Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Our Story
    • Partner with us
    • Reach Us
    • Career
    Subscribe Newsletter
    HR KathaHR Katha
    • Exclusive
      • Exclusive Features
      • Research
      • Point Of View
      • Case In Point
      • Dialogue
      • Movement
      • Profile
      • Beyond Work
      • Rising Star
      • By Invitation
    • News
      • Global HR News
      • Compensation & Benefits
      • Diversity
      • Events
      • Gen Y
      • Hiring & Firing
      • HR & Labour Laws
      • Learning & Development
      • Merger & Acquisition
      • Performance Management & Productivity
      • Talent Management
      • Tools & Technology
      • Work-Life Balance
    • Special
      • Cover Story
      • Editorial
      • HR Forecast 2024
      • HR Forecast 2023
      • HR Forecast 2022
      • HR Forecast 2021
      • HR Forecast 2020
      • HR Forecast 2019
      • New Age Learning
      • Coaching and Training
      • Learn-Engage-Transform
    • Magazine
    • Reports
      • Whitepaper
        • HR Forecast 2024 e-mag
        • Future-proofing Manufacturing Through Digital Transformation
        • Employee Healthcare & Wellness Benefits: A Guide for Indian MSMEs
        • Build a Future Ready Organisation For The Road Ahead
        • Employee Experience Strategy
        • HRKatha 2019 Forecast
        • Decoding and Driving Employee Engagement
        • One Platform, Infinite Possibilities
      • Survey Reports
        • Happiness at Work
        • Upskilling for Jobs of the Future
        • The Labour Code 2020
    • Conferences
      • HRKatha Futurecast
      • Automation.NXT
      • The Great HR Debate
    • HR Jobs
    WhatsApp LinkedIn X (Twitter) Facebook Instagram
    HR KathaHR Katha
    Home»Exclusive Features»Morale building of field workers at ISS India
    Exclusive Features

    Morale building of field workers at ISS India

    mmBy Kartikay Kashyap | HRKathaApril 12, 2019Updated:April 12, 20195 Mins Read27666 Views
    Share LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
    Share
    LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

    People in the corporate world live a very busy life. Employees are busy chasing their targets and senior leaders are busy making plans to take the business to the next level. That is how we spend all our time in the office, working! On an average most working professionals spend around 9-10 hours in the office. Just rewind those 10 hours of your life and try to remember the first person you see when you enter your workplace premises – guarding your office, or the person who prepared and offered the afternoon meal for you. People who are serving tea, coffee and taking care of your guests and clients. People who make sure that your office toilets are clean. You might have been working for years in that same organisation but possibly you don’t even know their names.

    While that may be the case at a lot of organisations, but ISS Facility Services India, that provides such facility management services to public and private sector companies, makes conscious efforts to value them.

    The company day initiative

    To spread the message of unity at workplace and sensitise their managers about how it feels to clean someone else’s toilets, to serving food and performing various other support staff activities, the company has an initiative which is known as ‘the company day’ initiative. As part of this initiative, every year for one day, all the employees of the company, including the CEO, put on their cleaning gears and suits to work with the front liners.

    It is a global initiative which has been around for over 40 to 50 years.

    “India is divided into many classes. There were managers who used to wash their hands after having a hand shake with the frontline employees. This initiative helps to make these people understand what kind of challenges all the frontline employees go through, and helps in establishing a bond. It makes them realise that irrespective of whether you are a VP or any other senior leader, once you wear that uniform you become invisible,” says Alex Augustine, chief people and culture officer, ISS Facility Services, India.

    How ISS controls the turnover rates in its front liners

    Attrition at the ground level is maximum, for any business, but for businesses such as ISS, providing facility services to clients, these employees become the most critical. ISS Facility Services, India has some policies in place to control turnover rates for its frontline employees.

    “If there’s someone offering even Rs 100 more or providing free meals, you will see people leaving. It does not matter to them if they are wearing a blue colour uniform or a red colour uniform,” Augustine shares.

