A Google employee gets a free haircut on site.

With that in mind, here's a short list of the perks Google employees get when they sign on at the Googleplex:

If an employee's bangs are getting in the way during a furious coding session, he or she can schedule an on-site haircut free of charge. To work off all those calories, employees can head over to a gym filled with equipment. For the aquatically-inclined, Google also provides swim-inplace swimming pools. These pools are narrow and not very long. Electric water pumps provide a strong current that flows in one direction. Employees swim against the current, staying in place within these small pools. Lifeguards are on duty to keep employees safe. Employees can play against each other in a quick game of ping pong, billiards or foosball -- you can find game tables in several of the buildings on campus. There are also video games for employees who prefer to let their thumbs do all the work.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Google employees can take a break and play a quick game of pool or foosball. If an employee spills some of that fancy juice on his or her clothes, all is not lost. Google has laundry facilities available to employees on site. The company even offers dry cleaning services. It's not unusual for Google employees to bring clothes in over the weekend to do laundry at the Googleplex. Google's healthcare plan includes on-site medical staff. If an employee suffers an injury or feels ill while at work, he or she can make an appointment with a doctor at the Googleplex. Even with all the benefits and perks at the Googleplex, work can become stressful. Fortunately for Google employees, they can take advantage of a subsidized massage program. For a small fee, the employee can receive a massage from a licensed therapist in a private room. In fact, Google's massage rooms and bathrooms are some of the only areas in the Googleplex that have opaque walls. Another famous benefit of working at Google is the 20 percent time program. Google allows its employees to use up to 20 percent of their work week at Google to pursue special projects. That means for every standard work week, employees can take a full day to work on a project unrelated to their normal

workload. Google claims that many of their products in Google Labs started out as pet projects in the 20 percent time program. Think Tank Even Google's bathrooms contribute to the company's culture. Above the urinals and on bathroom stall doors you can find coding tips and puzzles. Many of Google's perks appeal to young people fresh out of college. The Googleplex provides a gentle transition from the academic world into the corporate environment. But what about employees who have moved beyond the campus lifestyle? Not all of their benefits have fared as well. In 2008, one of Google's perks changed dramatically. The change impacts hundreds of Google employees, and many of them aren't happy about it. What change in policy could make some Google employees break down in tears? To find out, go to the next section. One of the most often cited perks of working at Google is the food. Google feeds its employees well. If you work at the Googleplex, you can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner free of charge. There are several cafs located throughout the campus, and employees can eat at any of them. The main caf is Charlie's Place. The caf takes its name from Google's first lead chef, Charlie Ayers. Before creating meals for Googlers, Ayers was the chef for the Grateful Dead.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Employees can enjoy organic food and beverages, including fresh coconut milk, at Google cafeterias. Cafe Stowaways Google's cafeterias are the stuff of legend in Silicon Valley. Part of that legend includes tales of Yahoo!

employees sneaking into Google for lunch and dinner. Popular tech industry blog TechCrunch first reported on this rumor in 2005 [source: TechCrunch]. In order to get to the caf, you have to get by security in the parking lots. Assuming you can sweettalk your way past the Google guards, it wouldn't be too difficult to chow down on some free food, but we don't recommend trying it. Although Ayers left Google in 2005, the caf still bears his name. The caf has several stations, each offering different kinds of cuisine. Options range from vegetarian dishes to sushi to ethnic foods from around the world. Google's culture promotes the use of fresh, organic foods and healthy meals. But when everything is free and you can eat whenever you want, it's easy to go overboard. That's where the Google 15 comes in. It refers to the 15 pounds many new Google employees put on once they start taking advantage of all the meals and snacks. Other cafs at the Googleplex include the Pacific Caf, Charleston Caf, Caf 150 and the appropriately named No Name Caf. Each offers employees several choices for every meal. Google serves up more than 200 recipes in these cafs every day [source: Wu].

