Imagine a data scientist, once enthralled by the intellectual challenge of her role, now bogged down in an environment devoid of growth opportunities. Or a salesperson, initially energised by a supportive team, now feeling ostracised due to a manager’s favouritism. These scenarios highlight the push factors – internal shortcomings that can push even high-performing employees towards the exit.

One of the most significant push factors is poor leadership. As Praveer Priyadarshi, an HR leader & former CHRO, reminds of an old saying, “employees don’t leave companies, they leave managers.”

Micromanagement, favouritism, and a lack of inclusivity create toxic environments that erode morale and productivity. Ineffective communication from supervisors further compounds the issue, leaving employees feeling disengaged and undervalued.

“Employees may hesitate to voice concerns directly. It’s imperative for organisations to create safe spaces for open dialogue and actively address shortcomings.”

Chandrasekhar Mukherjee, HR leader & former CHRO

Compensation, while a key factor, isn’t a solitary motivator. Employees who perceive a widening gap between their contributions and their pay are more likely to explore new opportunities. This perception of inequity breeds resentment and ultimately, leads to a diminished sense of satisfaction. An HR leader & former CHRO, Chandrasekhar Mukherjee emphasises, “when the reality of a job doesn’t match what was promised during recruitment, motivation and satisfaction plummet.”

Recognition and career growth opportunities are equally important for employee retention. Employees yearn for appreciation of their efforts and a clear path for professional development.

“Negative talk or gossip among peers can create a toxic work environment. It undermines trust, teamwork, and morale, and can contribute to increased stress and dissatisfaction among employees,” Sujiv Nair, global CHRO, Re Sustainbility.

“Employees want to see a path for advancement based on their skills and performance. When organisations fail to provide opportunities for development and progression, employees may feel stagnant and opt to leave in search of better prospects elsewhere,” says Priyadarshi.

Investing in higher education can benefit both employees and organizations. It enhances employees’ skills and knowledge, making them more valuable assets to the company. However, as Nair puts it, “the lack of support or opportunities for higher education can lead to frustration and may cause talented employees to seek opportunities elsewhere.”

Opaque performance evaluations and a lack of well-defined career trajectories create a sense of stagnation, pushing employees elsewhere in search of opportunities to hone their skills and advance their careers.

The triple threat

Unrealistic deadlines, heavy workloads, and inadequate staffing contribute significantly to stress and burnout. Organisations that prioritise employee well-being through stress management programmes and workload adjustments can significantly reduce turnover. Furthermore, seemingly trivial factors like long commutes, especially when coupled with a late-working culture or a lack of flexible work arrangements, can become major push factors. Offering flexible work options can significantly enhance employee satisfaction and well-being.

“Employees want to see a path for advancement based on their skills and performance. When organisations fail to provide opportunities for development and progression, employees may feel stagnant and opt to leave in search of better prospects elsewhere.”

Praveer Priyadarshi, HR leader & former CHRO

As employees progress in their careers and navigate changes in their personal lives, organisational policies regarding work-life balance, benefits, and advancement opportunities take centre stage. Discrepancies between what is expected and what is offered can trigger reevaluation and potentially, lead to departures. Companies that prioritise work-life balance with generous parental leave policies, flexible work hours, and subsidised childcare can significantly impact employee retention.

Hence, “It is important to differentiate between the two (push and pull factors) because push can be controlled by the concerned reporting officer and the organisation more than the pull factor,” emphasises Nair.

“Negative talk or gossip among peers can create a toxic work environment. It undermines trust, teamwork, and morale, and can contribute to increased stress and dissatisfaction among employees.”

Sujiv Nair, global CHRO, Re Sustainbility

Open communication is crucial for managing expectations and fostering trust. Organisations must clearly communicate performance benchmarks, compensation structures, and internal processes to ensure alignment with employee expectations. Regular pulse surveys and proactive “stay interviews” can illuminate areas of dissatisfaction before they become dealbreakers.

“Employees may hesitate to voice concerns directly,” acknowledges Mukherjee. “It’s imperative for organisations to create safe spaces for open dialogue and actively address shortcomings.” Benchmarking studies ensure competitive compensation packages, while skip-level meetings offer valuable insights into employee concerns beyond the direct reports of their immediate supervisors. Analysing exit interview data alongside qualitative feedback from stay interviews provides a holistic perspective. “This data-driven approach allows companies to identify recurring themes and prioritise improvements that directly address employee push factors,” says Priyadarshi.

By deciphering push factors and implementing targeted strategies, organisations can create a work environment that fosters loyalty and reduces turnover. A culture of transparency, recognition, flexibility, and well-being empowers employees, fosters trust, and contributes to the organisation’s long-term success. In today’s competitive talent landscape, retaining top talent is no longer a nicety, it’s a strategic imperative. By addressing push factors, organisations can transform themselves into employers of choice, attracting and retaining a skilled and motivated workforce. This, in turn, strengthens the organisational ecosystem, allowing businesses to thrive in the face of an ever-changing market.

The post The untold reasons why employees silently exit appeared first on HR Katha.

The case pertained to a deceased electrician who supplied light and mike sets to small events and programmes. He was electrocuted at one such function that he was catering to, while connecting a mike set.

However, when his dependants submitted a claim for compensation to the respondents, the Employees Compensation Commissioner (Industrial Tribunal), Idukki dismissed the same as the said electrician was just an individual contractor and not an employee under Section 2(1) (dd) of the Employees Compensation Act.

The dependents of the deceased electrician, Babu, then went to the High Court challenging the order of the Compensation Commissioner that rejected their compensation claim.

However, Justice Pratheep Kumar also upheld the Commissioner’s order saying the rejection of the claim was justified. His argument was that the electrician was not an employee, but a contractor whose work was not controlled by the respondents. In fact, the electrician need not have done the work himself, since he had his own staff that could be ordered to do such work.

The applicants had argued that the Employees Compensation Act was supposed to be a social security and beneficial law that should be appropriately flexible and not refuse compensation to employees.

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The company’s recently-published annual report said Joyce had retired in early September, post a regulator case that was filed alleging that in 2022 Qantas Airlines sold tickets on about 8,000 flights that were already cancelled. This was a violation of consumer laws for which the airline is facing an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission case.

The majority of the amount was in the form of share-based incentives that Joyce was permitted to encash post vesting.

The airline also reduced Joyce’s short-term bonus by one-fifth of the available A$2.7 million, holding it back amidst the pending legal cases which may cost Qantas a lot in terms of fines and harm to the brand image.

The company managed to take back A$8.4 million worth of share-based bonuses that Joyce could claim in FY 2023 but cannot sell. The airline may also consider withdrawing Joyce’s unvested stock bonuses that are presently worth A$6 million.

While Qantas posted significant annual profits, the achievement was almost negated due to the public backlash received due to the cancelled flights and the layoff of more than 1,500 employees during the pandemic.

