This year, we sought employees' views on their companies' whistleblower policies, sexual harassment policies, and adherence to 'green'

principles while doing business. The insights gained from the responses have resulted in one of the most comprehensive reports of what the Indian employee thinks of her company. Data authenticity was ensured in two ways. The questionnaire was designed to include built in verifications that re!ected responses with contradictory"incomplete information. #e also carried out verification of about $% per cent of the accepted responses. &e!ection was below $' per cent. five specified parameters( career growth prospects, financial compensation, work life balance, performance evaluation, and other )& practices. *T)I+, -.D /-01*,( ,1&/*2 &*,10T, The specific question asked was whether people were satisfied in their job role given their qualifications. Only 53% were satisfied (against !% last year" and # % were not satisfied (against 3!% last year". 5.$. %dherence to &thical 'alues The respondents were asked about the ethical values of senior (anage(ent in their co(pany. The specific question asked was )*+,ow well do you believe that the senior (anage(ent of your co(pany lives up to the co(pany-s standard code of ethics.)*/ The five choices given were0)*1 234 5on-t abide by co(pany-s ethics at all 234 6ot very well 234 7o(eti(es do8 so(eti(es don-t 234 'ery well 234 &9tre(ely well 234 5on)*:t know The dis;heartening thing for co(panies is that only #3% of the respondent e(ployees believe that their senior (anage(ent adheres to ethical values very well or e9tre(ely well (as co(pared to <% believing so last year". =3% (as co(pared to <5% last year" think that their (anage(ent does not adhere to their e9pected ethical values and standards. )& 3&-+TI+*,( The answers were captured on a 5 point scale (< )*1 e9tre(ely dissatisfied8 5; e9tre(ely satisfied". The issues e9plored were0 234 >orkload 234 ?onnection between pay and perfor(ance 234 7ocial recognition that working in your co(pany provides 234 Training and 5evelop(ent opportunities provided 234 @our job is conducive to skill enhance(ent

The #orkplace *ngagement ,pecialists

4est +ompanies have been helping to make the world a better workplace since 5''$ when the first '4est +ompanies to #ork 6or' list was produced. 4est +ompanies are committed to helping organisations listen to their employee7s opinions so they can improve employee engagement. *ach year 4est +ompanies survey hundreds of thousands of employees from around the world to help organisations identify the areas where they can improve.

4eing a best company goes beyond the bottom line. It's about excelling in every area throughout the workplace and an organisation's commitment to its most important assets its workforce.

6ocusing on employees brings real benefits such as, improved workplace engagement, better staff retention, reduced recruitment costs and greater financial performance.

8*T)9D909:2( Aethodology BThe Cest ?o(panies to work forB is an annual survey conducted by Cusiness Today and Deople7trong ,E 7ervices that ai(s to understand the Derceptions and %spiration of Fndia-s Talent across industries. Ft gives a great insight into how Fndustry at large and in specific verticals can align their &(ployer Crands to how the workforce of Fndia is aspiring and thinking. BCest ?o(panies to >ork for in FndiaB8 as a feature8 has been institutionaliGed over the past decade by Cusiness Today. The survey ai(s to provide a feedback to the co(panies on what the e(ployee (arketplace thinks about various co(panies8 what factors are considered i(portant8 what factors attract people8 what factors de(oraliGe people8 and other inputs in an unbiased representative (anner. The cornerstones of this research are the respondents who work in different types of organiGations. Hor the last << years8 we have sought responses and inputs fro( the workforce co((unity directly through a large database of e(ployees across diverse spectru( of vintage8 age8 industry8 location and job grades. This survey pri(arily ai(ed to capture the %spiration and Derception across key variables of OrganiGational interface with an e(ployee. >ith this year8 we induct a platfor( for a reality check through ,E Aetrics with the &(ployers as well. To include the BThe &(ployers- DerspectiveB8 key Aetrics of ,E across the e(ployee influencing variables have been included. These (etrics co(ple(ent the variables that an &(ployee e9periences and provides the inputs on the key