Too tired to walk to the cafeteria? Hop on one of the electric scooters parked around campus. What if you feel your stomach growling in the middle of the afternoon, but don't want to trek out to a cafeteria? Google thought of that, too. It's just a short walk to the nearest snack room -- most buildings have them. The snack rooms have candy, granola, chocolate-coated pretzels, juices, coffees and other goodies. All of it is free

to employees. Google even brings some of these bins on the road -- at the 2008 Google I/O event at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif., Google provided bins filled with snacks to attendees. Fuel for Thought Google regularly collects the used cooking oil from its cafeterias and sends it off to another company to convert it to biodiesel. Then Google buys back some of the biodiesel to supplement its power needs [source: Sokolov]. Google doesn't discuss how much it spends on its food budget, but that doesn't stop people from taking a stab at it. Blogger Vasanth Sridharan made one such attempt in April, 2008. He made some educated guesses regarding the number of employees at the Googleplex, the number of meals they eat per day and the amount of money Google would have to spend per employee per day. He came up with a food budget of more than $72 million per year. But then, that's just a guess [source: Sridharan]. Google provides employees with unusual workspaces and tons of food. But in the words of countless televisioncommercials, "that's not all!" Want to learn more about the way you can pamper yourself if you're a Google employee? Take a gander at the next section. Googleplex Facilities The Hitchhiker's Guide to Google The first building Google moved into on the Googleplex was Building 42. According to some, the building's name is an homage to Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" -- it's the answer to life, the universe and everything. But others say that the building already had that name back when Silicon Graphics owned it. Google has given other buildings interesting names, such as Building 'Pi'. With more than 20 buildings as part of its Mountain View headquarters, finding your way around the Googleplex can be a little intimidating. Many of the employees atGoogle started work straight out of college. Their young age adds to the

impression that you're on a college campus. The heart of the campus is a group of four buildings: Buildings 40 through 43. As soon as you walk into a Google lobby, you know you're not in a typical office environment. Lava lamps provide a groovy vibe and in some lobbies a piano waits for a skilled musician. Most lobbies have a large computer screen that displays search terms in real time as people around the world use Google to find search results. Google filters the stream of terms so that offensive searches don't pop up at embarrassing moments. Googling Around Bikes aren't the only method of transportation at the Googleplex. Employees also have access to electric scooters. Google even provides many employees with complimentary shuttle bus rides to and from work. Other interesting decorations you can find in the Google offices range from enormous whiteboards filled with brilliant ideas and irreverent jokes to a replica ofSpaceShipOne. There are even interesting items in the hallways. Google advocates a green-conscious and healthy lifestyle among its employees, so it's not unusual to see bicycles parked in Google buildings. The offices don't resemble a typical corporate environment. Google arranges the workstations so that groups of three to four employees who work together sit in the same area. During the design phase, architect Clive Wilkinson faced a challenging problem: how do you group people together and still give them an environment in which they can concentrate on work without distractions? And how do you do it without turning Google into a labyrinth of cubicles? Wilkinson decided to use glass walls to divide the space into clusters. This design cuts down on much of the ambient noise inside the office. It also allows sunlight to filter in through the entire office. Each glass enclosure has a tent-like roof made of acrylic-coated polyester which contains the room's lighting and sprinkler systems. Google Benefits and Day Care Rumors of a Google day care facility sprung up in 2004. A short time later, Google announced a program with the Children's Creative Learning Centers, Inc (CCLC). A school 2 miles away from the Googleplex hosted the service. In true Google fashion, the company called the day care program the Kinderplex.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images A typical building lobby at the Googleplex. The CCLC oversees several day care programs and follows a play-based child care philosophy. The children in the Kinderplex program engaged in various play activities. They also learned yoga as part of an exercise program. The service was never free, but Google subsidized it so that more Google employees could take advantage of the program. Part of the subsidy went toward meals: Kids received free breakfast, lunch and snacks at the center. Google leveraged the Kinderplex as part of its benefits program when recruiting prospective employees. A year after opening the Kinderplex, Google established a second program called the Woods. Unlike the Kinderplex, Google ran the Woods program itself. The Woods took a different approach to caring for children than the Kinderplex. It was also more expensive to maintain. In 2008, Google decided to change its day care service to make the entire program more like the Woods. The new program will cost employees more than twice as much as the old one. According to several reports, some Google employees were moved to tears at the announcement. Why the sudden hike in price? One reason is due to the style of learning. While the Kinderplex focused on playbased learning, the new child care program follows the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Founded by Loris Malaguzzi, this approach depends upon each individual child. As the child begins to show interests in particular activities or subjects, the teacher adjusts the program to give the child more access to those things. Communication and interaction are important, as are aesthetic concerns like the physical surroundings and artwork in the room. Class sizes are small and the teachers have relatively high salaries. The wait list to get into Google's day care program is hundreds of names long. Google is now charging parents to stay on the waiting list. Coupled with the new higher prices for day care, the list's length has decreased over time. Some people within Google argue that the only people who can afford in-house day care now are top level executives. Tuition Hike So how much do Google employees pay to have in-

