Tag: Employee Retention

  • Perks vs. Pay: Driving Employee Retention and Beyond

    This article has been contributed by Dr. Brillian S. K., Chief People Officer, TimesPro

    The debate sounds familiar, but the context has changed. A decade ago, candidates asked, “Is Provident Fund a part of the salary?” In 2025, they ask, “How much will I receive in hand?” The compensation conversation has shifted from deferred promises to immediate utility. In this landscape, pay anchors retention, especially in India, yet it cannot sustain it alone.

    Global salary budgets remain steady in the mid-three percent range across mature markets (roughly 3.2%–3.6%, with the U.S. near 3.5%), signalling targeted, not expansive, pay moves. India is an outlier: despite moderation, planned increases for 2025 were around 9.2%, among the world’s highest, making market-aligned, take-home pay table stakes rather than a differentiator.

    This leads to a very fundamental question, ‘Why don’t perks outweigh salary?’ Lifestyles and financial behaviours have evolved over the last few years. Younger professionals prefer to spend NOW rather than harvest benefits later. India’s net household financial savings fell to a five-decade low in FY23, then only modestly rebounded in FY24 even as liabilities rose, evidence of a ‘consumption-today’ bias that elevates the value of cash in hand over opaque or deferred benefits.

    Cultural signals amplify this shift. A booming creator economy normalises individual choice and instant gratification and it quietly devalues corporate freebies that once felt special. India’s influencer marketing industry stood at roughly INR 3,600 crores in 2024 and is projected to grow a further 25% in 2025, a momentum that shapes tastes, spending and the perceived worth of workplace perks. 

    What Gen X once treated as status, the fixed ‘executive’ trappings, no longer inspires. The airport-lounge metaphor captures it: what used to be a differentiator has become rote. Many professionals would now rather pay for a quiet corner than queue for access that once signalled privilege. Unless perks cross into a truly aspirational tier, think ‘black/platinum card’ scarcity, they rarely move the retention needle. Employees know better ways to spend on their terms and an enriched in-hand salary gives them that agency. This also is an indicator of behaviour, professionals want to control and manage their spends than let companies decide on “perks”.

    Are perks overrated, then? The gimmicky ones are. The benefits that matter remove life friction, protect wellbeing and enable growth: healthcare, paid leave, flexibility and development. Employer practice reflects this – healthcare coverage remains near-universal in major markets, while companies continue to emphasise flexible work and well-being supports.

    Crucially, the pay-versus-perks argument misses a third force: purpose and value alignment. Randstad’s 2025 Workmonitor finds work-life balance surpassing pay as the top motivator for the first time in 22 years and a significant share of workers have already quit roles over misaligned values. Deloitte’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey focusses on the same pattern: people want fair pay, but they stay when they also see learning, mentorship and purpose. In short, compensation captures attention; alignment and balance sustain it. 

    These realities also explain why many traditional perks feel like a ‘pseudo’ joy in 2025. Standardised freebies cannot compete with individualised choice, especially when life stages differ so sharply. Generations today often prefer consuming experiences now rather than banking distant benefits; the perceived utility of cafeteria vouchers or club tie-ups pales next to fungible cash, schedule control or meaningful development.


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    Are you struggling to keep your employees happy? This is the ultimate guide to know how to retain employees and inspire them to work hard.


    What Could employers do?

    Enhancing Employee Value Proposition
    Enhancing Employee Value Proposition
    • Pay with precision, not parity: In India’s context, fair take-home pay is the entry ticket. Use external data to calibrate hot-skills premiums and prevent ‘loyalty penalties’ that underpay stayers relative to joiners. In flatter global budgets, target increases where roles create disproportionate value and be transparent about the rationale.
    • Redesign perks: Retire tired giveaways. Offer a modular portfolio employees can assemble like health top-ups, mental-health coverage, caregiving credits, travel wallets and financial-wellness coaching. Evidence suggests many employers still under-index on flexibility/choice in benefits design, closing that gap increases perceived value far more than adding another generic perk.
    • Make purpose practical: Tie team priorities to customer outcomes and community impact. Equip managers to coach, not just coordinate; make internal mobility and learning visible and accessible. Younger cohorts consistently rank learning, mentorship and values alignment among the reasons they choose and remain with employers.
    • Treat flexibility as policy, not a perk: Flexible and hybrid models continue to carry enduring appeal across high-skill segments; anchoring them in operating design protects retention without sacrificing performance.

