Indian Enterprises Leverage Continuous Learning for Employee Engagement
Employee satisfaction is a critical factor in minimizing turnover. No lucky guess that. But what conditions or values generate employee satisfaction and loyalty towards an enterprise? Is it a good salary, a good boss, career growth opportunities, work-life support initiatives, fun work culture or incentives? Possibly, a mix of all.
There’s no denying that markets are becoming increasingly competitive. Consequently, work pressures are also high. HR and business heads are quickly realizing that there’s no magic formula to employee engagement. It is neither a short-term goal nor an easily achievable target. It is in fact almost akin to a business process – it involves a plan, execution, measurement, learning and improvement in a continuous long-term cycle.
Skilled professionals often become restless when learning opportunities reach stalemate within the organization. It could be because of a restricted role, policies or simply an overload of work that does not leave time for self-improvement. They start looking outside the workplace for opportunities that pose new challenges and enhance their professional value. Their goal is to keep themselves on par with market demands.
This situation can be turned on its head to benefit both parties – employees and employers. A recent article in The Economic Times indicates that an interesting employee engagement trend is catching on in India. While many enterprises that have the votes of being employee-friendly are investing heavily in creating a “work cum fun” ethos in the workplace, continuous learning opportunities is emerging as a strong employee engagement driver.
As reported in the aforementioned article, Lupin runs a parallel education system for its 12,000 high-potential employees (across roles and levels) to upskill themselves. For example, area managers have access to an e-MBA program in a tie-up with SP Jain Institute of Management and Research; regional sales manager level can access education opportunities in tie up with Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. For R&D employees, the company has tied up with BITS Pilani. While employees only pay 10% of the fee, Lupin experiences almost zero attrition.
Similarly, RPG Enterprises is using an anytime-anywhere learning tool called Virtual Gurukul that allows employees to access a range of modular learning content (developed in collaboration with IIM Ahmedabad and Bangalore) relevant to technical topics or business skills development. The enterprise’s planned approach towards employee’s continuous skill development has led to a high level of employee satisfaction.
Education or training campaigns can be made even more effective via mobile engagement platforms such as DRONA Mobile. By making training or just-in-time skilling content available to
