The certification is based on an anonymous ‘happiness dialogue’ programme conducted with all employees, including the CEO. This programme utilises Happyness.me’s proprietary framework, validated by the Happiness Research Academy, to ensure the certification reflects genuine employee experiences.

“Happiness is what drives success,” said Manan Kapur, sr. partner, YAAP Digital. “While receiving this recognition is an honour, we are committed to being a happy workplace for years to come. We believe prioritising employee well-being is not only the right thing to do but also essential for a thriving workplace culture.”

Namrata Tata, managing partner, Happyness.me, congratulated YAAP Digital, stating, “Their commitment to creating a positive work environment sets a commendable example. We look forward to partnering with them in promoting workplace well-being.”

This certification marks a significant milestone for YAAP Digital, showcasing their dedication to employee satisfaction and fostering a workplace where individuals feel valued, supported, and empowered to excel.

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Tech loses its grip

As compared to 41 last year, only 31 tech companies found their way onto the coveted 2024 list. Notably, Google tumbled from its lofty eighth position to a disheartening 26th, while Microsoft slid from 13th to 18th. Familiar names such as Meta, Zillow, and Zoom were conspicuously absent for the second consecutive year.

Layoffs bite deeper

This plummet is not merely a coincidence. The tech sector’s turbulent year, marked by over 260,000 layoffs in 2023 and a grim continuation in 2024, has evidently impacted employee sentiment. Glassdoor reviews paint a picture of plummeting morale at Google, Meta, Zoom, and Zillow, with employee concerns swirling around job security, long hours, and subpar management. Employees at these behemoths are increasingly anxious about their employers’ prospects, as Glassdoor’s lead economist, Daniel Zhao, points out.

Beyond perks, deeper dissatisfaction

Adding fuel to the fire, companies such as Google, Meta, and Twitter cut back on employee perks last year, further adding to the disenchantment. It appears that the once-enticing allure of free snacks and nap pods is no longer enough to mask deeper disgruntlement over job stability and work culture.

Silver linings remain

However, the picture is not entirely bleak. Apple, after a brief absence, made a commendable comeback at 39th position, and chipmaker NVIDIA secured an impressive second place. Employees at NVIDIA lauded its passionate workforce, vibrant culture, and attractive benefits, offering a glimpse of hope amidst the industry’s woes.

Employee praise for NVIDIA focused on passionate and intelligent colleagues, a great corporate culture, and robust benefits. The top spot in the 2024 rankings went to management consulting firm Bain & Company, with IT company ServiceNow securing the third position.

Lessons from the list

Glassdoor’s rankings serve as a stark reminder that even the most revered tech giants are not immune to the headwinds of economic uncertainty and changing priorities. To truly thrive in this evolving landscape, tech companies must go beyond perks and focus on cultivating positive work environments that prioritise employee well-being, job security, and meaningful work. The road ahead for Silicon Valley may be bumpy, but those who adapt to the changing tides and prioritise their workforce stand to regain their lost shine.

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Embrace

Tata Management Training Centre has been recognised largely for its initiatives in the L&D department of the Tata Group, during the pandemic. It initiated various programmes, such as ‘Embrace’ which is a virtual onboarding platform at Tata Group, that offers an immersive experience for all the new joinees, giving insights of the Tata culture through various means, such as gamification technology. Interestingly, this virtual experience is open for all who wish to get some insight into the Tata culture and businesses.

Learning Latitudes

Another initiative, called Learning Latitudes, which is more like an online webinar, covering various topics, can be attended by any employee. Various industry speakers and leaders are called from outside and within the Tata Group, to talk on various subjects, which can be useful for all employees. This initiative saw a lot of recognition as 180 sessions have already been delivered, with a total of 80,000 attendees, 200 speakers, 25 subjects and 55 Tata companies participating.

“This is a team achievement for us today when the Global Council of Corporate Universities (GlobalCCU), which is a premier certifying body for corporate universities worldwide, has conferred the ‘Silver Award’ under the ‘culture and technologies’ category to the TATA Group. We were chosen amongst  participants/corporate universities from 21 countries and 5 continents globally. Seventeen corporate universities from around the world received awards under six categories”

Emmanuel David, director, TMTC

Leadercraft

There was a virtual programme for the senior leadership team as well, which saw overwhelming participation from all employees and the senior leadership teams.

Additionally, TMTC has also started Leaderscraft, a podcast for leaders along with the Tata University Road Show.

