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“STUDY OF EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION TOOLS IN SEVEN ORGANISATIONS IN AHMEDABAD” A SUMMER PROJECT STUDY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF THE TWO YEAR POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT (FULL-TIME) BY SHILPI SUMAN 54/ 2009-11 LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, DELHI JULY, 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS S. NO. CONTENTPAGE NO 1. Certificate3 2. Acknowledgement4 3. About Arvind Ltd5 4. HR Organogramme at Arvind10 5. Recruitment & Selection Process at Arvind11 6. Employee Motivation Tools at Arvind13 7. Objective & Research Methodology16 8. Literature Review17 7. Motivation Tools of Different Organisations23-45 )Motif Inc24 b)Claris Lifesciences30 d)Zydus Cadila33 e)Intas Pharmaceuticals36 f)Nokia 38 g)Navneet Publications 41 h)Knowledge Academy 44 8. Recommendations46 9. Annexure A: Questionnaire47 9. Bibliography48 ARVIND LTD NARODA ROAD, AHMEDABAD Dated: July 15th, 2010 CERTIFICATE Certified that Shilpi Suman has successfully completed Summer Project Study titled “Study of employee motivation tools in seven organisations in Ahmedabad” under my guidance. It is her original work, and is fit for evaluation in partial fulfillment for the requirement of the Two Year Post Graduate Diploma in Management / Finance (Full-time).
Milli Das, Manager HR Learning & Development Shilpi Suman ACKNOWLEDGEMENT “Words often fail to express one’s feelings of gratitude and indebtedness to one’s benefactors, but then it is the only readily available medium through which the undersigned can express their sincere thanks to all those who are associated with the work in one way or the other” The satisfaction that accompanies the successful completion of my project wouldn’t be complete without the mention of the people who made it possible because success is the epitome of hard work, undeterred missionary zeal, steady determination and above all adept advices.
I take this opportunity to sincerely thank Ms. Milli Das, my mentor at Arvind Ltd, who guided me throughout the project through her valuable guidelines, inputs and support and also for creating an appropriate learning environment during the course of my stay in the organisation. Shilpi Suman ABOUT ARVIND MILLS LTD. Arvind Mills Ltd, the flagship company of the Lalbhai Group, is one of India’s leading composite manufacturer of textiles. It is headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It manufactures a range of cotton shirting, denim, knits and bottomweights (Khakis) fabrics and apparel.
Arvind is amongst a few organizations worldwide with a portfolio of brands that are distinctive and relevant across diverse consumers. At Arvind, brands work across multiple channels, price points and consumer segments. HISTORY OF DENIM Denim has its origin in tough canvas cloth from Nimes, France (de Nimes – of Nimes). Genoese sailors used this cloth to make rough-and-ready pants that lasted for ever. Called “Genoese,” which in time got corrupted to “Geans” or “Jeans”, these trousers found favour around the world wherever men had to do work that would ruin most other clothes.
In the American Wild West, cowboys practically lived in them, as did railroad workers and farmers. In the 1950s, blue jeans were the archetypal youth wear. Marlon Brando wore them in The Wild One. So did James Dean, in Rebel Without A Cause. Hollywood Westerns made a cultural icon of the cowboy and helped jeans cross over into mainstream wear. There have been many versions of jeans – drainpipes for teddy boys, embroidered ones for hippies, designer denims for society ladies. They transcend fashion, income and social barriers, enjoy universal appeal, and have been wardrobe staples for nearly half a century now.
No doubt, if asked to select the apparel equivalent of “Desert Island Discs”, most people would number their favourite pair of jeans among the must-have clothing they would want to be marooned on a desert island with. In today’s global village, jeans are here-to-stay as everyday attire of the young and the young-at-heart. Behind every well-known jeans label, is quality denim. In many cases, Arvind Denim. DENIM AT ARVIND LTD The Arvind Mills’ Denim Division was established in 1987 and has since grown into one of the world’s largest denim producer.
With a turnover of US$ 180 million, Arvind Denim has a capacity for producing 110 million metres per year. The denim is exported to more than 70 countries all over the world, besides catering to the Indian market. Total Capacity 110 million meters per annum Slasher Capacity 70 million meters per annum Rope Capacity 40 million meters per annum BUSINESS AT A GLANCE • The vertically integrated plants rank among the most modern in the world. Arvind offers both Slasher as well as Rope dyeing facilities under one roof. The basket of products includes denims from 6 oz. to 15. 5 oz. in various shades of indigo, yarn-dyeds, different casts, tints, naturals and over-dyeds, both open-end and ring-spun, in various weaves, in 100% cotton and cotton-based blends with Lycra® , Polyester, Tencel®, Bamboo, Jute, Linen etc. , and in various finishes. • Continuous innovation and market / customer-based development is backed by a dedicated DNTG (Development and New Technology Group) and a fully-equipped pilot plant for sampling of new products. Denim from Arvind offers reliability, quality and value-addition through services like shrink-film-wrapping and bar-coded labeling of rolls, providing washed and unwashed shade blankets with every order and faster documentation, using the SAP/R3 module. A customer counseling team is devoted to resolving quality issues and achieving desired wash results. • Global offices and independent dedicated sales teams for all locations and key accounts enhance the customer service. • Trend-setting seasonal collections, introduced in consultation with the designers, and market feedback keep us miles ahead of competitors. To support this entire infrastructure, there is technical expertise on and off the shop floor, a vigilant quality assurance team, a dedicated DNTG, computer professionals and a thoroughly professional marketing and customer service team. Arvind Mills is active in three basic product segments, namely, denim, shirting and knits. In the denim division, internationally, it faces competition from China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Turkey, Brazil, Italy and other countries, although comparable players are primarily US-based.
In India, it almost rules the market since small denim manufacturers, who produce between eight to 16 million metres of denim annually, suffer from financial and capacity limitations. They generally compete at the lower end of the market. At the strategic level, in the denim division, Arvind has altered not just the product mix but also the customer profile mix. It is moving away from the trade industry, which relies more on spot orders and bookings. Instead, it undertakes maximum business with big brands like Levi`s, GAP and Nautica in the US and NEXT, M, Diesel and Mustang in Europe.
