Feature

Intangible, but essential

Non-monetary benefits are essential for attracting, retaining and engaging employees. Sudipta Dev focuses on the significance of intangible benefits

It is not always the monetary aspect that holds the greatest significance for an employee, but the many intangible benefits that go a long way in engaging and retaining him in the organization. Companies also understand the strategic importance of these benefits, which add to employee satisfaction and impact his productivity.

A lot of effort and (many times) investment goes into ensuring that these benefits reach employees. These could range from employee welfare activities to career development initiatives. Some of the common benefits which many organizations, irrespective of their size, provide for their employees are: flexible working hours, freedom to work from home, health checkups, medical insurance for self and family, learning and development initiatives like well demarcated career path, cross functional transfers, etc. For an employee these benefits reflect the organization’s mindset and consequently enhances the loyalty factor.

Manav Garg, CEO and Founder, Eka Software Solutions, makes a significant statement: “Most companies are terming compensation as ‘total rewards’ and this in itself implies that salary or compensation alone is not enough to attract or retain talent.” Employees are looking for more and more non-tangible benefits which can be as simple as a ‘thank you’ mail from the boss or as understanding as flexible working hours.

A good salary is a hygiene factor for employees, and is among the top reasons for joining an organization. “In the long run, however, benefits provided by an organization play an important role in keeping the employees engaged and motivated,” stated Anita Venugopal, Vice President, Human Resources, SAP Labs India. She conceded that the benefits that employees view as important depend largely on their priorities in life at a given point. For example, benefits like working from home, flexible timing and maternity transport are significant to most female employees, especially those with young children. On the other hand, middle-aged employees and those with elderly parents find the annual health check up policy and medical insurance very helpful.

“When it comes to intangible or non-monetary benefits, employees typically tend to look for aspects such as challenging assignments, acknowledgement from superiors for the quality of work executed, etc. Employees also appreciate organizations that offer them opportunities for career advancement, in addition to the other facets of intangible benefits,” said Benny Augustine, Director, Human Resources, UGSI. Unisys Global Services India has a comprehensive career management framework that helps employees map their growth paths, both lateral and vertical. In addition, the company also encourages employees to undertake additional qualifications that would enhance their career prospects.

Emotional connect

It is a matter of emotional connect that often goes beyond the monetary terms, after a particular level. Anuj Kumar, Associate Director-HR, CSC in India, acknowledged that money is an important factor but it does not help in engagement and motivation. The commitment and loyalty comes more from the intangible benefits, as it touches employees’ emotions. These benefits primarily convey that the company is there with you, in time of need. Some of the intangible benefits offered by CSC to its employees are: flexibility in work timings, sabbatical for post natal care and social services, paternity leave, education assistance program and self paced learning and development opportunities, to name a few.

Remuneration and perks are tangible benefits important from an employee acquisition point of view and the relative job worth, whereas the intangible benefits establish an emotional bond with an organization. “These benefits motivate employees and instill a feeling of loyalty and sense of belongingness towards the company. This has particularly gained prominence during recessionary times as employees need an assurance beyond just compensation that the company values them,” added Rajesh Padmanabhan, Executive Vice President and Head-Global Human Resources, Patni.

Hiring and retaining employees

These benefits are of strategic importance in the process of hiring and retaining employees, particularly in the current economic scenario when employees are keen to maintain a long-term engagement with their organization.

Employees seek these benefits from their employers, irrespective of the organization’s size. Venugopal mentioned that it is however easier for larger organizations to facilitate these benefits as they can leverage economies of scale. Organizations of all sizes try to improvise and facilitate as many employee benefits as possible.

For smaller organizations, providing a positive atmosphere is crucial because it can be the most important employee retention tool, pointed out Augustine. “While larger organizations might benefit from having a well known brand name and having more streamlined processes, they can find it challenging to provide a uniform work culture and foster a sense of belonging among employees,” he said.

Recruiters normally sell the compensation package. Wherever, companies have been in a position to sell the intangible benefits effectively, they hire stable candidates at lower cost. “There are specific instances within our company, where salaries were lower than the market; still our attrition was lower than the market,” revealed Kumar.