“At TMTC, we have over 100 learning programmes running throughout the year for the Tata Group. As everybody was confined to their homes, we dcided to take learning to everybody. With the help of the team at TMTC and all our education and content partners, we were able to make this happen, and as a result we have also been recognised for it,” mentions Poornima Pandey, VP – group human resources, Tata Sons.

Along with Pandey, Radha Ganesh Ram, senior manager, TMTC; Chandna Sethi, programme director, TMTC; Nikhil Apte, head – HR, TMTC and Sanjay Nayak, deputy manager, knowledge management, TMTC, were part of the team that worked on all the mentioned projects collectively, under the guidance of Emmanuel David, director, TMTC.

“This is a team achievement for us, with the Global Council of Corporate Universities (GlobalCCU), which is a premier certifying body for corporate universities worldwide, conferring the ‘Silver Award’ under the ‘culture and technologies’ category to the TATA Group. We were amongst the participants/corporate universities from 21 countries and 5 continents globally, to have received the award. Seventeen corporate universities from around the world received awards under six categories,” shares David.

“At TMTC we have over 100 learning programmes running throughout the year for the Tata Group. As everybody was confined to their homes we tried to take learning to everybody. With the help of the team at TMTC and all our education and content partners, we were able to make this happen and also got recognised for it”

Poornima Pandey, VP – Group human resources, Tata Sons

Other winners included TVS Motors, which managed to get a bronze award as the best corporate university for business impact and agility in uncertainty. In the same category, Rasotom from Russia and Alstom from France received gold and silver awards, respectively.

Russian Railways, Caixa Economica Federal (Brazil) and Atos from France were awarded gold, silver and bronze awards as the overall best corporate universities. Similarly, there were other categories such as best corporate university in corporate responsibility & soft power, and branding & durability. There was also a special award in environment and society governance, which was bagged by Ziraat Bankasi from Turkey.

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The event allows participants to tackle LIVE business problems and has 15 teams competing in the grand finale. This year’s theme was ‘Product Incubation and Innovation’ in alignment with Airtel’s strong focus on bringing digital solutions to the market for the consumer and enterprise segments. It gave participants the opportunity to come up with unconventional solutions to real business problems.

The winners will receive an opportunity to work with Airtel’s incubation team and experience the Company’s product- management function.

iCreate’s 2020 edition spanned three months, and witnessed participation from over 4000 MBA students from India’s top business schools, including the IIMs, ISB, XLRI, TISS, FMS, SP Jain, MDI and IIFT.

The thorough, creative and well-researched ideas were presented to the jury, which was led by Adarsh Nair, chief product and experience officer, Airtel.

Samit Deb, CHRO, Bharti Airtel admits to being impressed by the “growing participation and deep engagement at iCreate” and points out how “innovation and entrepreneurship are at the core of Airtel’s DNA.”

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The Airline had revealed its intention to lay off 4,300 employees, which is 20 per cent of its workforce on September 10. The downsizing was to affect Silk Air and Scoot too. Most of its employees were on unpaid leave and those who were not flying had stopped getting any flight allowances either.

Presently, the captains on the rolls are suffering a 28.5 per cent cut in their pay, while first officers are facing an 18.5 per cent cut in their pay.

The deduction is inclusive of a cut in the monthly variable component of their salaries. With the agreement to remain in effect till March 2022, the move is expected to solve the issue of job losses.

At the beginning of the pandemic, despite international flights being grounded, Singapore Airlines successfully managed to sustain without resorting to layoffs, although some staff were assigned duty at hospitals and at Singapore’s transport network, while many were put to work with social services.

The Airline functioned at about eight per cent of passenger capacity last month, when it flew about 40,000 passengers as compared to the annual 3.3 million passengers prior to the outbreak. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also predicted that passenger traffic will not be restored to pre-COVID levels before 2024.

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The Company boasts of a robust employee referral programme. Mphasis employees are encouraged to participate in a gamified social-referral programme, which allows them to refer friends, extended family, and former colleagues over WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media.

This programme, the Company claims, has helped it reach out to passive talent, which has resulted in a significant top-line and bottom-line impact.

“In today’s increasingly subjective business environment, it is observed that micro-social communities, both online and offline, are home to some of the best talent around. Major developments across economies are taking place on social media channels, as audiences are increasingly migrating to these platforms. Given the prevalence of such tools among our targeted candidate pool, more so in the post-pandemic era, it was a natural progression for us to adopt a more social outlook to hiring and explore these avenues of untapped potential,” says Srikanth Karra, chief human resources officer, Mphasis, in an official communique.

