TODAY's employee wants much more than just the pay-cheque he carriers home every month. For him what differentiates a good employer from just-another is the feeling of "well-being" that the company is able to offer. The fact that the organization is not just concerned about getting the maximum work out of him, but actually cares for him goes a long way in ensuring employee loyalty. Consequently employee perks that offer a better work/life balance are gaining significance. Many people are even ready to forego a few thousands for a better quality of life. Organizations are increasingly offering incentives that offer a balanced life to their employees. This has turned out to be a successful retention strategy.

With rising family income, priorities change. The needs shift to other incentives that are able to bring about a balance between professional and personal life and reduce work -related stress levels. "From the employee's point of view people are increasingly seeing the diminishing returns of the extra couple of thousands one may earn. Company initiatives that give the employees a better overall life count for more. For example a club membership may be perceived to be more valuable than the equivalent amount added to a pay-cheque. Similar logic can be applied to a pick-up and drop facility versus a conveyance allowance" says Praveen Kankariya, President and CEO of Impetus Technologies.

The age factor
The change in priorities is directly related to the age of the employee. Motivating factors change with age and it is the responsibility of the company to understand the needs of each set of people, says Sanjay Mandlik corporate champion-HR and TQM with Emerson Network Power India. For the younger lot, cash remains the single most important factor along with a flexible pay structure and tax benefits. "The work/life balance is not a priority for those below the age of 28. This keeps changing with age. The middle-aged seek a different set of benefits such as company-paid vacations asset building facilities overseas visits-essentially non cash incentives that have a cash value. Senior people are concerned about retirement benefits," Harish Govind, vice president of HR with Blue Star InfoTech. Govind insists that while cash still remains "hot" what people appreciate are "fresher things."

Atul Kunwar managing director-Global Outsourcing, eFunds agrees that as one moves on to older age group, especially in the case of women, the issue and needs are different because some of the associates in the segment need to balance their carrers with marital domestic and other responsibilities. "This could typically lead to the associates having to chose between their careers or domestic responsibility-a choice we realized need not be forced upon these promising employees. The organization could respond with options and create a win-win situation for both parties" adds Kunwar.

Manish Goel, president of India technology operations, Network Appliance, believes that the work/life balance is a priority for employees of all age groups and positions, though the needs manifest in different ways. A young employee may have a preference for an environment where they can come in a bit later in the morning, female employees may prefer to feel safe on their return from work and parents may desire to spend their evening taking care of their children. Kankariya of Impetus agrees with this belief "One would be inclined to believes that senior employees who have put in about 8-10 years into their career are more likely to ask for such life-oriented incentives. However, what we have noticed is that even younger employees expect similar attention to these parameters. The new generation is significantly inclined towards the work hard play hard attitude and and that is clearly visible in its better life expectations from its employers."

Popular initiatives
Flexi-timing is one the most popular incentives across age groups. For instance at ENP nine hours of work is mandatory every day. However one can clock in any time and compensate for the shortage of hours any other day during the week. It is very popular even among the younger lot who want to do evening classes. Telecommuting is yet another preferred option network. Appliance takes great pride in its results oriented flexible work environment. "Our employees know what they need to deliver and mould their working hours and conditions to suit their personal preference. In addition, we make it easy for employees to work from home with the use of broadband technologies or attend conference calls at their convenience thorugh the use of Voice Bridge etc" says Goel.

Preferred incentives • Flexi-timing • Telecommuting • Company paid vacations • Accident and health insurance   benefits • Retrial benefits • Asset building loans • Company transport

For most organizations the families of employees play key roles in the entire strategy. The efforts are to build a strong bond between the company and the family. This is done when employees are given days off on birthdays, anniversaries or just some time out with their families Annual events, parties, and picnics for employees and their families are a must in the itinerary of most organizations Many provide educational assistance for children while others get children dropped and picked up from schools. Concierge services for paying utility bills are another common incentives to make life easier for the employees and their spouses. Paid holidays for the family are a recently-introduced preferred perk.

At Impetus, the parents of employees are invited to the office to give them an insight into the place where their wards work, to get an overview of the work done by the company and also meet senior management. Spouse of employees are also invited to an association of social work and interact on subject of mutual interest. Memberships are provided to clubs restaurant and hotels, informs Kankariya. This apart, the company encourages its mangers to meet their team members at offsite meetings to discuss subjects apart from work-family priorities and aspirations.

Long-term impact
Most organizations have realized that a better work/life balance can go a long way to win employee loyalty and consequently control the attrition rate. "All other things (like employers brand work content work environment pay) being equal, the cause for attrition is that people are protesting the rigorous demands of work. Companies that recognize and act on this will see better retention" says Vinayak Kamath senior vice president human resource Kale Consultants.

Kamath asserts that in addition to finding the work/life balance companies have to build excitement at the work place, which includes, designing exciting workplace, campuses with recreational facilities, meditation centers, music centers etc. "The business case for all this is increased employees commitment and lower attrition".

Stressing the productivity factor Kunwar of eFunds says: "We believe a healthy employee with a balanced life is as productive employee and we have focused on the holistic development of our employees. We offer a world-class work environment and work culture and robust organizational systems which facilities our employees in their quest for unlimited growth and development".

These benefits can make a major different to a company's brand image. Its impact in the long-run from increasing productivity, improving retention, team-building and bonding of the company with employee's families cannot be underestimated.

"Organizations have to grow from a command-and-control model to a trust-to-deliver model. This shift impacts every aspect of an organization's process," adds Goel.

The flip side
Everything has a flip side and so do these benefits offered by many organizations. While they do ensure employee-loyalty, the fact remains that an employee simultaneously seeks an increase in his or her remuneration. "In the end it (these benefits) cost the company and this leads to the ballooning of cost and affect the bottom line Furthermore, once you have introduced these incentives they are taken for granted and almost impossible to with-draw," warms Harish Govind. Flexi-timing which is in fact one of the most popular incentives had to be withdrawn in a few organizations once it was noticed that many people were misusing the facility. Consequently the introduction of perks to ensure work/life balance for employees is not enough, it is necessary to handle these programmes well to ensure that they meet the desired objectives.