In the shirting division, domestically, Arvind faces competition from the lower segment of the market that is operated basically by powerlooms or decentralised units, producing different products. Internationally, it competes with suppliers from China, Hong Kong, Turkey, Taiwan, Austria, Italy and Portugal, which are equally placed with itself. In our knits division, from the Indian perspective, competition for the basic or commodity products is from the unorganised sector based at Tirupur, Bangalore, Delhi and Ludhiana.
In the international arena, our prime competitors are Hong Kong, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. Since these markets are in turmoil, we see indications of a boost to India`s knitwear industry, in general, and ours, in particular. For vertically integrated companies like Arvind Mills, which are in a position to offer one-stop-shop garment package responses to brands, competition really becomes limited. Because of our capability to produce the entire spectrum of differentiated products, we are preferred not only by Indian buyers but also by big brands across the globe.
TECHNOLOGY With state-of-the-art technology and equipment, the plants rank among the most modern in the world. Being one of the largest producers of denim in the world, Arvind caters to the high quality markets of Europe, US, West Asia, the Far East & the Asia Pacific. The following technologies are used to deliver quality fabric: • Spinning – open-end • Foam Finishing • Spinning – Ring • Mercerizing • Slasher Dyeing • Continuous Dyeing Range • Rope Dyeing • Air-Jet & Projectile • Wet Finishing
All the units have in-house power generation plants, ensuring round-the-clock power supply and an effluent treatment facility, which recycles wastewater. Denim waste is converted into recycled denim paper. PRODUCT RANGE Besides the regular open-end, ring indigos and over-dyed denims, the product portfolio includes: • Cotton blended with other fibres like: Polyester, Jute, Tencel, Bamboo, Lycra, Nylon, Linen, etc • Interesting weaves like: Left hand twill, right hand twill, broken twill, cross hatches, cords, dobby’s, structures, etc • Weight ranging from: 6 oz.
To 15. 25 oz • Finishes like: mercerized, water repellant, moisture management, self cleaning, anti bacterial etc. • New dyeing styles with various color combinations. The new product developments include poly urethane-coated denims, customized designer denims, printed denims and structurals. Arvind’s seasonal collections are trailblazers in the international market. Arvind brings forth two collections every year, the Spring – Summer and the Autumn – Winter.
Own Brands Joint Venture Mainstream Bridge To Luxury Excalibur Tommy Hilfiger Flying Machine Nautica
Popular Premium Ruff & Tuff Lee New Port University Wrangler Licensed Brands Popular Bridge to Luxury Wrangler Hero Gant, U. S. A. 1949 Riders
Premium USPA SansaBelt Izod Pierre Cardin Paris Arrow Popular Cherokee ORGANOGRAMME OF HR DEPARTMENT RECRUITMENT & SELECTION FLOWCHART Employee motivation tools at Arvind 1)COMPENSATION The company believes that its compensation structure must be such as to attract, retain and motivate good talent at all levels at all times. While salary fixation for new recruits would be guided by internal benchmarks corresponding to good or excellent performers, particular circumstances of location, skill, caliber, track record, etc. ould necessitate deviations from such benchmarks by as much as 10-15% as acceptable depending on the job equivalency. 2)CAREER PLANNING The company would endeavor to retain its high performers and those with potential through careful career planning, rewards that motivate continued high performance, meaningful development inputs, opportunities for expression and growth (i. e. in general, through a culture that demands, recognizes, rewards and rejoices). 1. It will not offer inducements of emoluments/position as a quid pro quo for the employee’s continuation. 2.
As a company we would not appease employees to stay against their wish and motivation. 3. We wish to retain our good performers. 3)DEVELOPMENT Employee effectiveness on his job and his preparedness for higher/diverse responsibilities are a function of personal investment in one’s personal and professional development, conscious and active coaching, guiding and monitoring by the superior and need based development inputs. It is important to define goals in this connection mandatory amongst other business related goals for employees with respect to their own jobs and that of their junior colleagues.
Training needs arising from the discrepancies between the business objectives and individual competencies will be analyzed through a consultative process involving the relevant factors. Tailor made programs administered in-house shall address the major organization wide training needs. This can be administered in-house or at suitable external locations. Individual specific needs (particularly those which are important from the point of view of career planning shall be addressed through nominations to select reputed institutes namely, IIMs, XLRI, TMTCs, any other Institutes (Merit evaluation on a case to case basis).
The policy will be to encourage on the job training, commitment to change from the individual and whose boss and specific desire outcomes after training. The primary responsibility for development through training shall rest with their immediate boss. Faculties will be drawn from within the organization as well as from amongst academicians/trainers of all India repute. For external faculty, the training inputs shall be decided in consultation with the Retreat Group of the Human Resources Department and the Department Head.
Training for operatives will basically try to meet the skill needs and information needs. The training shall be administered based on a time bound training calendar which shall be for a period of six months at a time and shall comprise in-house and external training. Training shall not be considered as a reward for performance nor shall it be a holiday/escape from the routine. Online electronic Training will become a way of life. 4)PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT In our pursuit of high performance driven culture, we believe that formal rocess of goal setting, review and feedback are essential. In our view, they are critical for alignment of individual employees’ priorities with corporate objectives, his growth and in building transparency in operations. 1. The company believes that an employee’s performance is a function of his knowledge and experience and more importantly, is influenced by his inherent desire to contribute, the context in which he operates, his perception of his role/job and recognition of past contributions and the quality of leadership demonstrated by his superior. 2.
As a responsible employer, a below par performer will be dispensed with after sufficient measures to address some or all of the above variables are taken and if adequate counseling has not significantly improved performance levels. 5)REWARDS Our reward systems would be such as to clearly distinguish the achievers – the high performing employees from the rest and motivate employees at all levels to challenge their previous bests. Promotions are recognition of capabilities and consistent superior performance. They are not a reward for isolated, scattered (even if significant) achievements or tenure on a job.
