Poor Attendance, No Bonus: TCS Introduces New Rule, 70% Employees Return To Office

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of India's largest employee-intensive firms, has found a creative way to encourage its staff to return to the office: by linking employee attendance to their quarterly bonuses. The company's new policy states that employees must maintain an attendance rate of at least 85% to receive their full quarterly variable pay. Those with 75-85% attendance will receive 75% of their bonus, while those with 60-75% attendance will receive 50%. The policy also warns that employees who consistently fail to meet this attendance requirement will face disciplinary action.

The move seems to have been successful, with a whopping 70% of TCS employees returning to the office. This is significant, given that 40% of the company's workforce was inducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and had likely never experienced working in an office setting before.

The company's quarterly results, released yesterday, showed a net profit of Rs 12,040 crore for the quarter ending June 2023, a 9% increase from the same period last year. The TCS board has also declared an interim dividend of Rs 10 per equity share, which will be credited to shareholders' accounts on August 5. Following the release of the quarterly earnings report, TCS's share price rose by Rs 166 to Rs 4,088 in morning trading.

It's clear that the company's innovative approach has paid off, not just financially but also in terms of employee engagement and productivity. As Milind Lakkad, CHRO at TCS, stated, the policy is currently temporary, but its impact is undeniable.