Companies like KPMG India give employees off to watch India vs Australia semi-final

MUMBAI | DELHI: Expecting all eyes to be hooked on to TV screens rather than computers, India Inc has decided to bowl a benevolent over on Thursday. Despite yearend pressures and deadlines, KPMG India’s 9,500 employees have been given a day off so that they can watch the India-Australia semi-final with their families and friends. A mail to the effect was sent on Tuesday night and its internal communication has been inundated with thumbs up and smileys since then.

“It is not a tough call when you feel the pulse of a young workforce,” said Shalini Pillai, head of People, Performance and Culture, KPMG in India. “We gave them the option of coming two hours late the morning after the football World Cup finals. And we had was a bunch of employees with red, tired eyes. So this time, with a 9-5 match, we decided to let them take a leave,” she added.

A small footnote in the email added that employees should ‘exercise their judgment based on client commitments’.

Online ticketing portal MakeMy-Trip too has declared Thursday as an optional holiday. Employees of both KPMG and MakeMyTrip will work on Saturday instead.

“We know the excitement around the India-Australia semifinal match is supersonic! Just so Trippers don’t have to choose between passion towards their work and love for cricket, we have offered them the opportunity to take an off on Match day in lieu of the weekly off on Saturday,” said Yuvaraj Srivastava, SVP – HR, MakeMyTrip-.com. The company calls its over 1,300 employees ‘Trippers’ and has added eight extra screens across three floors for Thursday’s match.

Employers who have not declared a holiday, are pulling out all stops to ensure their employees enjoy the match. Giant TV screens are set up, special food counters have been arranged, pubs booked in case one wants to either rejoice or drown their disappointments. Musicians have been booked to come and celebrate in the hopes of a victory.

Tech Mahindra, conglomerate RPG; telecom operators — MTS India and Vodafone and IT firm SAP Labs have installed special screens for the semi-final in office floors, cafeteria and common areas for their employees.

FMCG major PepsiCo India had sent 250 top performers from its food and beverage teams for the India vs Pakistan match last month. For the semi-final, it will have the TV running in the cafeteria throughout the match.

Godrej, MTS India, RPG, SAP Labs will also serve snacks to all employees throughout the match so that there is no dip in energy levels. PwC did a quick dipstick and realised that employees wanted to watch the match with their teams and has arranged for live screening at cafeterias across all their office locations.

Consumer major Godrej has even called for a tattoo/face painting artist to ensure there is fierce support for the Indian team. Tech Mahindra plans after-match party while mobile payments firm Paytm and e-tailer, Snapdeal have arranged for musicians to turn the offices into a carnival.