If you thought salary is the prime incentive for Indians, think again. Indian employees, says a study, look to leadership, job satisfaction, communication, teamwork and work environment as the top five commitment drivers for them.
While Indians do recognise that pay is linked to the company's performance, they are not satisfied with their pay or benefits alone.
Watson Wyatt, the leading global human capital consulting firm, organised a CEO Forum on 'Building Peak Performance Teams to Conquer Global Markets,' led by Watson Wyatt president and CEO John Haley and regional director for Asia Pacific Dr Chuly Lee.
The guest speakers at the Forum were Tata Consultancy Services CEO S Ramadorai, and Aditya Birla Management Corporation head for corporate human resources Santrupt Misra.
Rajeev Gupta, managing director, Carlyle India, moderated the discussions at the sessions.
Commenting that, "The Indian workforce is currently 500 million people," Haley predicted that, "over the next three decades the country will see a growth of over 335 million people, which is greater that the combined work force of the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Germany and France. The rapid growth of its economy, with all the major sectors poised for growth makes India a very critical and important marketplace for human resource management."
He went on to say, "As domestic companies reach out globally they will need skilled human capital to be competitive with established market leaders."
Looking at the world from the employees' point of view, Lee said, "Leadership, job satisfaction, communication, teamwork and work environment are the top five commitment drivers. While India has a strong advantage with a net labour cost saving of around 40%, future growth trajectories will depend on sustaining the people & cost advantage."
In a hot labour market the human resource challenges corporate India faces are:
- 44% of the companies have significant difficulty attracting top performers;
- 40% of the companies make mid-year salary corrections;
- Average employee turnover is 16%;
- BPO's have up to 25% salary growth with 40% to 50% turnover;
- India has the highest salary increases in the region.
Sharing an overview of Watson Wyatt's WorkIndia study, Anita Belani, country head, Watson Wyatt India, said, "In most categories, Indian employees rate their companies more favourably than employees in other Asia Pacific countries. Indian employees give more importance to the company's growth prospects and reputation when evaluating the 'leave or stay decision' as compared to their Asia Pacific counterparts. Indian employees rated above average on two norms versus their AP counterparts: employee alignment with corporate goals and higher accessibility of information."
"On the other hand, ratings on dissatisfaction with compensation are similar to their Asia-Pacific counterparts with compensation rated as the biggest reason why people leave, followed by better career opportunities and better utilisation of skills. While employees do recognise that pay is linked to the company's performance, they are not satisfied with their pay or benefits," he added.
Ramadorai spoke about the evolution of TCS from a domestic to a global company. He described how the company has created a favourable work culture for over 59,000 employees. "There are five essential elements that make a good team: A common goal, team spirit, expertise in diverse areas within the teams, acting when necessary and, most importantly, effective leadership. These five elements, when working in tandem, make for an effective team," he said.
"What employees look for are credible managers and leaders that they can rely on, treatment as professionals in their field of work, a work culture that provides stability and is free of politics," said Misra, while providing an insight into some key employee expectations.
The forum was attended by business owners and senior corporate executives, including Godrej Group chairperson Adi Godrej; Tata AIG managing director Dalip Verma; ICICI Prudential associate VP (operations) Ashok Suvarna; Bajaj Electricals CEO R Ramakrishnan; Novartis CEO Anil Matai, TCS chairman of F C Kohli, and Wockhardt chairman Huzaifa Khorakiwala.
Anita Belani added, "The success of this forum affirms our growing belief in the advantages of developing entrepreneurs and leaders who will take India and its businesses to supremacy in global markets. Recognising this potential, we have centralised the Watson Wyatt human capital consulting business in Mumbai to meet growing rapidly demand for advice on efficient corporate structures, benefits and retention strategies."
Lee also shared some global trends in work that include:
- Changing expectations: Employees want more control of their careers and rewards based on performance. They are also concerned about opportunities for growth.
- Increasing demand for skilled employees with higher education, driven by technological innovation and transition to a service economy.
- Rising female workforce participation is a major driver towards more flexible labour markets.
- Flexibility in labour engagement to hedge uncertainties, which includes more frequent use of self-employment, part-time work, limited duration contracts and temporary staffing.
- With greater labour as well as job mobility employers no longer viewed as providers of lifetime employment and benefits.
Find the job you want! Click here!
Do you want to discuss stock tips? Do you know a hot one? Join the Stock Market Discussion Group.
