Happiness in the retail bag

Spreading happiness is the next big thing for companies. There’s a trend of companies appointing Chief Happiness Officers, a new C-Suite position. Well, then can a Happiness Movement be far behind? Dubai-based retail conglomerate Landmark Group rolled this out last year across its stores in GCC countries. Now the movement has landed in its Indian stores too. Among other things, the company that has brands such as Lifestyle and Krispy Kreme is creating Happy (hobby) clubs to encourage employees to share their hobbies, holding happiness workshops and fun activities every month. At the launch of the Happiness movement, Landmark also made policy announcements to improve work-life balance, increase productivity and provide support during medical exigencies.

Safer warehouses

Warehouses can be dangerous places for workers. Recognising this, Ambuja Cement has launched a Model Warehouse programme. The idea was to change the “dumps” where cement bags were deposited haphazardly, into clutter-free zones. Tripping, slipping and falling are common hazards. At model warehouses, supervisors, clearing and forwarding agents, transporters, drivers and labourers were all trained on safety. A three-pronged strategy of setting the basics right (infrastructure, amenities, and such), training and risk assessment, and maintaining operational discipline was followed. At present, the company has around 280 cement warehouses leased or outsourced to third-party providers. In 2016, 50 warehouses were targets for the Model Warehouse project. In 2017, this number doubled to 100.

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