ESOMAR YRA-2011 Preriit K Souda Six people Six lives One hope

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SIX PEOPLE SIX LIVES ONE HOPE
LISTENING TO EMPLOYEES
Preriit K Souda
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SIX PEOPLE SIX LIVES ONE HOPE
LISTENING TO EMPLOYEES
Preriit K Souda
INTRODUCTION
In the last 24 months, many of my friends moved to new jobs. Some changed for obvious reasons; while others had some
new reasons to shift. Retention has become a significant issue with Human Resource departments worldwide; just to give
an idea of the problem, British companies lost £42 billion in 2009 due to an attrition rate of 10.5%, while in 2010 the
attrition rate was around 24%, according to a Telegraph article published in October 2010. It prompted me to think about
why people switch jobs and what I could do (if I were a Human Resources-HR manager) to retain them.
To understand and gain insights on the phenomenon of attrition, secondary data analysis was carried out on available
macroeconomic data ranging across happiness and factors affecting job satisfaction. Based on this, hypotheses were
generated which were validated through primary research (cross-continental survey). For bringing core issues to life, six
different pen-portraits were created to visualize different problems faced by employees. We also created a seventh
character (The Hope) called Dr. Chuck. He is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (USA) does research
on HR policies and is an avid tweeter.
HOW IT ALL HAPPENED (METHODOLOGY)
Before I move ahead it’s important to mention that not a single dollar was spent on this entire project. I started off with a
simple purpose in mind; for a knowledge worker, what can make their life at office better? But life at office is not only
about life between the cubicles, it is affected by factors that go beyond the four walls of the office. Hence, I expanded my
objective of study to a greater impact - what makes people happier in life with a primary focus of interest on their
professional life.
I divided my secondary data research into two parts. First the macro level study where overall happiness or satisfaction
with life was analyzed. In the second part, I analyzed various office related factors contributing to overall professional
satisfaction. For overall happiness, I took an index called Positive Wellbeing Index (yearly) used by OECD and measured by
Gallup. Positive Index measures the wellbeing experienced by respondents. Eighteen attributes of wellbeing were used
which were condensed into six factors and found contribution (towards Positive Index) using a methodology called
Bayesian Belief Network (Precision - 83%). This gave me an idea as to how much quantitative attributes contributed to the
Positive Wellbeing Index.
Moving on to in-office analysis, I used data available from the various offices of TNS and other companies working in
Employee Insights and ran analysis on that data. Data made available was continental data, of which one of the attributes
available from the existing dataset was the Overall Satisfaction Index (office). I linked this index with five other attributes
like Motivation to rejoin company, Perceived strength of company in market, etc. and found their relative contribution on
office satisfaction index using PLS regression. I also obtained continental metadata on opinions of employees on 54
attributes. I used correspondence maps which showed the relative performance of each continent on each of the 54
attributes mentioned above.
After having studied all this data, I had a clear view on the problems faced in different countries and continents. But
problems need to be solved. Hence I researched several HR documents, articles in management consulting literature and
best HR practices used around the world, held talks with HR consultants and talked to people from different geographies
about different and innovative HR policies used in their respective countries. Based on this exercise, I came out with a list
of possible solutions to various problems. Now in order to find possible acceptance for these solutions, a primary survey
was to be used and in order to keep the survey to a manageable size, the most important solutions were kept inside the
survey for testing.

Now I had two aspects on the table, Problems and Solutions. Different countries, different cultures: should I go for
different surveys for different countries or a single survey worldwide? I found that several HR departments of various
MNCs are converging to similar worldwide practices. Different countries may be at different stages of economic
development but basic intricacies of white collar work were similar (unless affected by law or society). Additionally, with
MNCs converging to these universal HR practices, local companies are also being forced to be on the same page in order
to retain talent. Hence I decided to roll out a single worldwide survey.
The survey was launched in six languages- English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese. Initially survey links
were sent to my contacts in the United States, India, United Kingdom,, Australia, Canada, Netherlands and Scandinavia, and
they were asked to pass it on to their colleagues. On the other side, a link was posted on several groups on LinkedIn
(alumni networks to HR groups to networking groups for professionals), several IEEE forums, blog forums for business
professionals and industry specific forums. OECD, World Economic forums, European Youth Development, and WPP pages
on Facebook were also used, in addition to some 50 other Facebook pages. For China, links were posted on QQ while for
Japan mixi was tried. Yet posting a link only may not help you capture attention; there needs to be constant activity on a
posted link to get people interested. Several techniques were used for that. Finally, I succeeded in gathering around 400+
(433 to be precise) responses in 144 hours.
WHAT I FOUND AND WHAT OTHERS SHOULD DO
(FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS)
Happiness
Secondary data analysis on OECD data showed that the Positive Index (Overall Happiness) was being affected by
Employment- 38%, Financial Health- 22%, Life (Health)-18%, Work and Leisure- 14%, Support System- 3%, Law and
Order- 2%, Education-0.5%. (Driver Analysis used: Bayesian Belief networks.). Dr. Chuck’s tweets, “Professional life being
among the most important factors affecting overall happiness and hence influencing factors like, say, health which is linked
with professional benefits (insurance, wellness programs, etc.), profession can increase influence of its impact on overall
happiness. Hence HR departments should strive to contribute (indirectly) to the overall happiness of their employee.” (See
figure 1.)“
Fig 1: Effect of Employment

