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June - 2016 - issue > CXO Insights

What Makes For A Great Workplace?

Saurabh Nigam, VP - HR, Snapdeal
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Saurabh Nigam, VP - HR, Snapdeal
Headquartered in Mumbai, Snapdeal is India's largest online marketplace featuring over five million products across a broad spectrum of categories like mobile phones, electronics, computer peripherals, apparels & accessories, cosmetics, footwear, kitchenware and many others

To become one of most celebrated start-ups, a company should be powered by a young, ambitious workforce hungry for growth. Also a rewarding environment is very crucial that they aspire for. In a nutshell, a perfect talent management philosophy can be summed up as empowering every individual to lead their own as well as the company's success. A fairly young company in an emerging sector doesn't have any set-in-stone templates to follow. Instead, they should keep their ears to the ground, developing an understanding along the way of the unique nature of the industry and their workforce.

Ownership & Recognition Are Important Motivators: Bootstrapped companies do not succeed in a top down environment, and despite their massive growth, that scrappiness remains in their DNA. In successful companies, employees are encouraged to take complete ownership of the results, with a clear understanding that 'you are what you deliver'. One dominant and reassuring feedback they receive from employees is that the exposure and experience they have been able to gain during a short stint at the company, compared to multiple years spent elsewhere. They proudly are aggressive in chasing their goals, and that shows in every aspect of their work culture.

The people's performance and management system should be designed to reward this go-getter attitude. It should include goal setting, regular feedback & appraisal, own your development and win with the company. It is a transparent and agile goal setting and appraisal system, which lets the company and the employee course correct every six months. Additionally, they should have a robust and crowd-sourced rewards and recognition (monetary and non-monetary) system, where employees can routinely adulate co-workers for a job done well. Employees who get the maximum nominations from cross functional teams should win big titles and monies, not to mention recognition from across the company.

Employees Appreciate A Balanced Life: In the always-on world of start-up industry, it can sometimes be tough to strike a balance between personal and professional necessities. A company should set a goal to build a workplace that removes a lot of this unnecessary friction. One part of this is infrastructure based; the campuses should be designed to provide all key amenities of the modern urban life. This includes a state of the art recreation centre, a fully equipped gym and yoga room, a unisex salon, free shuttle services and a cafeteria that offers healthy eating options and likes.


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