Karnataka - Bangalore

Acts that mean more than money

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: Offices and other workplaces considered "fun places" have usually better productivity. There is something about the atmosphere of such places where ideas freely float around and innovative things keep happening.

"It pays to transform your working atmosphere to a place where people are more relaxed, feel less stressed and are able to innovate. Small gestures or appreciation and rewards for good work often go a long way,'' says former human resource head and now consultant, M.K. Rao.

It helps if team leaders and managers are easily accessible and can be communicated with at least by phone or e-mail.

An employee with a genuine grievance or a good suggestion, often has no access to the decision-makers, he has found. This can be solved to some extent if there are informal meetings with individual teams and not just the team leaders. But the communication at such meetings has to be two-way affair to be of use.

"For many employees and even team leaders, speaking freely to the mid-level or top management is not easy. Many company presidents or vice-presidents are not even visible to the staff,'' he says. Physical and psychological barriers are often created, especially in the older organisations. By the time an original idea reaches the decision-makers, too much time has elapsed and sometimes, the wrong person takes the credit for an idea that works.

Psychotherapist Sunanda Rao has found one idea that helps: "Have a bulletin board where ideas can be pinned up and also a short note from the management saying such ideas are welcome, whether they eventually work out or not. These are small gestures which count even more than monetary rewards,'' she says.

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