THE PEOPLE’S COMPANY
A no-retrenchment policy, liberal incentives and work-life balance empower Tata Steel workers.
What makes a company great? Good performance, to start with, but healthy financials alone do not earn one the coveted tag of a great workplace. For Tata Steel, part of India’s most diversified and global conglomerate, employees play a major role in upholding the Tata legacy and putting into practice its culture of social empowerment. Here is an example. To date, the company has won the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the best steel plant 10 times, along with a cash award of ` 2 crore. But the management and the unions decided to donate the money to a social cause and set up a vocational training centre for the tribal youths of Jharkhand. “In 2019, we will be training 1,000 youths at the institution,” says Prakash Singh, Chief of Capability Development. It also explains why Tata Steel has emerged a back- to- back winner of Business Today’s Best Companies to Work For Award in the Core Sector ( Oil and gas, Chemical, Power, Steel, Minerals, etc.).
Atrayee Sarkar, Chief Diversity Officer and Chief of HR Group, explains it further. Tata Steel is a complex, mammoth organisation employing nearly 36,000 people across 23 locations. But the Tata culture helps the company bind its people together, an essential condition to perform well even in the face of adversity. Less conflict and more support from the workers’ union is another unique aspect. According to a pact with the unions, there can be only one trade union at a Tata Steel facility.
The Learn-and-grow Approach
“The company takes care of its people in a way that ensures overall welfare, resulting in better productivity,” points out Suresh Tripathi, Vice President of HR at Tata Steel. For instance, employees get extended leave and flexible work schedules to pursue studies and hone their professional skills. Tata Steel set up its technical training institution in 1921, and its curriculum was decided by the likes of M. Visvesvaraya and Subhash Chandra Bose, helping develop hundreds of skilled employees, not only for the organisation but the entire industry.
Scope for career growth is another significant predictor of employee engagement. Every year, Tata Steel appoints around 1,000 entry- level trade apprentices for manufacturing while junior engineers are recruited for supervisory category and management trainees join from the best B- schools. “There are many instances of employees joining as trade apprentices and
growing within the organisation to become vice presidents just because of their hard work and dedication,” says Sandip Dhir, Chief Human Resource Manager (Steel).
As Tata Steel follows a no-retrenchment policy according to a 1956 agreement, retraining and reskilling employees in sync with the changing requirements are paramount. The company is implementing as many as 200 projects to ensure that a digital value acceleration team is in place to usher in the digital transformation involving artificial intelligence and Industrial Internet of Things. A digital foundation programme is being carried out to upskill the entire workforce, and even senior managers are undergoing ‘reverse mentoring’ to be tuned in to new technologies. Along with Tata Communications, Tata Steel will also implement a digital incubation centre by March this year.
Although the drill gets intense, there are enough incentives to encourage people. The company pays an annual bonus of ` 75,000-1.5 lakh based on four parameters – net profit, profitability, productivity and safety. Productivity and safety-linked monthly incentives are also given to workers, says Zubin Palia, Chief, Industrial Relations. For those who want to opt for a voluntary retirement scheme, Tata Steel has come up with ‘ Sunhare Bhavishya Ki Yojana’ with three handsome options, including a pension plan up to the age of 75. Even families of contract employees are taken care of with a ‘Suraksha’ pension plan. It ensures a monthly income of ` 10,000-15,000 in case a contract worker dies.
Work-life Balance
Quality of life is another hallmark of the corporate culture at Tata Steel. Unlike most manufacturing firms, it has a fiveday work week, a thoughtful gesture that supports a healthy work-life balance. The company has also set up a state-of-theart civil infrastructure and great amenities at Jamshedpur, the main hub where more than 50 per cent of its workforce resides, including 6,000-plus officers.
“Jamshedpur is one of the finest cities not only in India but across the globe,” says Palia. The city has 24x7 power and clean water supply, good roads, quality restaurants and clubs, swimming pools and sports facilities, including flying and equestrian clubs. The cool perks add to the essentials – growth opportunities, benefits and a supportive environment. As a result, the attrition rate is about 1 per cent compared to the industry average of 12 per cent at officer level, HR heads at Tata Steel say.
THE COMPANY TAKES CARE OF ITS PEOPLE IN A WAY THAT ENSURES OVERALL WELFARE, RESULTING IN BETTER PRODUCTIVITY Suresh Tripathi Vice President, Human Resources