9. Siemens Information Systems: Workgroup Focus

The company makes it to the Top 10 in its very first attempt, on the back of high employee satisfaction on most counts. But branding–internal and external–remains an issue
new entrant to the BES Top 20 survey, this Bangalore-based company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens (India). 

Increase in job load: 60% Reduction in motivational activities: 52.7% Higher stress at work: 50.9% Job security: 49.1%

High employee satisfaction on most parameters especially on training and job content. Low stress levels and high job security

Low external branding, employees feel left out of decision-making processes

I am very stressed at work: 12.7% I get a sense of great professional and personal accomplishment from the work I do here: 81.8%

I would definitely recommend this company to a close friend of mine: 87.2% Every morning I look forward to a day at work: 85.5%

It entered the top 10 list on the strength of excellent performance on employee satisfaction parameters (ranked 4th) even though its HR parameters weren’t particularly high
at #14.

Though SISL ranked among the top 10 on almost all individual employee satisfaction parameters, three key strengths emerged–training, job content and career growth prospects, and composite satisfaction. The last is interesting. When 

asked to rate their “overall satisfaction” with the company, employees actually ranked it much lower at #9. However, when asked to respond on individual statements relating to overall satisfaction (would recommend to a friend, pride in the company, look forward to a day at work etc)–the ranking was significantly higher at #2. It did very well on other statements with high correlation to overall satisfaction including stress and company culture. Usually, this means a significant lack of reinforcement within the company. Meaning–employees have what it takes to be satisfied but the company is unable to reinforce or reiterate those strengths internally.

Some of this showed up among other parameters. There is a distinct sense of higher satisfaction at the workgroup level while, at the same time, there is greater disconnect with the organization as a whole. Managers and peer relationships by and large did well, but among its relative weaknesses was a certain sense of bureaucracy. The company scored relatively lower on “communication on major decisions and changes”, transparent policies and procedures, and openness to ideas and suggestions from employees at the company level.

The company’s low decibel branding also extends to the external world. While 47% of its own employees named it as their dream company, not a single employee from any of the Top 20 in this list voted for SISL. While the company is not a major recruiter generally, this is an area it might need to address if and when it intends to expand significantly. Incidentally, 15% of SISL employees voted for Infosys and
another 11% said Microsoft.