BPOs offer goodies to lure staff on Diwali

Diwali festivities have entered the corridors of India Inc with companies doling out gifts and bonuses to their employees, but BPO firms working for clients in the western world are trying hard to keep the work flow going even on the 'D'-Day.

Diwali falling on Friday is making the job even tougher for these companies as employees are looking forward to a three-day holiday after clubbing the weekend.

Companies with obligations to their clients in the US and Europe, where Diwali is not celebrated and it would be a working day on Friday, are offering their employees perks like double-salary, extra allowances, free food and parties for the night.

"We will create a Diwali-like environment at the office itself with all the lights, gifts, sweets and even some firecrackers outside the office premises," said the HR executive of a leading BPO service provider in Gurgaon.

There are also companies such as Convergys, a US-listed BPO major, which are enticing their employees to work on Diwali day (or night) with the promise of a double-salary.

"The employees who work with us on Diwali are paid double the salary for that day," Convergys Asia Vice-President (Human Resources) Tim Huiting said.

"Diwali festivities would begin a day in advance tomorrow itself at Convergys. We have organised a formal 'puja' apart from a carnival, contests, team sports, DJ party, dinner and gifts to be given to all employees," Huiting added.

We have active employee engagement teams to ensure that the entire company celebrates big festivals together, he said.

"We try to create an entertaining evening with special on-the-house food for those working on Diwali," BPO services provider Infovision's CEO Aditya Gupta said.

While Infovision does not provide any extra salary or allowances, it does give its employees a "compensatory off" in lieu of working on Diwali. "We make it a point to provide the festive feel to employees in the office," Gupta added.

Besides, there are a number of companies, working for clients in other countries on a 24/7 basis, that pay one-time additional allowance ranging from Rs 2,000-20,000, depending on the grade of the employee.

In addition, BPO and IT service providers also give their employees the usual Diwali gifts, sweets and bonuses, as practised in other industries.

The country's biggest carmaker Maruti is organising a Diwali bash for its 18,000 employees and their family members.

"The company is also giving half of the variable part of the employees' annual salary on the occasion of Diwali," Maruti's Executive Director (HR) S Y Siddiqui said.

"This is a good time to create a bonding with our employees and their families.

This year, we are giving Sodexo gift vouchers so that they can shop as per their needs," Apollo International Chief HR Officer Vijay Rai said.

Apollo International is also organising Diwali Puja and get-together where employees have been invited along with their families, apart from distributing sweets, Rai added.

"We have already given personalised cards and a tea set to our employees and the festivities will continue during this week," US-headquartered software firm Global Logic's Vice- President (People and Corporate Development) Rajul Garg said.