IT & Tech Companies Offering BMW Bikes, 3-Day Work Week, 100% Work From Home To Retain Employees!

Suresh Sambandam, founder of Saas startup Kissflow handed over the keys of BMW Series 5 to 5 of his most trusted lieutenants as a gift for their “unwavering loyalty”.

This incidence brings into the light two things: contrast and crunch. By contrast we mean that not long ago, the companies would bid farewell to retiring employees with a modest gift and fulsome praise. But when you see such a grand gesture you understand that there is a stark contrast on how employees are treated by companies right from gifts ranging from luxury cars to flexi hours and bonuses for good health. The why of this contrast lies with the second thing: crunch.

There is a fierce war for talent rages across the post-pandemic world of hybrid workplaces and hence many of the organizations are facing stiff challenges to retain their best and brightest.

Sambandam told ET that “At a time when people are quitting in 18 months, we wanted to do this [giving away BMW cars] to recognise the value of being loyal to a company. We want to change the narrative, to make people believe that there is benefit in being loyal”.

No man is an island and this applies to corporates too. India’s burgeoning technology sector — the $225-billion software services industry as well as the 70+ unicorn laden startup sector — employers are outdoing each other to woo colleagues with gifts ranging from the personalised to the exorbitant. This comes amid the never before attrition across the industry. In the last quarter of fiscal 2022, TCS and Infosys have recently said the attrition in their firms stood at 17.4% and 27.7%, respectively

Tech Talent crunch

Shortly after the KissFlow’s largesse to five top men, 100 Maruti Suzuki cars were given away by the custom software development company Ideas2IT as a part of “wealth sharing”.

Zerodha, online stock trading company has told its employees better performance on lowering Body Mass Index (BMI) will lead to additional bonuses. CEO said that it is attempt of the company to encourage employees to redouble focus on their health.

According to the talent sourcing professionals and HR practitioners, employers are allowing flexibility at work and letting employees feel appreciated in ever more unique ways.

There are reasons for them to do so, the reasons for which are displayed in the recent survey by Talent500. Key points :

• 87% of the 4,800 professionals across key Indian metros who were surveyed, said they will seek out or consider new opportunities this year.
• Over 88% preferred hybrid work or work-from-anywhere
• Nearly 63% said they are willing to consider independent consultant roles with global companies.

Global opportunities

Tearing down the geographic walls around access to talent, US-based technology companies such as the totally remote GitLab Inc are hiring professionals in India for remote-only positions.

Vikram Ahuja, CEO & Founder at Talent500 said that “Hybrid and flexible work models will continue post-pandemic, and people will show a strong preference for flexibility and choice”.

Employers are also reimagining work practices to address some of the long-held grievances aggravated through the pandemic.

The global workforce of the SaaS platform Chargebee has grown multiple times which means that the employees work across a clutch of time zones.

R U Srinivas, SVP-People Success at Chargebee said that the company now encourages its employees to vigorously document their work to reduce video calls between teams cutting across time zones.

The self proclaimed “truly hybrid” Nasdaq-listed Freshworks’s CHRO Suman Gopalan said that “We have hired a lot of new team members during the last two years who are entirely remote. While they continue to be remote, they are also using the opportunity to come in and experience Freshworks and get to meet their colleagues in person for the first time”.