To achieve business results, organizations need to attract, motivate and retain the best talent, which is not an option but is a necessity. Stated Garg, “To be on par with the best companies, immaterial of their size, companies need to enable a ‘total rewards’ package. The differentiation can come later in the form of ‘size’ of the company, ‘but employee treatment or benefits’ should not be the differentiator for a healthy organization.”

While organizations do consider intangible benefits as an effective way to retain employees, Padmanabhan believes that it is not just retention but improving ‘employee experience’ as a whole. “For example, at Patni we have a program called Confidante, which is unique in a way that it takes care of emotional needs of employees. This is run by an external agency in which employees get counseling, advice through trained psychologists to help them in their personal and professional lives,” he added.

“These benefits are taken into consideration by colleagues as part of their overall financial package from the company. We believe when organizations treat all colleagues as individuals; engage their families, and appreciate the value they bring to the organization; then people think harder before they take a call to leave the company,” said Osmita Gandhi, Head-Human Resources, Cable&Wireless India.

Impact on productivity

It cannot be refuted that these intangible benefits go a long way in motivating employees and increasing their engagement levels. An enthusiastic and motivated employee is a great resource for an organization who can go beyond his call of duty—this is of particular significance in a highly competitive business environment.

Focusing on the significance of such initiatives, Manuel D’Souza, Chief Human Resource Officer, Intelenet Global Services, stated that since employees spend most of the time during the day in the office, Intelenet makes continuous efforts to create an environment that makes them feel excited to come to work every day.

D’Souza asserted that organizing interactive events not only add zeal to the organization, but also help in developing softer skills in employees. They are also given a platform where they can pursue and develop their interests. Intelenet’s multi-pronged people practices are geared towards delivering business results, and this includes:

• Creating an organizational culture that is value driven and infuses a “sense of ownership”
• Employee development programs
• Employee listening—open forums
• Rewards and recognition such as Employee Appreciation Programs
• Career development plans as well as an accelerated career path for key critical resources
• Strong performance management
• Assignment of special projects for role enhancement
• Role changes
• Emphasis on employee communication

“The result of the above initiatives is a staff that continuously out-performs client expectations and has a customer centric approach, which provides the maximum value to the client. Clients also derive tremendous value from our ability to consistently provide operational excellence, significant cost reduction and energized partnerships,” pointed out D’Souza.

Various recreational activities help in rejuvenating the employees and alleviating the monotony that comes with routine. “Flexi-timing or tele-commuting gives employees the freedom to choose their workplace and the time that is most convenient for them to start work. It also increases their sense of responsibility. Promoting such practices makes employees feel valued by the organization as individuals whose wishes and needs are taken into consideration. They, in turn, will willingly devote their time and energy for the benefit of the organization, thus increasing productivity,” stated Augustine. In addition to this, various fun activities organized frequently for the different teams ensures that a sense of disconnect does not creep in. They get to see a different side of their colleagues as well as themselves and have more reasons to look forward to coming to work.

It is only a motivated employee who can drive innovation and make all the difference. Engaged employees are stable, self motivated, require less supervision, make negligible mistakes and bring in more improvements and innovations, agreed Kumar.

He added that provision and emphasis on non-monetary benefits identifies it as a finance driven or an employee driven organization. Employee driven organizations are more successful in the long run.

Calculating the ROI

Every initiative taken by an organization is an investment on its part, with a measured ROI. Most organizations do take these into consideration while calculating the ROI. Then there is another measurement, in terms of employee satisfaction, which can be gauged through employee satisfaction/engagement surveys and also regular feedbacks from them.

“Employee satisfaction surveys, attrition rates and the ability to attract talent are some of the ways that ROI can be calculated. A half yearly or annual evaluation of the benefits and their effectiveness is imperative for a sustained employee effective total rewards program,” averred Garg.

Intangible benefits create a healthy work environment. Garg mentioned that a lot of companies confuse benefits with pampering and believe that they need to replicate what other organizations are doing to prove that they are employee friendly. But really good employees are not looking merely for the ‘frills and fancies’, i.e., a good gym, cafeteria, etc. “While these help, what discerning employees are looking for are actual intangible benefits which need to be imbibed in the company’s culture itself. Organizational ethics, time and effort invested performance measures and trackers, meaningful recognition programs—these are some of the benefits which employees are looking for and this is an important focus area for organizations which want to attract and retain world-class talent,” came the conclusion.

sudipta.dev@expressindia.com