OBJECTIVE To study employee motivation tools at various organisations across sectors in Ahmedabad RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The objective required thorough and intensive primary research with the organisations in question preceded by substantial secondary research apropos the numerous theories on motivation and their myriad applications, to prepare ground for the former. Primary data was collected with the help of questionnaires comprising entirely open-ended questions, the study being completely qualitative in nature.
The questionnaire was administered to HR managers of the companies visited and responses were noted during these tete-a-tete. LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Closely related to employee satisfaction and morale, employee motivation may be considered both an action and a status. The action occurs when management takes steps to foster a work environment where employees are self-driven to perform their job tasks at a level that meets or exceeds management’s standards.
Employee motivation as a status simply describes the degree to which management succeeds: employees are relatively motivated or unmotivated when measured against one or more performance gauges. There are a host of competing ideas—among both scholars and lay people—about what motivates workers. Most of these ideas focus on the types of rewards employees derive (or at least expect to derive) from their jobs and, in particular, intrinsic versus extrinsic benefits. Intrinsic rewards are those that stem from performing the work itself.
They can include, among other things, feeling important or successful, learning valuable skills, and enjoying the outcomes of completed work (e. g. , helping other people, pioneering new technology). Extrinsic rewards, on the other hand, accompany the work process but aren’t directly part of it. The most common are financial compensation and benefits such as health insurance and paid time off. Many modern theories of employee motivation emphasize intrinsic rewards as being central to the motivation process, while extrinsic rewards are often seen as necessary but not sufficient.
Evolution of motivation theories Mainstream theories about employee motivation have varied greatly over the past century. Early conceptions, sometimes termed “traditional” management theory, assumed that work was an intrinsically undesirable pursuit and that workers naturally sought to do as little as possible. This translated into a sort of carrot-and-stick managerial policy whereby companies tried to maximize motivation by providing adequate compensation as an incentive but also by guarding against any sign of wayward behavior through authoritarian control regimes.
A backlash in the 1940s and 1950s against such policies, which did not always prove particularly successful, emphasized building a conducive social environment in which workers felt valued and respected. This model still maintained management’s authority over all critical matters, but attempted to make the workplace more palatable by humanizing it. Current notions of employee motivation started to take root in the 1960s. Elaborating on the importance of human factors, contemporary theories envision workers as large and often untapped reserves of skills, ideas, and other potential benefits to an organization.
The motivation process, according to this view, involves tailoring the work environment and incentive structure to harness as much of this potential as possible. This approach emphasizes granting employees greater flexibility, power, responsibility, and autonomy so that, to some extent, they may shape their own work environments as they see fit, while remaining accountable for both favorable and unfavorable outcomes of their actions. Theories applied Some attempts to bolster employee motivation still consider only extrinsic rewards.
Endless mixes of employee benefits such as health care and life insurance, profit sharing, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), exercise facilities, subsidized meal plans, child care availability, company cars, and more have been used by companies in their efforts to maintain happy employees. Although some experts argue that many of these efforts, if only directed at motivating employees, are just a waste of company money, it is clear that for certain individuals in certain scenarios, monetary incentives can timulate better job performance—at least for a while. The debate, rather, has been over whether such material factors have more than a superficial impact on motivation. Many modern theorists propose that the motivation an employee feels toward his or her job has less to do with material rewards such as those described above, than with the design of the job itself. Studies as far back as 1924 show that simplified, repetitive jobs, for instance, fostered boredom and the taking of frequent, unauthorized breaks by those who performed them.
In 1950 a series of attitude surveys found that highly segmented and simplified jobs resulted in lower employee morale and output. Other consequences of low employee motivation include absenteeism and high employee turnover, both very costly for businesses. “Job enlargement” initiatives began to crop up in major companies in the 1950s, with one champion of the cause being IBM founder Thomas Watson, Sr. On the academic front, Turner and Lawrence proposed task attributes that characterize jobs that motivate. Turner and Lawrence suggest that there are three basic characteristics of a “motivating” job: . It must allow a worker to feel personally responsible for a meaningful portion of the work accomplished. An employee must feel ownership of and connection to the work he or she performs. Even in team situations, a successful effort will foster an individual’s awareness that his or her contributions were important in accomplishing the group’s tasks. 2. It must provide outcomes which have intrinsic meaning to the individual. Effective work that does not lead a worker to feel that his or her efforts matter will not be maintained.
The outcome of an employee’s work must have value to him or hers and to others in the organization. 3. It must provide the employee feedback about his or her accomplishments. A constructive, believable critique of the work performed is crucial to a worker’s continuance or improvement of that which has already been performed. In 1971 Hackman and Lawler tested these ideas. Using a telephone company as a test site, they surveyed 200 employees to determine relationships between employee attitudes and behavior and the characteristics of the employee’s job. The study also ssessed whether an employee’s reaction to his or her work was dependent upon particular kinds of satisfactions valued by the employee. Positive correlations were found to exist between the quality of an employee’s job, with quality jobs meeting the three criteria above, and positive employee attitudes and behavior. Further, “doing well” at a job was interpreted by the employee as having put in a high quality performance, rather than a high quantity performance. Employees felt positively when they had accomplished something they felt was meaningful, and strove to do so if given an encouraging opportunity.
Motivation tools The methods of motivating employees today are as numerous and different as the companies operating in the global business environment. What is the nature of the company and its industry? Is it small or big? What kind of culture is fostered? Is it conservative or innovative? What is important to the employees? What steps have been taken to find out? The best employee motivation efforts focus on what employees deem to be important. It may be that employees within the same department of the same organization will have different motivators.
Many organizations today find that flexibility in job design and reward has resulted in employees’ increased longevity with the company, increased productivity, and better morale. Although this “cafeteria-plan” approach to the work-reward continuum presents variety, some strategies are prevalent across all organizations that strive to improve employee motivation. Empowerment Giving employees more responsibility and decision-making authority increases their control over the tasks for which they are held responsible and better equips them to carry out those tasks.
Trapped feelings arising from being held accountable for something one does not have the resources to carry out are diminished. Energy is diverted from self-preservation to improved task accomplishment. Empowerment brings the job enlargement of the 1950s and the job enrichment that began in the 1960s to a higher level by giving the employees some of the power to expand their own jobs and create new, personally identified challenges. Creativity and Innovation At many companies, employees with creative ideas do not express them to management for fear of jeopardizing their jobs.