influencers for the e(ployee Derceptions and %spirations. Iike last year8 Cusiness Today and Deople7trong decided to continue with the (ethodology of inviting e(ployees of any and all kinds of co(panies to participate in an open online survey in association with 6aukri.co(. This allows all kinds of salaried e(ployees fro( different kinds of co(panies to participate and e9press their views and (ake the survey participation wider and (ore representing. The survey was conducted using an internet based self;filling questionnaire8 where the questionnaire was sent to about # (illion people registered on the 6aukri.co( platfor(. To cross;check the authenticity of the respondents and to ensure that quality of responses were of acceptable standards8 validation checks were done by 6aukri tea( and Deople7trong technology tea( by calling back a certain proportion of the respondents rando(ly. The Deople7trong 7tudy Tea( then constructed a ranking of co(panies and an analysis of various aspects that go into (aking a co(pany a great place to work in. This study does not report on specific aspects of any co(pany (positive or negative". The )*JCest ?o(panies to >ork Hor)*: rankings are done across industries and within specific industryK econo(ic sectors. The study further reports on the respondent e(ployees)*: satisfaction and aspirations8 but at a sector level and at the overall level only8 not at a co(pany level. 5ifferences of views across different geographies and de(ographic seg(ents are also presented8 highlighting the differences between various seg(ents. What makes a company a fantastic place to work in? Over here we asked the respondents to identify the factors that (ake a co(pany a fantastic place to work in. The respondents were presented with 5 factors0 234 Lrowth Oriented; ?areer and Lrowth Drospects 234 ?o(pensation and Cenefits 234 Drogressive ?ulture )*1 pro(otes 5iversity M >ork life balance 234 &thical )*1 ,igh standards of Hairness8 Objectivity and Transparency 234 7tability )*1 Iarge scale diversified operations 234 Other ,E practices of the co(pany (TrainingK AentoringK >orking at(osphere" ?areer prospects 3 % of the e(ployees feel that career and growth prospect is the (ost i(portant factor that (akes a co(pany a fantastic place to work for. %gainst this8 only <3% e(ployees feel that their co(panies provide e9cellent career and growth opportunities and #=% feel that their co(panies fail in providing the e9pected growth and develop(ent. ?o(pensation and Cenefits

= % of the e(ployees feel that co(pensation and benefits is the (ost i(portance factor in their professional careers. 6ut only <<% of the respondents feel that their co(panies are able to (eet their co(pensation e9pectations8 whereas #3% e(ployees feel that their co(panies fail in (eeting their co(pensatory e9pectations. Drogressive ?ulture )*1 pro(otes 5iversity M >ork life balance

3 % of the e(ployees feel that progressive culture is not an i(portance factor in (aking a workplace a best place to work for8 whereas =#% e(ployees feel that it is e9tre(ely i(portant for co(panies to have a progressive culture. Cut only <<% of the respondents feel that their co(panies are able to create a culture of their choice and #5% e(ployees feel that their co(panies fail in creating a progressive culture.

3N &thical )*1 ,igh standards of Hairness8 Objectivity and Transparency

3 % of the e(ployees feel that it is not i(portant for a co(pany have very high standards of ethics to be classified as a best place to work for8 whereas =O% e(ployees feel that it is e9tre(ely i(portant for co(panies to have high ethical standards. Cut only <=% of the respondents feel that their co(panies are able to (aintain the desired level of ethical balance and ##% e(ployees feel that their co(panies fail in (eeting ethical standards. 7tability )*1 Iarge scale diversified operations

3O% of the e(ployees feel that it is not i(portant for a co(pany have very high stability to be classified as a best place to work

for8 whereas =#% e(ployees feel that it is e9tre(ely i(portant for co(panies to have stable and large scale operations to hedge any risks in the future. Cut only <=% of the respondents feel that their co(panies are highly stable and #$% e(ployees feel that their co(panies are very unstable.

