OREANDA-NEWS. Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), announced its list of the Best Employers - India 2015 in an Awards Ceremony & Learning Conference held in Mumbai this past Friday.

Marking 15 years of the Aon Hewitt Best Employers program in India, the event covered key insights of talent and business evolution and trends observed during the past 15 years.

This year’s study saw the overall engagement score for Best Employers in India increase by 7 percentage points over last year to a whopping 83%. The market on the other hand remained stagnant with an increase of only 1 percentage point from last year at 66%.

The hospitality industry saw the highest average engagement score amongst all industries at 79%. Other industries with high engagement scores included Telecom and Media (72%) and Healthcare Equipment and Services (74%).

Out of the 99% of participating companies that measured Engagement, this year’s research highlighted some salient trends:

- Rewards & Recognition, Brand and Career Opportunities emerged as the top three areas where employees are demanding improvement from their employers
- Over 65% of Indian CEOs highlighted rising salaries and critical skills shortage as key concerns for their organizations
- Gen Y Engagement for Best Employers was at 85% (an increase of 14 percentage points from last year) and Women Engagement for Best Employers was at 82%  (an increase of 6 percentage points from last year)
- 6 in 10 Best Employers had direct reporting of the HR head to their CEO as compared to only 3 in 10 average organizations

“The 2015 edition of the Best Employers program has helped us identify what the future steps for organizations who want to engage their employees should be. We have looked back in history, and charted the path India Inc. has taken over the past 15 years,” said Sandeep Chaudhary, CEO for Aon Hewitt Consulting in India. “A key finding that has emerged is that Best Employers are not always the big and prominent employers One third of Best Employers have been small and emerging companies where the differentiator is not always about the most innovative practices, it is a lot about doing small things consistently.”

The following organizations were recognized as Best Employers in Indian 2015 (alphabetically):

Aon Hewitt Best Employer – India2015 Awards

Company Name (in alphabetical order)

Best Employer India 2015

Bajaj Finance Limited

Best Employer India 2015

Bharti Infratel

Best Employer India 2015

Blue Dart Express Limited

Best Employer India 2015

DHL Express India Pvt. Ltd.

Best Employer India 2015

Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Best Employer India 2015

Godrej Agrovet Limited

Best Employer India 2015

Godrej Consumer Products Limited

Best Employer India 2015

Marriott Hotels India Pvt. Ltd.

Best Employer India 2015

Roche Diagnostics India Pvt. Ltd.  

Best Employer India 2015

Starwood Hotels & Resorts India Private Limited

Best Employer India 2015

Whirlpool of India Limited

Best Employer India 2015 Commitment to Engagement

Bharti Infratel

Best Employer India 2015 for Gen Y

DHL Express India Pvt. Ltd.

Best Employer India 2015 for Women

Starwood Hotels & Resorts India Private Limited

Aon Hewitt Voice of Employee Award

Marriott Hotels India Pvt. Ltd.

“In the current complex and uncertain environment, employee engagement can be leveraged as a tool for driving culture and enabling change. Highly engaged employees are the bed rock of a successful organization, especially during times of change. Given this, it is encouraging to see organizations are focusing on measuring and analyzing employee needs and engagement levels”, said Tarandeep Singh, Partner and Engagement Lead for Aon Hewitt Consulting in India.

Apart from insights on the impact of Engagement on business results, a number of other interesting data points came out in this year’s Best Employers – India 2015 research:

Business and People Challenges

- Best Employers filled 32% more openings internally compared to market level.
- Best Employers achieve 40% higher growth in revenue than market average.
- Best Employers attain 25% higher growth in profits than market average.

Compelling Employer Brand

- Overall 54% of organizations have a clearly defined employer brand. However, only 24% of CEOs and HR are aligned on its nature.
- 82% of employees at Best Employers believe their organization delivers on promises, compared to only 64% of employees at participating organizations.
- 88% of employees at Best Employers would recommend their company, compared to 74% at a participating company.

Effective Leadership

- 82% of employees at Best Employers believe that senior leadership treat them as the organization’s most valued asset, compared to only 63% of employees at participating organizations.
- 82% Best Employers have rotational assignments program for developing their leaders compared to 63% participating organizations.
- 73% Best Employers have structured succession planning, compared to just 49% participating organizations

High Performance Culture

- Only 31% of organizations provide coaching to their managers on providing career advice to their teams, versus 45% at Best Employers.
- Only 53% of employees feel they receive appropriate recognition beyond pay and benefits for their contribution, versus 73% at Best Employers.
- 83% of employees at Best Employers believe their organization offers excellent career opportunities to strong performers, compared to only 64% of employees at participating organizations.

While the Best Employers study recognizes organizations that display standards of excellence, the journey to get there is one that Aon Hewitt recommends for every organization to embark upon.

“For organizations that don’t make it to the Best Employers list, but are aspiring to become Best Employers, we want to reinforce that this is a journey. Becoming a Best Employer doesn’t happen overnight, said Sushil Bhasin, Project Manager of the Best Employers Program for Aon Hewitt in India.  “It is possible for everyone to become a Best Employer, if you’ve articulated the destination you want to head to and have planned your journey wisely.”

Participation in the program brings a wide range of benefits for organizations, such as finding out how employees perceive and rate their employer, the reasons why they are attracted to certain employer brands, and the type of organizational culture they value sufficiently to “stay and strive”. The study also provides a benchmark against company competitors in the market. Participating organizations gain access to Aon Hewitt’s latest market research insights, along with the best and most innovative people practices of Best Employers.