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For the first time since 2008, over 11,000 writers in the film and television industry have initiated a strike. They are not only advocating for increased compensation and residuals, but new regulations that would necessitate studios to employ a specific number of writers for a certain time period when staffing television shows. Additionally, WGA is also seeking payment throughout the entirety of the preproduction, production, and postproduction process. Presently, writers are often expected to make revisions or generate fresh material without receiving payment.

It’s been a week since they’re off their scripts, and the impact on Hollywood’s movie and television productions is now visible. As a result, popular daily late-night programs as well as the weekly comedy institution ‘Saturday Night Live’ have gone off the air. 

Moreover, the strike has also suspended the scripting process of the popular HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel, ‘The House of Dragon’ and the last season of the popular Netflix’s original, ‘Stranger Things’. Additionally, the strike has also led to premature conclusion or suspended production of various popular movies and TV series, such as Disney and Marvel’s ‘Blade’, AppleTV+’s ‘Severance’ and Paramount’s ‘Evil’.

Aside from the postponed production and probable release delays for these productions, professionals in the industry are said to be more concerned that this work stoppage could result in a more significant financial impact than the prior writers’ strike.

During the previous strike in 2008, writers who participated in the picket lines were on strike for 100 days, resulting in an estimated cost of $2 billion for the industry. Additionally, it’s also believed that the strike had significant economic effects on associated industries like hotels, restaurants, and construction firms that frequently collaborate with film and television productions.

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The LPG transport workers, who drive LPG tankers and carry cylinders across the State will stop loading and unloading work at various plants in protest of not being given a pay hike. The disgruntled workers are also seeking other benefits along with an increment.

All movement of trucks transporting cylinders and tankers will come to a halt. This is expected to cause a scarcity of fuel in the retail market.

Elsewhere, in northern India, in Delhi, the teachers of Delhi University (DU) went on a hunger strike to have their demands met. The teachers wish for governing bodies to be formed in 28 colleges funded by the Delhi government. They also want ad hoc and temporary teachers to be absorbed by various DU colleges.

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, workers/ members of about 40 trade unions across various sectors, such as banking, public health and ports, have called for a strike.

The protestors are unhappy with the government’s latest economic-reform policies at a time when the country is awaiting a $2.9 billion financial package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This aid is expected to help the country recover from the financial crash of last year. However, gearing up for the same, the government had slapped a two-fold hike in taxes and three-fold hike in electricity tariff, which has burdened workers across sectors, who are finding it tough to fulfil their families’ needs.

As part of the strike, doctors at Sri Lanka’s National Hospital in Colombo will only deal with emergency cases. Doctors have been asked by the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) to refrain from their private practices in solidarity. Teachers’ unions will also participate by putting up black flags in their schools.

The protestors are also unhappy about the local government elections being postponed due to dearth of funds.

In England, junior doctors are preparing for a 72-hour strike after talks with the British government failed to show any positive outcome. While nurses and other staff of NHS were granted a hike of 4.75 per cent on an average, the health workers feel that this is inadequate considering the rising inflation. The government, however, feels that any more increase is not feasible or affordable.

If further negotiations do not take place, junior doctors plan to go on strike on 13 March, 2023.

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This employee had access to the data during his tenure and unethically managed to transfer all the personal information of the workforce onto his personal device, violating the Bank’s policies before quitting the Company.

This data contained information on the bank accounts of the employees where their salary was transferred, as well as details of variable pay for the 2013 to 2015 period.

Although this breach of trust happened years ago, it is reported that the Bank had been trying to identify the employee who was responsible and recover the data. This process took time and finally, the members of the workforce have now been officially warned of the leak, which first came to light two years ago. However, the Bank has not discovered any evidence of the data being shared or misused.

The Bank has been incurring losses and many incidents of oversight have come to light of late. Therefore, the financial institution has been going out of the way to make efforts to regain the confidence of its clients.

It hasn’t been long since the Bank got involved in a series of cases filed by a rich client over hundreds of millions of dollars. Another incident of data leak has also emerged, putting the Bank under scrutiny yet again.

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Kumar, who was formerly president, Infosys, will also be part of the board at Cognizant, and be based out of New York. After being successfully associated with Infosys for almost two decades, Ravi Kumar has stepped into the shoes of Brian Humphries who was the CEO of Cognizant till now. Humphries will stay on at the IT giant till 15 March 2023, as a special advisor.

Kumar’s salary will reportedly be four times of what Mukesh Ambani was paid in 2020, which was about Rs 15 crore. It is pertinent to mention here that Ambani has been drawing no salary for the last two years, accepting only a rupee in compensation, considering the weak and uncertain economic conditions / environment.

Having been a scientist with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre for about three years in the initial years of his long and chequered career, Kumar has also worked with big names such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sapient and Oracle.

Known to be a compassionate executive leader, strategic thinker and management guru, Kumar is an alumnus of Xavier Institute of Management and Shivaji University.

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About 140 to 170 employees working at the Carnival Building of Technopark approached Prathidwani, a welfare organisation of IT employees after Byju’s decided to wind up its operations in the city and asked employees to resign without giving any prior notice.

The representatives of Prathidhwani along with the aggrieved employees met the Kerala labour minister who has promised to investigate the matter. The Minister posted on social media about his meeting with the employees of Byju’s and the representatives of Prathidhwani. His post says that he will look into the complaints and job losses at the Company assures that the government will seriously investigate the matter.

A Byju’s spokesperson told Business Today that the Company has given the employees an option to either move to Bangalore location or be prepared to be compensated with health-insurance benefits, outplacement services and garden leave. As per the spokesperson, the package also includes an assured opportunity to get rehired by Byju’s within 12 months at any of its operation centres across India.

A Moneycontrol report states that as per Prathidhwani, the employees were only given two options, either to resign or have their contracts terminated. Out of fear, some employees even decided to resign.

The employees are also demanding a revised exit policy.

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In terms of hiring, Infosys hired way more than Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL in the first quarter. In fact, it plans to increase its hiring target too.

With the increments, Infosys hopes to improve the attrition situation. Rate of attrition had risen by 70 basis points in Q1 of Financial year 2023. In the fourth quarter of financial year 2022, it was 27.7 per cent, and in the first quarter of financial year 2023, it has risen by 28.4 per cent.

Rising attrition has been a challenge for companies in the tech and IT space. Infosys is not the only one battling high attrition. The attrition rate at TCS was 19.7 per cent, while at HCL Tech it was 23.8 per cent, and Wipro posted an attrition rate of 23.3 per cent.

The workforce strength of the Company stood at 3,35,186 in Q1FY23, as compared to 3,14,015 as on 31 March, 2022. That means, net addition went up by 67,233 from the figure of 2,67,953 posted in June, 2021.

About 3,18,447 members of its workforce are software professionals, while about 16,739 are members of the sales and support teams. Women comprise over 39 per cent of the workforce.

The Company plans to invest in talent strategically. It is hoped that offering competitive salaries will bring down attrition and also prepare Infosys for growth in the future. Meanwhile, it will continue to drive operational efficiency and take measures to optimise costs.

