Ford in India has been selected as one of the 25 Best Employers in India 2011 in an extensive nationwide study conducted by Aon Hewitt, a global human resources consultancy services company late last week.
Ford in India was ranked 17th and has earned the unique distinction of being the only Indian automobile manufacturer to have made it to the list of Top 25 Best Employers in the last three consecutive surveys – 2007,2009 and 2011. Employees from all three Ford entities – Ford India Private Ltd, Ford Business Services Centre, and Ford Technology Services India, took part in the study which hosted the participation of some of the other reputed names in India Inc.
“This recognition is an appreciation of our continuous efforts in fostering a culture of openness, development orientation and people focus among our 10,000-strong workforce. We are extremely proud to see that Ford India is the only automobile manufacturer in the country to be recognised as one among the Best Employers for three consecutive years,” said a proud Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India Pvt Ltd.
Ford Motor Company has invested about US $1 billion in India and produces competitive products in its world class manufacturing facility near Chennai. The company is elevated to be a manufacturing hub for small cars and low displacement engines for Ford Motor Company in the Asia Pacific and Africa region. By committing to launch 8 new global products by the middle of this decade, Ford India has scaled up its manufacturing, sales and service operations, and has doubled its workforce to over the last 36 months to sustain this growth over multiple working shifts. The company recently unveiled the all-new global Fiesta sedan in Delhi – first of the 8 new products.
Receiving the plaque of recognition, Joginder Singh, executive director of Global Business Services Centre echoed “This is an industry-wide recognition of Ford’s commitment to provide a better work environment to enrich and grow one’s career. Ford’s goal-oriented business strategy, strong fundamentals in building, recruiting, motivating and nurturing talented human resources, have made it feature amongst the best employers in the country and we believe this the best way forward.”
The 2011 Aon Hewitt Best Employers study provides insights into alignment of people practices to business. It enables an organization to measure the effectiveness of its people practices, and identifies a shortlist of Best Employers.
The 2011 Aon Hewitt Best Employers study survey results indicate that Ford is doing a lot of things right.
Ford India focuses on career development as a stated objective and follows an open culture. Right from the level of technicians, there are programmes and clearly defined growth paths for everyone. All facets of an employee’s life are taken into consideration, including work-life balance and mental and physical well-being. The organisation also conducts structured processes where employees discuss their career development with their peers and jointly develop a programme to achieve stated goals.
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Editor’s notes: Aon Hewitt conducts the Best Employers’ Survey every two years. This time around it partnered with Outlook Business and reviewed over 200 companies representing 44,000 employees all over India, spanning several industry verticals, including banking and financial services, consumer durables, manufacturing, retail, telecom, IT, ITES and hospitality.
Aon Hewitt selects ‘best employers’ through an independent judging panel comprising of leading academics and eminent business leaders. The Aon Hewitt Best Employers study provides business and HR leaders a great opportunity to ascertain where they are on their journey to becoming a ‘best employer’.