IN THE OFFICE
Based on driver analysis on cross-continental TNS data on employee satisfaction, I found that important attributes
contributing to the Job Satisfaction Index are Colleague Co-operation, Salary, Pride in work, Training and Benefits. Further
breakdown showed the following as illustrated in figure 2.
Fig 2: Job Satisfaction Index
Pay, Communications from management and Career Growth are motivators for Asians and Europeans but they are
dissatisfied with these. In Europe, Change is viewed negatively. Health, Safety and Adequate time allotted to do work are
Hygiene factors for European workers. While they are satisfied with Health and Safety, they are dissatisfied with the latter.
Asians are satisfied with the extent of concern for quality by their management and safety. Colleague support is a big
motivator for Asians and they seem to be satisfied with this aspect. (See figure 3.)
Fig 3: Motivators & Hygienics in Europe & Asia

Analysis across regions revealed differences and common themes. Let’s look at differences first, through our pen
portraits…
HATSUTO MORIOKO (TOKYO, JAPAN)
Hatsuto Morioko works as a design engineer in a big technology company based in Tokyo. Hatsuto is overworked, clocking
almost 12-14 hours every day and is not even complaining. While I worked on this project, I questioned myself whether
Hatsuto is one of the few work-committed Japanese employees or is he one of many; isn’t this overwork affecting his
overall happiness in life?
Rich western countries score low on rest while Japan, though being in the same category, scores high on it. But vice
versa is seen on enjoyment. This confirmed the belief that Japan has serious work-life problems and was further
strengthened by WHO papers showing work-life problems along with other issues like declining birth rates, long working
hours and detached personal life. Hence, Hatsuto is not an odd man out. It’s a problem grappling Japanese workplace (and
society) in totality. Dr. Chuck tweets, “Japanese workers need to spend more time on leisure and with their families even on
weekdays. Work-life balance needs to be promoted by HR departments in Japan. Organize seminars to promote work-life
balance, give access to work-life consultants and give greater flexibility options”.
MARTA STEWART (LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM)
Marta is always unhappy and attributes her unhappiness to work related problems; wants to leave her present job. She
says that she is overworked, gets deadlines difficult to meet, ends up burning the midnight oil and remains irritated all day
long. She just wants to get out of this job.
According to BBC, one-third of the British population has sleep problems resulting in daytime sleepiness and lack of
freshness. Our cross-continental analysis also revealed dissatisfaction with time allocated for given work. Dr. Chuck
tweets, “Marta needs to have an honest discussion with her supervisor about time allocated to do the work. She also needs
to consult work-life consultant and discuss her sleep patterns.” (See figure 4.)
INSIDE THE OFFICE (MOVING ON TO COMMON THEMES ACROSS THE GLOBE..)
Based on Cross Continental Survey
Fig 4: Factors affecting Job Satisfaction. Shown here are percentage of respondents satisfied(right) or dissatisfied(left)
on these attributes