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Having hired over 14,000 people in the first quarter, the workforce strength of the IT major was about 606,331 at the end of June, 2022, while its attrition had gone up to 19.7 per cent over the last one year, which is reportedly the highest in six quarters. The addition of people to the workforce means demand is going to be strong in the near future.

Clearly, the Company’s “empowering, performance-driven work culture” has drawn local talent across its primary markets worldwide. The Company is also known for investing significantly in developing its talent and offering learning and career-development opportunities.

As the Company is working towards a permanent hybrid model, it is trying to first encourage more employees to return to office. Right now, 20 per cent of TCS employees are working from home. The Company is hoping to get this figure up to 80 per cent, but in a gradual and steady manner.

Amidst the pandemic, the Company had decided to work towards a 25/25 model. That is, by 2025, the multinational expected only 25 per cent of its employees to work from physical offices at any given point.

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As an initial offer, the Company is granting them 87 days’ wages for every year that they have worked in addition to an ex-gratia amount, which will be an average of Rs 20 lakh, or even more depending on the number of years worked.

However, the workers are not satisfied with this offer. The unions have demanded 385 days’  wages for every year worked. In fact, the workers are quite clear that they will continue the strike and are pressurising the management to at least increase 50 to 60 days in the presently offered 87 days’ wages per year, if they wish to hold any further discussions.

If there is a total break down in the conversation, the labour department will have to intervene and start the conciliation process between the management and the employees.

The employees are also demanding jobs since the laid of employees at Ford’s Gujarat factory have been absorbed by the Tata Group.

The workers in Chennai factory have been protesting since Monday,30 May, 2022.

In September 2021, Ford India had announced that it would wind down its operations in India, which would result in approximately 4000 workers being laid off. It was announced that the Company’s Sanand plant in Gujarat would shut down in the last quarter of 2021 and the Chennai vehicle and engine plant by the second quarter of 2022.

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The fast-food chain that specialises in tacos and burritos had announced that it would raise the average hourly wage to $15 for all new hires, instead of $13.

Starting June, wages will range from $11 to $18 per hour. The Chain is looking for staff for its 200 new outlets that are set to open this year. In addition, there are already about 20,000 vacant positions across its outlets in various locations.

Interestingly, Chipotle launched a new wellness platform for its employees, in collaboration with Aduro. Called Strive, this platform is aimed at improving the mental health of its staff, in a holistic, proactive, and inclusive manner. The platform gamifies each staff memebr’s wellness experience and offers them a chance to win gift cards and even save money on health insurance, among other benefits.

All Chipotle associates, whether they are part of the Company’s medical plan or not, along with their family members, can avail of in-person, phone, or virtual visits with a licensed counsellor. This facility has been made available in collaboration with Health Advocate.

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This benefit was announced by Shreevar Kheruka, managing director, Borosil, via a LinkedIn post, which was appreciated and lauded by one and all.

In his post, Kheruka names the four employees who recently died because of the COVID-19 infection and states that their loss is irreparable and “indescribable” and that the benefit announced by him cannot even begin to cover the loss.

He rightly points out that the “real assets of Borosil are not reflected on our balance sheet at all.” He makes it very clear that the Company intends to protect and safeguard these assets. This has been announced to further the Company’s commitment towards the workforce.

Borosil, the glassware company, has a workforce that is about 200-strong.

Time for other organisations to take their corporate responsibility more seriously and be inspired by Borosil.

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The wage revision will come into effect from August 1, 2017. Employees across cadres will also be eligible for an additional special allowance in the range of Rs 1,500 to Rs 13,500 per month, which shall be used to calculate dearness allowance (DA), but will not count for house rent allowance, city compensatory allowance, privilege leave encashment, gratuity, superannuation benefit, or any other allowance.

The wage revision has been due since August 1, 2017, the longest delay ever. Each revision is usually applicable for five years.
The wage revision has come post a bilateral agreement between bank unions and Indian Banks’ Association.

The overall hike in the total wage bill for LIC is expectedto be around Rs 2,700 crore per year.

All India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA) had submitted a list of demands, amongst which was 40 percent wage hike. In the previous wage agreement, the increment given was 25 percent on an average.

While wages are revised by the unions, the final wage structure is approved and decided by the Government via a gazette notification. This wage revision comes ahead of the planned IPO of the insurance major.

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The demand came close on the heels of Deloitte, another of the Big Four, deciding to reverse salary cuts for its employees, following better profits than expected.

Staff of KPMG have started receiving full pay since August. However, when they were allowed to anonymously pose questions during a virtual forum, quite a few of them sought to be compensated for the salary they had lost from April to July, especially when the Company has reportedly experienced a net profit and about seven per cent increase in revenue.

Last month, the Company reported an annual revenue of over $1.9 million, as business had grown in tax, consulting, auditing, enterprise and other areas.

Although KPMG had promised the employees that one per cent of the expected 6.7 per cent yearly pay cut will be reimbursed in June, the staff are seeking further compensation.

Meanwhile, KPMG maintains that the situation is still rather challenging and full of uncertainty; and that this is not the time to decide on an additional salary payback. However, the Company has also stated that if the situation allows a payback, the employees will be the first to benefit.

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The effectiveness of EPFO in disbursing claims is highlighted by the fact that the offices worked with less than half the normal staff, in keeping with the social distancing norms. When it came to COVID-19 advances, despite the shortage of manpower, EPFO was able to settle claims within three days, instead of the usual 10 days. Also, compared to the 33.75 lakh claims settled in April-May last year, a total of 36.02 lakh claims were settled in April-May this year. This shows over 100 per cent increase in productivity. In addition to the commitment of the staff, it was the use of artificial intelligence that helped speed up claim settlement. Almost 54 per cent of the COVID 19 claims are now being settled through the fully automatic system.

The COVID-19 advance brought relief to EPFO members who earn less than Rs 15,000 per month. An advance was given to such members, in the form of basic wages and DA for three months or up to 75 per cent of the amount available in their EPF accounts, whichever is less.

Not surprisingly, over 74 per cent of the total claimants during the lockdown period belonged to the category of those earning less than Rs.15,000 per month in wages. Those earning over Rs 50,000 made up about two per cent of the claimants. About 24 per cent of the claims were made by members with wages in the Rs.15,000 to less than Rs.50,000 range.

Automation and the dedication of its workforce are responsible for EPFO settling over 80,000 claims daily.

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Debi Mishra, who used to work for Cognizant, along with other employees of the quality engineering and assurance (QE&A) team, had filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the Company had not included certain amounts while calculating the remuneration for overtime.

According to reports, Mishra had been issued a letter stating that his terms and conditions of employment had changed, making him eligible for overtime. As per the letter, he was guaranteed a minimum of $62,100, with bonus being added to maintain his annual income at the said level.

However, what Mishra actually earned turned out to be way below what was promised. As per calculations of an expert, the Company owed all the employees a total of about $11,219,891.

Cognizant, on the other hand, responded by rejecting this calculation. It maintained that Mishra and the other employees who had complained, did not actually put in any overtime; that they only recorded extra work hours to earn a fast buck and ensure that their pay was uniformly spread.