    These moves recognise a broader truth about how aspirations have shifted. From “Is Provident Fund part of the salary?” to “What’s my take-home?”, employees increasingly optimise for immediacy and autonomy. They prefer to direct their own spending rather than accept one-size-fits-all benefits; they would rather buy the quiet corner than flash the lounge card; and unless a perk is genuinely scarce and aspirational, it rarely compensates for a thin salary or a culture that ignores balance and meaning.

    The retention formula for 2025 is therefore simple and demanding. Companies must pay fairly, embed flexibility and connect work to something worthwhile. Done together, these choices respect how lifestyles have evolved, how influencers and social signals shape perceived status and why cash still matters most at the margin. Companies that act on this clarity will spend less chasing fads and keep more of the talent they cannot afford to lose.


    Benefits of Employee Engagement and Why is it Important for Success of your Organization
    Employee engagement is a crucial factor in the success of an organization. Want to find out more about it?. Here are its benefits and why is it important.


  • How to Inspire Employees and Work-Retain Employees?

    A workplace is where we spend one-third (8 hours) of our day which is more time than we do spend at home. Every company focuses on productivity. There are some milestones that people have to go to make work successful and tangible. Deadlines are key areas that have to be met in order to measure success. Some managers put unnecessary pressure on employees like extending working hours. Ideally, this cannot be a parameter to measure success and effectiveness. Motivated employees always remain positive and the opposite is demoralizing.

    According to a survey, 75% of the reasons people quit come down to their managers. As the boss, you need to have the capacity to monitor each and every employee. When you realize some funny character in an employee, make a quick action and attend to their attitude. As an employer, have you noticed that your employees have started to withdraw? Reduce stress by observing the following tips on how to Inspire Employees to Work.

    How to Inspire Employees to Work
    How to Retain Employees in an Organization
    How to Keep Employees Happy and Motivated

    How to Inspire Employees to Work

    Flexibility of Work

    Flexibility in working hours should be encouraged to Inspire Employees to Work. Office time and personal time must blend. Keeping people at work throughout does not increase productivity at all instead employees get burnout. Flexibility makes employees work to achieve set targets within the specified time. After work, they get to attend to their personal issues effectively thus creating a work-life balance.

    Set time for Break

    Human beings are made to concentrate up to a certain period. Downtime for employees is very vital. Making employees work without break is unhealthy and production will be less. Burnout is eradicated when employees get time to be out of their desks for a cup of tea or water. Fresh ideas are conceived while being outside a normal work environment.

    Structured Meetings

    As an employer, avoid overwhelming employees with unnecessary meetings. It is a very terrible situation when people attend meetings just for the sake of culture. Meetings are made for updating and getting ideas from each other so organize an effective meeting only. Avoid wasting the time of employees, by organising unnecessary meetings.

    Transparency

    Information sharing is very crucial in a company. Employees are just like investors and they expect such treatment. Let them be at par with information, transparency makes employees attach and have passion with the company and also helps in winning their trust.

    Develop Work Schedule

    It is very tiresome to work blindly. This brings a lot of confusion when you’re trying to deliver the work. Work schedule helps in planning for activities. This is the only way to track and prioritize information. Allocation of tasks is done effectively. Teamwork is embraced, as people involved will understand work dynamics and work cordially and not based on fear.

    Work as a Family

    Despite the workplace bringing people together from various backgrounds, employees feel honored and respected when they are treated as a family. This is a place where we are driven by a common goal. Give employees your back just like any other member of your family. Stand with them and don’t let anybody abuse them. This is a very important point on how to inspire employees to work.

