If the employees of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) take up a self-development activity, from a list of prescribed activities, they get to work from other than the workplace. The WoW policy, which is short for ‘Work from other than the workplace’, was launched by Amarendu Prakash, chairman, SAIL recently.
The unique and first-of-its-kind human resource policy initiative is aimed at enabling “employees to focus on more strategic roles while being away from the designated workplace”. The WoW policy hopes to provide employees an opportunity to work on their professional development even while maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life.
This is also SAIL’s way of ensuring that the culture of learning and development is maintained within the organisation. A truly progressive policy, which will serve to motivate and engage employees, as was reportedly explained by KK Singh, director (personnel), Steel Authority of India, at the launch event.
That is not all; the company has tied up with LinkedIn Learning Hub to help its employees take up self-paced courses that will upskill them and increase their relevance in the rapidly evolving skill landscape. This is yet another step by SAIL to ensure the professional development of its staff members.
Steel Authority of India has always strived to ensure the well-being of its employees. The WoW policy is just one of the many progressive policies the firm has put in place. In 2020, SAIL had rolled out the ‘Shorter Working Period Scheme’, to allow employees to balance their domestic and professional life. All regular employees up to grade E-7 or the mid-management level, who had completed 10 years of service, were allowed to choose to work for three days in a week, or every alternate day, or for four hours every working day, or just 50 per cent of the working days in a month with a variable structure. However, employees who opted for the system received only 50 percent of their basic wage (including PP/stagnation increment, if any), a dearness allowance and perks, without affecting other benefits. The objective of the scheme was to ensure the self-development of the employees, and allow them time to add to their existing knowledge and skills, pursue hobbies, take vacations and spend quality time with their family.
