Media Contacts:

Sushil Bhasin,  Hewitt Associates,  +91 9811423915
Kanika Khanna,  Hewitt Associates,  +91 9810934606

2009-04-02

Hewitt Associates announces Best Employers in India 2009 in partnership with Outlook Business

NEW DELHI—Hewitt Associates, a global human resources services company, announced the results of its sixth Best Employers in India 2009 study today, in partnership with Outlook Business. It recognized the following companies as the 25 Hewitt Best Employers in India 2009 (in ranked order):

Rank	Organization Name

1	HCL Technologies
2	Hindustan Zinc Ltd.
3	Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
4	Cicso Systems
5	ITC-Welcomgroup (A division of ITC Ltd.)
6	Intuit Technology Services Pvt Ltd
7	Eureka Forbes Limited
8	LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd.
9	Domino's Pizza India Ltd
10	Marriott Hotels India Pvt Ltd
11	Godrej Conumer Products Ltd
12	Becton Dickinson India Pvt. Ltd
13	Stryker Global Technology Center Pvt. Ltd.
14	NetApp India Private Limited
15	The Oberoi Group
16	vCustomer Corporation
17	Paypal India Private Limited
18	Accenture Services Pvt Ltd
19	Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited
20	Whirlpool of India Limited
21	Intelenet Global Services
22	The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
23	Hewlett Packard India Sales Pvt. Ltd
24	Indian Oil Corporation Ltd
25	Ford India Pvt Ltd

While revealing the key findings, Hewitt announced that despite the wide variance in industries and company profiles, these organizations have some common winning traits:

1. Alignment of people practices to the overall business strategy of the organization;
2. An environment, even in these challenging times, which creates a positive employment experience; and
3. A long-term approach and view towards handling the current economic crisis.

Vishal Pandit, Market Manager, Hewitt Associates, India, Middle East and SAARC said, "All organizations in the country face similar external factors.  Our study reveals that Hewitt Best Employers have learned that creating and maintaining an environment that is focused on key human capital elements should be a business priority. Their strategy to make minor adjustments without losing sight of the larger goal allows them to sustain their strong position and prosper — or be set to prosper when the economy improves."

Over the years, since Hewitt started the Best Employers study in 2001, the employee Engagement scores have gone up significantly. Clearly, the focus on providing a meaningful employment experience is a key agenda at progressive organizations in India today. The average employee Engagement score at The Best in 2009 study is 88 percent, as compared to 82 percent in 2007 and 76 percent in 2003.

Career opportunities continue to be a key driver of employee Engagement in India. Focus on growth opportunities still remains a top agenda on employees' minds in spite of the economic environment. And as the results show, The Best seem to be doing a better job at matching this expectation; 81% employees stated that future career opportunities at their organization seem to look good, as compared to 64% at The Rest.

Ajay Soni, Practice Lead, Hewitt Best Employers in India 2009 study, said: "I have been actively associated with the Hewitt Best Employers study for over five years now, and have witnessed how the HR function has gone up the value curve. The Engagement scores have been on the rise and a scientific approach to talent management continues to evolve among The Best."

The independent judging panel was chaired by Mr. Nripendra Misra, former Chairman, TRAI, and comprised of Ms. Zia Mody, Managing Partner, AZB and Partners, Dr. Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIM- Bangalore and Mr. Anand Mahadevan, Executive Editor, Outlook Business. The judging panel evaluated organizations on the following criterion:

• The organization score on a combination of the overall Engagement and alignment scores;
• Organization scores on leadership, diversity and learning and development;
• Ethics score for an organization; and
• Impact of economic crisis and how the organization is handling the situation.

"This study was done at a time when companies and HR managers were taken by surprise by a sudden weakening in the economic environment. But rather than wield the axe on employees, many Best Employers are using their workforce as catalysts to slash costs and intelligently squeeze out greater operational efficiencies from the rest of the system. There are many lessons here for HR managers, CEOs and CFOs," says M Anand, Editor, Outlook Business.

Three Best Practices from the Hewitt Best Employers 2009 Study

Understanding what drives employee behavior during these economically difficult times is important for business success.  This year's study results highlight three specific practices that are common among The Best companies.

Key finding #1:  Relentless execution of programs
Hewitt Best Employers are better able to reach the 'tipping point' where the business payback on human capital programs rises dramatically.

Key differences emerge between The Best and The Rest when examining the results on how programs are implemented.  Hewitt Best Employers more often balance goals and targets across financial and non-financial measures, set the bar higher in terms of performance ratings, better equip managers to review performance, and review performance more frequently.

Employees at The Best see more sharply differentiated pay for high performers and believe that the way their organization rewards and recognizes people helps produce the results the organization wants.

Key finding #2:  Persistent empowerment of managers
The Best achieve greater execution payback through 'persistent empowerment of managers'. 

This takes three main forms:

1. Focusing leaders on leading so that managers can manage;
2. Better equipping managers to do their job; and
3. Creating self-sustaining reinforcement.

Leaders are more often involved in assessing leadership quality and depth, and are more actively involved in preparing/reviewing succession plans at The Best.

The Hewitt Best Employers do more than just clarify expectations. They empower managers by defining roles for leaders that get them out of the way so that managers can manage.  They also make sure managers are given the tools, skills, and incentives to effectively manage their people and drive performance outcomes.

Key finding #3:  Highly efficient HR functions
Hewitt Best Employers are able to efficiently deliver HR services and processes with fewer resources. 

In fact, Hewitt's 2008-2009 Global HR study shows that, in HR functions around the globe, significant progress has been made to drive efficiencies in service delivery. 

In the Asia Pacific region, results show that local or regional governance is a top priority, and building of clearer decision-making and accountability processes for HR is also very important.  Finally, there is increasing emphasis on service delivery effectiveness, including consolidation of services and self-service capabilities.

Sonali Chatterjee, Project Lead, Hewitt Best Employers in India, said:  "During the audit process for the study, we found that the CEOs at The Best believe that employees can work harder to achieve better results in the economic downturn and it is the right moment for them to win over their competitors. Undoubtedly becoming a Hewitt Best Employer has gained greater meaning."

About the Hewitt Best Employers in India 2009 Study

More than 230 organizations registered to participate in the Hewitt Best Employers in India 2009 study. The study received opinions from more than 46,000 employees representing a workforce of over 8 lakh people — making it the largest single source of employee and human capital research across the country.  The study was conducted in partnership with Outlook Business.

This year's study was part of the larger Hewitt Best Employers in Asia study, which also covered Australia/New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The Hewitt Best Employers in Asia 2009 study highlights report will be available on
www.hewitt.com/bestemployersasia from April 6, 2009.

About Hewitt Associates

Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW) provides leading organizations around the world with expert human resources consulting and outsourcing solutions to help them anticipate and solve their most complex benefits, talent, and related financial challenges.  Hewitt consults with companies to design and implement a wide range of human resources, retirement, investment management, health management, compensation, and talent management strategies.  As a leading outsourcing provider, Hewitt administers health care, retirement, payroll, and other HR programs to millions of employees, their families, and retirees.  With a history of exceptional client service since 1940, Hewitt has offices in 33 countries and employs approximately 23,000 associates who are helping make the world a better place to work.  For more information, please visit www.hewitt.com.