Get Married & Get Salary Hike More Than Others: This Indian Company Is Retaining Employees By Matchmaking!

Presently, retaining talent is tough for IT companies whether it be metros or Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. 

Firstly, they have to attract talent and then struggle to retain it. 

Innovative Ways of Madurai-based SMI

During such times, the Madurai-based SMI (Sri Mookambika Infosolutions), which is a privately held global technology solutions provider serving clients in the US, seems to have cracked the challenge.

They have come up with the innovative ideas of It matchmaking services for free. 

Further,the firm provides a special increment when any employee gets married. 

Not only that they have increments for all every six months. 

This has directly affected the As it has remained below 10% for several years now. 

At present, SMI and associate companies together employ 750 people.

Out of that almost 40% of whom have been there for more than five years.

How Did This Happen? 

The SMI firm started in 2006 in Sivakasi. 

With the increase in headcount, recruiting the right people became a challenge in the small town. 

During 2010, the firm shifted base to Madurai when most IT firms in TN preferred Chennai. 

Basically, this shift offered 30% lower operating costs. 

Their intent was to build a community and not a corporation.

The founder and CEO, SMI, M P Selvaganesh said, “Our strength was in our giving back and belief in hard work. We knew one cannot build such a community in a Tier-1 city, where everything is commercially oriented. We chose Madurai since it matched our DNA,”.

The firm is clocking annual revenues close to 100 crore. 

Further adding, “My stint as production manager in the textile mill, balancing owners’ expectations of higher returns on investment and workers’ hopes for higher wages, helped. Here it is about being the link between clients and employees,”. 

In its initial days, SMI struggled to attract talent as it was labeled a Madurai-based startup.

 Selvaganesh said, “Till our headcount reached 200, we had a tough time. Even average performers at work were given the benefit of doubt and that made them perform better later. Slowly as the team settled, we started demanding professional excellence. The results were amazing,”. 

The firm started Marriage increment from Day One. 

Later they added matchmaking too.

Selvaganesh said, “They treat me like a brother and several of them are from villages, with either aged parents or lacking a proper outlook of the world and unable to find the right match. We help such employees through a network of ‘alliance makers’. Weddings are the best get-togethers, the entire team hires vans and attends,”.

Coming to increment, the company offers a fixed 6%-8% increment twice a year to all employees.

 When the attrition rate was scaling new highs for the entire industry during 2021, SMI offered an increment every quarter, with special coverage for Top 40 or Top 80 employees.