Work Culture

A proud inheritance

Tesco Hindustan Service Centre (Tesco HSC) at Bangalore has inherited the HR legacy of its parent organisation, the international retail giant, Tesco. Vinutha V writes about the company’s employee engagement policy

Tesco HSC is the shared-services arm of the UK-based international retail giant, Tesco Plc. The company, which started its operation in India in April 2004, employs 295 people and aims to grow to 770 by the end of 2005. The HR model at Tesco HSC is an exact replica of its parent company.

“Tesco is a well-known employer globally. Each element of HR is based on fundamental expectations of employees, such as trust, respect, appreciation and rewards. In India too, we draw from standards laid down by our parent company,” states Meena Ganesh, Chief Executive Officer, Tesco Hindustan Service Centre. At Tesco HSC, the HR section emphasises on recruitment of quality staff, enabling peak performance, winning their commitment and living with Tesco values. Sudeesh Venkatesh, Head, HR of Tesco HSC says, “When Tesco started its operations in India, it not only benchmarked the good practices of Indian IT and ITeS sectors, but included the exemplary practices of our parent company.”

No probation period

Tesco does not believe in putting its employees on probation. Right from day one, an inductee is considered a permanent employee. “Since we follow a rigorous hiring process with broad-based sourcing, screening, tailor-made technical tests, HR interviews and reference checks, we never intend to have probation time,” avers Venkatesh.

It’s a ‘Magic Monday’ at Tesco on the day of induction. It was named so after a new recruit at the parent company gave a feedback on the day-long induction programme by saying “It’s magical!” It begins with the introduction of individuals and a screening of a host of videos to understand the values, business and customers. In India, people are not fully exposed to international standards in retailing. Hence, Tesco HSC acquaints new recruits with Tesco retailing scenario through its programme called ‘Welcome to the world of retailing’.

Feedback, a top priority

Tesco HSC is a flat organisation and gives importance to feedback from employees. The clarity in roles, expected objectives and performance would help in achieving the target. There are multiple employee-run committees for food, transportation and entertainment, and they are given mandates to figure out what employees want in their respective areas.

The company is in the process of building a recreation centre and a library for which the respective committees were asked to come out with a plan by getting feedback from the staff. “We went to the extent of asking every employee to give a list of books they want for the library,” explains Ganesh. Once every six months, employee satisfaction is measured through the ‘View Point Survey’. The fact that people are comfortable and straightforward in voicing their opinion is evidence of the trust the company has on them and the importance it gives to their feedback, states Ganesh.

Uniqueness of policies

Workforce Profile

The company makes sure that employees remain motivated at every stage of their work. Tesco HSC seeks employee opinion while creating any new policy. ‘Fun on Friday’ conducted every week comprises anthakshari, cricket and quiz competitions. The entire staff is divided into four groups named after cartoon characters—Asterix, Calvin, Tintin and Garfield.

Unlike the regular procedure to offer gratuity after a continuous stay of five years, Tesco HSC has a gratuity policy for those who stay at least three years. “Since people in the industry are always stressed because of work pressure and commuting, we allow 30 days of leave.In addition to maternity leave, we also provide paternity leave and adoption leave for parents who opt for adoption of kids,” says Venkatesh.

When it comes to flexibility of working hours, employees can themselves build flexibility by communicating with their respective managers without affecting the delivery of work.

vinutha@expresscomputeronline.com