Survey respondents place salary and colleagues as top influencers on job satisfaction; career growth also figured out as
an important factor. When asked about their satisfaction on these different factors, salary and benefits came out as the one
with lower satisfaction ratings and highest dissatisfaction. Salary being a very important factor impacting satisfaction, low
ratings is a concern. Career growth (another important factor) also showed lower satisfaction ratings and higher
dissatisfaction. There is dissatisfaction with senior management and job related training. Though respondents were
satisfied with their colleagues, company’s culture showed low satisfaction ratings. Dr. Chucks tweets, “Team chemistry is
important; but it’s the company’s culture that influences how colleagues gel with each other. Often teamwork (colleagues) is
defined as an influencing factor in job satisfaction but it’s the company culture that influences teamwork. Company’s culture
in turn can be managed and moulded (if need arises) which can influence team chemistry and hence leading to overall
satisfaction. “
Only 59% of people believed that their work would make the world a better place, indicating a need for companies to
project the wider impact of their work which in turn could add pride that affects job satisfaction. Seventy-eight percent of
employees feel the need for ethics training while 40% need an open door policy. Dr. Chuck tweets, “Both stem from the
dissatisfaction with senior management after 2008. Many people cited the 2008 debacle where senior management was let
off with golden parachutes while lower staff had to suffer. Adding ethics training and increasing exposure of senior
management to employees will reduce the mistrust of Senior Management.”
ALEX ZHANG (EUROPE)
A few months back, Alex took up a lucrative job as a factory manager for a retail chain. A young employee, he had barely
completed his education but managed to get a transfer when his company opened a new plant in a European country. He
was to lead a bunch of native workers (some young, some elder to him). He left the job in four months. He attributes his
failure to the country’s work culture. Was this the reason or was there some fault on Alex’ side? Let’s look into issues
concerning colleagues.
While it’s obvious that the majority (91%) would like to consider themselves sincere to their colleagues, sincerity ratings fell
down by 20% when asked about sincerity towards them. Eighty-nine percent of respondents were comfortable working
with multinational colleagues and 80% didn’t mind having a supervisor from another country. Dr Chuck tweets,” Dislike for
people based on nationality is thing of the past”. Yet around 56% of respondents were uncomfortable working for a
supervisor (like Alex) with lesser qualifications. Age does not seem to be a concern between colleagues except when your
supervisor has counted lesser birthdays than you (53%).
Dr. Chuck tweets, “Companies should take into consideration age/experience and education before placing him/her in
supervisory positions. In cases where the supervisor has educational superiority but has counted lesser birthdays, onus lies
on young managers to respect age differences and avoid getting into age conflicts. Similar advice holds for managers like
Alex where they need to give respect to employees with higher education while putting in more efforts to earn respect as an
able supervisor.”
Fifty-two percent of respondents showed interest in having forums providing them access to network with their
colleagues worldwide. Dr. Chuck tweets, “Usage of such forums needs to be emphasized further by HR departments as it
not only eases off collaboration issues but also creates a closely knit social structure which can help retain employees.”
Ninety-one percent felt the need to update their professional skills. This indicates that white collar workers are becoming
aware of the need to update. Sixty-two percent said that they had indicated their desire to update to their companies. Yet
when asked if they would like to go to college to update their skills, only 38% showed interest while 28% were unclear. On
the other side 77% were interested in attending seminars and other short duration learning events. Fifty percent of
respondents who had attended some kind of seminar found them useful in daily work. This indicates that employees need
short doses of skill update and not the longer ones like a college degree. Dr. Chuck tweets, “This raises the need for
Executive programs (that have been on rapid rise lately) and HR departments need to tap in on this trend. A tie with a
university can also be helpful for companies who wish to keep their employees updated.” Employees can also get on-job skill
updating in innovative techniques by involving academicians in live projects where academicians bring in their innovative
ideas and employees learn on job.
Fifty-five percent were fine with their work related travel while 21% were neutral. There was no clear opinion on the use
of teleconferencing as 31% liked this option and an equal number disliked it while the others remained neutral. One
possible reason can be technical glitches that make teleconferencing an unpleasant option or another possible reason can
be the belief that meeting in person is more effective than the virtual meetings. Dr. Chuck suggests dual usage of physical
travel and teleconferencing, saving money while also giving employees a chance to interact in real.

Flexibility has been gathering a lot of interest lately and 84% of respondents prefer flexible working hours while 70% are
ready to adjust their time for project needs. Dr. Chuck calls this as a mutual give and take. This is an important finding for
companies which do not believe in flexibility or despite being in rule book don’t enact it.
ADAM PAYSON (NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES)
In talking about hiring and firing, one person who is always at the top of my mind is Adam Payson. Adam recently got a job
in a financial company dealing in currency trading. He had been unemployed for the last 18 months. He worked for a big
financial giant that fired him during 2008 debacle. An extremely talented and successful analyst from Dallas, TX was let off
as the company could not afford him. Had I been the HR manager, could I have retained a talented guy like him while still
not impacting the balance sheet?
Fifty percent of respondents were satisfied with their company’s hiring policies and 61% wanted to be a part of the
process by acknowledging the need for employee referral programs. Dr. Chuck tweets, “Employees want to have a say in
who joins their company; colleagues affect their overall satisfaction and hence need to be facilitated by HR dept.” On the
other side, 56% were neutral on their company’s firing policies. This response is not shocking, given that there is optimism
on the American economy’s revival and Indian/Chinese companies have not yet adopted hire/fire policies to the extent
adopted by the west.
Dr. Chuck tweets, “Firing needs to be explained to an employee (like Adam) with an honest discussion (honest exit
interviews). An interesting solution that has been used by several companies is to send their employees for say a 6 month
partial paid leave for social work (instead of firing them).” Forty percent of respondents showed their readiness for this
option while 33% might consider this. This option can help companies retain their talent (like Adam) during a downturn; can
also enhance its social brand equity. Because firing affects employee morale and productivity, some of the ways to avoid
firing can be- reduction in salaries, allowing employees to work part-time in non-competitive industries, cutting benefits and
reducing their hours of work or sharing employees between departments.