    Treat Employees Equally

    In a working environment, understand that no one is special than the other. Management should be concerned about everybody and not some hence productivity. When there is a difference in a workforce, teamwork will not be guaranteed and therefore the workforce will be split, which will in return be a hindrance. Favouritism brings discouragements among employees and brings division among employees.

    Capacity Building

    It is a very embarrassing situation when employees don’t know what to do. You always feel out of place and feel frustrated. It raises morale when you train employees to understand their work better. Proper work can be done with confidence only.

    Provide Right Tools for Work

    Most of the bosses demand much from employees while they know very well they have not equipped employees with tools. Employees feel harassed. Provide them with adequate and functional tools to facilitate their work. Tasks and deadlines will be met on time.

    Participatory Approach

    People are always allergic to changes imposed on them. Learn to engage employees in the decision-making process. For example, based on the kind of work that you do, get to know how people feel about the sitting arrangement. Get feedback from them, harmonize their concerns, and definitely this way, you will be able to address their needs better.

    How to Retain Employees in an Organization

    Every business or company needs employees to run effectively and meet its business needs. However, hiring new employees can become a tasking job causing levels of frustration to rise and hindering the progress especially when the company has just started. Thus, every company should learn Employee retention strategies in retaining its employee base.

    Here, we bring you employee retention strategies and how you can inspire your employee so that they are satisfied and content with their work.

    Create a Healthy Work Environment

    This is one of the best Employee retention strategies for any company. As a start-up, there is a lot of work pressure on the employee to meet deadlines and make faster progress; however, employees tend to make mistakes under pressure. When such situations arise, make sure to not criticize or pressurize the employee by reprimanding him; instead, help them to become more efficient in their work.

    Transparency

    Maintain an office policy where everyone works with a clear knowledge of all the things going on in the company and is treated equally on all fronts. This is also one factor in employee retention strategies. All employees should be able to put forth their ideas and suggestions regarding anything. This gives an employee the sense of being involved and the more involved a person is, the more likely he is to stay.

    Rewards

    Your workplace is like your second home, hence, treat your employees like family. Give them occasional rewards on their success or any big achievement that the company makes, this will help in Employee retention strategies. Give them yearly treats that are personalized for them like providing them with a paid holiday or some complimentary leaves and gifts that they would like. Incentives may also be a good way to encourage employees, although gifts have a better impact in keeping them happy.

    Do Leave and Staying Interviews

    If you are unable to understand, why employees are leaving, ask them. Your human resource team can arrange a leaving interview for every person that is quitting their jobs and you can take their feedback to improve your companies’ policies. It helps in Employee retention strategies for your startup or business. Apart from this, you can hold interviews of the loyal employees asking them the reasons for their stays and what did they like about the company and what would make them leave. Assess all the feedback and improve yourself.

    Provide Them With Small Perks

    Give your employees some facilities to improve their lives so they can work better. A complimentary transport service or free lunch would work wonders. This will give a boost to employees and help in Employee retention strategies. Some paid leaves can also be given in order to make the employees loyal. The money spent on these things will be way less than the money spent on recruiting and training new employees which is not only a waste of money but time as well.

    Hire smartly

    While hiring employees make it a point to know whether that person is actually suitable to work in the company’s environment or not. Every company has a different culture and discussing that culture with the employee can go a long way to get an idea of whether the person will be suitable or not.

    Keep a Tab on Everything

    Even though start-up co-founders get really busy after the successful take-off of the company they should take out some time to check how the company is working. Recruiting a management team is not enough, founders need to look at every department and know whether the work environment is good or not. Sometimes, this can bring unexpected things in the light which can be corrected only by the bosses.

    Respect the Work-Life Balance

    Your employees have a life outside work and that should be respected. The employee works for the company during office hours but working beyond that is their own choice. So don’t make employees do more than they have signed for. This is one of the most important factors for employee retention strategies. Yes, there can be times when you need them to work a little extra but that should not become a daily routine because an environment like that will drive people a way to look for jobs that provide flexible working hours.

