NON-CONVENTIONAL REWARDING AND ITS EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY By Anish Mathew John

Sub Title

Studies done on how non-conventional rewarding helps in Employee Engagement and better productivity in an IT/ITES setup.

Synopsis

Employee productivity is of utmost importance for any business concern. This finds relevance especially in an environment where the revenue gets proportionally linked to the productivity collectively exhibited by employees in the organization. The IT/ ITES industry in India has an overall people turn over rate (attrition) of 40% and more. Managing attrition has now become a daunting task by both the production floor as well as the Human Resource Department. Higher the levels of engagement, better will be the productivity. The Pareto analysis (80-20) with emphasis on improving the overall performance of a system by taking care of the 20% ‘important portion’ finds immense significance here. The 20% if related to a work place is nothing but the much required personal-connect required which would result in identifying unique personality traits and inborn potentials/ talents of an employee. Unfortunately, psychology finds lesser significance in the IT/ ITES industry. Supervisors and managers need to learn the art of emotional intelligence equipping them to learn how to categorize human behavior at work place. For example, management theories like Johari window could be taught, for managers and supervisors to understand, classify, interpret and correct human behavior paving way towards creating a better ambience, promoting self-awareness and confidence at work place. A supervisor who knows how to manage his/her emotions would definitely be in a better position to manage the emotions of his/her subordinates. The sincere efforts taken by a Manager in understanding the behavioral traits of their staff should be complemented by a reward mechanism which need not be connected to their productivity metrics. Seldom do Companies create a reward mechanism rewarding an employee who is punctual to office, takes less number of leaves/ gives an advanced notification before going on leave, adhering to the Corporate Dress Code, being able to Smile from the heart even in the midst of a high pressure situation etc. Those who come first on these aspects would not always be high on performance ranking.

A monthly reward mechanism created on lines with rewarding employees, congratulating them on aspects not directly linked to their performance would soon after show up on the productivity metrics supporting the theory of Pareto. Most of the companies apart from having a Training & Development department meant at Organizational Training, would find it hard to focus on Individual Training needs. By and large, the training modules are designed to satisfy the organizational goals resulting in Employees being trained on topics which would result in boosting their morale. Though this has a transient effect, a long lasting impact could be created by the Managers themselves taking the responsibility of training their team members on modules resulting in the overall development of an individual. Surveys conducted across the IT and ITes industries conclude that the primary reason for an employee leaving a company is not just because of the salary but because of dissatisfaction in line with his role for which his/ her supervisor becomes the reason. Knowing the personal traits of an individual would help a Manager focus

his/ her attention to a group providing tailorLeaders or other Team Managers on the floor to assist him in this exercise if the span of control beyond 20.

A highly engaged employee, who is taken care of well by his/ her Manager who does even understand their personal traits, would seldom leattrition could be controlled to a very large extent by complimenting the personal traits/ in born talents of an employee. The research conducted and observation made infers that employees tend tomore motivated and develop apotential/ talents are pampered, nurtured and complimented thereby enhancing productivity.

Proposed reward mechanism

A NASSCOM-Hewitt Associates survey salary, very much a worrisome aspect to comprehend for those operating on thin marginsITes industry currently has an attrition rate hovering around if one were to look at BPO companies primarily handling Voice Support for its customers be it Technical OR non-Technical.

The Indian outsourcing sector directly employs 2.54 million workers and accounts for 6.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic productstood at 55% as on April 2011.

his/ her attention to a group providing tailor-made solutions. A Manager could seek the help of TLeaders or other Team Managers on the floor to assist him in this exercise if the span of control

A highly engaged employee, who is taken care of well by his/ her Manager who does even understand their personal traits, would seldom leave a company for a better job. Unscheduled absenteeism and attrition could be controlled to a very large extent by complimenting the personal traits/ in born talents of an employee. The research conducted and observation made infers that employees tend tomore motivated and develop a true sense of belongingness when their personal traits and innate potential/ talents are pampered, nurtured and complimented thereby enhancing productivity.

Hewitt Associates survey says that the cost of attrition in the industry is 1.5 times the annual , very much a worrisome aspect to comprehend for those operating on thin margins

ITes industry currently has an attrition rate hovering around 50% (annualized). Tif one were to look at BPO companies primarily handling Voice Support for its customers be it Technical

The Indian outsourcing sector directly employs 2.54 million workers and accounts for 6.4 percent of the try’s gross domestic product (GDP). The latest figures of attrition across the bpo industry in India

made solutions. A Manager could seek the help of Team Leaders or other Team Managers on the floor to assist him in this exercise if the span of control goes

A highly engaged employee, who is taken care of well by his/ her Manager who does even understand ave a company for a better job. Unscheduled absenteeism and

attrition could be controlled to a very large extent by complimenting the personal traits/ in born talents of an employee. The research conducted and observation made infers that employees tend to become

sense of belongingness when their personal traits and innate potential/ talents are pampered, nurtured and complimented thereby enhancing productivity.

says that the cost of attrition in the industry is 1.5 times the annual , very much a worrisome aspect to comprehend for those operating on thin margins. The Indian IT/

0% (annualized). The figure is much higher if one were to look at BPO companies primarily handling Voice Support for its customers be it Technical

The Indian outsourcing sector directly employs 2.54 million workers and accounts for 6.4 percent of the The latest figures of attrition across the bpo industry in India

Impact on attrition and unscheduled absenteeism

Emotional Intelligence practiced in organizations would certainly help in curbing attrition and would also lead to controlling absenteeism. Better the personal/ emotional connect, better are the chances of predicting and controlling attrition and absenteeism.

The immediate impact could be measured by looking at the attrition data of any company soon after implementing the aforementioned aspects in an organization. Companies who had followed this stringently were able to see a drastic reduction in their attrition level. The productivity of employees were seen gradually moving up and in some cases there was a noticeable leap compared to past performances.

Copyright reserved by Anish Mathew John, India (AFJPJ 5518E) Anish Mathew John works as a Human Resources Manager for a renowned firm in the IT/ITes sector in India.

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