From free stays at its over 100 upscale properties to taking some heat off kitchen staff by rescheduling their back-breaking shifts, the 135-year-old Taj has lined up a slew of employee-friendly measures, several of them first such initiatives in India's highly competitive hotel industry.
Reuters
The 10-day-a-year stay offer on Taj properties from Mumbai to Maldives is applicable to all employees, regardless of the profile and rank, and their families with a complimentary breakfast and a 50 per cent discount on other meals. And for those who are unable to pick up the tab even after the 50 per cent discount ¡ª which is likely in several cases as a typical meal for four at the Taj costs around Rs 14,000 with taxes ¡ª they can help themselves at the staff cafeteria where food is on the house.
"We can't pay everyone top salaries. These are some of the basic facilities that we should provide to our employees," said Rakesh Sarna, MD, Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), which runs the Taj chain. These initiatives will be rolled out to its over 25,000 staffers from October.
Reuters
The other revolutionary measure that the Taj is initiating relates to the work schedule of its kitchen and food and beverage staff. Since the hotels work 24X7, staffers put in gruelling hours. The prolonged work hours, combined with a short break, are known as "split-shifts" or "break-shifts" in hotel industry parlance.
BCCL
In the pipeline is another measure that will help employees save time and money. All the Taj staffers can get subsidised vegetables and groceries at supermarkets within Taj properties. "We are among the largest buyers of fruits, vegetables and meat. We procure them at the most competitive rates. We want to pass on this benefit to our employees as well," said Sarna.