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Johnson & Johnson


  From being among the top 10 best companies to work for last year, Johnson & Johnson (Consumer Products) leapfrogs into the top five in its 50th year in India.

  Candidness, as a corporate philosophy, sits well in the spick and span headquarters of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in Mumbai. Managing Director Narendra Ambwani, for instance, makes no bones about having some catching up to do on the compensation front. At the other end of the ladder, a greenhorn marketing executive quips:"Meet me outside and I'll be more honest." That's in response to a query by this writer about her experience so far at J&J'a response that's provided in the presence of J&J's General Human Resources Manager!

  Such banter right from the corner room to the cubicles and corridors flows thanks in the main to a strong emotional connect that employees at J&J have with the company. It's a connect that's been built over time.

  Recalls Vikas Srivastava, Vice President (Customer Development & Exports), who has been with the company for 13 years: "I had left the company after almost two years to join a partnership, but soon realised the difference in the work culture and approached J&J. My wife was pregnant at around the same time I was to rejoin the company. Not only did they tell me to delay the joining till my wife's first trimester was over, but they also gave me a month's leave at the time of delivery."

  J&J's employee benevolence goes beyond the workplace, and even beyond the personal or the family; it attempts to shape every aspect of an employee's personality, including the spiritual side. Explains Ambwani:"We are involved in a lot of community welfare projects and each employee is given an additional five days leave to go work for an NGO (non-governmental organisation) of his or her choice. This, we feel, is necessary for an employee's spiritual development."

  The standard menu of employee welfare is visible all over. This includes career counselling for employees' kids and a confidential helpline'J&J Mitr'for employees wanting advice on personal problems. As Trupti Mohan, General Human Resource Manager, says, working for J&J is just one aspect of an employee's life. It's a vital part, as the workforce isn't one that leaves the company in a hurry'the average tenure of an employee at J&J is well over 11 years. The annual attrition rate? 10 per cent.

  But that's hardly something that makes Ambwani complacent' not at a time when there's a talent crunch of sorts out there; and when companies, particularly those in high-growth sectors, are pushing the envelope on the recruitment front."It's a major challenge to match the compensation packages offered in today's job market. One is not pitted against just fellow FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) companies but also sunrise industries like retail, telecom, realty and aviation where marketing talent is much in demand," reveals Ambwani.

  But if J&J, 35-40 per cent of whose local revenues is estimated to come from consumer products, doesn't dole out that extra bit in wages, it tries to make up by loosening the strings of opportunity. For example, when the company identified competency gaps in two new areas'modern trade and the skin and beauty care business'it focussed on building a critical mass of people from within the organisation."To understand the complexities of modern trade, we sent a person from here to the US where J&J has a strong association with retail giant Wal-Mart," points out Ambwani. For skin care and beauty products, where J&J is planning a launch, it has identified talent for training at its Australian unit.

  Meantime, J&J managers are much in demand in foreign markets. An erstwhile marketing head, Swami Raote, is currently heading J&J in Indonesia; and last year Vice President (Marketing) Elkana Ezekiel was co-opted by J&J Singapore to take charge of its baby care products division as Franchise Director (Asia Pacific). Ambwani may have his concerns about his employees being poached, but a few more people like Srivastava would help allay some of those fears."On a Monday morning if I don't feel like coming to work, something is definitely amiss," quips the J&J veteran. He hasn't felt that way in the past 13 years. More About