Company approval and toeing the company line have become so ingrained in some working environments that both the employee and the organization suffer. When the power to create in the organization is pushed down from the upper echelon to line personnel, employees are empowered and those who know a job, product, or service best are given the opportunity to use their ideas to improve it. The power to create motivates employees and benefits the organization in having a more flexible workforce, using more wisely the experience of its employees and increasing the exchange of ideas and information among employees and departments.
These improvements also create an openness to change that can give a company the ability to respond quickly to market changes and sustain a first mover advantage in the marketplace. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. , better known as 3M, has fostered companywide creativity for decades. Its relentless support of new ideas has paid off in profitability and loyal employees who are so motivated that they have the most nimble and successful new product development system in the industry. MCI (now part of MCI WorldCom), too, encourages employees to develop new ideas and take chances with them.
A top manager there stated, “We don’t shoot people who make mistakes around here, we shoot people who don’t take risks. ” Learning If employees are given the tools and the opportunities to accomplish more, most will take on the challenge. Companies can motivate employees to achieve more by committing to perpetual enhancement of employee skills. Accreditation and licensing programs for employees are an increasingly popular and effective way to bring about growth in employee knowledge and motivation. Often, these programs improve employees’ attitudes toward the client and the company, while bolstering self-confidence.
Supporting this assertion, an analysis of factors which influence motivation to learn found that it is directly related to the extent to which training participants believe that such participation will affect their job or career utility. In other words, if the body of knowledge gained can be applied to the work to be accomplished, then the acquisition of that knowledge will be a worthwhile event for the employee and employer. Quality of life The number of hours worked each week by American workers is on the rise again and many families have two adults working those increased hours.
Under these circumstances, many workers are left wondering how to meet the demands of their lives beyond the workplace. Often, this concern occurs while at work and may reduce an employee’s productivity and morale. Companies that have instituted flexible employee arrangements have gained motivated employees whose productivity has increased. Programs incorporating flextime, condensed workweeks, or job sharing, for example, have been successful in focusing overwhelmed employees toward the work to be done and away from the demands of their private lives. Monetary Incentive
For all the championing of alternative motivators, money still occupies a rightful place in the mix of motivators. The sharing of a company’s profits gives incentive to employees to produce a quality product, perform a quality service, or improve the quality of a process within the company. What benefits the company directly benefits the employee. Monetary and other rewards are being given to employees for generating cost savings or process-improving ideas, to boost productivity and reduce absenteeism. Money is effective when it is directly tied to an employee’s ideas or accomplishments.
Nevertheless, if not coupled with other, nonmonetary motivators, its motivating effects are short-lived. Further, monetary incentives can prove counterproductive if not made available to all members of the organization. Other incentives Study after study has found that the most effective motivators of workers are nonmonetary. Monetary systems are insufficient, in part because expectations often exceed results and because disparity between salaried individuals may divide rather than unite employees. Proven nonmonetary motivators foster team spirit and include recognition, responsibility, and advancement.
Managers, who recognize the “small wins” of employees, promote participatory environments, and treat employees with fairness and respect will find their employees to be more highly motivated. One company’s managers brainstormed to come up with 30 powerful rewards that cost little or nothing to implement. The most effective rewards, such as letters of commendation and time off from work, enhanced personal fulfillment and self-respect. Over the longer term, sincere praise and personal gestures are far more effective and more economical than awards of money alone.
In the end, a program that combines monetary reward systems and satisfies intrinsic, self-actualizing needs may be the most potent employee motivator. EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION TOOLS AT: ?MOTIF INC ?CLARIS LIFESCIENCES ?ZYDUS CADILLA ?INTAS PHARMACEUTICALS ?NOKIA ?NAVNEET PUBLICATIONS ?KNOWLEDGE ACADEMY MOTIF INC COMPANY PROFILE Motif, Inc. is a specialized business process outsourcing company serving Fortune 500 clients. It is one of a limited number of ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certified company- the highest international standard for information security management.
Privately held and Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Motif Inc. is backed by leading venture capital and private equity firms whose assets are in excess of 5 Billion USD. It has delivery centres in Manila, Costa Rica and in India it operates out of Ahmedabad. Its Ahmedabad center has been operational since 2000, and is the center of excellence for analytics, back-office processing, and non-voice customer support services. Ahmedabad features a large talent pool of college graduates, and lower wage rates and infrastructure costs than other popular BPO cities in India (e. . , Mumbai, Bangalore), with the same quality levels and technology. Ahmedabad is located in the state of Gujarat, which has one of the largest optical fiber networks in India. Gujarat has a population of 5 million and is an education hub, producing a large pool of English-speaking college graduates every year. Motif commenced operations as a software company, and transformed to a customer centric business process outsourcing (BPO) enterprise that excels in rules-based business processes that require human judgment.
Motif’s software DNA and continuous improvement methodology constantly produces powerful innovations and process improvements for its clients. Services Motif provides the following lines of service across several key verticals, including Retail / e-Commerce; Travel, Life Sciences and Financial Services. Customer Support Online Fraud Prevention Research & Analytics Back-Office Processes Chat and Voice support Personalized email response services Travel reservation changes Content moderationSite monitoring for online retail
Credit Card Fraud Prevention for online travelData Analytics Social Media Listening Key Opinion Leader (KOL) ProfilingBenefits administration Financial reconciliation Mortgage services – Loans Origination, Servicing & Closing Insurance Services – Database reconciliation Customer Support is Motif’s largest and oldest service line. Motif has been providing Customer Support to leading retail clients for over 8 years. Motif provides customized voice, email, and chat support services, and handles issues ranging from the relatively simple to those involving extreme complexity.
Tier 1 ServicesTier 2 ServicesTier 3 Services Pre/post Purchase Questions Account Management and Registration Website Navigation Order and Shipment StatusTechnical Support Billing Credits and Refunds Content Management Outbound Voice Support Quality Surveys Process Refunds / Returns Order CancellationsCollections Site Management and Moderation Fraud Prevention and Control Site Policy Violations Quality Measurement World Class Talent Management While it’s important for every organization to establish the right culture, it is absolutely critical for BPO providers.