The complaint was filed about three years back, in 2017. The parties were part of a private mediation in the presence of a retired judge, which was arranged in 2018. However, the matter remained unresolved.

The Company, which is headquartered in New Jersey, has now agreed to pay about 50 per cent of the estimated damages. The amount will be divided among the plaintiffs/class members.

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The press release issued by the Indian multinational conglomerate says that the promoters of the Group serving as managing directors for the various businesses of the Group have all voluntarily taken a 50 per cent pay deduction in their total remuneration for the current fiscal, to help tide over the crisis.

In addition, the organisation will be postponing increments and pay revisions for the current financial year, across all categories of employees. The Group intends to reward its workforce in the next financial year, if business picks up as expected.

Jaikrishna B, president (Group HR) Amara Raja Group, has said that business performance linked pay (BPLP), which aims to reward employees in the next financial year if things get back to normal, will prove to be a win-win situation for both employees and company

The organisation has decided to restructure the current CTC through a graded reduction of 10 per cent to 25 per cent. This will apply to the junior and senior levels, and the amount thus decreased will be reconstituted as BPLP in the pay structure for the remaining ten months of the financial year 2020-21.

Simply put, if the business is able to recover and perform in a satisfactory manner, the reduced amount will be paid back to the staff as BPLP.

According to the Company’s annual report, Amara Raja Batteries, which is the Group’s flagship business, employed about 7,541 employees, as on March 31, 2019. The Company reportedly spent Rs 345.23 crore towards salaries and other benefits.

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SV Nathan, chief talent officer, Deloitte, points out three main factors that can compensate for an attractive pay, and lure good and critical talent —

Culture, Learning and Flexibility.

“After the corona menace settles, organisations which lived up to their value systems and resonated well in empathetically dealing, not only with employees, but also their vendors, partners and customers, will definitely be able to attract quality potential candidates and sustain the existing critical talent. These turbulent times will test the value system of organisations. Those who deliver will win in the long term”

Culture

It’s no longer enough to promise a “competitive salary” to retain the talent; everyone’s doing that. In addition to income, applicants are driven by much deeper motivations. There are many companies, which are not great paymasters. Yet, people die to be part of them.

Take the Tata Group, for instance. Despite not being the best paymaster, people are attracted to the Group simply by its work culture.

“If an organisation’s spoken word is equivalent to its written word, people will definitely be attracted to it. Hence, culture is the first and the foremost point,” shares Nathan.

He also refers to organisations, such as the Bank of Baroda, a very ordinary PSU bank, but with an extraordinary culture.

Companies with strong workplace cultures don’t necessarily pay their staff the most money or offer the most enticing benefits. They do, however, tend to demonstrate that they genuinely care about their staff by communicating with them, supporting them, valuing them, and encouraging them to enjoy the 40+ hours a week they spend at their organisation.

Learning experience

Companies are able to attract critical talent by offering a great learning experience.

Any organisation that offers employees holistic development, in terms of their skills and overall personality, will hold an attraction beyond the monetary aspect.

What employees want is a platform for growth. “Engineers India is one such company that has always attracted the best of engineers in India. People join such places because they helps them grow,” says Nathan.

“Irrespective of the lockdown or COVID-19 situation, at the Bajaj Group, we have always valued our exquisite talent. We have been able to retain them not just with money but through other aspects, such as training, flexibility, personality enhancement, workshops and mentorship”

Flexibility

“Flexibility has always played an important role in retaining and hiring exquisite talent. It will continue to play the same role in the near future,” asserts Nathan.

“Previously, the women in the workforce missed the luxury of being able to manage both family and work together due to lack of flexibility. That gender of human power used to go waste in the past as opposed to today, when work from home options are available. Hence, if an adequate amount of flexibility is provided by any company, the talent will surely knock on its door,” he explains.

Ravi Kyran, president-HR, Bajaj Auto, shares a similar story. “Irrespective of the lockdown or COVID-19 situation, at the Bajaj Group, we have always valued our exquisite talent. We have been able to retain them not just with money but through other aspects, such as training, flexibility, personality enhancement, workshops and mentorship.”

“If we see potential in a candidate, then the management readily invests in order to polish his/her skills through required training. These measures are not new to the corporate world, but we take pride in saying that we apply it within our own firm. Hence, we can proudly claim that retaining and hiring talented individuals will never pose a threat to our company’s growth.”

“If an organisation’s spoken word is equivalent to its written word, people will definitely be attracted to it. Hence, culture is the first and the foremost point”

Rajendra Mehta, executive director and chief people officer, Synergy Capital, shares, “After the corona menace settles, organisations which lived up to their value systems and resonated well in empathetically dealing, not only with employees, but also their vendors, partners and customers, will definitely be able to attract quality potential candidates and sustain the existing critical talent. These turbulent times will test the value system of organisations. Those who deliver will win in the long term.”

Mehta asserts that health and wellness benefits and structured policies of work from home will be the additional elements of organisational policies that will give employers an edge in attracting quality resources.

Will designation also play a role in attracting key talent?

Higher designations may excite the employees for a week or two, but ultimately, the quality of their role will play a bigger part. “It does help for individuals to position themselves in the social structure they live in, but this has its limitations. What finally matters is the quality of the role and meaningful contributions,” elucidates Mehta.

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These employees have been provided facilities to stay within the premises, and all their daily needs are being taken care of by the office.

The listed exchange, which was established in 2003, felt that these employees should be given a monetary reward for the risk they are taking by working from the office. In some cases, this reward will be in the form of three times more salary. It is reported that MCX is the only exchange to offer such a reward to its staff. The move is expected to boost the morale of the employees and motivate them during these tough times. Needless to say that it will also have a positive effect on productivity.

Those who work for at least a week from the office and continue to do so without taking a break will receive a gross salary for each week in the ratio of 1, 1.5 and 3 times over and above their regular salary. The contractual employees, who support the operations, will also receive adequate compensation from the exchange.

Critical staff have been identified in each department at the offices in Mumbai and Gandhinagar, to implement the emergency plan.

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At the outset, a ban on asking salary history is only going to help employees in the junior to middle- management range. It is common for candidates who join to seek parity and compare their earnings with their batchmates or their fellow employees. This tendency has always existed, and starts from the time an individual bags the first job, and goes on till mid-managerial level. Compensation remains a benchmark of success or satisfaction, but only up to a certain point of time. Once a person moves into a leadership role, the importance of remuneration diminishes. This is because, the focus shifts to the role one occupies and the kind of impact one has on the organisation.

Is the ban truly effective or merely symbolic, to make the interview less awkward for the employee?