house child day care? The Kinderplex program cost approximately $33,000 a year for parents. The new Google day care program is more than $57,000 per year [source: Nocera]. Discussions regarding the day care situation are likely to continue. Google's programs usually receive an equal mixture of praise and awe. The day care program is a rare example of an internal Google initiative that draws criticism. Most of the Googleplex's facilities and programs continue to attract potential employees. While Google may have hit a speed bump in the day care program, other initiatives still garner positive attention. The Googleplex and its programs help put Google at the top of Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For list in 2008 [source:Fortune]. There's no shortage of people wanting to join Google's ranks. And once they get there, they might discover that they don't want to leave. That's just how Google likes it. To learn more about Google and related topics, take a look at the links on the next page.

well as actual Hospitalization expense reimbursements within prescribed limits Life Insurance Policies and Disability Cover We insure you against any exigency by providing Life Insurance Policies and DisabilityCover.HCLT covers all its employees under the Term Life Insurance Policy which startsfrom INR 15 Lakhs to safeguard the family of the employees from any unfortunateincident. Also, all the employees are covered under the Group Personal Accident Policywhich safeguards them against any form of physical disability Create Memories Life is full of happy memories that stay with us at all times. We believe in celebrating the joyousoccasions of our employee's lives as part of the extended HCL family. Annual LeavesEmployees working with the organization are entitled to 16 days of paid leave in the year.Apart from that the they are also entitled to six Company holidays (CH) and four Restricted holidays (RH) to be chosen from a basket of sixteen RHs

Maternity LeaveAll lady employees are eligible for a maternity leave in accordance with the industrystandards and stipulated laws Paternity LeaveAll our male employees are entitled to avail paternity leave for a period of 5 days on thebirth of his child Wedding GiftGift vouchers are presented to employees on behalf of the company on the occasion of their marriage Newborn GiftGift vouchers are presented to the employees on the birth of their children Blaze your own trail At HCL, we empower our employees to set their sights high and blaze their own trails. This is ap l a c e w h e r e y o u r f u t u r e s u c c e s s a n d g r o w t h a r e t r u l y a r e s u l t o f y o u r o w n e f f o r t s a n d achievements. Employee First CouncilsOurs is a company that will support you as you strive to do what you do best. This is aplace that puts people first. At our Employee First councils people discuss and initiateactivities that interest them. The Sports council, Talent council, Community Servicecouncil, Grey Cells council and the Wellness council are some such initiatives Women first councilWomen First Council is a new chapter in HCL "Employee First" philosophy. A councilby the women, of the women, for the women, that provides an organized platform toaddress unique and special needs of the women. It gives Women Empowerment a newmeaning at HCL Technologies. The council gives its members ample opportunities tomake a difference in their lives and those of their women colleagues CWW and TW program - Such programs facilitate the employee by providing an avenueto contribute professionally while catering to exigencies (on account of medical