On talking with several HR consultants, the need for temporary or project based workers came out in discussions. But
63% of respondents rejected this option which is obvious given the lesser security this option holds. Yet with changing
economies and profits pinching companies, this option is becoming a hard necessity to swallow. Dr. Chuck’s research
reveals that companies need to increase the monetary incentives given to temporary employees to make this option
worthwhile. Companies do not have to give employees long term benefits, leading to massive savings.
PRAKASH PATEL (MUMBAI, INDIA)
A week ago I saw an interesting article in a magazine which reminded me of Prakash Patel. He recently changed his job.
He wanted to be a senior manager after being manager for the last two years but his organization was not giving him
growth. He is an extremely dynamic and performance oriented guy. Prakash is a big loss for any company. But what can
an HR dept do when they are unable to give vertical growth? Career growth is an important factor affecting satisfaction
and has very low satisfaction ratings. There are operational issues in getting everyone promoted at equal rates.
Dr Chuck tweets, “Instead of vertical growth, horizontal growth should also be considered in which employees gain
exposure to various departments, leading to an increase in their overall knowledge about the company’s operations.” Forty-
seven percent of respondents showed interest in this option while 38% will consider the option. Sixty-five percent of
respondents also approved of having an internal job/project board where they can apply for jobs/projects that interest
them. Internal job boards can also help in facilitating horizontal movements; hence easing off the pressure to give vertical
growth.
Pay and benefits were found to be the most important attribute and one with the lowest satisfaction ratings. Forty percent
of respondents showed interest in variable pay while 38% showed interest in considering this option. Dr. Chuck tweets,
“HR depts. should promote this option with greater interest given that respondents are ready to take risk on pay while still
enjoying the safety of having a job. This option can also be used when companies are unable to give career growth to young
dynamic workers (like Prakash) but wishes to retain them.”
Regarding benefits, health insurance appeared to be the most valued benefit. Sixty-four percent believed that health
concerns affected their work life while only 37% wanted their company to track their health (possible reasons can be
mistrust and privacy issues).

Dr. Chuck tweets, “Introduce a point based tier/stage system (like a videogame or a
layered cake with various stages-which is customizable by employee’s preference). (See
figure 5.) Employee needs to gain certain number of points based on performance to
reach these tiers and maintain on that tier; result of which they get related benefits.
Figure 5
RADHA SINGH (BANGALORE, INDIA)
Lastly, let me introduce Radha Singh, a corporate lawyer who works in one of the high courts of India consulting mainly on
corporate discrimination cases on gender bias. She had left active practice due to her pregnancy but joined back a year
later but fell three years behind her male colleagues; forcing her to join her junior’s law firm as an assistant lawyer. Her
story sparked the need to ask about gender issues in my survey and look for possible solutions on issues concerning
women’s career growth.
On gender issues, 64% believe that gender did not affect work productivity but 65% believed that maternity leaves affect
women’s professional growth. Additionally, seventy-four percent of respondents considered the gender of their supervisor
irrelevant. On breaking up these findings on the basis of gender, women were expected to rate higher on being
discriminated or having stronger views on women issues. But the differences in male and female opinion were marginal
(8% - 10%).
Dr. Chuck tweets, “Today’s younger generation feels that gender bias belonged to the past and are hopeful of what lies at
future workplaces”. In order to reduce maternity’s effect on women’s professional growth, work and time flexibility can be
offered while women employees are on their maternity/post pregnancy periods. Maternity aid (financial) can also be used to
help women pass through early ages of child. Due to population decline in several parts of the world, these steps can be
helpful not only to women employees but also to society in general. Shared parenting concepts like paternal leaves can also
be considered in addition to help from Work-Life Consultants.
Finally Dr. Chuck tweets,
“Follow my advice and you can retain your future generation of employees”.

ESOMAR YRA-2011 Preriit K Souda Six people Six lives One hope

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