Article: #21 Qualcomm India : Shaping Quality Communication

Employee Engagement

#21 Qualcomm India : Shaping Quality Communication

Qualcomm encourages its employees and interns to work collectively to achieve excellence in innovation and execution
 

The objective is to create a flexible atmosphere which supports employee's work-life balance

 

If you provide the right resources, tools, environments and goals, individuals will come together to achieve what needs to be done

 

Donating personal items such as clothes, toys, eatables, etc by employees, during any natural disaster or catastrophe is a regular part of the Corporate Social Responsibility mandate of most companies. But how about donating your ‘vacation’ to a co-worker in times of distress? Qualcomm’s ‘Vacation Donation’ program allows co-workers to donate vacation time within a certain limit to an employee in the event of a catastrophic personal circumstance faced by the employee. This program has been especially helpful in the past for employees needing to take extended leave during such times.

The ‘Vacation Donation’ program is just one of the unique initiatives undertaken by Qualcomm India Pvt. Ltd. that sets it apart from others of its ilk in the industry and secures for itself a place in the much coveted Great Place to Work® Institute’s Study. Ranked at #21 in the Great Place to Work® Institute’s Study, this is the fourth consecutive year, since 2007, that Qualcomm India has earned the title of a great place to work in India. Interestingly, Qualcomm India has also been recognised in Special Categories such as the Best Company for Work-Life Balance, Company with Excellence in Corporate Social Responsiibility, and is ranked #1 in the Industry Category for the Telecommunications sector in India.

Ask Anil Jacob, Director - Human Resources, Qualcomm India about what makes this mobile technology major achieve this feat year after year and prompt comes the reply, “It is our increasing emphasis on employee development and strong belief in maintaining work-life balance that has been instrumental in the company being ranked amongst one of great places to work in India.”

Qualcomm’s core belief is that employees are the foundation of both, a successful culture and the business model. And to that effect, enabling employees to maintain work-life balance is a critical area for Qualcomm India as the company recognizes that being sensitive to employee’s needs and preferences is a valuable benefit that can boost retention and employee’s well-being in general. “Our objective is to create a flexible atmosphere which supports employee’s work-life balance,” says Jacob.

QLIFE is one such unique initiative taken by Qualcomm that offers a unique blend of activities, examples of which are – flexible and alternative work schedules with telecommuting options, onsite fitness centres, wellness education sessions and camps. These initiatives are dedicated to shaping Qualcomm’s distinctive culture and thereby helping employees to achieve a balance between their lives at Qualcomm, at home and in the community. While Qualcomm funded interest groups, called QCLUBS, allow employees to balance their work and life and also enhance their hobbies, QCARE empowers employees to be involved in community service of their choice leading to their overall development.

Where on one hand Qualcomm invests heavily in the personal development of its existing employees, the company also treats its interns at par with its existing employees. “Qualcomm encourages its employees and interns to work collectively to achieve excellence in innovation and execution. Our world class intern program resulted in 30% of our interns rolling over as full time employees,” says Jacob. Qualcomm believes that new hires and interns become more productive and contribute greater to its growth when they learn about the company and its culture and to that end, several HR initiatives contribute toward ensuring a holistic approach to on-boarding interns. “One of the fundamental philosophies at Qualcomm is that if we provide the right resources, tools, environments and goals, individuals will come together to achieve what needs to be done,” elaborates Jacob. Qualcomm provides these resources, tools and environment that enable both, employees and interns to achieve those values by creating a workplace culture based on fostering an open and two-way dialogue between employees and interns, providing a multitude of resources for intern development, and recognizing and rewarding interns.
 

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Topics: Employee Engagement, Culture, #BestPractices

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