Salary should not be negotiated but it should be an authentic and holistic reward for the candidate’s competency

Salary history ban came into significance because salaries happen to be negotiable, and not fixed by title and experience. They do not follow a set rate. This adds a confrontational element to the hiring process. There is also the trade-off that candidates want to secure the highest salary possible for a role, but the employers do not want to pay more than they have to in order to secure an open position. If salaries were standardised or equal pay was the norm everywhere, this would not be an issue. Historically, women have been paid much lower than their male counterparts. Also, some candidates may be stuck in an unfortunate cycle, whereby, because of their historically lower salaries, they are unable to catch up with a better range in their later jobs. The same may hold true for women.

In the 2019 Pay Scale Survey, it was noted that conducting a gender equity pay audit was a top priority for less than five per cent of the organisations surveyed. Less than 10 per cent organisations looked at providing fair minimum wage as the top priority.

In 2018, it was noted, that women who refused to reveal their salary history, ended up receiving lower salaries as compared to their male counterparts. Men ended up receiving a higher compensation instead.

IN THE ABSENCE OF SALARY HISTORY, There will be a total mismatch in terms of WHAT THE CANDIDATE EXPECTS and what is GIVEN BY THE ORGANISATION.

Merely banning the question does not stop employers from offering less pay to candidates. Nor does it protect employees who are seeking a higher wage in their current or subsequent organisations. Moreover, women and men who have been historically underpaid, will anyway be unable to estimate what their worth in the job market is.

Do we need a salary history ban in India?

According to Amit Das, CHRO, Timesgroup (BCCL), salary history is required for a correct estimate of what to pay the candidate. “The organisation will not be able to pay the candidate as per the expectation in the absence of a salary history. There will be a total mismatch in terms of expectations and what is given.”

Employers may offer less than the hike employees expect based only on what they assume to be the worth of the role, even if the candidate was receiving a higher wage in the previous organisation.

Ravi Mishra, SVP-HR, epoxy business, Aditya Birla Chemicals, has a different view in this matter. He opines, “Salary should not be negotiated, but should be an authentic and holistic reward for the candidate’s competency.”

Mishra goes on to say that if an employer knows the salary history, there is a chance for bias to creep in. And if someone has a historically lower salary range, they may end up accepting a lower amount than others in the same role. The employer, in this case, gets the power to decline any hike asked by the candidate and simply attribute it to the lower market rate. “Knowledge of salary history becomes a negative liability in such cases,” concludes Mishra.

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ASHA workers are a community of trained healthcare workers who are capable of serving as a facilitating medium between the public health system and the community at large. Posted in villages across the country, they came into being as part of the national rural health mission, under the Government’s Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

They play a critical role in implementing various health schemes, such as identificaiton and immunisation programmes along with health check-up and delivery for pregnant women.
In 2018, the Centre had announced a hike in remunaration for ASHA and Anganwadi workers, by doubling the routine incentives given to them.

In August, 2019, ASHA workers across Andhra Pradesh came out in protest demanding that the pay increase promised to them be implemented soon. The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government had promised to increase their honorarium from rupees 3000 to 10,000 per month. The State Government is now paying these workers Rs 10,000 every month.

A similar protest was carried out in Karnataka by the workers there, demanding that the honorarium should be increased to Rs 12,000 as promised by the chief minister. ASHA workers staged an indefinite protest again in January 2020, in Bengaluru, demading the promises made to them be fulfilled by the government. Workers currently get paid Rs 4000 per month by the state government.

According to the Centre, since the ASHA programme was designed to be an incentive-based volunteer programme, there is no plan to redress the issues, as of now.

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While the Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has assured the employees of Air India that their dues will be paid in full, he has also asked the airline to form an internal committee to look into employees’ issues and address their queries regarding privatisation.

The committee will consist of members of the Air India management as well as trade union representatives. Presently, about 11,000 employees of the airline are uncertain and insecure about their future post privatisation.

At a meeting where representatives of about 12 employee unions were present, it was shared that the details about clearing of arrears will be part of the expression of interest (EoI) document. A draft of the same has been approved by a group of ministers lead by Union Minister Amit Shah. The share purchase agreement or SPA for the disinvestment of the airline was also approved. The Government will be selling all of its stake in Air India, which has been incurring losses for some time now.

The employees had been earlier told that their jobs will be protected even if the airline was privatised. There were reports in the media that whoever purchases the airline will retain the employees for a year post privatisation. However, with growing uncertainty, the employees’ unions are now considering discussing a voluntary retirement scheme package with the Government.

In 2018-19, the national carrier incurred losses to the tune of Rs 8,556 crore. It carries a huge debt of about Rs 80,000 crore.

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It has been reported that in the absence of Abdul Hameed, CEO, Telangana Waqf Board, no one else is authorised to sign the salary cheques.

From 16 December, Hameed has been on a long leave and all the activities of the Board have been stalled ever since.

On 28 December, the Government ordered Shah Nawaz Qasim, director, Minority Welfare, to take this additional charge, but a disinterested Qasim has failed to take up the post.

It has been further reported that the employees have no other option left but to take up loans to meet their regular monthly expenses.

This is not the first time that the salaries have been delayed. Earlier this year, in July, the salaries were delayed when Hameed had questioned whether it was possible for Mohammed Saleem, board chairman, to continue in the post after his term as MLC had ended. Later, when the issue was sorted out, the employees had received two months’ salaries. At the time, the salaries released for 8,013 imams and muezzins amounted to about Rs 8,01,30,000, whereas for board employees it amounted to about Rs 78 lakh.

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At the outset, let us differentiate full pay transparency from partial pay transparency. To have partial transparency means to disclose the range of pay accorded to employees of a particular grade. An example of partial pay transparency would be when employers divulge pay ranges for different positions offered on a job listing.

In full pay transparency, salaries are disclosed for every individual within the organisation right from the CEO to the latest intern, down to a specific number for each. Most companies might keep this information available within the organisation while more ambitious organisations might choose to make the data public as well.

PERCEPTION CAUSES TROUBLE WHEN IT COMES TO SALARY TRANSPARENCY AND PAY DISCREPANCIES WITHIN A BUSINESS. GOOD EMPLOYEES WHO FEEL UNDERPAID MAY DEMAND MORE MONEY OR EXIT THE WORKPLACE. BEING TRANSPARENT ABOUT SALARY OPENS YOUR BUSINESS UP TO THE POSSIBILITY OF FRUSTRATED EMPLOYEES

More transparency might look good on paper but it might not be entirely feasible in practice.

Disclosing pay has its intended benefits but it can have adverse repercussions as well. Once pay structures are disclosed, employees might start comparing the differences which can lead many to question why other employees are earning more than them. For example, a home grown expert will come at a lesser cost to the company than a worker bought in from the market. In many cases, the compensation can be inversely proportional to the seniority of an individual as well.

Full disclosure will force the company to explain to each and every employee why the differences exist and how they are calculated. Two employees of the same grade might receive varying amounts depending on their performance. The organisation will need to have strict guidelines and defined metrics explaining the salary structure for multiple roles and functions within the organisations.

Now, even if the reasons for pay differentiation are clearly defined and accessible to all employees, there is no guarantee that the response would be positive and whether all workers would comply with the same.

