Best Employers in India Study

Yesterday, we said that it is great to have various lists outlining "best companies on whatever criteria".

Today, Hewitt Associates is publishing the results of the Best Employers in India Study 2004. The study covered 272 companies and 75,000 employees. Here, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Televentures and National Thermal Power Corporation, Proctor and Gamble and Glaxo Smithkline Consumer were named the top five best employers in 2004.

Tata was the 10th positioned company in 2003 and P&G was top last year.

What are the main findings about what makes a best employer best?

- Building a high performance work environment

- Using rewards as the differentiating tool

"About 88 per cent of the best employers use market data to determine fixed pay pre-evaluation, while 24 per cent are willing to pay without regard to compensation band or grades. The best employers use performance as well as improvements in knowledge, skills and abilities to determine increases in salary. Merit pay increases are also used to differentiate between high and average performers. The study showed that 26 per cent of the best employers pay more than 3 times the amount to top performers than that to average performers. Atleast 80 per cent companies pay at least twice as much, the study said. The study added that 96 per cent of the best employers also have formal special recognition programmes to support the performance management."

Interestingly, Mercer Consulting published a similar study just a month ago, also called the 10 Best Employers in India. Here, companies such as Sasken, Infosys, Thermax, HCL Comnet, HDFC, NTPC, Dr. Reddy's, Satyam, Patni Computer and Hughes Software made it to their list but the publication didn't provide any background on what makes a best employer better.

Sure, companies don't want to participate twice in a similar study, thus, differing results are explainable. It surely has an advantage for so-called best employers to be a best employer. Everybody wants to work for one, and it is known that satisfied employees create satisfied customers create satisfied shareholders through increased revenues. And for companies that don't make it to the list? Well, they have a learning experience, for sure, since they are able to compare themselves with the best.

Big question so: Will they compare themselves so much that they look the same and feel the same as the best companies? And companies that make it to the list? Well, the bar gets higher, so they need to stretch themselves even more. Otherwise they drop in the ranking (see above) or even disappear from the market. Oh – by the way. Another list of a survey organized by Hewitt Associates is on the way. Check it out.

But than, may be it is time to have a company that evaluates those surveys and combines the results into something that is useful for your company? Sorry about the self-promotion, but the proliferation of surveys can be confusing.

(By Asia Business Consulting)