Elsevier named a Best Employer in India by Kincentric
March 16, 2022
By Catherine Adenle
The Kincentric awards are based on employee surveys and organizational practices for an impactful workplace culture.
In the image above: Elsevier's recently retrofitted Chennai office is now an Agile/flexi office with 1,000+ staff. All the desks were replaced with height-adjustable tables with some open collaboration seats and décor pieces. Elsevier India also has offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.
Recently, Kincentric(opens in new tab/window), which provides employee engagement and HR consultancy services around the world, announced the winners of its 2021 Best Employer awards. I’m delighted to share that Elsevier was named a Best Employer in India.
In selecting the awardees, Kincentric looks at how businesses are gaining a competitive edge over their competitors by being good employers. They find out what businesses do to attract, retain, motivate and engage their employees.
This award is especially notable because the results are based on the opinions of those that matter most — our people. Our HR leaders in India worked with Kincentric's culture and engagement survey experts, who conducted a detailed employee engagement survey. Then Kincentric utilized a rigorous evaluation process heavily based on the employee experience to audit and assess employee feedback and organizational practices for truly impactful workplace culture.
A jury with rich experience analyzed the results by country, market and region, using the survey data collected from our employees in India.
Receiving this award is especially inspiring as it comes after months of lockdowns due to the pandemic, where our people leaders in India worked hard to engage with employees remotely and manage the extra pressures that home working placed on employees.
An environment where people can thrive
Surya Suriyan, Surya Suriyan, Digital Media Producer for Health Content Management based in Elsevier's Chennai office, shared with us the ways Elsevier has supported her in finding time for her personal and professional development, both during the pandemic and beyond:
Elsevier has not only provided professional development, my colleagues helped me realize that personal development is very important. Having participated in the Developing Female Talent Flex Track Program last year, I had the opportunity to complete the Emerging Leaders Programme(opens in new tab/window), developed by our parent company, RELX(opens in new tab/window), and Harvard Business Publishing. As part of this program, I received guidance to further define my career goals, purpose and connection. The program also allowed us to form a mentoring connection. My mentor is a colleague in Oxford, and she is guiding me further in my career journey.
Surya Suriyan
In an interview with Forbes India(opens in new tab/window), Kulpreet Kaur(opens in new tab/window), Head of HR for Elsevier’s parent company, RELX(opens in new tab/window), in India, commented on how they have worked to support staff over the past two years:
There were no job losses or pay cuts due to the pandemic. Salary increases were timely, and we provided additional insurance cover, home care reimbursement, hospital isolation beds for employees.
As our people grapple with the pandemic, we want them to have the assurance that the company is making every effort to support them and their loved ones in every way we can, and that we’ve got their backs.
She also noted the company’s commitment to supporting talent within the organization, saying:
Nearly half of Elsevier's workforce is female — even at the top and senior leadership level — showing our deep commitment to inclusion and diversity. We believe in an 'internal first' policy, always prioritizing internal talent for new opportunities, with a quarter of roles filled by internal talent, and a lot at senior level.
Kulpreet Kaur, Head of HR for RELX in India
Contributor
CA
Catherine Adenle
Senior Director, Employer Brand
Elsevier