Paneesh Rao, CPO, Mindtree shares, “Even if you have well defined reasons, it depends on the maturity of the people in the organisation and how they take it. Right now, I do not think we have reached the maturity to make compensation transparent to everyone in the organisation.”

Once the questions on pay structure begin to rise, organisations will have the tough task of explaining to every employee why their salaries are different. “Explaining that to each individual will become a job in itself”, adds Rao.

A lack of understanding among employees can be one of the biggest downsides to salary transparency. It can backfire because it’s the nature of people to compare, and they would not necessarily be making accurate comparisons because they do not have all of the information required to do so.

Moreover, transparency may incur additional costs for organisations. If employees find out what their colleagues are earning, especially if their peers are earning a higher wage than themselves, thy might use that information to as for a raise. This happened in 2015 when Erica Baker, an employee at Google made a spreadsheet containing details of employees’ salaries and shared it on the company’s internal network. Soon after, 21 employees went ahead and asked for a higher compensation.

In such a case, companies might find it upon themselves to spend more on making pay for all or it might force the organisation to bring down the pay ranges company-wide to retain employees. This is so because an employer will find it economically more feasible to lower pay and proclaim equal compensation than to raise salaries for all. In either case there is a possibility of increased costs or losing employees.

Irfan Shaikh, CHRO, Liberty Oil Mills, says, “Perception causes trouble when it comes to salary transparency and pay discrepancies within a business. Good employees who feel underpaid may demand more money or exit the workplace. Being transparent about salary opens your business up to the possibility of frustrated employees.”

Pay transparency can be effective in doing away with gendered inequality in compensation. According to an Oxfam report published in 2019, the gender pay gap in India is 34 per cent, meaning that women in the same position with the same qualifications earn only two-thirds of their male peers. A transparent system will be an encouragement for women to demand equal pay.

Even if you have well defined reasons, it depends on the maturity of the people in the organisation and how they take it. Right now, I do not think we have reached the maturity to make compensation transparent to everyone in the organisation

It may not be a good idea to implement the concept right now, keeping in mind all the cons. However, if organisations feel encouraged to do it, the management will need to implement it carefully. The pitfalls can be managed by determining the factors that measure performance and communicating them to employees like job description, skill set and experience.

Rao concludes by saying, “At the moment, bringing in pay parity, by determining how the performance bonus is measured, calculated and paid and reporting it to the board and management is the possibility. Having a system of checks and balances in the company, making sure that the compensation for the same job, in the same grade, does not exceed the limits defined, is the extent to which we can be transparent right now.”

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Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur made a statement in the upper house of parliament that, if a central government employee gets a promotion between January 1 and June 30, then he or she will get a salary increment from January 1 next year.

It implies that if an employee gets a promotion between January 1 and June 30, he or she can not choose July 1 as the date of next increment (DNI), as it was earlier.

Under the 6th Pay Commission, the employees used to get an appraisal uniformly on July 1 every year. Under the 7th Pay Commission, two dates were given which were July 1 and January 1.

Harishankar Tiwari, General Secretary at All India Audit & Accounts Association also explained that a central government have to choose between DoP (Date of Promotion) or DNI. The employee will receive benefits according to his or her choice.

7th Pay Commission has also recommended performance based appraisal system. Earlier people use to get promoted after 10, 20 and 30 years of service in central government. Now employees will be promoted on the basis of their performance during the financial year and the central government has accepted it.

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Issues and complaints from employees vary depending on the kind of organisation and the nature of work. However, most of the time it is possible to classify these complaints into the following common categories:

1. Compensation

Compensation is the most common complaint across all organisations and among employees worldwide. It is the one thread, which binds all HR professionals and employees together and which everyone can relate to.

Problems pertaining to compensation mostly arise among junior employees and not at the middle or senior levels. This is because, junior workers are quickly bored with their current reality. They have a constant need for recognition and expect greater compensation for their work within a short span.

For the senior-level employees, it is usually focussed on their career trajectory and career development. They are more concerned with professional development and enlargement of roles.

“In such cases, organisations should take action on an individual level and engage the employee on a level beyond pay. Possible reasons could be an unfair manager, wrong job choice or unrealistic expectations. Working on an individual level helps find the root cause of the problem”, says Ravi Parmeshwar, CHRO, ReNew Power.

2. Leaves

“I have leaves but I cannot take them”. How many times have we heard this? It is common for employees to complaint about their inability to avail leaves despite having unused leaves left. Nowadays, the workload has increased for organisations making it difficult for employees to take time off work. This is because, most of the time, other employees cannot pick up the slack by themselves. Job responsibilities have increased so much that employees cannot find substitutes to work for them who are not burdened with their own load.

“While handling compensation issues organisations should take action on an individual level and engage the employee on a level beyond pay. Possible reasons could be an unfair manager, wrong job choice or unrealistic expectations”

It is not always possible for HR to find a solution to such problems. Responsibilities have to be taken up one way or the other. If an employee takes too many leaves, the system gets used to not having that person around and as a result, it will reflect during appraisals. “In such cases, companies have to drive a philosophy which encourages employees to take on responsibility and also make adjustments accordingly”, says Parmeshwar.

3. Favouritism

It is common enough for employees to feel that their boss has a favourite. Any kind of interaction where human beings are involved will contain a certain amount of bias, which cannot be helped. Each organisation will have its own method of dealing with such complaints. Organisations can be proactive in managing subjectivity by maintaining an open transparent culture. Or, they can be reactive in dealing with the situation post-allegation. “It is better to deal with such situations in an open and transparent manner. This enhances the credibility of the organisation and increases trust among the concerned stakeholders”, says Amit Das, director HR, CHRO, BCCL (Times Group).

4. Promotions

After a promotion, it is fairly common to find some employees feeling left behind or upset with the whole process. They may feel that the process is not transparent or that there is no clear checklist of what is required to qualify for a promotion. In such cases, employees should have access to continuous feedback so that they know how much they are actually contributing al to the company.

“Appraisals have to be continuous so no surprises are sprung. Constant communication is the key. Employees need to know what is required to get to the next level”, explains Parmeshwar.

“To truly understand the issue of disconnect between employees and their managers, we have to communicate from the bottom up and eliminate the noise”

5. Employee–manager disconnect

Often, there is lack of understanding or clear communication between an employee and a manager. Most of the communication happens in a top-down manner and information may not get accurately delivered to the employees on lower rungs.

Multiple, robust and consistent communication is the way to avoid such disconnect. When this happens, messages and deliverables are reinforced many times over, ensuring they are understood by all. Another way is to adopt the bottoms-up communication approach, such as engagement surveys and day-to-day communication using chatbots, which can gauge the mood of the employees. “To truly understand the issue, we have to communicate from the bottom up and eliminate the noise”, asserts Das.

All problems are dealt with in a manner that is appropriate to the company or the culture. Of course, issues arise depending on the organisations as well. What we discussed were only some of the common complaints that any HR department in any organisation can relate to. Remember, every problem will not have a crisp solution, and it is up to the HR to understand that and also convey the same to the people in such a way that they cooperate.

