The Hindu Business Line : It pays to encourage and reward employees to innovate

New Delhi, Jan. 5 Automotive companies seem to be gaining as much as employees from the employee incentive programmes they have introduced to bring about innovation or boost productivity. Companies such as Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), Maruti, and Mahindra are finding that innovation-centric programmes are increasingly helping them to either develop a new product, save costs or in some cases even file patents.

In the case of TKM, such programmes have enabled the company to clock as many as 70,000 improvements in the production process. “We encourage our employees to constantly think of ways that would make their work simple with lesser costs and resources,” said the TKM Deputy Managing Director, Mr K.K. Swamy, as he revealed the whopping number.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has been able to save Rs 50 crore in 2006-07, up from Rs 30 crore in 2005-06 through such schemes. “Based on the number and quality of recommendations offered by our employees, we have been able to send 600 of our technical workforce for training to Japan,” said Mr M. M. Singh, Executive Director, Production, Maruti Suzuki India.

Apart from sending them to training programmes overseas, companies also reward employees with financial increments or exotic domestic trips with their families. In the case of Mahindra, employee endeavour has led to the filing of patents or introducing new features.

“Employee recommendations have contributed to the newer version of Scorpio launched in March 2006 which had 43 new features, the latest edition of the Bolero and the Maxi Truck. Last year, three patent applications were the outcome of such schemes,” said Dr Arun Jaura, Senior Vice-President, Global Product Development, Mahindra & Mahindra.

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