3O Other ,E practices of the co(pany (TrainingK AentoringK >orking at(osphere"

#!% of the e(ployees feel that other ,E practices like training8 (entoring and working at(osphere are not i(portant for the(8 whereas = % e(ployees feel that it is e9tre(ely i(portant for co(panies to have good ,E practices to beco(e a best co(panies to work for. Cut only <3% of the respondents feel that their co(panies have good ,E practices and # % e(ployees feel that their co(panies are have poor ,E practices. ?O6?IP7FO60 ?areer growth see(s to be the (ost i(portant factor for the e(ployees8 which attracts the( to a given co(pany. 7tability is seen to have the least i(portance a(ongst all the factors. Fn conclusion8 the big picture that appears is that the e(ployees see the attractiveness of a co(pany as a place to work for fro( the perspective of Qwhat the co(pany has to offer to hi(KherR and not Qwhat the co(pany has to offer per seR.

Fnterestingly8 )*Jhigher job role and responsibility)*: edges past )*Jco(pensation and benefits)*: to e(erge as the (ost i(portant factor of attraction of a co(pany when it co(es to a new job just like last year. There is no change in the percentage i(portance in these = factors fro( the last year. 5espite a noticeable increase in its i(portance (S5%"8 )*Jwork environ(ent and culture)*: of the prospective co(pany hung on to its position of the third (ost i(portant factor. On the other hand )*JIearning

opportunity)*: gained i(portance to e(erge as the fourth (ost i(portant factor at 3O% as against )*JCrand of the co(pany)*:. >ith the top two i(portant factors which (akes a co(pany attractive to the respondent e(ployees being )*Jhigher job role and responsibility)*: and )*Jco(pensation and benefits)*:8 clearly their own personal growth prospects is what drives the e(ployees the (ost when it co(es to (oving jobs. The co(pany based factors ()*Jwork environ(ent and culture)*:8 )*Jco(pany brand i(age)*: and )*Jlearning opportunities)*:" are only of secondary i(portance to the(. The factors that are not really considered i(portant by (ost of the respondents when looking at a new job opportunity (co(pany" are0 234 IocationK city 234 ?hange the career into a new functional role or industry 234 LlobalK Eegional responsibility 234 To work with well;known person Hro( the above responses it can be concluded that )*Jworkload)*:8 )*Jskill enhance(ent)*: and )*Jsocial recognition)*: are relatively less of an ,E issue in the organiGations at the (o(ent as co(pared to the )*Jpay )*1 perfor(ance (is(atch)*: and )*Jtraining and develop(ent)*: ones. *2 +-,* ,T1D2 6ollowing are additional examples of perks that *rnst ; 2oung 003 offers to attract, retain and develop working parents, caregivers and other professionals(

The firm7s generous parental leave package provides $< fully paid weeks off for birth moms, six weeks for primary care dads and adoptive parents, and four additional weeks of time off beyond what the 6amily and 8edical 0eave -ct requires. The number of parental leaves taken each year by the firm7s men is consistent with that of its women. 4reastfeeding support includes counseling, providing hospital grade pumps to employees or their spouses, and transporting breast milk for women traveling on business. The firm offers subsidies for back up child care and adult care as well as access to quality care centers and credentialed home care professionals. *2 fosters a culture of sponsorship and provides a growing array of related resources and initiatives to help women and others advance, such as its 3rofessional .etworks. To reflect the evolving and expanding needs of families = as well as *27s support of them = the organi>ation recently restructured its ?Today7s 6amilies@ group of networks to include the #orking 8oms7 .etwork, 6athers7 6orum, +aregivers +ircle, and 3arents of +hildren with ,pecial )ealth +are .eeds. 6lexibility is also embedded in *27s culture and available to everyone, regardless of

level or gender. #hile thousands of *2 people in the -mericas are on a formal flexible work arrangement = with hundreds of them getting promoted to its highest ranks while participating = most people are interested in exercising day to day flexibility. -mong *27s newest flexibility efforts is its #orkplace of the 6uture initiative, a trust based, work anywhere environment that combines physical workspace, technology and flexibility solutions to better accommodate how its high performing, global teams work today.