Commendable "Attitude" Showcasing Care Towards Employees

Enkash's "Attitude Bonus," initiative has been a groundbreaking incentive programme, showcasing care for its team members during a time when the industry is experiencing significant difficulties due to numerous enterprises laying off their staff. Through this special programme, EnKash honoured its staff members for their initiative and intrapreneurial outlook on their jobs and the expansion of the company. Additionally, the programme aimed to help participants develop a variety of abilities, raise their level of responsibility and accountability, and enhance their general performance.

Let's hear Naveen Bindal, Co-Founder, EnKash speak with BW People's journalist on the motive behind initiating such an exquisite policy to showcase care for its employees

1. Can you talk about the “Attitude Bonus” program that has been launched recently by EnKash. Also, what was the thought process that went behind making the program?

Attitude bonus is a unique way and a first of its kind program in the industry to recognize people who put in consistent effort to go beyond call of duty. We, as Asia’s first spend management platform look at promoting multi-skill strategy across our fellow employees. Through this unique Program, we look to reward our employees for their ownership and intrapreneurial attitude towards work and our organization's growth. The program also intends to enable individuals to hone multifaceted skills, improve accountability and ownership, and upgrade overall performance. 

Also, it is also an exemplary step from the HR perspective to normalize rewarding employees' beyond KRA initiatives in the job market. Our executive management and the co-founders collaborated to conceptualize "Attitude Bonus" for close to eight months. The primary idea was to have a structure in place to not only track, but also reward employees who consistently go above and beyond their responsibilities at work. 

This innovative programme is congruent with how we look to be identified. i.e. a company where employees are encouraged to go above and beyond their job. Our company offers team members plenty of possibilities to work in various functions rather than just their primary duties.

2. What short-term and long-term impact do you expect in terms of talent acquisition and retention?
 A benefit value proposition exists in every company. We are the first company in the sector to offerthe "Attitude Bonus." It is undoubtedly a benefit that both current and potential employees would be interested in. This would be a component that would help in finding talent with the proper mindset and attracting talent—particularly those who are more performance-oriented.

Existing employees will benefit from this because they will receive a considerable financial benefit and an area to excel further and enhance themselves. This is a crucial element that promotes talent retention. For a business or organization to succeed, it is vital to retain employees. The worth of a resource build over time, and employees are considered a company’s most valuable asset. Employee retention is the most crucial tactic for retaining valuable personnel and preserving a good employer-employee relationship. Furthermore, from such initiatives, we want to create a healthy environment where employees are keen to have a longer and more meaningful association.

3. Please define a good attitude and what metrics are in place to measure this? Do you foresee any roadblocks?

If we talk about a good attitude, it’s extremely subjective and varies from different job roles. The Attitude Bonus is an open-ended initiative as everyone is new to this kind of initiative. The fact that it is open, will allow people to assess their own performance, come up with their own initiatives, and then it would be a joint decision taking into consideration the overall impact of the activity.

Hence, broadly the criteria to decide whether or not an employee is going beyond the call of duty is, basis them doing something that is not expected from that individual working on that designation which means they are going over and above. For example, an executive who is new in the organization with only a few years of experience, one would expect them to support their immediate seniors and perform their day-to-day tasks. However, if they go beyond this, to cater to a requirement from an additional experienced employee who could be from a different department would be a certain achievement indeed. Hence, this is exactly what our initiative is about.

This assessment will be done on the basis from whom the initiative is coming from, their level of designation, what is expected from that particular position and how much they have gone beyond their duty. All the initiatives will not necessarily qualify but their impact would be weighed and considered.

We have created a tracker which is managed through one of EnKash's own product proposition and supervised by HR department. This system allows the employees to create new requests along with the details highlighting how they have gone beyond the call of duty, these requests then go to the reward committee who announce the qualifiers.

4. Do you think such initiatives can be implemented irrespective of the size of the organization?

Yes, regardless of the size of the business, such initiatives can certainly be adopted. There is no ceiling as such; this can be implemented by firms having 50 employees; alternatively, it can work where the headcount may be more than 50,000 workers. While conceptually it would work but could differ in technique.

5. The success of any firm depends on having high-performing employees. How is the “Attitude Bonus” initiative going to retain high-performance employees?
 Since a company is only as good as its people, investing in its employees is the single most crucial decision any business can make. The personnel are in charge of consistently carrying out the mission, vision, and true brand ambassadors any company can have. Employee turnover costs the overall firm more when it occurs more frequently. It develops into a widespread problem that has an impact on staff morale, productivity, and the bottom line of the business. A benefit value proposition exists in every company. We are the first company to offer the "Attitude Bonus." which is unquestionably a benefit that both current and potential employees would be interested in. This would be a factor that helps in three ways, firstly, benefit existing employees since they would be substantially benefited financially. This aspect plays a crucial role towards promoting talent retention. Secondly, help in finding talent with the proper mindset, and thirdly, attract talent who are more performance-oriented. 

6. Do you think a firm may influence an employee's performance through good management and benefits like self-development opportunities and a sense of career advancement?

A firm can certainly play a crucial role in the development of its employees. The right guidance by senior management and influential mentors could be pivotal for shaping the careers of employees. Aspects such as having a positive mindset, right attitude, team spirit and inculcation of good values can be provided by experienced seniors. 

Additionally, through the mentorship of senior personnel, employees could be suggested to take the right trainings to develop their skills. This could include enhancing different skills, such as improvement in performance and rate of productivity, as well as upskilling and reskilling them to prepare for what the future will require of them. 

Thus, by being armed with the skills and experience, the senior management would enable well-prepared, career oriented and confident individuals who would always be assets for any firm across industries. 

7. In today’s uncertain times and the potential recession, how does the organization plan on modernizing the methods of performance assessment?

Apart from traditional methods of evaluation, modern initiatives such as the Attitude Bonus, is a great initiative by organizations towards enhancing employee performance. This method of performance evaluation seeks to examine an employee's potential performance rather than how they have previously performed. In this unprecedented time of just the recession but also the Covid-19, it is important for any startup to retain their employees. As digitization gained center stage during the pandemic, the country's startup sector experienced robust workforce growth, adding 14% more employees in 2020 compared to 2019. Around 6.5 lakh employees in India now work for startups that are officially registered with the government. Therefore, startups play a crucial role in providing employment to lakhs of people and it becomes important to retain them with such performance assessment. 

8. Do you think such practices can enable an employee’s growth in the organization?

Yes, the incentive scheme is anticipated to encourage employees to take aggressive action, foster intrapreneurship, and improve personally. In a work culture, where an employee is appreciated and benefited with such an incentive programme, it automatically boosts employee morale to work harder in any organization. Although talent and abilities are crucial, the team's attitude ultimately determines the growth and success of the organization. Employees in start-up environments must wear several hats and go above and beyond their KRAs because they are ultimately helping the founders create the business. Proactive employees that take a lot of ownership in their work are valuable to any organization and are therefore likely to advance personally as well.