Back in school, we read about the carrot and stick policy. It was about the diligent and hard working people being rewarded by way of incentives (referred to here as carrots) while the sloths and non-performers got, so to say, the stick.
Change, as they say, is the only constant. As the Indian corporate scene has changed drastically and evolved over the last decade, the carrot and stick policy of yesteryears has now become the iPhone and YouGone policy– the efficient ones being rewarded by way of iPhones, swanky cars and dream holidays and the incompetent ones getting axed.
We talked about the most generous Indians two days back as the list of leading Indian philanthropists compiled by shanghai based Hurun Research Institute for the year 2014 came out. The generosity of Indian top honchos is not limited to their dedication to humanitarian and charitable causes. They love the employees who give them good results. Instead of silently admiring the hard-workers, they now flaunt their love and admiration for them.
And with a lot of panache, I must say!
Only three days back, tech giant HCL had awarded some of its best performers by gifting them the option to either drive home in swanky Mercs or travel abroad or to their chosen destination in India for an all expenses paid holiday.
Cognizant had rewarded similar performers on their team with stock grants.
Reacting to this, Anandorup Ghose, performance, rewards and talent practice leader at search firm Aon Hewitt India had remarked, “The newness of a reward will have a larger appeal (than extra cash).”
Motivational experts couldn’t have agreed more. Innovative perks and bonuses have proven to be the best methods of highlighting the laudable efforts of the top performers and putting them in a different league.
Carrying the trend further, another IT major (Infosys) headed by Vishal Sikka yesterday doled out 30,000 of its ace performers with iPhone 6 devices in addition to 100% variable bonus payouts for the quarter ended December 31.
This time around, the gift was accompanied by an email message from the CEO Sikka in which he thanked each one of the recipients for their “boundless energy and extraordinary effort”.
“And I believe it’s not enough that we simply recognize it, we must celebrate it. That’s why I am so happy that we are presenting you with a Holiday Bonus – the cool new Apple iPhone 6. A gift that’ll always remind you and your teammates of the exceptional value you delivered for Infosys,” he said.
Exemplary bonuses, perks and gifts like these are also a part of the top brands’ efforts to retain their best talent.
In a study carried out last year, Tower Watson (a US based HR consultancy firm) had talked about employers refreshing their benefit strategies. Nearly 30% of the bosses offer or propose benefits like child care benefits, gym memberships, financial planning and ability to buy and sell annual leaves, it mentioned.
The leading online fashion etailer has come up with an out-of-the-box method of awarding its best performers. They launched a Hall of fame in April 2014 where news about the best efforts get published. 160 articles published on it over the last year helped bring a smile to all those whose efforts were appreciated while also serving to motivate others.
Earlier in October 2014, Pepsico had rewarded their ace performers by giving them free holidays, the chance to go to New York to meet the top brass of the company and free tickets to the World Cup 2015 being played in Australia.
The talk of the year, however, was Surat based Rs 6,000 crore Hare Krishna Exports gifting 1,201 employees with cars, flats and jewellery spending a total of Rs 45 crore in the process.
“While the trend is attractive, it will not help in retaining talent for longer term,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, president, Randstad India, a HR consultancy.
Similar thoughts were echoed by Mayank Chandra, managing partner, Antal international, UK-based executive search firm. He does not expect luxury award like the ones being distributed thesedays to be sustainable in the long run. They work only for short terms, he says.
All said and done, it is heartening to see the efforts of employees being appreciated. The new age bosses having come of age now take to openly show their admiration for their crème de la crème.
A toast to all those who got felicitated and a huge thumbs up to all those who did not- work hard and make sure you are mentioned on the next list!
[…] by way of all expenses paid foreign vacations, cars and, the most recent case, the highly desired iPhone 6 devices to reward those driving […]
All this is happening because of the new CEO. He has atleast taken care of turning the company into a more product focused company than the previously loosing services company. To drive motivation.. I have heard he has taken many steps like allowing facebook, giving 100% bonus, and now an iPhone too. This is the right time to join Infosys I think, who knows we may get a car or flat down sometime.
There is one another type of company called TCS which believes in firing thousands of people every year who have worked hard for it over the past 8-10 yrs as a bonus. No body should to join TCS, HP, IBM and the likes now, it is one of the examples of 2-3 letter companies people should never ever work for.