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ITS NOT ALL ABOUT money...Its a known fact that employee
engagement and motivation are prime issues
of concern for HR. And how are they addressing it? They say that
to serve a
larger purpose (read: retention), its vital to understand that
employees these
days prefer nonmonetary forms of benefits as opposed to monetary
onesPriya C Nair
Employee rewards have been an integral part of India Inc and are
considered a
must for enhancing employee engagement and productivity.
However, of late,
there has been a drastic change in the employee rewarding system
as employeesare keen on receiving several intangible benefits from
the employer, apart from the
usual monetary benefits. Heres how people managers are
re-working on employeebenefit schemes to match changing employee
expectations.
You think a good compensation package and annual perks satisfy
your employeeand keeps him/her going? Think again, as experts say
monetary benefits alone will
not work anymore as todays employees count on several
non-monetary benefits
from employers to stay productive at work. Monetary rewards have
very short-
term benefits as opposed to non-monetary ones. Also, its been
observed thatemployees often complain after receiving monetary
gains and usually arent
satisfied with the benefit given. Therefore, it is better to
move from monetaryforms of benefits to intangible ones, feels Rahul
Sharma, senior vice president
(human resources), India Infoline Ltd.
A good salary is a significant factor that plays a huge role
towards influencingthe decisionmaking process of an employee while
choosing his/her employer. Butaccording to experts, as the person
moves up in his/her career ladder, aspirations
regarding benefits from the employer also change. It depends
more on the level ofcareer one is in, experience, personal needs,
etc. The expectations from non-
monetary benefits proportionately increase according to the
level an employee
grows in his/her career, says Guruvayurappan PV, AVP and
headhuman
resources, Omega Healthcare Management Services. An entry level
employee
expects monetary benefits and a supportive work environment; the
supervisory
staff may expect a competent pay structure wherein they could
earn more, have tax
provisions and receive timely appreciation from the management
to encourage theteam toperform; the managerial staff will be
looking beyond all this and expectopportunities to shoulder
empowered roles including responsibility with authority,
freedom to choose working hours and basic decisionmaking with
respect to their
teams, etc, explains Guruvayurappan. Adding to it, Ulhas Aher,
head of HR,
Datacraft India Ltd says that employees at an early stage of
their career prefer
short-term and monetary benefits since settlement in life is
their first priority.
However, a simple letter of appreciation or pat on the back as
well as trainingnomination or special assignment, which is
beneficial for career advancement,
excites the younger generation.Experts say that the benefits
that employees look for from employees depend on
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their personal priorities too. For example, a working mother
would look for
benefits like work from home, flexi-working hours,
transportation facilities,
etc. Sugato Palit, head human resources and communication,
Perfetti Van Melle
India points out a few benefits that employees look for which
are flexi-timings,
work out-of-home, daycare centre provisions, etc; also, family
engagementinvolving the family in various aspects of the companys
work practices, free time
to pursue ones own research/hobby/pet-projects, paid sabbaticals
to furtherenhance academic knowledge, paid holidays, additional
leaves for paternity, gifts
in kind or gift vouchers, etc.
Employees look forward to a good working atmosphere where
meritocracy is
respected, various employee engagement activities are practiced,
good talent is
recognised and opportunities are provided to grow and interact
with members of
the senior and top management, adds Sharma.Such intangible
benefits are advantageous for both, the employee and
organisation. Experts believe that such intangible benefits help
in creating anemotional connect between the employee and
organisation, that could turn
beneficial in the long run. Employees seek recognition for the
job which they are
performing, irrespective of the kind of work, explains Dr
Ashutosh Karnatak,
founder, Plus Approach Foundation.However, there is a word of
caution for employers before implementing non-
monetary benefits for their employees. According to Palit,
non-monetary benefitswork well under two circumstances: (1) when
the employee is well paid and the
company is comfortably positioned on the salary benchmarking
scale and (2) there
is a limited ability to pay and thus, a need to be creative. It
is only when employees
start realising that their cash flow has reached a plateau and
they are also
comfortably placed vis--vis the market, would he/she start
appreciating non-
monetary benefits. Thus, good employees need both, tangible and
non-tangiblebenefits and it is time organisations invest in
providing a steady mix of both to
their employers to attract and retain the best talent.priyac
.nair @ timesgroup .com
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