How to win over your employees

For startups, mentorship plays a crucial role in building a strong team and helps in connecting with the employees

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Recently, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of the largest software companies in India, announced a one-time bonus to employees. The bonus payment is estimated to cost the company around Rs 2,628 crore. TCS is paying this as a special reward to the employees to mark the 10th anniversary of the company's initial public offering.

Anybody who has completed more than one year of service with TCS is eligible for this bonus and the company is giving one week’s salary for every year of service completed at TCS. I am sure the TCS employees have every reason to cheer and I am glad to see big companies like TCS acknowledging the contributions of the employees and appreciating it in the form of such special rewards.

As someone who has built four startups, it got me thinking. As every entrepreneur would agree, there are lots of exciting things in a startup. For a start, all the employees are crucial and need to contribute a lot to its growth. So, a startup needs a high level of employee engagement, without the money of large companies, to show their appreciation in the form of salaries or bonuses.

So how does one explain that the star team at any startup is seldom motivated only by money? There are a lot of other things—such as an opportunity to work on exciting new technologies, the thrill of working on many different tasks, the flexibility to work in one’s area of interest—that draws and keeps star talent in startups and early stage companies.

I am not saying that only these things are enough to keep the employees motivated and engaged. Here are a few things which companies, especially startups, could do to keep the employees engaged and enthusiastic:

# Mentor the Team Mentorship plays a crucial role in building a strong team and helps in connecting with the employees. It makes employees think outside their role, look at a bigger picture and grow into a more complete resource rather than just sticking to one kind of job. The employees certainly appreciate interactions with people from diversified areas.

# Involve Families
Organisations must recognise that the employees have families, which are their support systems. If organisations show some recognition through activities like family picnics, inviting families for company functions or through programmes like “Take your Children to a Day@Work ”, I am sure the families will develop positive feelings towards the company.

# Treat employees like humans and not resources
I had read that a company called Pontiflex in the Brooklyn area has converted their computer server room into a napping retreat. Employees can go and take their power naps there. As many a research would prove, napping is an excellent way of taking quick breaks and returning rejuvenated. It is important to make the employees feel more connected with their work and reduce their stress levels.

# Have Fun at Work
As German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Absolute seriousness is never without a dash of humour.” You can’t be serious all the time. Don’t make the words “fun” and “work” antonymous. Allow some fun at work—have fun parties, pyjama days, monthly fun activities (and make sure these are not cancelled because there are deadlines to meet), Thursday Night Movies in conference rooms and make sure that you make birthdays and anniversaries a special occasion for the employees.

# Encourage Entrepreneurship
I recently heard Kunal Shah, founder & CEO at FreeCharge.in, at the TieCon conference. When asked about hiring and retaining talent, he mentioned that if someone is leaving FreeCharge to be an entrepreneur, FreeCharge does not try to retain that person. It encourages him/her to take the startup path. Hubspot, a marketing software firm in Boston, has an in-house startup programme. If an employee has a new idea and plan, they appoint that person as the CEO of the new startup. Through such initiatives, companies can create the environment of innovation and responsibility within the company.

# Show Appreciation
Awards and recognitions are good ways of showing appreciations. Try something new—give hand-written notes to your employees. Drop by their cubicle to appreciate their work. Send out an appreciation email even on a small achievement. I have seen that hardworking employees take a lot of pride in knowing that their managers admire their work. It inspires them to continue doing good work.

In closing, here is a great one from Peter Drucker, the renowned management consultant: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I think a strong culture is a glue that fosters employee engagement. Startups have an advantage of being nimble and innovative. They don’t need tons of approvals to implement something nice. So why not go about doing a host of things that go well beyond money to earn employee engagement?

- By Shirish Deodhar, CEO & Co-Founder, Sapience Analytics

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.