    How to Keep Employees Happy and Motivated

    Are you a small business owner? Do you wish to improve the office environment? The key to a successful business is to keep employees happy. It has been proven that a person is most productive when they are happy. So if you have a happy task force chances are high that your company will make tremendous progress. Keeping Employees Happy is of the utmost importance to your company and here are some ways to keep them happy.

    Help Your Employees Feel Valued

    If your employee is doing a good job appreciating their effort is very important. Thank them for the work they have put in and make them feel that you value their contribution. There goes a lot into doing some work, and giving appreciation might not be a big deal for you but will surely make your employee’s day. This will make him want to work harder and better. If something goes wrong, do not punish or be harsh on them. They are adults and know that they have made a mistake. Help them correct their fault or give them some extra time to mend their mistakes. Also making efforts to know the employee and be humble to them. An occasional small talk about their family and their kids will make the employee feel as if they are important.

    Positive Atmosphere

    Try to create a positive atmosphere in your office. The workspace should enough room for your employees to walk and move. There should also be spaces for your employees to interact with each other or relax while taking a break. A dark and congested office will never improve the work environment. Place some greenery around the office. Let some fresh sunlight come in so that people feel recharged. Also, change your air filters and get the office cleaned regularly. A clean environment is sure to make a person feel more relaxed and will help in keeping employees happy.

    Involve Them

    Involve your employees in everything. Take opinions on every topic. They should know what business the company is doing and how their work is affecting the company. You can set up regular employees meetings for the exchange of ideas. The meeting should not be excessively serious and all work. It should have a light environment and everyone should be given a chance to share their thoughts and opinions any topics. This will make them feel more involved in the company matter and give them a feeling that they have a responsibility to hold. This is one of the most important points to Keep Employees Happy.

    Let Them Work at Their Own Ease

    With so much technological advancement you do not have to follow the old ways and lock your employees up in an office. Let them do their work at their own ease. If they have an emergency, let them work from the comforts of their houses. If they are completing their work, it is not necessary for you to constantly have them in front of your eyes.

    Give Them Time off Work

    If your employee has been doing a good job all year giving them an extended vacation is not bad. If they are a good employee, they will make sure that they complete their pending work on time. This has another advantage. The other employees will see this and want to work hard and earn their own perks.

    Encourage Them to Stay Fit

    A fit person is always a happy person. This does not mean that you need to tell your employees to go to the gym every day and lift weights. All you need to do is motivate them. You can build tennis or football or basketball court in your office. Or you can have an indoor gaming area where your employees can come and ease out the stress and also get some exercise. This will keep the endorphins in their body running and in turn, it will help Keep employees Happy.

    Conclusion

    As a leader, you should act as a role model. Employees would always imitate your actions. Show concern to employees by responding to their needs on time. Appreciate them by celebrating their achievements and where applicable give incentives. All this enhances production and inspires employees to work. Good employees are the backbone of the company and retaining them will go a long way in making the business a success, hence, keep these points in mind to maintain the smooth progress of the company.

    FAQs

    How you can motivate your employees?

    To motivate your employees, you should praise them, treat them with respect, don’t be impartial, and try to listen to their concerns.

    What are the best retention strategies?

    Provide your employee’s growth opportunities. Engage with your employees, reward them for their work and be impartial.

    What is the key to employee retention?

    The main points to do is to provide job satisfaction to the employee and keep them engaged, that is how you can retain your employees.

  • Benefits of Employee Engagement and Why is it Important for Success of your Organization

    ‌‌With the advancement of business all around, businessmen seek ways to enhance their employees and results. And with that, employee engagement is often taken as the ultimate solution or, in other words, you can say a silver bullet! For all challenges and obstacles that arise in a workplace, employee engagement is believed to improvise all of them.

    ‌‌Although employee engagement isn’t a magical antidote, it can surely bring great benefits to any organization. There are employee engagement platform that create such an effect on an organization that is beyond a general mindset.