“Mphasis, as a large IT organisation, has an existing community across different skill combinations. Leveraging a niche skill employee community to reach out to their social networks to attract talent has proved fruitful to our hiring approach. This award is a testament to the efficiency of our digital hiring model,” he adds.

The entries for this award were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, as well as Brandon Hall Group analysts, and executives based upon the following criteria: fit the need, design of the programme, functionality, innovation, and overall measurable benefits.

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These awards — for the year 2019-20 — recognise the teachers and principals for their dedication, innovation and invaluable contribution towards improving the school education system.

Each award comprises a merit certificate, a shawl and a cash reward of Rs 50,000. The selection process takes place online and the applicants are evaluated on the basis of general and specific criteria under each category, taking into account many factors pertaining to school education and their contribution.

Pokhriyal appreciated the efforts put in by teachers to lay the basic foundation of education. He highlighted the fact that the awards were meant to “celebrate the unique contribution of some of the finest teachers in the country”; to honour them for their commitment towards improving the quality of school education and “enriching the lives of students”.

The New Education Policy 2020, the Minister shared, recognises teachers as the central point of the education system. Therefore, all schools must have sufficient teaching staff and the appropriate environment to enhance the work culture. He congratulated the awardees for their contribution to the field of education and their sense of duty.

The event was attended by Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre, as well as Anita Karwal, secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, and Manoj Ahuja, chairman, CBSE.

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Awards for best employers were given away in several domains, including advertising, marketing, PR, banking and financial services, business and professional services, computer services and software, consumer products, non-durables, energy health products and services, hospitality and leisure, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, real estate and telecommunications. There was also a special COVID-19 response category.

The Stevie awards recognised TCS for its most innovative use of HR technology during the pandemic, its achievement in machine learning and artificial intelligence, its CSR strategy and achievement in recruitment. The Company was recognised as the Employer of the Year in the computer software category and awarded a Silver Stevie for its achievements in the area of diversity and inclusion. Bronze Stevies were also awarded to TCS for the most innovative WFH plan, for innovativeness in terms of workplace redesign, for the best use of games and simulations for learning and for the best engagement/happiness team of the year.

The IT company was lauded for its performance in the areas of human resources, talent acquisition and development, corporate social responsibility (CSR), business practices and innovative use of technology. TCS was also recognised for prioritising a safe, stimulating, flexible environment that promotes social interaction, fosters innovation, and builds work culture that is oriented towards results and high performance.

Tech Mahindra received two Stevies for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It bagged a Gold Stevie for innovative use of HR technology and a Bronze Stevie for the most valuable employer in the Asia Pacific region. It was Tech Mahindra’s resilience and agility in building safe, sustainable human experiences during the pandemic that helped it bag the award.

In the special COVID-19 response categories, among other organisations, TO THE NEW from Noida won a Gold Stevie, whereas CSS Corp. from Chennai and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, New Delhi as well as HCL Technologies, Noida won Bronze Stevies.

These special categories of awards recognised the contributions of HR individuals, teams, and entire companies that worked to keep workforces safe, healthy, employed, paid, and informed during the pandemic.

HCL Technologies, Noida won a Silver Stevie for the most valuable HR team in the Asia Pacific. A Bronze Stevie was also awarded to Fortinet Technologes India, Bangalore, for the way it adapted to the new normal.

KPMG India, Mumbai bagged a Silver Stevie for being the Employer of the Year in the business and professional services category.

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The world’s most ethical companies’ assessment process includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, as well as ethics, compliance and governance activities. In addition, the diversity initiatives taken by an organisation to support a strong value chain are also factored in. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organisations across industries and around the globe.

T. V. Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel, says, “We are honoured to be once again recognised as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. This recognition encourages us to stay committed to the values and operating principles as practised by the visionary Founder leaders of the Tata Group. The Tata name evokes a sense of trust, credibility, and integrity amongst stakeholders in India and overseas. It is a privilege to be part of the legacy and to build on this equity, which has been earned so assiduously through our ethical conduct through the years.”

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Of course, TCS considers it a great honour to be featured alongside big US organisations, in the Fortune Big Companies to Work For in 2020 list. For about five years now, TCS has been among the top job creators in the US, in the IT services and consulting space. It has provided jobs to over 20,000 new employees.

