How Can We Retain Employees in Remote Manufacturing Units? Seeking Ideas for Benefits and Support

My name is Srinivas, and I have 6 years of experience with a leading pharma company. I seek the help of all of you in understanding and knowing what benefits are given to employees who work in manufacturing units that are quite far from the city.

Manufacturing Unit Overview

We have a manufacturing unit that is almost 90 km from Hyderabad and has 750 employees working there at various levels. 25-30 people travel daily from Hyderabad in a company vehicle, and the rest all stay in areas at a distance of 25-35 km from the factory towards Hyderabad. Company buses operate in all three shifts from this place.

Employee Retention Challenges

Retaining employees for more than 2-3 years has become very difficult since the unit is in a remote area, and the preference of employees is to work close to cities due to the facilities available.

Seeking Suggestions for Employee Benefits

I request all my fellow HR seniors to help me in understanding what additional benefits/schemes/facilities to employees will help us in retaining employees?

Thanking you all in advance.

Regards,
Srinivas
HR

I am currently working in a pharmaceutical company. There are two key points that, in my opinion, need to be addressed:

1. Create a report to track the number of employees using the company bus services and those who are unable to use the bus. Present this data to management to request an increase in bus facilities for all employees.

2. Implement a policy stating that employees without access to the company bus services will be provided with a bus pass, and the amount will be reimbursed upon submission of a receipt.

By implementing these measures, employee morale and motivation are likely to improve, leading to increased interest and dedication towards the company.

Regards,

It appears from your post that commuting 90 km daily is the key factor for employees not sticking to your company for more than 2 years. You can explore the following options to address the situation:

1. If the majority of employees express willingness to stay at the place of your factory by shifting their families, then provide them enough House Rent Allowance (HRA) to enable them to rent houses at the place of work or provide housing.

2. If employees cannot shift their families to the place of the factory and need to retain their families in Hyderabad for academic or medical reasons, and the employee is willing to stay at the place of his work, you can consider reimbursing the house rent at the place of his work, in addition to the usual salary, as he has to maintain two establishments.

3. You can pay some extra amount in the name of hardship allowance, etc., to employees for daily commuting, making it attractive enough to retain them in the company.

4. Try to recruit people from nearer places than from Hyderabad if feasible.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
B. Saikumar

This is in addition to what the previous two members have said. Let us, for a while, think from the employees' point of view. Those who stay near the factory have the advantage of spending less time traveling to and from work. They can spend more time with family and engage in other activities. However, on the downside, they are away from the main city. In the nearby area, there may not be glitzy malls or multiplexes where they can spend their weekends. No hangouts with anyone! Possibly, there may not be better healthcare facilities. Worst still, there may not be international or global schools for their children. Please note, in today's environment, mere "English medium" schools are not sufficient. These schools need to be global or international.

Those who stay in Hyderabad enjoy the advantage of better schools or healthcare facilities, but then they could be spending at least three hours commuting from home to the factory and back. This deprives them of valuable time, and they cannot pursue any studies or spend quality time with family.

In fact, the problems that you have mentioned are not just for you but for others as well. Nowadays, everybody wants to work in big cities. This is because, in addition to the factors mentioned in the first paragraph above, their spouses could also get better employment. Therefore, the challenge is not just retention, but getting the right talent is itself a challenge.

Solution to Employee Retention Challenges

So, what is the solution? The real solution lies in the quality of the work environment. Indian manufacturing is still way behind in providing a high-quality organizational culture. When manufacturing plants are established to reduce capital costs, they are often located on the outskirts of the city. Furthermore, for top bosses, establishing the production plant means investing in world-class capital equipment. However, the realities of the job market are often ignored, and attrition erodes the worth of this investment, albeit invisibly.

There could be better facilities or welfare measures, but in the 21st century, these are not sufficient to retain talent. What staff want is to fulfill their self-actualization need (based on Abraham Maslow's theory of the hierarchy of needs).

Please confirm whether the work environment of your company is intellectually stimulating. If yes, how do you ensure that? If not, then you and your management need to think about how to achieve that. From my point of view, what your management needs to do is create a brand pull in the job market. This is far easier said than done and will take years. However, you need to start this process at some point. Furthermore, a tag of "MNC" is no longer a selling point as MNCs are widespread today.

These are my views. I do not know to what extent you agree with them.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance."

In my above reply, I missed asking a few vital questions. I should have asked those questions before giving a reply. Anyway, let me be a little late in asking them. Have you done attrition analysis? Is the distance from the main city the only factor that makes people quit? What are the other factors, and what has been done to address those factors? Have you conducted an Employee Satisfaction Survey (ESS)? If not, will your management be ready to execute this survey?

Attrition Challenges

Attrition is a challenge even for companies located at the heart of the city. The distance from the main city is one more reason that adds to your case. However, that cannot be the only reason, and you need to look into them as well.

Ok....

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

This is the hard fact of life. Commuting 90 km per day—one way—and expecting the workforce to put in their best, for reasons explained by other members, shall never work in the long run. Now that you have made an analysis of people turning over frequently, suggest starting recruiting good talents at a young age once every six to eight months. Provide them with good accommodation, a canteen, games provision, and a weekend trip to Hyderabad for an outing. This lot shall serve you for not less than two to three years. As they progress and get settled in life, the real involved workforce shall continue to serve, irrespective of their settling down in Hyderabad.

This nurturing and mentoring must be continuous. Over a period of five to ten years, your place shall also develop, and there will be fewer problems as faced now. It is a long-term plan—but worth trying.

Warm regards,
Mani (RVS Mani)
Lt. Col. (Retd)