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That cricket hits workplace productivity is something even Barack Obama is aware of. “I don’t know about cricket but still I watch cricket to see Sachin play. Not because I love his play (but) because I want to know why my country’s production goes down by five per cent when he’s batting,” the US President once said.
That same Sachin is going to be top-of-mind over the next week as he plays his last Test. This time, though, companies plan to make use of the occasion to boost employee morale and reward high performers.
For instance, employees of the Videocon group are being allowed a days’s casual leave to watch the match in Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium. Chairman Venugopal Dhoot, an avid cricket buff, is willing to give staff the day off when the Master Blaster bats.
There is a catch, however. Employees will have to produce a ticket stub as proof. Given that tickets on kyazoonga.com are sold out, it looks highly unlikely that many will be able to pull it off.
But Dhoot has a solution. Videocon has 100 tickets for the Test, which starts on Thursday. High-performers will be rewarded with a ticket to the company box, where they will rub shoulders with other guests from across the world, including business partners, clients and dealers from the UK and Brazil.
“Most of the employees are from our oil division. We wish to reward them for their extraordinary performance last year,” said Dhoot, speaking to Business Line .
Employees and dealers who do not figure in this guest list can buy tickets and get them reimbursed.
Others, such as software solutions company Tech Mahindra, are capitalising on the hype of Tendulkar’s farewell Test to cozy up to key customers, stakeholders and employees.
Some employees will get the chance to see Tendulkar live if they crack an internal quiz on the maestro’s life and achievements. Two winners will get tickets to the Wankhede stadium, said a spokesperson.
Those who miss out can still watch the match at Tech Mahindra’s auditoria in Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad.
RPG group company KEC International plans to deploy large screens in its recreational area for employees. It has also released apps based on Tendulkar on its internal portal, said Yugesh Goutam, Executive Director, Human Resources.
On match days, the company will conduct a quiz on Tendulkar.
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