It is the Company’s passionate, empowered and driven workforce that helped it bag a position on the list. The Company is known to allow its employees to be actively involved in helping deliver ace quality service to its customers, and it is popular for its happy and healthy work culture.

The employee experience at TCS was assessed for over 60 factors by Great Place to Work before it qualified for a place on the list. The surveyed companies were marked on several factors, including the level of trust the employees had in their leaders, the respectful treatment of employees, the level to which decisions at the workplace were fair, and the bonding between the team members.

As per the survey, over 72 per cent of the workforce at TCS thought it was a great place to work, while 80 per cent were happy with the work-life balance provided by the Company. Almost 85 per cent approved of the Company’s contributions to the local communities where they resided.

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As the first and only truly global award of its kind, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognising them through regional, national and global awards programmes.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson and managing director, Biocon, has been named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 and will now represent India at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) in Monte Carlo from 4–6 June, 2020.

Uday Kotak led an eminent eight-member independent jury panel, the other jury members were Deep Kalra, founder and CEO, MakeMyTrip; Kunal Shroff, co-founder and managing partner, ChrysCapital; Gopal Srinivasan, founder, chairman, TVS Capital Funds; Naina Lal Kidwai, chairman of Advent Private Equity; Sameer Sain, co-founder, Everstone Group; Vijay Sankar, deputy chairman, The Sanmar Group; Jalaj Dani, co-promoter, Asian Paints.

The winners tell remarkable stories of ambition and fortitude to pursue growth with innovation and purpose. With the emergence of a new India and big shifts in the economy, the Jury instituted a new category this year, ‘Transformational Impact Person of the Year’. This recognises an individual who is a champion of change and has reinvented both the industry and the ecosystem. Tuhin Parikh, managing director – real estate, Blackstone India. He became the first winner of this new category. With his ground-breaking initiatives, Parikh has enabled a transformational shift in how global investors view the Indian real-estate sector.

Falguni Nayar, founder and CEO, Nykaa E-Retail, was conferred the ‘Start-up category’ award. Arun Bharat Ram, chairman, SRF, was conferred the ‘Manufacturing category award’ for transforming a century-old enterprise into a global-scale manufacturing major, with world-class products and processes, and focus on corporate governance and sustainability. The ‘Service Category’ winner, Sridhar Vembu of Zoho Corporation, is a technology evangelist. Yashish Dahiya, CEO and co-founder, PolicyBazaar, was conferred with the ‘Financial Services Category’ award.

The winners of ‘Consumer Products & Retail Category’, Kuldip Singh Dhingra, chairman, and Gurbachan Singh Dhingra, vice-chairman, Berger Paints, have built a successful enterprise through innovation. The ‘Lifesciences and Healthcare Category’ award went to Arvind Lal, MD, and Om Manchanda, CEO, Dr. Lal PathLabs.

Ravi Raheja and Neel Raheja, group presidents, K Raheja Corp., were the winners of the ‘Energy, Real Estate & Infrastructure Category’. K.B.S. Anand, managing director and CEO, Asian Paints, was honored as the ‘Entrepreneurial CEO’. Furthermore, Adi Godrej, chairman, Godrej Group, was felicitated with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’.

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The Company, which happens to be the largest recruiter of IT talent in the UK, has been continuously investing in the development of its talent pool, with special focus on programmes for the professional development and digital skilling of local talent. Its efforts to facilitate entry-level talent through various initiatives, such as Rising Stars, Emerging Leaders and the Leadership Exchange, have been appreciated.

Growing by about 20 per cent in the last financial year, TCS has been collaborating with certain big British organisations to help them transform and grow as well. Little wonder then that TCS has been recognised as one of the top three IT and IT-enabled services provider in Britain.

Its commitment to diversity is clear from the fact that TCS’ workforce comprises young talent from 54 nationalities, and a significant 28 per cent of the staff is made up of women.

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HubSpot, a cloud computing firm based in California bagged the first spot this year. The software developing and marketing company, was in the 16th position last year. It outperformed Bain & Company, which had occupied first position in 2019 and dropped to second position in the 2020 list.

The other names that made it to the top 10 are: DocuSign, In-N-Out Burger, Sammons Financial Group, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Intuitive Surgical, Ultimate Software, VIPKid and Southwest Airlines.

Facebook, which was in the seventh position last year, dropped to the 23rd rank, while Google, which held the 8th position in 2019, fell further down to the 11th position for 2020.

