Music to ears: Loyalty gets you iPod
Attrition-hit BPOs are rewarding old-timers with electronic goods & holiday packages.
By Thanuja BM & PP Thimmaya, TNN |
BANGALORE: Rajesh is a project manager at a Mumbai-based BPO firm. Recently, his company gifted him an iPod for staying in the company for five years. He was not alone, a few hundred of his colleagues who have put in long stints at the five-and-a-half year old company got them too.
So what? you might ask! Well, this is part of a trend fast catching up in the BPO industry — to recognise the ‘old timers’ with rewards for their loyalty to the companies (read longevity in a company). And we are not talking about just financial awards but things like certificates, electronic goods and even holiday packages.
For example, Bangalore-based 24/7 Customer is having a ceremony this week to recognise about 111 people in the company who were part of the first 1,000 employees of the company and who are still with it. The company is giving them a free one-week holiday with a family member at any of the RCI properties during the next 12 months.
S Nagarajan, Chief People Officer, 24/7 Customer said, “The collective knowledge of the company matters in delivery of BPO services. The retention of this knowledge and expertise level is possible only because the tenure of these experienced personnel is longer than others.’’
Firstsource Solutions is another firm which gifts its employees who have completed three and five year tenures, various things like iPods and branded travel bags. This year they recognised about 500 people working in the Bangalore and Mumbai centres in this manner, said a company spokesperson.
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She added, “While it is essentially rewarding loyalty to the company, being recognised in front of a few thousand colleagues and management also motivates others by giving examples of models and career growth.’’ Other companies like Dell India give certificates of commitment to employees completing three and five years in the company. Wipro BPO also recognises its employees in a similar vein. It provides special identification for people who have completed three years with orange tags for the ID cards, while it is red for those finishing five years. It also reimburses the holiday trip taken by employees in the five-year-plus category.
Richa Tripathi, VP, talent engagement and training, Wipro BPO, said these incentives creates a positive impact as employees who complete such term as eager to receive such recognition. High attrition rates in the range of 40-50% have seen BPO companies in India adopt various ways to retain employees.
From bonuses and financial rewards to flexi hours, cultural and lifestyle events, training and opportunities to study further, HR personnel at this new gen sector are trying it all.
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