Best companies to work for 2014: American Express wants to develop long term potential of people

NEW DELHI: If there were a Great Place to Work Hall of Fame, American Express would certainly figure in the top echelons. That consistency comes from a three-pronged approach. From a joiner to a senior, everyone at Amex must go through a continuous development program under a leader, mentor and sponsor.

“The development program is critical as it enables us to think beyond the immediate job, in terms of what needs to be really done to develop the long-term potential of our employees,” says Sanjay Rishi, President, American Express South Asia.

Take the case of Vice President-Finance Anupama Mohindra. She participated in the ‘Pathways2Sponsorship’ (P2S) program last year as a director in her vertical, and in nine months flat, honed her skills to the level of vice-president. It’s an initiative Amex launched a year back for fast-tracking the careers of senior women leaders.
Mohindra learnt from her ‘sponsors’ that she needed to be more assertive to make the next grade, which she duly applied across her deliverables to taste success. If P2S is a sponsor-driven empowerment tool designed for women, People Leader Learning Path (PLLP) got launched last year as well to help leaders better align to the workplace.

PLLP was further broken down into two components— First Things First (FTF) for new people leaders in the group; and, Raise Your Game for the seasoned leaders within the organisation.

Ritu Sinha, Lead Project Manager at Amex Technologies signed up with Amex last year from Sapient and undertook the 90-day FTF drill. Admittedly, it made her more aware of her leadership styles given any situation. Last year, Amex also tossed up ‘Web Connect’, a tool to reach out to employees through an intranet wherein they can log in to a chat environment and ask questions, give feedback and share whatever they want to with the senior leadership.

Alongside, the company is investing in health and fitness and parental outreach programs. Besides, the large Gen Y demography has prompted the company to set up an ‘Elevation Zone’, an innovative concept room which provides a mentally stimulating environment for employees to energize their minds by way of physical activity and mind games.

As Amex India Head HR Jyoti Rai puts it— “For us, engagement is important through the complete employee life cycle – from attracting the right talent, creating a high performance culture, having the right learning curriculums, focusing on recognition and career-pathing and enhancing overall employee experience.”