Microsoft improved its ranking from the 34th position in 2019 to the 21st in 2020. Apple, on the other hand, dropped down further by 13 places, from the 71st position in 2019 to the 84th position in 2020.

Dell Technologies, Slack and SurveyMonkey were amongst the companies that found themselves on the list for the first time.

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The PhD programme can be applied for online, by submitting a research proposal in the areas of applied physics, applied anthropology, business PhD programmes, microbiology, cell biology, molecular biology, chemistry, computer science & engineering, engineering, criminology, integrative biology, marine science and psychology.

The fellowship which is awarded to one student every academic year, waives off tuition fee for all four years, covers health insurance and also provides a stipend of $22,000 for 12 months.

Avijit Sengupta of IIT Bombay, Veena Subramanian of the Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore and Arjun Kadian from the University of Pune are three students who were awarded this fellowship and are presently pursuing their research at USF.

The University of South Florida, which was established in 1956 in Tampa, includes three, separately accredited institutions— USF; USF St. Petersburg; and USF Sarasota-Manatee. It caters to over 49,000 students, including about a 1000 Indian students. With an an annual budget of $1.6 billion and an annual economic impact of $4.4 billion, the USF system is amongst the Top 30 institutions known for research expenditures among public universities, as per the National Science Foundation.

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The smoke-free technology company believes that only a diverse and inclusive culture can drive innovation and success. Philip Morris International and its affiliates across the world are committed to reducing gender gap. Not surprisingly, women hold 35 per cent of all management positions at PMI, and the Company is confident of taking this figure to 40 per cent in the next couple of years.

According to Hosne Ara Loma, director-people & culture, IPM India Wholesale Trading “Our success as a company depends on a talented and diverse workforce – where individuals enjoy opportunities to learn, grow and prosper in their careers. This means providing fair and equal remuneration for men and women for equivalent work, and at IPM India our values and principles call for nothing less. According to the ILO Gender Wage Report 2018/19, in India, where the gender pay gap is 34.5%, wage parity represents a crucial step on the road to gender parity. IPM India’s achievement as the first EQUAL-SALARY certified company in India makes us an employer of choice committed to equality and to fostering an inclusive and dynamic workforce.”

The certification authenticates the fact that IPM India Wholesale Trading offers equal pay to men and women for equivalent work. The EQUAL-SALARY certification is based on a qualitative assessment of management commitment to the principles of equal pay and of employee perception of that commitment. It also studies the HR policies and practices, of the Company under scrutiny, that are capable of not just identifying potential gender blind spots, but also recommending corrective measures.

The certification further helps identify areas for improvement and supports efforts to address the broader challenge of closing any gender talent gaps. This includes introducing flexible working arrangements and addressing gender bias.

Commenting on the certification, Véronique Goy Veenhuys, founder & CEO, EQUAL-SALARY Foundation, said, “While today, we still cannot take equal pay for equivalent work for granted, the commitment of companies, such as IPM India Wholesale Trading is a welcome step forward on the journey toward achieving global wage parity, and contributes to the broader challenge of closing the gender pay gap.”

Interestingly, Philip Morris International is endeavouring to transform the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products. Despite the risks, these products will be a much better choice than smoking.

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The award is granted after thorough evaluation of the talent strategies of the participating organisations, and after assessing their employee engagement efforts and leadership effectiveness. Employees are asked to rate their employers and express their honest opinions about them. The organisations are also judged by an independent panel of industry experts, academics and journalists.

Coach Hong Kong scored high in terms of optimism, innovativeness and inclusiveness. The organisation empowers its workforce to ensure that their dreams are fulfilled. Talent is considered the Company’s most valuable asset and indispensable to its impeccable customer service.

The award recognised the HR and talent strategies of the Company and the resultant business growth it enjoys in Asia. The Company takes care to implement new ideas, tools and systems for the empowerment of its managers and employees. It also provides its staff with efficient learning and development programmes, and offers them ample opportunities to grow and progress in their careers.

The Company plans to continue evolving its HR transformation journey and concentrate on building an essential talent pipeline, while ensuring that each employee grows personally and achieves success.

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They recently received a recognition for being a great place to work by an external organisation for having a high-trust, high-performing workplace culture. The certification is considered to be of high repute for defining the great workplaces across business, academia and government organisations.

Rajiv Bhalla, managing director, Barco India, said, “We feel really honoured and humbled by this recognition. At Barco India, we have always emphasised on building a work culture based on the pillars of trust, empowerment, innovation, growth, listening and learning.”