Well-defined processes are important in this business, but because well-informed judgment also plays a crucial role in client transactions, the right people are of the utmost importance. The founders developed a unique, results-driven culture that mirrors the best practices found in leading U. S. companies. These practices result in: •Hiring the Best and Brightest: Employees are attracted to Motif’s generous benefits, family-like atmosphere, and stimulating work environment. This, coupled with its strict multi-step screening procedures, allows the company to select only the “best of the best”.
Motif agents are typically college graduates, and less than 10% of applicants receive offers. •Results-Focused Employee Development: The Company holds employees to high performance standards, and often its internal standards exceed its client Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Low performers receive targeted coaching and training, and if performance doesn’t improve, employees are counseled out. In addition, all Motif employees have access to real-time performance data. •Highly Motivated, Innovative Employees: Its employee stock ownership rate is one of the highest in the offshore BPO industry.
This, coupled with its open, non-hierarchical work environment and frequent rewards/recognition for performance, creates highly motivated and innovative employees. •Strong Employee Retention: High turnover is a problem in much of the BPO industry. Motif’s attrition rates are well below industry average in both India and Manila thanks to the unique company culture. Its lower attrition rates ensure a knowledgeable workforce, deeper domain expertise on the front-line and longer-tenured team leaders. Talent motivation management One of Motif’s competitive differentiators is unique people driven continuous improvement philosophy.
The underlying process involves creating an open, transparent environment. It encourages all employees to voice their ideas and points of view. It considers all ideas shared by all employees. Transparent, universal access to key performance indicates and data across all levels of the organization creates accountability as well as a sense of pride and internal competition. Communication is the key to bring in the highest levels of transparency, and one can’t seem to do enough towards this end. At Motif, intranet plays a pivotal role in making in-house communication pellucid.
All HR policies are well presented on the portal with a section dedicated to addressing queries and handling all clarifications sought. Coffee sessions are conducted continually with a view to encourage employees to put forth their grievances if any, which would then be looked into in a fair and just manner. There happen to be intermittent leadership dialogues to acquaint the employees with growth opportunities present in the organization and the trajectory to be followed to climb to higher echelons. In this exercise senior management sits with the junior level co-workers for query handling sessions.
The CEO himself is fairly accessible with his visits scheduled every month to Ahmedabad and other delivery centres to be able to remain in close touch with everyone associated with the organization. At this juncture, performance matrices are shared and candid queries are invited from the side of employees. The organization respects the spirit of celebration and attaches tremendous importance to festivals which it believes contribute towards enthusing zeal in employees and developing in them a sanguine attitude towards life. Kite-flying festival, Uttarayan as it is locally called, is celebrated with Great Spirit and fervor.
Christmas is celebrated with the underprivileged strata of society. The organization is closely associated with many charitable institutions for which the employees raise funds and make donations for Christmas. Besides, the yearly calendar is replete with informal celebrations that are not only a source of recreation and generate an air of healthy competition but also make the workplace fun to be at. On Bollywood day all employees are expected to dress up like a bollywood star and come to office mimicking the idiosyncratic mannerisms of one’s chosen celebrity.
On ‘mismatch day’ it’s an acid test of one’s creative juices. People are expected to dress in the weirdest manner possible with no visible co-ordination between various pieces of clothing and accessories thereby moving against all unsaid rules of acceptable wear. Lastly, a ‘green day’ is celebrated with the aim of spreading awareness about the deteriorating environment and taking a step further towards its conservation. The employees carry to office placards bearing catchy slogans to that effect and organize on the work floor quizzes on assessing environmental awareness quotient.
A monthly magazine by the name ‘Motif Movement’ is released internally, which carries a mention of all events worth sharing that happened in the company during the previous month. For facilitating holistic development of the employees the company has established its own university by the name ‘Motif University’ for leadership skills and aptitude development where in addition to conducting workshops on leadership, several courses have been designed on spoken English and computer literacy for the benefit of employees.
T & D at Motif Motif believes that a continuous investment in Training and Development is essential for improving the performance of the workforce and enhancing the services provided. Motif is one of the few BPO companies in India that has a resident US trainer at its India delivery centers. Process associates at Motif undergo generic and program specific training at Motif’s state-of-the-art training facilities. The extensive training programmmes address key requirements and enable Motif’s team to exceed customer expectations.
Motif’s US trainer provides a thorough ‘Americanization’ training which includes understanding American culture, history, geography, common American phrases and business writing skills. Its vertical specific domain experts provide in-depth understanding of the vertical, its process workflows and functionality. The Process associates and managers at all levels go through the training process and have to clear stringent tests to ensure that Motif continuously delivers quality services and exceeds customer expectations.
The decision of who would attend which training programme is taken a call on by the reporting manager of that particular team who would nominate his team members for various training programmes based upon his judgment and observation on the job. Furthermore, the hygiene factors are well taken care of by the management. Good remuneration by industry standards is coupled with free transport facilities at night and free lunch every working day. There happens to be in place an entertainment committee, which is in charge of organizing all aforementioned events along with team outings.
The monthly hundred rupee entertainment allowance is accumulated over a certain period until it becomes sufficient to take the employees out for a movie or a meal together. The ambience at workplace is kept comforting with soft music playing on the floor: on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays western music is played while on all other days Indian music is in the air. One distinguishing feature in the Rewards & Recognition policy of the company is ‘Sunshine Awards’. It essentially refers to the ’employee of the month’ award that could be found at myriad companies.
What is novel about it at Motif is the nomenclature, which is a refreshing breakaway from the mundane name mentioned before. CLARIS LIFESCIENCES COMPANY PROFILE Claris Lifesciences is an international pharmaceutical company, in the business of manufacturing and marketing sterile parenteral preparations, life saving medicines and hospital products, focusing on delivery systems, for treatment of critical illnesses and diseases. Having established its presence in India in 1999, Claris continues to grow from strength to strength with every passing year.
