India Inc rewards staff to tide over slowdown

MUMBAI: The general sentiment at an organization during a downturn can be draining with discussions surrounding cost control and return on investments. Companies are, therefore, now walking the extra mile by strengthening existing rewards and recognition programmes and setting up new ones to drive performance.

Companies have realized that recognition can reinforce desired behaviour in employees, helping them achieve targets. In a Gallup poll, 82% of employees said that the recognition or praise they receive at work motivates them to improve their performance. So companies are tweaking such programmes to make them more attractive.
Hexaware Technologies, for instance, is launching a point-based rewards system to increase overall employee performance.

Under the programme , employees can earn points for defined behaviours that the organization wants to incent and recognize . The earned points can be redeemed for appealing rewards, including merchandise , gift certificates, movie tickets and more which would be linked to an online brand store.

Siemens, on the other hand, has created a special employee reward and recognition mechanism called ‘Puraskar’ , which includes nonmonetary and monetary rewards . The concept is unique because any employee can recognize any other employee through an e-card , which is available on a special portal created for recognition.

While India has suffered less than many other economies during the global downturn , there has been a marked change in the outlook of employees and employers . The opportunistic, job-hopping Indian employees of recent times are realizing they cannot sustain that trajectory, with its lack of opportunities for learning and development.

“Employers are also finding themselves under examination from candidates who are looking for long-term career prospects. Recruitment discussions are moving away from the boomtime focus on “how much money?” and “when will I get an increase?” to “what is the business plan?” and “how will this enrich my career?”

Performance is the key driver in the post-recession world. Reward — and a new focus on total reward that is closely tied to performance —will play a crucial role in allowing organizations to compete in this new environment ,” said Deependra Chumble, chief people officer , Hexaware Technologies.

S Ramesh Shankar, executive vice-president , HR, Siemens , which introduced the system of e-cards , said there was scope to track the programme on the intranet through the backend to understand which employee gets the largest number of ecards . This can help the organization understand the link between recognition and performance .