Bhalla also adds, “Employees, who personify a company’s ethos, play a huge part in representing the values of the organisation to the external stakeholders and are, therefore, significantly instrumental in creating an unforgettable experience for everyone engaging with the brand. We invariably recognise people as one of our most important assets to ensure that all our employees join our journey towards ‘enabling bright outcomes.”

Jayati Roy, HR director, Barco India, emphasised on the importance of working in a positive environment and said, “Barco India has grown steadily into a mature organisation where talent is cherished, customers are delighted and society is thanked by each ambassador who walks in through our door— our fellow Barconian! Our culture and talent are our key differentiators as they have helped shape Barco into what it is today, and will be the strength behind each step that we take forward.”

Barco Electronic Systems, is a tech firm that develops networked visualisation solutions for entertainment, enterprise and healthcare markets.

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The Company, which is known to have successfully lead organisations across the world through their digital transformation journey, is the only company among the top 10 IT services brands to receive this prestigious certification.

That is not all, TCS has been certified as the number one employer in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East and also as a top employer in 29 individual countries.

The organisation’s incomparable workplace policies and culture combined with its continuous efforts to invest in its 4.17 lakh strong workforce across the globe, has helped it achieve this position and reputation.

The senior executive of the Company admit that TCS owes its success to its talented employees spread across its offices around the world.

The Company pays special attention to the learning, development, training and career growth of its employees. As part of its efforts, it has already covered almost three lakh employees under its reskilling and upskilling programmes.

The Top Employers Institute has almost three decades of experience in recognising the world’s best organisations based on their HR management and employee conditions, that is, how good an environment these organisations provide to the employees to grow and develop, not just professionally but personally too.

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Every year, the Top Employers Institute awards the top employers globally for their optimisation of hiring practices so as to ensure a great work environment, and also nurture talent. The Institute’s certificate of excellence is awarded to companies that provide ideal working conditions for their employees and also ensure the personal and professional development of the members of their workforce. It is such an environment and the workforce that performs in such ideal conditions that together help companies grow.

While the Australian and Singaporean offices of the Cognizant scored well in terms of leadership development and compensation and benefits, the European countries performed well in terms of workforce planning and on-boarding.

Coincidentally, Cognizant has completed its silver jubilee recently and is also ranked 195 on the Fortune 500 list.

According to the Top Employers Institute, Cognizant’s offices offer excellent working conditions to the employees and they believe in putting the employee first. The Institute recognises organisations such as Cognizant that align their policies and practices such that the world of work is enriched globally.

Cognizant has been frequently listed amongst the best companies in the world. Its industry-based, consultative model ensures that its clients are able to run their businesses more efficiently and innovatively.

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The event, that took place in Mumbai on 30 January, 2019 was marked by panel discussions with speakers and leading figures, such as Tara Kaushal, Abhilash Tomy,. Sindhutai Sapkal, Rizwan Tayabali, Anuj Gosalia, Harssh Poddar, Mukund Rajan,. Binish Desai, Sanjay Podder, Ashwini Deshpande, Uday Deshpande, Mini Menon, Kalyani Khona, Nirali Kartik, Major D.P. Singh, and Dr Jagannath Dixit. Each of the speakers shared their own unique experiences and journeys with the audience during the discussion on leadership themes— Leadership Has Gender, Because Every Brand Has a Story, Being Human in a Digital World, The Art of Being Independently Together, Difficult Roads Lead to Beautiful Destinations, From Ashes of Conflict Emerge Ideas, and Excuses Don’t Get Results—took place during the conclave with ‘Leadership is a Journey’ and ‘Leading from Behind’ as the master themes.

In association with the British Standards Institute (BSI) as the audit partners, the best 50 best companies were awarded with the People Capital Index (PCI ) Awards. To make sure that BSI was able to gather unbiased data, they drove the anonymous PCI survey on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter as well as job portals). Later, companies that had more than 30 mid-managers vouching for them were shortlisted. The Top 50 PCI winners were chosen post an audit conducted by BSI.

