BT ANNIVERSARY ISSUE: [10] BPCL: The Best Employers In India

Transparency, people-oriented policies, and a culture of knowledge-sharing make these companies the best in India to work for.

'It is not the cash that fuels the journey to the future, but the emotional and intellectual energy of every employee.''
Gary Hamel & C.K. Prahalad in Competing for the Future

The honours list of the BT-Noble & Hewitt study on the best employers in India is a unique mix of blue chip Indian companies that compete globally, and the subsidiaries of transnationals, whose policies are, per force, adapted to Indian conditions. There is a significant representation of hi-tech companies in this list, perhaps because this is one industry where 'talent' is at a premium and where the demand for that precious commodity cuts across borders. As a result, this industry has wised up, much before others, to the imperatives of attracting, motivating, and retaining the best people. Operating in a global market, these companies have to follow people policies that are of global standards. As data in countries where Hewitt has conducted similar studies shows, this trend is likely to spread quickly to FMCG and professional services.

Apart from the top 10-listed in Profiling The Best-two companies, Aditi-Talisma and Wartsila nsd came extremely close to being part of the honours club. The best employers are not the only winners of this exercise. Working managers and those at the threshold of their careers can use it to find out best employers in their chosen industry and learn about some of the benefits and perquisites on offer. And every organisation that participated in the study has probably minutely scrutinised its employment practices.

The winners of this study actually won a long time ago, the day they decided to invest in their people. After all, a happy workforce creates happy customers, and happy customers invariably create happy share-holders. An analysis of the Best Employers shows that, on an average, their performance is significantly better than that of other companies in the same industry.

The Best Employer study team discovered common characteristics that stood out among the winners: high employee-satisfaction levels, hr practices, and the CEO's commitment to people. A caveat: one winning characteristic alone will not create a great place to work; that requires a combination of practices and their alignment with business processes. The highlights:

C O N S U L T T A L K

On-site fitness centres, swimming pools, flexible work-schedules, on-site hairstylist and doctor, trees planted in your honour when you join, stock options, forced sabbaticals, and pet insurance!!!

It just cannot get any better than this for employees. Yet, some companies come up with ways to take care of employee needs that stun you. It is no coincidence that often employers of choice are also leading performers-across the world. A century ago, the most valuable US corporation was US Steel. Its primary assets: smokestacks. Today, Silicon Valley plays host to the world's most valuable corporations; and their most valuable assets go home every night. Organisations have realised that if they want these assets to return in the morning, they had better pay attention to the workplace. But there are some companies that do this better than most. To generalise, three things set them apart:

A strong and committed leadership.
Employers of choice pay attention to their company culture as something that gives them a competitive advantage. Along with, and as part of culture, they're concerned with the quality of life for their employees.
Employers of choice do more to build teams, encourage ownership, create two-way communication, and to celebrate successes-all of which add to employee commitment.

Sure, not every company follows this path-and some cynics do wonder whether companies will still walk their employees' dogs after the bubble bursts. Maybe not. But it is unlikely that a slowdown would lead the employers of choice today to revert to draconian workplace practices. In an increasingly tough global business world, what differentiates top companies from their competition is often the quality of their highly skilled workers. And savvy CEOs understand that having a special relationship with employees is key to their success!

Employees of the Best Employers display tremendous pride in what their company does and in its products and services. They also believe in its future prospects. In their qualitative comments, few have negative things to say. For the most part, they are excited enough to narrate 'happy' stories. Employees of these organisations frequently use the word 'fun'.

Employees of Best Employers admire their leadership for making them feel 'safe and well-led'. Leadership in these companies tends to have a key impact on culture. And satisfaction levels in companies where CEOs spent a high proportion of their time on people issues is higher than in the rest. The leaders of these companies respond faster to employee needs and, in some cases, actually know most people by name. Most mix freely and frequently lunch with employees. Employees in these organisations state that when their managers ask them about their problems, they actually end up doing something about them. And, the vision and mission statements of these companies articulate a commitment towards employees.

Profiling the best
		Revenues	Managerial Employees	Training	Attrition Rate	Applications received
1	Infosys	Rs 884.4 Cr	3,759	47 hours	9.1%	1,84,000
2	P&G	Rs 492.9 Cr	280	56 hours	2.6%	1,050
3	HP	Rs 1,238.0 Cr	132	40 hours	8.06%	25,000
4	ICICI	Rs 8,921.7 Cr	640	62 hours	9%	18,000
5	Hughes Software	Rs 108.8 Cr	381	40 hours	22%	9,000
6	LG	Rs 982.2 Cr	1,200	120 hours	7%	9,000
7	HLL	Rs 1,09,781.3 Cr	1,550	40 hours	7%	2,000
8	Compaq	Rs 1,450 Cr *	456	24 hours	19%	6,000
9	Asian Paints	Rs 1,201.7 Cr	380	64 hours	N.A	N.A
10	Bharat Petroleum	Rs 36,000.2 Cr	3,530	40 hours	0%	N.A
N.A.: Not Available All figures for 1999-2000 BT Estimate*

The culture at these companies did not evolve by accident. It developed from carefully thought out processes, a conscious set of decisions, and the selection of specific policies and procedures. Best Employers also inculcate and reinforce desired behaviour through training and recognition.