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Clearly, it is a well-deserved increment because it is reported that the Company’s market capitalisation has increased by $509 billion since he took over as leader. The Company now boasts of a market capitalisation of $811 billion capitalisation as compared to $302 billion earlier. It is a leader in the intelligent cloud business. It did exceptionally well in the last fiscal year, with a return of $30.9 billion in the form of share purchases and dividends. In the June quarter, its revenue was $33.7 billion, while the net income was $13.2 billion. In fact, Microsoft has recently been declared as the most valued company in the globe. This position was earlier held by Apple.

Ever since Nadella took over the reins, the Company has improved in value. Even in the intelligent cloud space, its Azure cloud has grown to provide serious competition to Amazon Web Services.

Ever since he took over, Nadella has attempted to strengthen the trust that customers have in the Company, bring about cultural change across the Company, and also help Microsoft successfully foray into new technologies and markets.

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This sharp hike is because of the rise in Infosys’ share prices, which resulted in the value of its stocks increasing. Many senior executives received huge increments in their compensation when they exercised their stock options for the fiscal year 2019.

In the last fiscal, less than 30 executives received salaries over Rs 1.02 crore, while in 2018-19, almost 64 senior executives received salaries over a crore. An increase in gross compensation was enjoyed even by those who are not amongst the key senior managers.

Deepak Padaki, head-corporate strategy and risk, Infosys, saw a 75 per cent jump in his compensation. He drew almost Rs 3.16 crore in FY19, whereas a year before he was earning only about Rs 1.81 crore.

Koushik RN, EVP and group head, global immigration, Infosys, enjoyed a 41 per cent hike in gross remuneration, whereas, Binod Hampapur, head-global talent and technology, got a 30 per cent hike in gross remuneration, taking home Rs 5.2 crore.

Besides the value of stock incentives, the remuneration is inclusive of fixed pay, variable pay and retirement benefits.

The median employee remuneration at Infosys in 2018-19 was Rs 6.2 lakh, which was five per cent more than 2017-18.

HRKatha had recently carried a story on Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys, receiving Rs 24.6 crore in compensation, which comprised Rs 7.6 crore in the form of restricted stock options. UB Pravin Rao, chief operating office, received Rs 9.1 crore, Mohit Joshi, president, Infosys, got Rs 15 crore, whereas Ravi Kumar S, deputy chief operating officer, received Rs 13.2 crore.

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Tapia, was employed as a janitor at Tesla’s vehicle-assmbly plant in Fremont, California. She was hit by Joseph Aguilar, an employee of West Valley Staffing Group, while he was attempting to move a Model S sedan from one part of the warehouse to another, when he was not even certified to drive the vehicle.

As a result of the hit, Tapia suffered serious injuries to the lower part of her body, which rendered her permanently disabled.

Even though Aguilar was an employee of West Valley Staffing Group, Tesla agreed to share the liability for Aguilar’s deed with West Valley because it felt equally responsible.

Though there is no likelihood of Tapia getting back to her feet and leading a normal life, the settlement will definitely take care of her needs for a long long time.

This is not the first time that Tesla has made headlines in relation to workers’ safety. There have been reports that the electric car manufacturer has often misreported accidents at the workplace. The Company is also known to flout safety norms and markings for aesthetic reasons. It has also been accused of not providing adequate care and treatment to injured employees.

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The compensation he seeks is for the over $19 million profits he claims he helped generate when he was in charge of the desk, during his three-month long tenure.

It is reported that the compensation he is demanding exceeds what the exchange had agreed to pay him. In the past, Kraken had agreed to pay him approx. $907,631, on quitting. While Silverman alleges that the Company has failed to pay him the promised amount, the Company maintains that not only is the accusation false, but he is also going against the confidentiality agreement.

Silverman joined the Company in April 2017 and was responsible for managing its institutional sales and trading desk in New York. According to him, there had been an oral agreement wherein he was promised a salary of $150,000 salary as well as a 10 per cent commission on the trading desk’s annual profit.

The lawsuit charges the Company of “misrepresenting to the public and government regulators that it was not operating in New York”, whereas in reality, its operations took place “almost exclusively in New York”.

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LinkedIn just released a report ‘Inside the Mind of Today’s Candidates’, that helps discern the behaviours, motivations, and preferences of professionals looking for jobs in India. The report that revealed that compensation is one of the major reasons why people switch jobs, empowers employers with data-driven insights on how talent is approaching opportunities and the various stages of the job-switching journey.

The report interestingly discloses that most Indian professionals want to hear about new job opportunities — 91 per cent of Indian professionals are interested in learning about job openings, and 46 per cent ‘feel flattered’ when they hear from recruiters. This trend continues from last year, wherein 90 per cent Indian professionals expressed that they are keen to hear about new career openings. 

Higher compensation remains the main reason why people are likely to change their jobs, with 45 per cent respondents stating the same.  Additionally, 37 per cent expressed their keenness in knowing the salary range during the interview process. Intrinsic motivators also remain important, with 40 per cent of professionals admitting that better skills and interest fit will make them switch jobs, while 32 per cent of professionals stated better growth opportunities will make them do so.  

According to the report, professionals are likely to stay with organisations that offer growth, recognition and work–life balance. Growth prospects and opportunities are the key motivators for Indian professionals to continue working at an organisation. The top three reasons why they would like to continue working with a company were: Opportunities to challenge oneself and upskill (62 per cent), good work–life balance (42 per cent), and an optimistic future for the company (37 per cent).

“Candidates today want the same recruiting experience from companies that they get from brands” says Irfan Abdulla, director-talent solutions & learning solutions, LinkedIn India and South Asia. “Personalised service in the way they are treated, insight into the company’s purpose and better value in the form of salary and career growth are important considerations when making a job switch. Employers need to ensure that they are authentic in building their employer brand and are amplifying their story on their social and digital channels”, he adds.

According to the report, Indian professionals are also motivated by a sense of purpose as 55 per cent of them are motivated to pursue opportunities that match both their personal and professional interests. Furthermore, 52 per cent are interested in learning about the perks and benefits that come with the role and 45 per cent want to work for a company they have always admired.

A high percentage of professionals use social media and digital platforms to look up job opportunities. Company websites (48 per cent) and professional networks, such as LinkedIn (44 per cent) are the most preferred platforms for Indian professionals to research new opportunities before applying.

While preparing for an interview, 49 per cent of candidates visit company websites, 47 per cent use search engines, and 35 per cent use professional networks, such as LinkedIn to learn about the company and its employees, and the position being offered.  As per the report, social media is used by 63 per cent of professionals to follow companies and stay aware of jobs.

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Peter L. Allen, an alumnus of McKinsey’s New York office, is currently the vice-president for people and organisation development at Agoda.com, a subsidiary of the Priceline Group.

His company is more liberal while hiring talent, especially those that provide a significant competitive advantage to the company. Managers and department heads are given guidelines to decide on the compensation package, but there is no upper limit. Though, department heads have an incentive to be conservative with pay packages, the company does encourage them to pay more than it first proposed to do.