Expressing his gratitude, Mohit Gundecha, CEO and co-founder, Jombay said, “We at Jombay are delighted and humbled to have put together the ‘Leading From Behind’ summit for the entire HR and corporate fraternity of Indian enterprise…After a successful summit this year, we will be back with a new set of eclectic speakers and promise to deliver one of the most insightful and interactive leadership summits next year. “ Roma Balwani, chief mentor, Jombay & co-curator of the ‘Leading From Behind’ summit, said, “What is heartening to note is that Jombay has created an aspirational industry benchmark by instituting both the PCI list and HR 40under40 awards.  The number of applicants has moved up to 1600 from 600 last year. “

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Tripathi, commented on the honour saying, “As one of the leading producers of steel in the world, Tata Steel has over the years pioneered initiatives in the context of employer-employee relationship that have become industry standards. We are pleased to receive the ‘Golden Peacock HR Excellence Award 2018’ in acknowledgement of our commitment towards employee well-being. This award will further motivate us to continue our journey of innovative HR and people-management practices.”

Tata Steel has come to be known as the most employee-friendly companies in the last ten decades. It has created industry standards in the field of HR. The Company initiated the eight-hour work day, the ‘leave with pay’ scheme, and the Workers’ Provident Fund Scheme, which were adopted by the International Labour Organisation and also enforced as a Law in India. The Company has introduced many path-breaking policies, and initiatives for the workforce, such as the five-day workweek, menstrual leave, paternity leave, adoption leave, satellite office operation, employee-assistance programme (tilted UMANG) and Take 2 (to provide a platform to the partners of the Tata Steel employees and women professionals who are on career break). Tata Steel has also ensured fair representation of people from the under-privileged sections of the society. The Company’s Diversity & Inclusion Programme, ‘MOSAIC’ is enabling diversity of gender, hiring and inclusion of PwDs (Persons with Disability), inclusion of LGBT and more.

Employees are Tata Steel’s most important asset and prioritising their needs and ensuring their well-being is integral to the Company’s sustainable future

The Golden Peacock Award, instituted by the Institute of Directors (IOD), and regarded globally as a benchmark of corporate excellence, was introduced in 2011. It recognises accomplishments of the HR fraternity in India and leading organisations and practitioners who drive impactful human-capital strategies.

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This annual certification is awarded by the Top Employers Institute after its yearly research and examination of the workings of several employers and employees across the world.

An independent organisation, the Top Employers Institute assesses the employee offerings of employers, globally, and measures them against international benchmarks. UST Global has scored high in terms of its employee offerings, covering talent strategy, leadership development, workforce planning, career and succession management, onboarding, compensation and benefits, learning and development, culture and performance management.

The certification comes close on the heels of the Company being awarded the ‘Top Employer in the US’ for 2018.

The Top Employers Institute has certified over 1,300 companies in 115 countries impacting over five million employees.

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The rating is arrived at on the basis of anonymous comments and reviews by existing and former employees, on their jobs and employers. The organisations are marked based on remunerations, organisation culture, attitude and behaviour of senior management, and focus on work-life balance. It is reported that Bain & Company, the global management consultancy, which has a workforce of 8000 employees, globally, scored the highest in terms of average employee review. The reviews were received from North America (US, Canada), Europe (Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, UK), and Asia-Pacific (Australia, India, New Zealand).

The consultancy set up in 1973, has 57 offices in 36 countries, and has grown tremendously in the last two decades. The Company is known to be committed to employee engagement and believes it is the key to happiness and productivity at the workplace. The employees, referred to as ‘Bainies’ are hired on the basis of their level of intellectual curiosity, ability to work in teams, and their cultural fit.

In the past, the consultancy has been ranked the best employer in the US and also in Germany and the Netherlands.

While Glassdoor is yet to officially release a ‘Best Places to Work list’ for India, Bain & Company has scored a super 4.8 out of 5, based on the employees who appreciated the firm’s supportive environment, the opportunities it offers for professional growth, its range of perks as well as the compensation and benefits.

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According to Suchitra Rajendra, VP-HR, PepsiCo India, the ‘Change the Game’ challenge is aimed at spotting the brightest amongst the participants and inviting them to develop sustainable and viable solutions to real-life business situations and problems.

This year’s challenge is to come up with solutions to accomplish the Company’s ‘Performance with Purpose’ goals, for sustainable plastic packaging and recycling.

The submissions from across India have been quite good and impressive. 11,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from the best business schools of the country will be collaborating to come up with innovative sustainability solutions to improve the environment.

Working professionals, with up to three years’ experience, are also given a chance to participate and try to make a mark globally.

The winning teams from PepsiCo’s India, Asia Pacific (Philippines, Korea, Thailand and Pakistan), Middle East & North Africa regions (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and UAE) will then compete in the finals at Dubai. They will also be eligible for either a twelve-month international experience or a two-month international internship.