emergencies, etc). In the absence of such support/ framework / policy, the individual inthe current scenario would invariably apply for long leave or even take a break fromcareer Working from Home (Tele-working or TW) - Working from employees homefor a specified period under certain emergency conditions. Can contributeprofessionally for 4.5 hours per day and needs this option to balance professionaland personal commitments Compressed Work Week (CWW) - Working in HCL office for 4.5 hours per dayfor a specified period given the employee's need to work for reduced hours Career PortalWe are not prescriptive in the choices employees make, or for identifying talent. Basedon the informed choices that they make, individual career development plans are drawnup which are supported by the company. In an attempt to build this culture in the way wefunction, HCL has a comprehensive online career portal NatashaNatasha is your virtual friend and guide to company policies and processes Internal Job PostingsInternal Job Postings are made available to the employees not only to enable them tomove up the career ladder but also design a career of their choice. Through this initiativeHCL promotes internal talent and enables employees to explore newer horizons Higher LearningTo provide opportunity for quality higher education and advanced learning programs for its employees, HCL Technologies has strategic partnerships with reputed national andinternational universities or institutes Specialized TrainingsSpecialized trainings are provided to employees contingent on business needs Create a funplace When you work at HCL, each day is full of new challenges, friends and goals. Try new thingsand share your passion with your friends.

 The HCL employee referral programme encourages and rewards employees of theorganization to refer their friends and acquaintances for employment at HCL Employees are invited to participate in online quizzes, competitions, brain teasers,sporting activities and various other team bonding activities. Events such as games, dancecompetitions and chat shows are organized during work hours on Fridays where everyoneis encouraged to participate and have a good time Talk to us - If it's important to you, we're listening. It's important to us that every personwho works here feels valued, welcome and cared for. And if you've got a great idea, wewant to hear about it Social Security

Provident fund - Employees are eligible for provident fund, as per the stipulated laws

Gratuity - Employees are eligible for gratuity as per statutory requirements Good practices

Long Service AwardThe Long Service Award recognizes an employees contribution towards the company. Itis an appreciation of the part played by the employee in the journey of HCL. The LongService Award is given to employees on completion of 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20years, 25 years and 30 years of service with HCL. Employees are awarded with trophiesand recognition letters from CEO and chairman, as applicable. Events are organized torecognize and appreciate these employees of HCL O2 LeagueO2 league is an exclusive league to recognize the achievement of employees who haveconsistently crossed the Rubicon of Outstanding rating for two

consecutive years andwho have gone beyond the call of their duty and have shown sterling performance inevery day work. It is a gesture to motivate the employees by recognizing their achievements and to strengthen their relationship with the Company. Under this, locationwise events are organized where the family members of these achievers are invited tocelebrate their success and achievements in the ceremony Subsidized transport facilityTransport is available to all employees across all facilities pan India. If you wish to use abus service in the morning / evening on shared cost and partly subsidized basis on theroute of travel, you need to pay in a three payment tiers. The amount that you need to paywill depend on the total distance traversed on each route Free transport facility for late sittingcabs are available for employees for late hour working. If you are working late, you canavail of night cabs 9.00 pm onwards. This facility is available pan India. The companybears the cost of the night cabs Free consultation with Company's doctor Keeping your health in mind we have arranged for doctors to visit most HCLT facilities.The frequency of these visits varies from daily to weekly. Gym facility and indoor gamesMost HCL facilities have Gym and recreation facilities. The gyms are equipped withMulti-gym, Cycling, Tread wheel etc. whereas you can play Table Tennis, Carom Boardetc in the recreation room, to unwind. Bottom of Form Employee Benefits Download this Document for FreePrintMobileCollectionsReport Document Info and Rating leo143 Share & Embed Related Documents PreviousNext 1.

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