Collen Braganza
HT Brunch

Company picnics? How old hat! As corporate companies in India try to hang on to their job-switching staff, they’ve learned that employees, who play together, stay together.

PUNE HOUSEWIFE Sumana Reddy was still in bed when the doorbell rang early one Sunday morning.  "Who could it possibly be?" She thought. It was too early for the maid to have arrived. She shuffled to the door and opened it. Outside, grinning from year ear to ear stood her husband Suresh’s colleague, Lynette, holding an enormous bunch of flowers and a decorated basket.

Lynette let herself into the house because Sumana was too stunned to react. By then groggy-eyed Suresh, looking just as stunned joined them.

Lynette gave the basket to Sumana who opened it to find a bottle of champagne, a box of cake and a letter from Suresh’s employers – one of India’s largest BPO companies announcing that he had been promoted.

The letter also gave details of Suresh’s new salary and his new designation, prompting a happy celebration of champagne and cake. Not a bad start to a Sunday morning.

Now, not all companies would bother to create the kind of ‘wow’ moment seen above. But the fact is that the corporate companies across the country have found innovative ways to motivate the employees by marking them feel "oh so special".

This is necessary especially in the IT/BPO industry where work related stress and the attrition rate is high, and where companies more or less offer the same carrot-good salaries, swank offices and fat bonuses during festivals to their staff.

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY…
Pointing out that the challenge among companies wanting to retain staff is to be different. Pankaj Shankar, global HR head of business consulting and professional services firm Infogain says: "Everyone in the industry now offers a good salary, exciting projects, and overseas opportunities. But what is the differentiator?"

The differentiator is the reason why from simply offering tea/coffee machines, offices have graduated to setting up fully functional gyms, massage rooms, and in-house clubs that arrange activities from yoga workshops to family days, dramatics and quiz competitions, picnics, sport tournaments, and white water rafting expeditions. Sometimes, professionals like the Paintball Co. are called in. Work has never been so much fun before.

Take software firm Adobe Systems. At all its site, the company has ESCAPE committees, group of employee volunteers, who plan and organize parties, family picnics, talent hunt contests, games, stage performances, and a variety of sports tournaments. "(These) liven up the workplace and provide fun to Adobe’s extended family", says Aparna Ballakur, Director, Human Resources, Adobe Systems India.

Ditto with product development and engineering services company Impetus Technologies whose cultural cell Spice regularly organize similar fun events. Impetus even has an in-house band that provides its musical employees a platform to show off their talent.

The list goes on. At global services firm Sapient, the Fun@Work team regularly organizes silent auctions, charity sales, treasure hunts, jam sessions along with the annual Holi, and Diwali celebrations.

EMOTIONAL CONNECT
Now, the cynic will say the corporate companies are not spending all this time, effort and money out of the goodness of their hearts. So what is it that they want?

The answer: emotional connect.

"The primary focus of these engagements is to create a forum to connect with the employees", agrees Shantanu Banerjee, director, HR, of outsourcing and technology company Xansa.

By building that connects, companies try to keep that bugbear of 21st century corporate India at bay: employee attrition.

"The biggest problems at all IT companies is the frequent movement of people", says Infogain’s Shankar, adding that employee oriented events help keep employees loyal.

He emphasizes that even a simple exercise like family day – where the parents and children of employees are invited to the workplace – pays off because it integrates the employee’s family with the company so that they all feel they belong.

Thus, when parents of employees know their children’s company takes care of them, they discourage them from leaving, says Shankar, insisting that this has worked for Infogain.

But, it will be unfair to say that checking attrition is the only objective of these initiatives.

All company-sponsored activities, whether indoors or outdoors, give employees a break from the monotony of the 9-5 job, helping them de-stress. While some activities encourage out of the box thinking, others motivate employees, thus increasing productivity.

CORPORATE COMPANIES AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Companies often tie-up employee oriented events with corporate companies social responsibility initiatives. Sapient, for example, directs proceeds generated from company-events to Butterflies, and NGO working to help street children become self-reliant. In fact, it has helped in creating a permanent shelter in one of the children homes run by Butterflies. Business process solutions company e4e too involves its employees with initiatives like blood donations, camps and interactions with children in orphanages.

GROWTH QUOTIENT
"These events serve a three-pronged purpose - they act as stress busters and help employees release pent up energy in a positive fashion; they inculcate the spirit of sportsmanship  and camaraderie in employees and they leave employees with learning that improve their output." agrees Ravi Verma, global head, HR of software solutions firm Nucleus Software.

The biggest to the smallest events aim at building the employees skills. Take for instance paintball.

Paintball is a sort of a war game in which players are put into teams that have to track down and capture the enemy with the help of guns that splatter the opponent with paint.

At first it seems a game for the child in everyone and an excellent way to de-stress. After all, what better therapy than to hunt down and shoot your boss? But like other activities like white-water rafting expeditions or rappelling, Paintball is not just about fun.

"Paintball is a combination of mental activity and physical vigor. It is a thinking game that involves team work, strategy, and planning. Employees learn a host of leadership and problem sorting skills in these sessions", says Sumeet Sandhu, CEO, Paintball Co.

Not surprisingly, the Paintball Co. has held sessions for a number of big clients like Coca Cola, Kingfisher, Airtel, Genpact, and Microsoft.

Since employees spend a large part of their time at work, these extra activities also give them a chance to pursue their interests. For example, Adobe, employees can choose between joining the book club or healthy living club.

That is not all. Employees who organize these activities hone their organizing and managerial skills when they manage diverse teams, says Harish Govind, vice president, HR Blue Star Infotech.

More importantly, when colleagues interact with each other in an informal atmosphere, they discover aspects of each other in they did not know existed.  That helps them understand each other better, improving communication, reducing friction, and increasing productivity because of improved teamwork.

"In today’s high performing, high stress environment, it is necessary to generate a high level of interaction among the colleagues... Such interactions are important as they engage employees with each other, with the environment and by extension, with the organization", agrees Shoba Chetty, Director, HR, Impetus Technologies.

"Such events gives associates across various teams and ranks an opportunity to interact at an informal level, share experiences, and build bonds" adds Sonali Singh, General Manager, HR, of business process solutions company e4e.

An experienced 24 –year-old BPO employee Gaurav Singh has seen first-hand. "We all work in competitive environments so there is a lot of friction and inside office we can get on each other’s nerves. In different surroundings, we bond better."

RARING TO GO
It’s all very well to have an action packed employee calendar, but besides working in their regular jobs, don’t employees resent organizing and participating in company events when they could well spend all that time with their own families?

No, is the unanimous answer. "We all welcome the break from routine", says Rahul Sharma, a mid-level executive in a BPO firm. "But it is the younger groups who are actually very enthusiastic. They are the driving force behind such initiatives" Gaurav Singh gets in the last word: "If my company is going to spend money to take me and my colleagues out for parties or dinners or to off-sites in Shimla, we are not going to mind in the least", he laughs.