The runners up from the three regions stand to receive a local job offer or a chance to shadow a senior business leader for a week.

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The Best Employer Study by Aon is also one such journey that allows the companies undertaking it, come out successful in their own ways, whether or not they end up winning an award. The Aon Best Employer Study, as the name suggests, is not just an award but a reflective journey that the participating companies undergo. Started about two decades ago, it has been adding immense value to corporates, with several past participant companies sharing how it helped them tremendously in their organisational journey and personal growth, and assisted them to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how the talent ecosystem works.

The Study is all about how or what can truly add value to an organisation rather than vainly hyping accolades of events, awards, ceremonies and social-media celebrations. Ashish Ambasta, practice leader-culture and engagement, Aon, tells us that being a consulting firm, the study for them is not primarily a business opportunity, but a unique way of gaining an in-depth understanding of what makes businesses tick, and what makes them better than their competitors.

“It is essential for Aon to possess an understanding of how people and their strategies are aligned to business goals and the benefits that result from these alignments. It is an investment opportunity that helps us get a better grip of the nuances of employees’ experience at their place of work,” he explains. That is why, Aon has been running the initiative for the past so many years and continues to do so as it believes that the companies aspiring to be featured in the list should continue to lead change, comply with best practices, keep innovating, and work towards aligning their people goals with organisational strategies.

To register your company for the Aon Best Employers Study, click here.

What makes taking the journey a victory in itself?

It is how the study has been designed— on the three broad principles of employee experience, organisational intent and design— that makes it a learning and transformational journey for participating organisations.

In order to gauge intent, the study looks at the mindset of business leaders with respect to the people aspect of their business. That makes the first element of intent.

The second principle – design – is about the processes and systems meant to give employees a great experience at the workplace and their alignment with the intent of the leaders and their mindsets. Ambasta believes that the impact of all of these on people when they come to work is really critical. Now, to ascertain and assess the same, employee experience is measured through employee surveys. It is interesting to note that three more elements come into the picture at this point.

One – How is the company ready to respond to the challenges that the external environment is throwing at them? This basically tends to measure if the company is agile enough through several elements.

Two – How much collaboration is taking place? What is your structure? Is it flat or has it got layers?

Three – What are the innovation dimensions in place? What is the diversity inclusion of thoughts? Do you encourage people in your organisation to come forward with ideas? Do your employees feel empowered to come forward and challenge the status quo?

All these elements in combination unveil the agility factor of an organisation. Another element that may be measured for differentiation is around the leadership and managerial index. “‘Best Employers’ need to consistently show that the leaders and managers in their organisation are able to offer these ‘Moments of Truth’ to their employees regularly,” Ambasta opines.

Then, there’s significant focus on talent such that the organisation understands and acknowledges how much or what it plans for its employees as much as about how its employees perceive the company. Are there any plans for growth and development for the employees to be better professionals? Are there means of recognition and reward that excite the employees to come to work and give their best? Is the associated evaluation process fair?

“‘Best Employers’ need to consistently show that the leaders and managers in their organisation are able to offer these ‘Moments of Truth’ to their employees regularly,” Ashish Ambasta,practice leader-culture and engagement, Aon.

Finding strong credible answers to these questions itself is half the battle won. The three principles and the entire audit process wrapped around it, make organisations reflect on their ideologies, cultural elements, business objectives and purpose alignment with their people initiatives. This, in turn, provides them a real picture of where they lead and which areas they lag.

How participating is more than winning

All of these aforementioned elements together make up employee experience and help identify the unique differentiators that can make an organisation, one among Aon’s ‘Best Employers’.

It is the strength and fairness of the evaluation process that ensure that the winners are well-deserving. They also ensure that the others take away a better understanding of how they can improve. Ambasta says, “To find out the ‘Best Employers’, there is an audit-based robust evaluation process that helps Aon identify the best.”

He shares that as part of the process, leadership teams are interviewed, and the various parameters are checked. This data is then passed on to an independent jury panel comprising eminent names in the business fraternity, who then make their decision basis only the scores achieved on the designated parameters – without having knowledge of the organisation’s identity.

The whole idea behind the study is to identify whether or not people practices are aligned to business strategies. As a testament to the process used by Aon, companies who did not get featured in the winner lists in the past, have stated that the rigorous process that they undertook to qualify alone was a worthy experience. It highlighted some key elements that helped them understand the gaps in their existing processes and practices, putting them in a better position to improvise and win in the coming years. This way it’s a win-win for all!

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