This approach leads to inconsistencies in the pay of employees who are nominally at the same level. However, the company claims it is willing to accept this outcome. It believes that the resulting improvement in company performance benefits all of their employees.

However, paying top dollars to a new employee is not always the answer to talent management needs.

There is no doubt that motivation is the crux of good performance, but there is no clear-cut answer to the question of how to motivate. While there are several theories on motivation and practices, there is no getting away from money. Money is the most important and the biggest motivator.

It may be an obvious statement, but it still needs to be told. In the context of Abraham Maslow’s concept of the hierarchy of motivations, once basic human needs for security and economic well-being are met, people seek to satisfy their higher needs. But managers do know that economic incentives have not lost any force despite the relative affluence of employees in many countries and companies.

Peter Drucker observed, as far back as 1974, that ‘there is not one shred of evidence for the alleged turning away from material rewards. Anti-materialism is a myth, no matter how much it is extolled’.

In fact, economic rewards are taken so much for granted that their denial may act as a demotivator to employees.

There’s evidence of this all around us. Sports players no longer play for their own countries, but go to the highest bidders. Professional tennis players have in the past refused to play at Wimbledon, the Vatican of lawn tennis, because the rewards were not attractive.
It is no different in the industrial world. Strikes for better wages, pensions, inflation- proof salary and rewards still take place. All this despite the claim of psychologists that security and self-actualisation are the prime needs of a person.

Has the sense of values changed with time? We are not concerned here with the philosophical angle, but with the hard facts of life in a commercial world. Self-motivation can go only so far and it needs to be constantly reinforced by rewards. In particular, merit must be measured and rewarded regularly, if it is to be encouraged and sustained.

Good human relations cannot compensate for insufficient monetary rewards. Take a look at Starbucks or Wal-Mart. They drive their people to work through an inner motivation to serve their customers; and yet they pay a fair wage, however minimum it may be. Many companies have, therefore, learnt to expand the idea of compensation with the help of gain-sharing schemes, lifestyle-building rewards, deferred gratuity, benchmarked job value pay, knowledge pay, and development and learning compensation.

Tropicana is the world’s leading producer and marketer of branded fruit juices. It accounts for more than 41 per cent of the $ 5 billion US chilled-juice category with continuous innovations in production, packaging, marketing and distribution. It motivates its employees by:

(a) Discussing and agreeing on both internal and external principles and benchmarks to be achieved.
(b) Establishing a rewards programme during a collaborative discussion to incentivise partners and internal customers.
(c) Quantifying the financial return from a collaborative relationship, both in terms of intangible and tangible benefits.
(d) Communicating the benefits and rewards for performance to internal and external partners.
(e) Driving greater success through continual resetting and re-evaluation of goals.

The Leadership Management Institute (LMI) headquartered in the US, operating in over 70 countries in the last 43 years, has mastered the art of sharing wealth through a system of professional partners, operating with a near similarity to the Amway model of distribution and sharing of profits.

The key components of an employee’s work experience are acknowledgement, work-life balance, culture and competency development. A balanced weight on these factors overwhelms.

To be effective in rewarding right, companies have to define more precisely their organisational objectives so that employee behaviours and culture will help them achieve their ultimate business strategy.

To fulfil these organisational objectives and understand their implications for human resources, reward systems must have several characteristics: They should be attractive enough for hiring, retaining and motivating the best available talent to continuously perform on a sustained basis. The system must also be equitable — and, more importantly, be seen to be equitable. Reward systems that have been designed with the fairest of intent, when administered, leave perceptions that do not fulfil this criterion.

On the other hand, even while being equitable, the system should be able to trigger individual and team performance. To ensure the objective of organisational learning, individual learning that would translate itself into organisational learning has to be incentivised.

To focus on short- and long-term earnings, it helps to have the competency compensation budget and disbursement in the same currency and exchange rate as is applicable to the company’s business plan and budget. This is to offer fairness: if the sales and profit budgets are in US$-denominated targets, then the competency compensation plan/budget as well as its disbursement should be in the same currency. Finally, to ensure the organisation’s objective of perpetuity, the competency compensation system must facilitate the lifestyles of employees.

Workforces in organisations are shrinking and each employee is now expected to add distinct value to the business. In addition, the increased emphasis on technology, quality and service, results in the business world changing from a mechanised workforce to a knowledge workforce. The latter is expected to take decisions, face risks and respond instantaneously to opportunities. This behaviour has to be rewarded differently. Performance is no longer a lifelong contract of commitment, but one that has to be continually reinforced.

Changing organisation structures also necessitate changing competency compensation practices.

Effectively, there is also a need to retain and reward such employees who wish to be retained. It is an impossible task for an organisation to find individual reasons to make people stay and pursue a career in a long-term context. In today’s scenario, careers in themselves do not necessarily mean long-term association. Organisations need examples like Unilever, Citigroup and LMI where people are empowered to get out into the market or workplace and make things happen. In doing so, they should gain a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. One cannot do without the other.

(The author is a managing partner & lead for North America, Talent Management Platform Solutions at TCS Canada Inc.)

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Global management consulting firm, Hay Group, predicts that the average salary of FMCG and chemical industry employees will rise by 11.9 and 12.3 per cent respectively, in 2015. This will be higher than the average pay hike of 11.3 per cent across all industries, and much higher than the 10.9 per cent hike that was seen in India, in 2014.

In its annual compensation report, Hay Group has broken down job roles at four levels —clerical and operational; supervisory and junior professionals; middle management and seasoned professionals; and senior management and executives. The report says that while clerical and operations professionals will see their salary grow by 11.9 per cent, that of mid-level management professionals will rise by 11.1 per cent. In fact, all increments will range between 10.6 and 11.9 per cent.

Amer Haleem, Hay Group country manager, productised services, opines that the pay rise will remain in double digits in 2015 and the median salary rise will be between 10 and 11 per cent. He finds the outlook positive, with organisations putting their hiring plans in place. Among the sectors, FMCG and chemicals are expected to lead the hiring.

The report notes that the salaries of graduates from non-tier I colleges are stagnant at Rs 3.5–4 lakh, and that 60 per cent of the companies follow a different remuneration policy for graduates, which is opposed to the company’s standard policy.

According to the report, with an overarching focus on performance, payouts are influenced by individual as well as company performances. In 2015, while FMCG, chemicals and retail will lead in the short-term variable pay with 14.5, 14.4 and 14 per cent respectively, sectors like industrial goods and transportation will also raise their variable pay to 11.8 and 9.1 per cent respectively.

The study has found that the proportion of variable pay has been ascending across the management ladder, with junior levels getting a 10.7 per cent variable, mid-levels getting a 13.5 per cent variable, and the senior management getting 18.1 per cent variable. Haleem points out a trend among companies to abandon the one-size-fits-all approach in favour of one focussed on reward strategies. He feels that in the past three years, the gap between the awards given to average employees and the top performers has widened.

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