    You might be wondering, how is that possible and why is employee engagement so important? Well, to answer this we have presented this article containing the importance and benefits of employee engagement. Let’s get started!

    Why is Employee Engagement Important?
    Benefits of Employee Engagement
    FAQ

    Why is Employee Engagement Important?

    Employee engagement can simply be defined as the strong mental as well as emotional connection between the employees and the organization they are working for.

    Employees are the major part of any organization and when you have a strong, loyal and devoted employee team, you experience great results. And this is literally proven that in places where employee engagement is done 70% of safety incidents can be saved.

    ‌‌When employees are well trained and engaged, we focus more on the task and results rather than worrying about their bosses and colleagues. Employee engagement has numerous benefits and guarantees the ultimate success for the company. Let’s get on with the benefits of employee engagement.


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    Benefits of Employee Engagement

    There are numerous benefits of employee engagement which include for the whole team, managers, and ultimate organization’s success. These are:

    Enhanced Team Performance

    Employee engagement may seem like an individual’s benefit. But, on the whole, it improves the entire team’s performance. This is because when employees are engaged, they work with full potential and at a higher level. That’s why when it’s a team of engaged employees, it’s concluded that you will receive better performance results.

    Also, when an employee is surrounded by an entire team of fully motivated and focused employees, they tend to feel more engaged towards their work and performance.

    Innovative Ideas from Employees

    Employees work with great dedication and focus when they are engaged. They present new innovative ideas and plans that will portray the company more promptly, on a wider platform. And when the employees are engaged with their work completely, they often find different ways to enjoy and not feel any pressure.

    When an organization supports and encourages its employees, they become more loyal towards the company and do their best for it.

    Improved Rate of Retention

    Research shows that around half of the employees want to quit their jobs because they do not get proper recognition, promotions, and payment. Often, employees get into some pretty serious work conflicts which makes them really disturbed.

    Every employee desires a good and healthy work environment and when they don’t get it, they seek better options. That’s why it’s very necessary to have employee engagement and improve the retention rate for any company.

    Enhanced productivity

    When employees are highly engaged, they tend to work more efficiently and with enhanced quality. The main reason behind this is that employees are completely invested in their work and that’s why they do everything to increase their productivity.

    Employee Engagement makes the employee more accountable and contributes towards their work which ultimately improves team productivity. It guarantees 100% productivity and it’s basically proven.

    Low absentee percentage

    With employee engagement, you get an extremely low absentee percentage. Engaged employees are more likely to show up to their work and perform brilliantly. And not just this, you’ll see that employees are more excited about their work and never leave any chance to miss it.

    You can always reach out to your employees and encourage them for their work. This way you will have better results in the end.

    Team Objectives are Accomplished Quickly

    One of the very major benefits of employee engagement is achieving the objectives stated by the team. In any workplace, achieving the target is very important and with engaged employees, your team gets to achieve it sooner.

    Because employees focus more on the team goals and tend to achieve them with better results. In fact, around 90% of employees believe that organizations can easily reach their target objectives in time. When your team members believe in achieving the objectives, there’s nothing that can stop them.


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    Conclusion

    Employee engagement brings you the best possible results of all kinds. With a whole team filled with motivation, excitement, and vision to take their company to great heights, you ultimately receive the best results and enormous success. You can imagine how beneficial it would be on the output and in the market.

    Through this article, we learned about some of the major benefits of Employees engagement. As with engaged employees, it is guaranteed that you’ll receive better performance and a healthy work environment.

    Engaged employees always bring a higher level of productivity and innovations into their work. And this always benefits the organization with great success.

    FAQ

    What is employee engagement?

    Employee engagement is the level of dedication and satisfaction an employee feels towards their job.

    What is the importance of employee engagement?

    Employee engagement ensures that your employees are motivated and remain committed to their work.

    What are the types of employee engagement?

    There are 3 Types of Employee Engagement, Actively Engaged, Not Engaged and Actively Disengaged