With emphasis on Research, Technology and Quality, Claris offers a range of unique products and delivery systems in bottles, vials, ampoules, pre-filled syringes, non-PVC/PVC bags and oral dosage forms. The company’s strength lies in its know-how and expertise in manufacturing and marketing injectable products. Having established its presence in India in 1999, Claris continues to grow from strength to strength with every passing year. Claris enjoys market leadership across several products and categories in India including Propofol, Parenteral Nutrition and Infusions.
The company continuously endeavors to support upgrade of medical care in the country with the introduction of breakthrough new products and technologies. It has several firsts to its credit including: •The revolutionary new anesthetic propofol under brand name Profol™ •Oral glutamine under brand name Glutammune™ •Triple chamber CAPD system Trisafe™ •Triple chamber nutrition system with parenteral route administration – TNA Peri™ Claris’ customer base in India includes institutions, large corporate hospitals and nursing homes, translating into a user base of 25000+ individual doctors.
In line with its commitment to the cause of critical care in the country, Claris remains at the forefront of efforts towards medical education including participation in several national and international congresses, supporting of training programs for young doctors, publication of scientific journals and other such initiatives. Motivating the workforce: Communication Claris as an organization has been extremely fastidious about maintaining crystal clear communication from top-down perspective and vice-versa and is a firm believer of the fact that the latter goes a long way in keeping its workforce motivated.
It is equally important to know one’s purpose in the organization in order to be able to perform to one’s potential. Claris, taking account of this, believes in having well-etched out and clearly defined roles for those on the payroll and communicating these to the latter. Job description the way it has been formulated and spelled out forms one of the fortes of the organization. There happens to be a free flow of information across all levels of hierarchy and is maintained with the help of intranet, notice boards, flags et al.
The company also releases a bi-monthly magazine that carries a mention of all important announcements and major happenings during the past two months. One distinguishing feature of the organization is the practice of calling everyone on the payroll not ’employees’ but ‘members’ of the company so as to not only uphold the dignity of labour but also to instill a sense of ownership in each individual of the workforce. Festivals’ celebration Claris celebrates all major festivals that form a core part of the fabric of Gujarat’s culture namely Dussehra, Navratri and Uttarayan, the kite festival.
On Navratri, is organized a ‘Garba’ night for all employees and their families while on Uttarayan, is held a kite-flying competition. In addition to this, many informal events are organized too e. g. ‘Most Smiley Face’ competition and ‘Most Beautifully Decorated Floor/ Workstation’. These in house events keep the morale of the personnel high and keep alive in them the drive to excel at whatever is required of them. Personal Development The management takes immense care of the employees’ personal development.
Training needs are identified through performance appraisal and feedback and suitable on-the-job, technical and behavioural training is imparted aiming to fill the gap between ‘what is’ and ‘what is expected’. Furthermore, a thirteen year module is prepared for every employee at an ‘entry level’ position in the managerial cadre, charting out for him/her a possible trajectory of growth in the organization thereby providing encouragement to work one’s way up to highest echelons.
There prevails a culture of uninhibited autonomy, which essentially means that an employee is granted complete liberty within the purview of his job to carry out his respective functions and meet his responsibilities. One extremely comforting aspect of the company’s reward and recognition policy is purely based on merit and performance. The rewards given away are monetary and in kind as is suited to the situation. There exists a separate bulletin board to acknowledge extraordinary performers, who not only did what was expected of them but exceeded the expectations.
As far as safety of employees is concerned, mostly applicable to workmen, adequate training is provided to them on safety measures to be taken and protective gear is also provided to them. ZYDUS CADILA COMPANY PROFILE An Integrated Global Healthcare Company Zydus Cadila is an innovative global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of healthcare products. The group’s operations range from API to formulations, animal health products and cosmeceuticals.
Headquartered in the city of Ahmedabad in India, the group has global operations in four continents spread across USA, Europe, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and 25 other emerging markets. In its mission to create healthier communities globally, Zydus Cadila delivers wide ranging healthcare solutions and value to its customers. With over 11,000 employees worldwide, a world-class research and development centre dedicated to discovery research and eight state-of-the-art manufacturing plants, the group is dedicated to improving people’s lives. Employee Motivation Management
The company has adopted a piecemeal approach towards absorbing the employees, the recent joinees in particular, into the culture of the organization and this has stood it in good stead. To begin with, there is a ‘buddy system’ in place which is about assigning an experienced person in the organization to each new joinee with the aim of acquainting him/her with the culture of the organization, make him/her feel at ease and also help that employee, if new to the city, find his/her feet in a new place vis-a-vis accommodation, travel, food et al.
The management encourages employees to endear their workplace and their respective jobs per se. It remains equally important for the employees to respect the significance of their own jobs and refrain from comparing it with others falling in the same pay range. The company clearly communicates this to all staff members and has fortunately witnessed good results too, to this effect. The festive spirit is upheld through celebration of all major festivals that are either native to the state of Gujarat or popular here namely Diwali, Holi, Navratri et al.
On Diwali, the organisation gives leave for six days, but before the employees leave for their homes just before Diwali holiday, packets of sweets are given away to them to savour with their families. On Holi eve, the employees get together in an open space right in front of the main building and play with colours, keeping at bay all differences in opinion, levels of hierarchy in the organisation and the event thus turns out to be a unique unifying experience. On Navratri a community worship programme is organised, indigenously called ‘Havan’, at all locations of the manufacturing facilities and corporate offices.
Besides, at the end of a string of celebrations as is the norm on Navratri, a dance night for playing ‘Garba’ is held where members of one’s family are also invited to enjoy the event. In the month of January the annual day of the company is celebrated, when the CEO addresses all employees, everyone associated with the organisation is present and all sing in chorus the anthem of the company. Later in the day, many intra organisation sports events are held including activities meant for spouses and children.
At the end there is conducted an award distribution ceremony where extraordinary performances and achievements are acknowledged. T & D at Zydus Cadila Zydus conducts, in principle, three kinds of training programmes namely ‘Leadership Program’, sponsored training and skill based training. In the leadership programme the management has come to identify one hundred and twenty five different leadership roles that could be emulated by employees thereby underlining the significance of exhibiting leadership skills in any situation one finds him/herself to be, not only for benefits of the organisation but for individual betterment too.