Best Employers are, essentially, open to anything. They provide latitude to all employees to voice opinions, be heard, and feel valued. Everybody is accessible regardless of seniority, level, function, or 'aura'. First name usage helps but is not mandatory-some felt it was also not part of the Indian ethos. These companies are also communication-intensive: any issue that employees believe needs to be discussed, is; not just those considered relevant by senior managers. And several of the Best Employers encourage employees to apply for internal job openings.

In an age of phones, faxes, e-mails, modems, laptops, and internet, the concept of flexibility is hardly fuzzy. Nevertheless, it is surprising how only the Best Employers really seem to be practicing flexibility, even if it is only informally. Most of these employers have taken their eyes off the clock. Swipe cards are more a function of security and admin concerns. Telecommuting and flexi-time are used effectively in these companies: it is up to the employee to manage time and meet deadlines.

The logic: if the company expects employees to take time out for company events, the employee should also be free to manage work around individual needs. That it is alright to leave in the middle of the day to pick your mother up from the airport, and not have to take permission. Best Employers also offer concierge services; that way, several personal needs can be attended to without disruptions in work.

Best Employers tend to use technology to burnish their people processes. In some cases, hr portals and an intranet facilitate and customise processes for each employee. These make communication-of events, news, achievements, and job postings-instantaneous. Access to information is easy in these companies and based purely on the 'need-to-know' principle. Technology also makes self-paced learning possible. Besides, an intranet helps address small administrative issues, which often end up being the biggest irritants. Finally, in large organisations, getting to know people is easier if you can see their pictures online.

Decent pay is fine, but it isn't enough. Best Employers accept that employees have a life. They also value long-term relationships with their people. Hence, they provide for considerable benefits over and above pay. They realise that employees could have children and require child support and day care while they work. People like to take time off and it helps to have your company facilitate travel and accommodation. Employees like to have fun with their families, so Best Employers include the family while celebrating organisational events.

It's nice to get flowers on your birthday or other feel-good things such as on-site massages or free coffee. These quirky extras make good headlines. However, Best Employers offer these only as additions to more consistently applied, fundamental things such as advancement opportunities, development programmes, financial security, and other benefit programmes. A 'casual-dress every day' policy definitely does not substitute for poor leadership or lack of communication.

Best Employers believe in providing significant responsibility early on. They also give employees the freedom to take decisions. Mistakes are seen as opportunities. Information on advancement opportunities is always available and employees are free to plan their careers. Employees are also encouraged to do it themselves if they believe 'something is missing' or 'there is something more to be done'. And the organisation supports them in every way. Best Employers also use unique ways of encouraging and rewarding their people. Immediate recognition is widely practiced; large-scale celebrations of achievements are frequent; and performance-based pay is more often than not, the norm.

Best Employers believe that benefits are not level based-every employee has housing needs, or medical needs, for instance. These companies provide equal access or access as per need-and not based on a position in the organisational hierarchy. Best Employers are also conscious of gender equality and tend to manage the demographics of their employee population. They also ensure equal opportunity for all.

Best Employers boast great work environments. Facilities-training centres, conference rooms, gyms, green areas, ATMs, travel desks-are readily provided to all. The offices of these companies are aesthetically pleasing and employee-friendly. Workstations are comfortable; and they take employee inputs into account while planning offices. The Best Employers view harassment and discrimination seriously-some have articulated policies to deal with these issues. Safety of facilities is a prime concern, be it fire drills, or simply, the presence of an instructor in the gymnasium.

Best Employers tend to be confident-but not complacent. They are happy to share what they are doing with other. If it's something which benefits someone, they reason, 'why not tell the world about it?' They are also constantly on the lookout to learn things from others. Employees are encouraged to share what they know. These organisations also work with 'knowledge centres'-academic institutions or consulting firms-to learn more. Best Employers tend to use phrases like 'we changed this just last year' or 'we are working with...to create this', or 'there is a task force for this'. Their practices clearly reflect a freshness of thought.

Employees are drivers of hr at the Best Employers. Top management and hr are facilitators. And employee needs dictate policies and practices.

Best Employers encourage employees to be good citizens and be involved in community activities. Most companies have employees voluntarily creating contribution schemes for specific causes. And conserving the environment is something that all Best Employers are concerned about.