Sports quota

ANALYSE THIS

Strategy issues seen through cartoons.

Media planners and advertisers aren't the only ones excited about the Twenty-20. HR heads, too, are rooting for the new, shorter cricket matches. "This is a work-friendly format," agrees Judhajit Das, chief, human resources, ICICI Prudential Life.

Surprised? If you've watched even one match during work hours, you wouldn't be. It is understood in organisations across India that work will come to a near standstill during any India-Pakistan match.

During the World Cup earlier this year, productivity dropped across ranks as employees trudged in half-asleep, having been up half the night watching matches. In contrast, Twenty-20 cricket eats up only three hours of productive time, compared to the usual 10.

But it's not only about cricket-mad Indians. During the football World Cup last year, UK-based law firm Brabners Chaffe Street estimated that the country suffered productivity losses of up to $7.36 billion when the matches were on. And this, when the losses were calculated for employees watching the game for only an hour a day.

HR heads and consultants in India agree that sporting events do pose a productivity issue. "Most HR valuations and plans go for a toss when major sports events occur," says Sanjay Teli, MD, ESP Consultants, a human resource solutions firm based in Mumbai.

Prashant Khambaswadkar, head, human resources and administration, HDFC Standard Life, agrees.

"We are a young organisation with a large proportion of our workforce under 30. It's natural that our employees show a keen interest in sports. During most global sporting events we find a large proportion of employees ask to leave early or for the day off. Sometimes this crosses the 50 per cent mark," he says.

For the employees, it is just a bit of fun and games. But many companies find it's an unequal match "" they have targets and deadlines to meet but risk alienating employees if they insist that, during match days, work comes first.

So, what should their strategy be? Should they be killjoys and police employees at all hours of the day to ensure that work is done? Or are there friendlier alternatives?

After all, it is virtually impossible to resist cricket, football or tennis fever. If there are no television sets in the office, employees can simply take the day off. If that is denied, they will simply huddle around the 14" set at the nearest canteen or restaurant. Or they will log on to sports websites or receive text messages over their cellphones.

"Blocking access to the sport can be seen as a negative move by employees," warns Anita Belani, country head, Watson Wyatt. "The company must instead look at other ways to ensure productivity," she adds.

In an earlier interview with the strategist, Manpower Asia Pacific Managing Director Iain Herbertson had suggested that organisations use an employee's keen interest in anything "" not just sports "" as a motivator.

"Create a competition around the event, giving winners access to watch the game or extend work hours so that employees make up for lost time," he suggested.

There's another solution: get those not interested in the sport to fill in for the enthusiasts by putting in extra hours and compensate them either financially or with a day off on a day of their choice. Herbertson quoted the experience of a Scotland-based call centre that faced a similar situation during soccer season last year.

Keeping in mind that its football crazy employees hail from different participating nations, the company formed groups such that people from the countries playing the day's match got to watch while other groups covered for them. Members of non-playing nations could watch recorded highlights of matches in the office after work hours. That month proved to be one of the most productive of the year.

Indian companies are working around the sports fixation their own way. A major private sector bank keeps a tab on upcoming events and inflates its targets during the season. The logic? Even if employees underperform on raised targets, they would have substantially covered their usual quotas.

Others opt for less convoluted ways to ensure business-as-usual doesn't suffer. ICICI Prudential Life screens matches in the office, but only after office hours and on weekends.

"We screen important F1 races or major cricketing events in our auditorium on a large screen. It is an inexpensive way of using existing resources to get people together and works as an excellent team building exercise," says ICICI's Das.

Similarly, in 2006, when half the staff asked for leave on the day of the football final, HDFC Standard Life decided to put up a large screen in the office.

"We could not declare a holiday as it was a crucial month-end for us. Instead, we screened the match in the office and served food in the conference room. Over 90 per cent of our employees were present in office that day," says Khambaswadkar.

Interestingly, nobody sat glued to the screen "" most employees watched for 5-10 minute stretches and returned to their cubicles to catch up on their work.

The insurance company continued the practice during the cricket World Cup this year and even leverages the sports mania to its advantage: top performers are awarded match tickets.

Says Khambaswadkar, "Such activities not only boost the morale, but also help in building a sense of loyalty towards the organisation." Everybody wins when employers are good sports.