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Better
working environment can act as a great employee retention tool.
A few years ago, this statement would have been limited to HR policies
and the different incentives offered by a company. However, in the
present scenario, the emphasis is more on providing the best infrastructure
and good working conditions (like better hygiene) to retain employees.
It is a proven fact that the productivity of employees depends on
their work surroundings and the morale that they have.
Most
companies are trying to blend better facilities and pleasure with
work. Hema Ravichander, senior vice president of HR at Infosys Technologies
says, “A working environment, that helps the employees to work,
relax and also have fun, would surely contribute to the quality
of work, as it helps in keeping the employees interested and motivated,
resulting in high levels of employee satisfaction.”
Good
facilities lead to better productivity
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The
office can be a pleasant place
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With
the intense competition to attract the best talent in the IT and
ITES sectors, it is increasingly becoming vital for companies to
focus on better working environments. The stress level among employees
is very high in these industries and companies do not want it to
impact their performance. Industry research has in fact proved that
a good working environment can make for an almost 10 percent to
25 percent difference in an employee’s productivity.
Prakash
Toppo, HR director at Global Vantage, says, “Employee satisfaction
and motivation begins at the basic level. Maslow’s need hierarchy
model holds good for retention of employees. The basic needs actually
play a big role in attainment of higher level needs. With a great
working environment, employees are not only comfortable and content
at work, but also have a sense of pride to step into a state-of-the-art
facility.” Agrees Raghuraman, the HR head of Motorola GSG,
who adds that the work environment is among the top two considerations
for an individual while joining a company. This was also endorsed
by a recent Hewitt Associates Best Practices Study conducted throughout
the US, covering close to 43,000 IT employees.
Infrastructure
has come a long way
A
look at IT companies across the nation will reveal a vibrant work
culture (both in terms of environment and infrastructure), strong
emphasis on colour coordination, designer and ergonomic furniture
with the right kind of relaxation facilities like gymnasium, yoga
centres, libraries and snack bars. Basic aspects like height of
workstations, storage space, colour schemes of furniture and upholstery
are also getting a lot of attention. Some of the companies have
even invested in state-of-the art fitness centres, bathrooms and
building separate ramps for the disabled.
“Employees
invariably spend a large part of the day at work, especially in
office. This is especially true of IT and BPO companies. Employers
are now realising that happy employees make a successful organisation
and one of the way to keep the employees happy is to provide them
a work atmosphere that is relaxing and pleasant,” says L Krishnan,
the general manager of Computer Sciences Corporation.
ITES
leads the ways
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Well-equipped
library
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The
trend was started with the IT industry, where some of the big players
like Infosys, Wipro, Oracle, Xansa, Motorola, Oracle, etc, made
sure that they take the right steps not only to reduce stress, but
also increase the morale and productivity of the employees. According
to R Shekar, the senior vice president and head HR, corporate strategy
and business excellence, of Polaris Software Labs, being a people
intensive and knowledge-based industry, comfortable and delightful
environment are the key factors to ensure best productivity and
customer-satisfaction.
A
few recent studies have proved that it is the ITES and the BPO companies,
which lead the way in providing the best working environment to
their employees. According to a Nasscom study, this sector has even
set new and better standards of infrastructure and amenities for
their employees. Many experts point out that this can also be due
to the profile of the individuals working in these organisations
(young employees) and the nature of job (night shift operations
and monotonous job).
Arjun
Vaznaik, the chief operating officer of Mumbai-based Tracmail, points
out, “The expectation has been set by the ITES industry itself
as we have seen bigger and better facilities come up with each time
a new player enters the industry.” Toppo adds that in today’s
competitive market, efficiency and effectiveness play a critical
role in overall business profitability. “Especially in our
business, an employee’s productivity gets directly linked to
the dollars we collect for our clients. We see a direct dollar-value
impact of every minute our employees have to waste due to lack of
best-in-class amenities at the workplace. We want to give them the
best working environment, equipped with all necessary amenities
so that they can focus on their work.” According to the COPC
2000 Standard, which is designed for customer service providers,
the physical working conditions must be conducive to the staff’s
ability to perform their jobs. “Employee satisfaction translates
into productivity and efficiency and work, which in turn leads to
high levels of customer satisfaction,” says Aniruddha Limaye,
vice president of HR for Daksh.
Increasing
BPO and ITES activities have resulted in the industry adhering to
international working conditions. Most clients are very particular
about maintaining and replicating the working atmosphere and infrastructure
standards. This quality does not limit itself to the basic infrastructure
but also maintenance of cleanliness, hygiene and security, as maintained
by their US clients. “This means that one may find the same
colour coordination, wall panels, chairs and tables as in their
international offices,” says Girish Nair, vice president of
global human resources at Aztec Software & Technology Services.
In addition, there is an equal emphasis on providing the best communication
and IT infrastructure. The whole idea is to have a “smart office”
with the right connectivity in place.
A
big investment
Corporates
now believe that the employees need an infrastructure and environment
on par with the world’s best, including technological and other
infrastructure facilities. “These ‘centres of excellence’
and the continuous initiatives by companies to enhance their employees’
sense of belonging will be the key to their success for employee
retention, attraction and performance,” says Padmaja Krishnan,
the director for marketing and business development at Xansa, India.
Adds
Zia Shiekh, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Mumbai-based Infowavz
International, “In terms of physical infrastructure, air-conditioned
workplace, spacious desks, ergonomically designed workstations (comfortable,
adjustable chairs), good ceiling height, sound-proof ceiling and
a good lighting have become key criteria for an a good ITES set
up.” In case of basic amenities, things like locker rooms (for
personal storage), 24/7 cafeteria in a round-the-clock environment,
home pick-up and drops etc, are common features offered by the companies.
However,
all this translates into huge investments for the company. According
to industry experts, this might also be the reason why many IT organisations
who talk about a good working environment have not really invested
in their physical infrastructure.
However,
if the companies have to succeed in future, they need to provide
the best facilities to their employees. As Milind Jadhav, the vice
president of human resources at Patni Computer Systems sums up,
“A happy worker is a good worker.”
Send
feedback to punita@expresscomputeronline.com
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