The fizz in the office

Coca-Cola's office in Gurgaon is designed to lower stress among its young workforce

You see a splash of red and white once you reach the first-floor landing of Coca-Cola India's office in Gurgaon. These are after all the house colours of the beverages giant. Graffiti and wall art serve as a backdrop as visitors, and sometimes employees, congregate in the area. As I wait to be ushered inside, the Sprite brand team can be seen ideating in the space. The area beyond is huge: close to 80,000 square feet (spread across five floors) shared by just 200-odd employees. This makes it one of the roomiest offices in Gurgaon, where the norm is 50 square feet per employee.

The bright colours are in keeping with the low employee age: around 32. Across cubicles on each floor, one can see campaign images, logos, Coke bottles covered with Warli paintings and a profusion of red sharing space with personal photographs, potted plants and mobile chargers. There is evident openness here. "There are a lot of open spaces where people can collaborate and network," says Sameer Wadhawan, vice-president (human resources & services), Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia. "We have the flexibility to organise the workspace according to what makes sense to us."

The market for aerated beverages is tough (the late great Steve Jobs had once dismissed it as sugared water), though there are only two players in the market: Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The rivalry between the two is cut-throat. Price points are low. Marketing is often vicious. Health awareness is on the rise. Environmentalists are forever breathing down their backs. So, the workplace has to be one that doesn't intimidate and helps employees work in teams. Thus, a host of functions occupy each floor, unlike in other offices where the norm is one function in one floor. "When employees share the recreation room or the gym or brush paths on a common floor, a healthy work environment is created. There are no artificial barriers," Wadhawan says.

The office, claims Wadhawan, is energy efficient. It has been designed in a way that there is sufficient sunlight, and there is ergonomic furniture in use," he adds. Post 5.30 pm (reporting time is 8:30 in the morning), all lights and air conditioners are switched off to conserve energy and also ensure that employees are productive during office hours and find no reason to stay late. A local unit is activated for whichever section works late.

The induction of new employees is done with care. "When you go towards the cafeteria, just look to the left. On the wall you will find huge outlines of the red Coke bottles featuring photos and interesting details about the 23 summer interns," says Wadhawan, "When you are young and come to an office like Coca-Cola as part of the Mantra programme, you tend to feel lost. Because of these displays, in two days every employee is familiar with every intern. They feel 'included'." There are little nuggets of information on the wall: one intern simply adores Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes, another one gorges on Parsi food and a third one lists her motto as: "If anything is worth doing, it's worth doing it well."

The cafeteria, also in red and white, can seat 100 people at a time. There are fridges on each floor offering complimentary Coca-Cola products to all employees. The entrance to each floor features a display of Coke memorabilia. Thus, on the third floor, a sheet traces the evolution of Coke bottles over the years: from a squat podgy one to the modern-day PET containers. The third floor has an artificial open-air terrace which is used for informal meetings. This afternoon, in spite of the heat, a handful of associates from the communications team are lounging around on bean bags with their laptops.

The recreation room on the fifth floor has table tennis and pool tables. The room offers a glimpse of Gurgaon's skyscrapers, while keeping the noise of the traffic out. "The ambience is perfect for a a mid-day break. The bean bag seating arrangement of the space is ideal to have discussions on creative matters," says 30-year-old Mahak Mittal, associate brand manager. An hour before close of work, one can find employees making their way to the gym in the basement. "Being an avid runner, I love hitting the gym every evening. It's a great place for me to unwind and recharge myself," says 35-year-old Arpita Maitra, general manager.

It is no surprise that that the attrition at Coca-Cola is below the industry benchmark of 14 to 15 per cent. No wonder then that the company's employees are painting the office red.