The Hindu Business Line : Conveyance blues

The recent hike in prices of petrol and diesel has forced commuters to rework their transport options. Kishore Kumar, a senior project manager with a leading software services firm in Bangalore, says, “This is a rude shock and has prompted me to consciously make a few lifestyle changes that I normally would have shrugged off as ‘not worth it’.” These include using the company bus/carpool to commute to work, trimming his monthly petrol bill and walki ng to the supermarket for weekly grocery shopping. “My company is definitely not going to increase my conveyance allowance,” he frowns..

Companies certainly appear in no mood to pamper employees at present, as they themselves are working on tight budgets. Compensation structures are based on a cost-to-company model and organisations do not look at specific instances of rise in fuel prices to revise pay packages. “We do the COLA (cost of living adjustments) once a year at the time of salary review,” says C. Mahalingam, Executive Vice-President and Chief People Officer, Symphony Services.

At Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Labs, for instance, employees have a bus service but the usage charge has not been hiked, says Prabir Jha, Global Head, HR. And the company does not intend making ad hoc changes in its compensation structure either, owing to the hike in fuel prices. ING Vysya Life Insurance Co allows designated employees to claim official conveyance expenses. But the company has no plan to increase the allowance in the near future, says Priya Gopalakrishnan, Director, HR, ING Vysya Life.

Employees at MphasiS may be luckier though, as the company constantly reviews the compensation structure. R. Elango, Chief Human Resources Officer, says a decision on this would be taken soon.

Care to carpool?

But how proactive is Corporate India in encouraging employees to use carpool or company bus services?

At Wipro Technologies, for instance, the carpooling initiative is quite active through its employee portal (Channel W). This section helps employees reach out to commuters in their respective areas. “Soaring fuel prices are a concern not just for an individual but for the company as a whole. We are looking at addressing this concern through various organisation-wide measures like carpooling, Web and video conferencing,” says a Wipro spokesperson.

At MphasiS, too, carpooling is encouraged though it mostly functions on a voluntary basis and is run by employees through bulletin boards and word-of-mouth.

However, this arrangement does not work all the time as often the carpooling partners finish work at different times, says Sandhya Menezes, an HR manager with a Bangalore-based hardware MNC.

Agrees Mahalingam, “There are limitations to this arrangement as those participating in the pooling have to start for work and leave office at the same time.” Symphony also encourages carpooling, but again leaves it to the employees to find their carpooling partners.

At ING Vysya too there is no company-run carpooling system although employees do carpool according to individual preferences. Says Priya, “Often, employees do not necessarily end their workday at the same time, and this causes issues in a carpool system.” In addition to encouraging carpooling, MphasiS also runs company vehicles for pickup and drop services and more than 15 per cent of its workforce is using this facility.

Technology to the rescue

As a long-term plan, companies are encouraging employees to substitute travel with video conferencing, wherever possible, in an attempt to not only reduce the global carbon footprint, but also cut travel costs.

Wipro says that given the oil price hike and the nature of its global business, the company ensures that it uses collaborative communication tools to conduct global team/client meetings. “We feel that video- and Web-conferencing adds to savings on unnecessary travel and most of our employees use this tool for inter-office meetings.”

Jha of Dr Reddy’s says the company has always encouraged employees to leverage modern technology and communication platforms to support its global operations. “We have been using these as standard practices across our locations to keep us connected.” The use of Webcams and videoconferencing is, of course, normal and extensive in tech companies. Being a cost-conscious organisation, ING ensures employees leverage technology to avoid unnecessary travel, says Priya.

Videoconferencing, Web-conferencing, internal chats and dedicated phone bridges are all tools that employees at MphasiS actively use to stay in touch.

“Collaborative peer-to-peer technology-based tools are the order of the day. Intra-office chat, desk-to-desk technology and online project management have helped us minimise travel,” says Elango. The company has also incorporated project development tools which help developers confer online through high-speed Internet.

“We are acutely aware of the need to conserve fuel and are taking up simple steps to encourage Green IT among employees,” says Elango.

The aim is to optimise energy usage as well as meet operational requirements. Joseph Cherian, Managing Director of Global Franchise Architects, a group that operates speciality brands like Pizza Corner, Coffee World and Donut Baker, says the company is educating employees through an internal campaign on the dangers of irresponsible fuel consumption.

Limits on travel

Rising airfares also impact companies’ travel expenses. “Even before the recent hike (in fuel prices) we expected our associates to leverage technology and communications tools to the fullest and travel only when necessary,” says Jha.

Some companies have ensured that travel is strictly driven by organisational needs and only where videoconferencing is not effective. “As such, it is business-as-usual for us and there are no specific travel restrictions or cuts due to fuel hike. We have always been very prudent and careful with respect to travel requirements,” says Mahalingam of Symphony. In any case, the company does not have any field staff necessitating frequent travel outside Bangalore. “Our offices in India are in Pune and Mumbai besides Bangalore, and people travel to these locations as and when needed,” he says.

Priya says travel is unavoidable in some situations. “We encourage employees to travel only when the situation cannot be adequately addressed by other means. Rather than be prescriptive about such things, we provide a framework of guidelines to employees and their managers and they deal with each situation with maturity.”

Then of course there is the good old Indian Railways; high-fliers of yesterday have been asked by their bosses to look at rail travel for shorter distances. Overnight train travel is encouraged, particularly when it can save on hotel accommodation!

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