In the ‘sponsored training’ module, one is sent to attend seminars and workshops. One is allowed to nominate him/herself for such programmes. Once back, they are asked to share their experiences and learning with fellow employees on a formal platform through presentations etc. For the purpose of skill based training, Zydus has come up with a Development Plan for all employees in managerial cadre, which involves gap analysis of each employee by the concerned reporting manager based on performance appraisal report and zeroing on areas on improvement. Autonomy, Rewards & Recognition
The organisation is known for unconditional support and autonomy it extends to its employees that is necessary for him/her to carry out his job and functions. The latter enjoy an absolute carte blanche in this respect, a phenomenon totally unrivalled in the pharmaceutical sector in India. The reward and recognition policy is one of its kind and is purely meritocratic in nature. It corresponds directly to the individual’s performance. What distinguishes Zydus from its peer organisations is the fact that it doesn’t limit itself to assessment of performance but delves into an employee’s potential too.
Deriving from their performance appraisal reports, all employees are fit into one of the four matrices as are seen in the performance-potential grid above. If one falls into low performance-high potential area, then a tete-a-tete would be organised with the senior management with the aim of exploring the reasons why the person in question has not been able to perform commensurate to his potential and what exactly is keeping him/her back. If one falls into low performance-low potential then a notice is issued pushing the laggards to keep up with expected levels of performance.
Thus we can see that an under-performer is not sacked immediately but is allowed to buy time enough to improve upon his performance. This proves to be a great source of motivation to employees in general. The best performers falling in the high performance-high potential category are adequately acknowledged in monthly performance review meetings. Additionally, the internal magazine by the name ‘Zydus News’ issued every month, also carried a mention of such achievers. Those falling in the high performance-low potential are given training suitable to their needs so that their careers do not face a cul-de-sac in near future.
Lastly, Zydus follows the practice of job rotation wherein an employee is assigned different roles in the same department suited to his areas of interest to break away from the monotony at workplace, wherever possible. INTAS PHARMACEUTICALS COMPANY PROFILE Experience spanning three decades in healthcare industry, with a wide range of formulations to meet the needs of ailing humanity, Intas pharmaceuticals, headquartered at Ahmedabad, is now a force to reckon with in the global pharma horizon.
With expertise in the range of formulations, from tablets to injectables to newer drug delivery systems, Intas is currently ranked 16th among Indian pharma majors. A variety of initiatives in Research and Development (R&D), patents and ANDA filing, NDDS, Quality Manufacturing Support along with approval from regulatory authorities of many countries has made Intas a global healthcare provider. Pioneering efforts in providing medication for both chronic and acute medical conditions has truly led Intas to live up to its corporate line – ‘Expressions for a Healthy Life’.
Employee Motivation Management Intas, having been inspired by extraordinary motivation tools employed by its peers in the sector and other exemplary practices, has followed suit and now boasts of some fabulous practices itself, being incorporated at home front. To begin with, the company goes very frequently for job enrichment especially with employees in the managerial cadre by the way of providing them with more stimulating and interesting work that adds variety and challenge to an employee’s routine. This has been made possible with the ption of cross training being often explored. Cross training is good for managers, because it provides more flexibility in managing the workforce to get the job done. However, done right, cross training is good for the employees too. It lets them learn new skills, makes them more valuable, and can combat worker boredom. The organisation is a strong advocate for maintaining work life balance, a must-have to survive in corporate in the long run. The office closes by 7 pm beyond which nobody is expected to work.
As in other organisations, Intas makes a sincere effort to keep up the festive spirit. On Diwali eve, there happens a sweet distribution ceremony while on Navratri, a ‘Garba’ dance night is organised in which members of families of the staff participate with a lot of pomp and show. Development of Employees Technical and soft skills training is provided at regular intervals or as and when a need is felt based on the feedback from performance appraisal. There have been training programmes on bettering communication skills and getting comfortable with computers.
Besides, training is also provided to all employees to give them a basic idea of all functional areas in the organisation irrespective of the department they are working for. E. g. recently the management conducted a session on ‘finance for non-finance people’ with a view to broaden the perspective of employees and get an epiphanic outlook of its processes. The personnel get tremendous opportunities to grow within the organisation. The business house has recently come to expand its operations in the United Kingdom.
This move presented opportunities for many in the manufacturing arm to relocate thereby leaving scores of others motivated to step up the good work so as to be able to be considered for any such situation in future. Rewards & Recognition The rewards and recognition policy of the company is entirely performance based. Performance review is an annual exercise and results in exceptional performers being rewarded with monetary benefits as well those in kind. Abroad tours are offered quite often.
There is a quarterly magazine of the company by the name ‘Expressions’, released in soft copy, which carries an acknowledgement of the ‘Employee of the Year’, a mention of birthdays of all employees falling in that period and news about newly happened mergers and acquisitions. The company provides for social security to the employees including medical claim et al. It abides by Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) as laid down by World Health Organisation (WHO), has measures for fire safety at workplace and also has provisions for personal loan and accident claim.
NOKIA COMPANY PROFILE Nokia has played a pioneering role in the growth of cellular technology in India, starting with the first-ever cellular call a decade ago, made on a Nokia mobile phone over a Nokia-deployed network. Nokia started its India operations in 1995, and presently operates out of offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata,Jaipur,Lucknow,Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Ahmedabad. The Indian operations comprise the handsets business; R facilities in Bangalore and Mumbai; a manufacturing plant in Chennai and a Design Studio in Bangalore.
Over the years, the company has grown manifold with its manpower strength increasing from 450 people in the year 2004 to over 15000 employees in March 2008 (including Nokia Siemens Networks). Today, India holds the distinction of being the second largest market for the company globally. Manufacturing in India Nokia has set up its mobile device manufacturing facility in Chennai, India to meet the burgeoning demand for mobile devices in the country. The manufacturing facility is operational with an investment of USD 210 million and currently employs 8000 people.
