The Business Today -Indicus-People Strong Survey is out (February 7, 2010) and the top names sound familiar. Infosys ranks numero uno followed by Google. TCS, Microsoft also feature in the list. Noteworthy names missing are NetApps, Adobe, Cisco, Intel and HCL who were ranked highly in other studies last year.
With an all new methodology (Business Today reached out directly to over 8500 employees – current, former and prospects instead of organizations covering close to 1000 companies) it seemed like we might have some surprises. It did! A structured questionnaire covered the following six factors:
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â career and personal growth
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â prestige/company reputation
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â training/coaching/mentoring
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Financial compensation and benefits
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Good job content
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Merit based performance evaluation
 Here are some of the key themes that I noted.
Career and personal growth ranked higher than compensation, often considered to be a tipping point. My take is that the recent economic slowdown may be the cause for this shift in mindset where stability and job security emerged stronger.
I believe companies which continued investing in employer branding and advertising during this slowdown got better mindshare. Therefore a better rank?
The study, while getting a makeover may have lost out on internal insight which only executives who have context can provide. For example, unique and creative best practices in human resources, planning, leadership and communication provide great ideas for other organizations to test and imbibe. I always look out for such case studies to not just share with students during classes but also to educate human resources and leadership teams at my organization on industry benchmarks.
Due to the downturn and rapid globalization, re-skilling and cross pollination of talent, wider spectrum of opportunities and leadership pool building were observed across most organizations.
Since the Fortune 100 best companies list feature other firms who have strong footprints in India, one can draw the conclusion that either the images of these companies may not be as strong in this geography or there are marked differences in the quality of employee relations across locations.
Strangely, Corporate Social Responsibility and opportunities for employee volunteering aren’t  mentioned as a factor for employee engagement even though research reports consistently point it out.
Also, the study does not seem to mention much on profit sharing and employee involvement in decision making. Two key factors that increases retention and engagement.
The cover story includes a helpful HR scorecard from Executive Board that takes a holistic view of the employee value proposition.
Overall, an interesting study and approach. Keen to know your views.
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Hi, Aniisu,
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Regards,
Joseph Fernandez
Hi!
While we are concerned about the best companies to work for in India, we should also prepare a list of the worst companies to work in India.
I recently witnessed the absurd and insensitive work culture in a company. The policies and management people claim that they have some very great policies but the ones who have left suggested that the employees in the group live under constant threat becauise anyone can be thrown out of their jobs anytime. While entries are celebrated and the information of the same is circulated widely no communication is sent when employees leave. They just dissappear.
The owner of the company seems to be an unsophisticated individual who is pleased more by flattery than real hard work and passion.
Why is the government of India not sensitive to these fradulent companies that have no welfare schemes for employees.
Thanx,
AJ
Akansha,
Can you please tell me the name of the company, you are talking about? It may save me from such fraud companies to work for 🙂
you may pm me at wonderahul [at] gmail [dot] com
Akansha, thanks for dropping by.
I do understand your frustration and helplessness while dealing with insensitive individuals who may exploit their position as leaders and managers.
My recommendation is to focus on what you are good at and look out for other opportunities. It makes sense to focus on the positives and work in organizations which care for employees.
I edited your comment since it is a direct attack on an individual of an organization. Since most readers do not know the organization or the individual, it may be not be appropriate to share this information here. That said, there are other websites and forums where it may be of value – for example, http://www.glassdoor.com