. I became multi-skilled and started believing in myself. HCL helped me to grow,” says Rajani Kapani, who joined the company in 1998 as a front-office executive. Today, his designation is Deputy Manager, Employee HR Services.
The initiative to put the spotlight on employees has made a huge difference. This, perhaps, is the prime reason for employees being confident about the steps being taken by the management to negotiate difficult times.
Good news or bad, employees get to hear first from the CEO or the leadership team. For instance, in September 2008, Vineet Nayar personally addressed employees across centres and explained the rationale behind the Axon acquisition, and what it meant for the company and the workforce. He also spoke about the economic situation and what it meant for HCL’s business.
Employees learnt that the organisation was not looking at layoffs or salary cuts as part of its efforts to minimise costs. This reassured the employees and also made them work harder. HCL Technologies is already known as the CEO factory for India, with almost 100 of its former employees now holding chief executive posts in the corporate world.
Today, it is evolving into a global company, where nationalities and region dissolve into just one thing: being an HCLite.
Source : outlook business
Industry: IT
Employees: 37,426
Workplace Units: 41
Business units: 11
Unique roles: 76
EMPLOYEES FIRST! WHEN HCL TECHNOLOGIES CEO VINEET NAYAR unveiled this concept at the company’s 2005 ‘global customer’ meet, it left everyone stunned. No one could believe that the company was putting its employees before customers. The shock was even more pronounced as HCL was struggling to find its feet when other Indian IT companies were taking leadership positions in the global IT market.
The Employee First programme was part of HCL’s transformational blue-ocean strategy. Not only was it going aft er newer markets and segments in which other Indian IT companies had a minimal presence, it was also searching for differentiators that would put it six to eight months ahead of the competition. The focus was to consolidate business lines, invest in sales, internal IT processes and services, pursue big-ticket deals and raise bills on output-based pricing. However, all this meant a lot of pressure on the workforce, which was already dealing with high attrition rates.
The new strategy positioned employees as the biggest differentiator. The premise of employee first and customer second is that delighted employees will create delighted customers, thereby sustaining business success. The company was not chasing volume deals, but high-value deals. Nayar says value is created at the point of interface with the client, and this is done by employees. This, in turn, produces business results. “Though it was a transparent concept, it took time to sink in. But we were serious about it, we believed in it and we had the will to implement it,” says Dilip Kumar rivastava, Global Head (HR), HCL Technologies.
HCL’s entire HR policy was revisited to bring in a qualitative shift towards employees. Exposure was increased and skills were updated to enhance knowledge. Employees were empowered to have views about the company and given opportunities to express them. This was done through 360-degree appraisals, surveys and opinion polls. The transformation of employees happened through coaching and mentoring programmes. A reward and recognition system was also put in place. The growth in the business reflects employee and customer acceptance of the programme.
“Change is the only thing that is constant here. I became multi-skilled and started believing in myself. HCL helped me to grow,” says Rajani Kapani, who joined the company in 1998 as a front-office executive. Today, his designation is Deputy Manager, Employee HR Services.
The initiative to put the spotlight on employees has made a huge difference. This, perhaps, is the prime reason for employees being confident about the steps being taken by the management to negotiate difficult times.
Good news or bad, employees get to hear first from the CEO or the leadership team. For instance, in September 2008, Vineet Nayar personally addressed employees across centres and explained the rationale behind the Axon acquisition, and what it meant for the company and the workforce. He also spoke about the economic situation and what it meant for HCL’s business.
Employees learnt that the organisation was not looking at layoffs or salary cuts as part of its efforts to minimise costs. This reassured the employees and also made them work harder. HCL Technologies is already known as the CEO factory for India, with almost 100 of its former employees now holding chief executive posts in the corporate world.
Today, it is evolving into a global company, where nationalities and region dissolve into just one thing: being an HCLite.
Source : outlook business
Top 25 Best Employers in India - Outlook Business
Friends,
Here is the list of companies who are ranked Top 25 best Employers in India. a brief write up is given in the other posts here please go through the same and do let us have your views on the same !
1 HCL Technologies
2 Hindustan Zinc
3 Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
4 Cisco Systems
5 ITC Welcomgroup
6 Intuit Technology Services
7 Eureka Forbes
8 LG Electronics
9 Domino’s Pizza
10 Marriott Hotels
11 Godrej Consumer Products
12 Becton Dickinson
13 Stryker Global Technology Center
14 NetApp
15 The Oberoi Group
16 VCustomer Corporation
17 Paypal
18 Accenture Services
19 Kotak Mahindra Bank
20 Whirlpool of India
21 Intelenet Global Services
22 HSBC
23 Hewlett Packard
24 Indian Oil Corporation
25 Ford India
Here is the list of companies who are ranked Top 25 best Employers in India. a brief write up is given in the other posts here please go through the same and do let us have your views on the same !
1 HCL Technologies
2 Hindustan Zinc
3 Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
4 Cisco Systems
5 ITC Welcomgroup
6 Intuit Technology Services
7 Eureka Forbes
8 LG Electronics
9 Domino’s Pizza
10 Marriott Hotels
11 Godrej Consumer Products
12 Becton Dickinson
13 Stryker Global Technology Center
14 NetApp
15 The Oberoi Group
16 VCustomer Corporation
17 Paypal
18 Accenture Services
19 Kotak Mahindra Bank
20 Whirlpool of India
21 Intelenet Global Services
22 HSBC
23 Hewlett Packard
24 Indian Oil Corporation
25 Ford India
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