Nokia has recently announced fresh investments to the tune of US $ 75 million towards its manufacturing plant in Sriperumbudur, Chennai for the year 2008. Some firsts for Nokia in India 1995 – First mobile phone call made in India on a Nokia phone on a Nokia network 1998 – Saare Jahaan Se Acchha, first Indian ringtone in a Nokia 5110 2000 – First phone with Hindi menu (Nokia 3210) 2002 – First Camera phone (Nokia 7650) 2003 – First Made for India phone, Nokia 1100 2004 – Saral Mobile Sandesh, Hindi SMS on a wide range of Nokia phones 2004 – First Wi-fi Phone- Nokia Communicator (N9500) 005 – Local UI in additional local language 2006 – Nokia manufacturing plant in Chennai 2007 – First vernacular news portal Employee Motivation Management Nokia, being a sojourner in the field of telecommunication, had taken in its stride some of the best employee motivation tools to taste success in whichever part of globe it has trodden. Having started as a company best known for its footwear (wellington boots in specific) it has successfully diversified into the field one normally associates it with, and this has been possible only due to the efforts by a highly motivated workforce.
It believes in constantly throwing challenges at its employees and encourages them not to rest on their laurels instead keep challenging their own previous best. This approach enthuses immense zeal in them and helps bringing out their best. Good communication sans hindrance forms the flesh and blood of all work processes and keeps the business running seamlessly. Such absolute transparency is maintained through e-mails, intranet and town-hall sessions. In these sessions, everyone gets to meet everyone: so this is de facto an open house meeting wherein all grievances are addressed and all possible sources of conflict are nipped in the bud.
Parallely, leadership teams are formed that take care of instances of conflict resolution, if any and counseling. What is most eye-catching is the fact that there exists no cabin culture in the organisation leading to a sense of equality amidst all working individuals thus mitigating the impact of the evils of power politics and office grapevine. For the recreation of employees, a cross-departmental committee is formed that collects the monthly entertainment allowance every employee is entitled to, and organizes outings and dinner.
It also holds small informal events for the employees and goodies are given away as prizes to generate participation. These activities by the way of generating participation lighten the mood of workplace and steer the general attitude towards ‘go-get’ism. Development of Employees Personal Development Plan (PDP) for every employee has been well in place for long. Each of them is required to fill a PDP form, which is an annual exercise and based on that training needs of each employee are assessed.
Training for each comprises 70% on the job training, 20% happens through coaching and mentoring and the rest 10% through classroom and online lessons. All employees are expected to actively participate in their personal development programme and the management sees into it that everyone takes it with utmost seriousness. There happens to be an internal job market portal online, which carries updates of all vacancies being created across Nokia offices whichever part of the world they are located in.
This presents a good opportunity for those who are looking to relocate or for better profiles elsewhere, within the organisation. Cross functional training is the norm of the day and people get to be involved in a variety of projects and assignments demanding motley skills of them for which they need to get specialized and customized training. Drawing from the principles of capitalism, the company works on the philosophy of laissez-faire and believes in giving free rein to employees vis-a-vis their work.
This essentially means that they are only required to complete a basic minimum number of hours of being at office and beyond which they can work from anywhere they want to. There is a complete absence of attendance or punching-in system of any kind. As long as they are able to meet the requirements it doesn’t matter to the organisation where they work from. It is clear from the company’s history of success that the system of flexi hours has brought tremendous benefits to the business. Rewards & Recognition The reward system of the company is very vibrant and fulfilling.
There are, to begin with, spot awards comprising a cash prize of five thousand rupees for which line managers have the authority to recommend names of those exceptional performers reporting to them. There is a practice of giving ‘Thank You’ cards to anyone, be it a superior, subordinate or colleague, who helped one out for anything at workplace. Besides, every month one employee is nominated for ’employee of the month’ award based on one’s performance over that month, is publicly acknowledged and is also given a certificate to this effect.
The organisation takes adequate care of its employees’ health and is registered with Organisational Health and Safety (OHS). Hygiene and cleanliness at the office is fastidiously taken care of. NAVNEET PUBLICATIONS COMPANY PROFILE Navneet Publications India Limited, founded by the Gala Family, is in the business of Educational and children Books Publishing, Scholastic paper stationery and non-paper stationery products. Since 1959, Navneet has been a major force in the dissemination of knowledge.
NAVNEET is a dominant player in the field of publishing, with more than 5000 titles in English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and foreign languages. Over the decades, Navneet has emerged as a leading Educational Products and Services company in India. The company’s products are sold under the ‘Navneet’, ‘Vikas’, ‘Gala’, ‘FfUuNn’, ‘Boss’ and ‘Navneet Nxt’ brand names. It’s portfolio of syllabus based Books includes high quality supplementary books like Digests (Guides), Workbooks and 21 Question Sets, most of which are published in four languages – English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati.
The company has a dominant market share in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Also with the new range of supplementary books targeting the students from CBSE and ICSE boards, Navneet’s educational products are now made available across India Navneet also produces various titles in the Children and General books category, which are not based on syllabus, such as activity books for children, board books, story books, health related books, cookery books, mehendi & embroidery books, etc. The company enjoys leading position in premiere stationery markets in India, the Middle East, parts of Africa, U.
S. A. and Europe. With now more than 500 SKU’s, Navneet is one of the largest paper stationery brand in India. In 2006, taking the success of the Paper Stationery products further, Navneet launched it first range of non-paper stationery – FfUuNn Pencils. The company has aggressive plans in this segment. Employee Motivation Management The organisation disposes of a small yet very efficient HR staff which has utilized some good tools to keep the workforce motivated that mainly comprises sales personnel out in the field, mostly on the move and cutting deals.
The major challenge of motivation tools employed lies therein. These tools must be strategically used at well-thought out periods so that whatever little time is spent at the office suffices to keep the sales staff motivated for the rest of the time in the field. Employee Development Plan The target audience for Navneet’s products is mostly school-goers. In a calendar year a slack period for sales is identified (sept-oct) and training programmes are scheduled during this period.
Reporting managers are responsible for pointing out the training needs of sales staff workin