    Alex Augustine

    “India is divided into many classes. There were managers who used to wash their hands after having a hand shake with the frontline employees. This initiative helps to make these people understand what kind of challenges all the frontline employees go through, and helps in establishing a bond”

    As described by Augustine, the company aims to make sure to provide living wages so that they can make enough money for their family.

    ISS also provides enough opportunity for growth to their frontline employees. “We have stories of employees who have gone up to become managers, operation managers and general managers,” Augustine adds.

    Additionally, ISS has a strong R&R programme for these employees. They just do not believe in simply rewarding employees in monetary value, rather focus on creating a better employee experience.

    Though the company gives rewards which range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 25,000 but to create a better employee experience it also invites the best performers at its leadership forums, where they are felicitated.

    The best performers are also shortlisted to attend the global leadership summits in Europe, US and UK where they go on fully paid trips with the family and get to be a part of it, while being recognised for good work.

    ISS also has a policy called the ‘ISS family suraksha plan’ where if a worker dies during service, the family gets a compensation of Rs 10 Lakh and under the ‘work with the family’ theme the company even offers a job to one of their family members. Sharing his experience working with the company, Augustine says, “I have seen their wives being thrown out and children being deprived of further education earlier, but this programme helps them to continue their lives.”

    According to Augustine the biggest challenge in hiring the front liners in their company is the level of employability. To tackle this problem the company has a reskilling programme which includes class room trainings and practical classes which train these employees in their personal hygiene and grooming, usage of chemicals and cleaning tools, training on protective gears, taking safety measures while working at great heights at the job; and providing a safer working environment to the employees.

    ISS aims to create a sense of belongingness and care among its employees and the above initiatives help the company do so. For its clients these employees may be invisible, but for ISS they are the driving force of the company.

    Share. LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
    mm
    Kartikay Kashyap | HRKatha

    A mass communication graduate Kartikay is a quick learner. A fresh bake, yet a prolific writer, he is always keen to learn and discover new things. He is an easy going gallivanted and just likes to chill out when he is not chasing news. He loves watching movies as well.

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    13 − eight =

    Related Posts

    Red flags in job applications: What candidates miss but recruiters spot

    May 14, 2025

    A Nordic food giant’s HR strategy balances culture & coherence

    May 13, 2025

    The invisible wall: How tariffs are reshaping Indian tech’s talent strategy

    May 12, 2025

    How Accor is cultivating homegrown leadership in India

    May 9, 2025
    EDITOR'S PICKS

    Red flags in job applications: What candidates miss but recruiters spot

    May 14, 2025

    Managing Gen Z in the workplace: Listening to what isn’t said

    May 13, 2025

    People-first approach: Not a nicety but a necessity

    May 13, 2025

    A Nordic food giant’s HR strategy balances culture & coherence

    May 13, 2025
    Latest Post

    No right to retrospective promotion without DPC initiation: J&K HC

    News May 14, 2025

    The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has clarified that government employees cannot…

    Burberry plans to cut 1,700 jobs

    News May 14, 2025

    Luxury fashion house, Burberry is gearing to cut about 1,700 jobs globally as part of…

    Cancer-stricken employee fired after being denied remote work

    News May 14, 2025

    A disturbing account has emerged on Reddit detailing how a US health-insurance company allegedly mistreated…

    Burger King employee raises privacy concerns over personal camera in break room

    News May 14, 2025

    A Reddit post from an employee at a Burger King in Illinois has triggered fresh…

    Asia's No.1 HR Platform

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn WhatsApp Bluesky
    • Our Story
    • Partner with us
    • Career
    • Reach Us
    • Exclusive Features
    • Cover Story
    • Editorial
    • Dive into the Future of Work: Download HRForecast 2024 Now!
    © 2025 HRKatha.com
    • Disclaimer
    • Refunds & Cancellation Policy
    • Terms of Service

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.