Over the last few months, we have frequently been hiring for sales roles. New joiners would have worked in blue-chip companies earlier. Some of their company policies will be very employee-friendly. Having an open mind and progressive attitude, Cocoguru management would like to bring those policies here. A few of the guidelines suggested were

• Bring daily allowance or food expenses outside the employee Cost-to-company (CTC) calculation.
• Make salary payments immediately after the end of the month
• Bring paid leave value outside the CTC

The first suggestion (Food expenses to be excluded from Employees’ CTC) was implemented a couple of months ago. The second suggestion is set to be implemented now. The third suggestion is being considered but not decided.

Till now, salary payments used to happen on the 7th of the following month. The reasons were

• Employees used to quit immediately after getting their salary and without serving a notice period. Having 7 days of salary with the company would reduce such behaviour.
• Calculating salary and approvals takes some time, though done through spreadsheets, it requires gathering data like attendance, commission and incentives.
• Reduces the company’s working capital requirement to the extent of 1 week’s salary

Now, we are paying salaries immediately to permanent employees because

• The loyalty they have shown towards the company so far is being valued
• The company trusts them to behave like responsible employees
• Help employees meet their financial commitments earlier by 1 week
• Calculations and approvals can be done faster because of the more refined and automated calculation process now
• The company’s improved financial position means it can afford the necessary working capital

However, employees under probation will continue to get their salaries on the 7th.

The company runs an in-house canteen to provide fresh and hygienically prepared food to its employees three times a day during working hours. However, the cost of serving food was budgeted and included in an employee’s CTC. Actual expenses were deducted while paying monthly salary. The food budget was included in their CTC for employees working in the sales team, i.e., working in the field.

Starting in December 2021, the company has decided to bear the cost of food and not include it in employees’ CTC. Permanent sales employees will be given a daily allowance. This is good news for employees as their take-home component increases.

Why was food expense part of CTC?
Initially, employees were always dissatisfied with the perks offered. They complained that they were unfairly compared with those of other firms locally. They did not realise the non-cash benefits the company offered, like ESI, PF, food at the canteen, paid leaves, etc. They only compared the take-home component with other firms that didn’t offer any benefits but only cash. Management tried to convince, but employees refused to acknowledge.

Initially, the canteen’s food was free and not included in CTC. Then, employees had issues with the quality of the food given and carelessly wasted food.

Management conducted employee satisfaction surveys to sincerely care for employees to understand what aspects of employee engagement could be improved. Employees only had negatives; all the positives were simply taken for granted.

A few employees couldn’t wait until the end of the month and wanted payments in advance, while the company itself had taken a huge loan to fund the project and working capital.

It was difficult to satisfy employees and smoothly carry out operations. Management thought, “Enough is enough. Let us do our best and not care about whether it would please the employees.” The following employee policy decisions were taken.

• All the benefits given would be quantified and included in CTC
• No salary advance
• No employee satisfaction surveys
• Salary revision only after the annual appraisal
• No scope for salary negotiation at all; if you are satisfied, stay else, quit

Few employees stayed and got new employees to join with these terms. As employees stayed and performed, policies were made liberal.

• Start time changed from 8:30 am to 9:00 to reduce working hours by 30 minutes
• Festival holidays 10 days in a year given company-wide was excluded from CTC
• 1 hour is given in the afternoon to allow employees to attend functions once in a while
• Though ESI share fell from 6.75% to 4%, CTC was not changed, so the take-home component increased
• Compensation is given above market standards
• Though CTC was increased by a certain % every year, the food budget remained constant for the last 7-8 years.
• Bonus on profitability, given extra every 6 months

Now, we have many employees who have been with us for more than 7 years, are performing well, and are taking ownership. So, we will further liberate the policies.

A few days back, our Sales officer from Udupi quit within two weeks of joining because working 8 hours a day was not feasible for him. Today, I met Mr. Mahalingeshwara Bhat, Area Sales Manager at Jyothy Labs Ltd., in the Mangaluru market. He narrated his story, which inspired me to write this post. We met for hardly five minutes, but his experience gave me a lot of wisdom.
He is now 55, past his company’s retirement age. He has maintained his fitness levels to work in the market after travelling for an hour from Puttur. Working in the market, walking, and talking are physically demanding.

Jyothy Labs may be a blue-chip company with billion-dollar revenue now, but it was a small company when he joined in 1990. He is financially well off now, but his salary was 1,000 per month at the time of joining. His father was a small-time cook. He and his company stuck to each other and grew together.
He worked for 32+ years and carried the brand he worked for wherever he went. His friends used to call him Ujala Bhatru. He feels proud about it. Nowadays, employees feel ashamed to wear work uniforms outside work and don’t like to associate them with the company/brand outside work.

He was responsible for setting up the market in Gujarat in early 2000, recruiting and training sales staff, and appointing super stockists and distributors. It is far from his native place, and he hardly gets to travel back and meet family. He didn’t even see his newly born son for a couple of months. Still, he is happy about the opportunity and responsibility the company has given him. It took him figuratively and literally to places. These days, employees consider travelling beyond their office beyond their scope.
During the 2002 Gujarat riots, he was locked in a lodging for three days without food, and then the lodging owner provided food prepared at his home. He didn’t get angry with the company for the situation he was in. He understood that it was an external situation beyond his or the company’s control.

He has grown slowly and steadily within the company and its content. Being content with what we have is the actual recipe for happiness. He must have seen people much younger than him, with Engineering or MBA degrees from premier institutes, get into higher positions or draw higher salaries. He must have seen colleagues jump across companies and get short-term growth. He must have seen various types of bosses during his long career.
He still feels grateful to the company for providing his daily bread and for all the progress he has made in his life. He is very right to think that he got his bread for the effort he has put into the company’s business.
Though we cannot expect the present generation of employees to work like the earlier generation, observing how it was earlier is worthwhile.

Disclosure –
Murali M, Operations Head, is his wife’s younger brother.
Tharanatha S, ASM, reported to him 10 years back while working at Jyothy.