Global Powerhouse Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) has announced onetime special payment totalling a whopping €310 million (Rs.19 billion) to its employees worldwide. The intention is to reward its staff for their excellent performance delivered in the economic and financial crisis, which left many other companies crippled. During fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, Siemens reported revenues to the tune of €76 Billion with €4.1 billion as net income. The 160-year-old company having 405,000 employees worldwide functions in industries like electronics and electrical engineering in addition to energy and healthcare sectors has earned a name for itself signifying technological excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality. The company is also the world’s largest provider of environmental technologies generating €28 billion, which is more than one-third of its total revenue from green products and solutions.

People Matters’ Take: After freezing salaries, indulging into pay-cuts and stalling bonuses, special payment is a welcome move made by Siemens. The main idea of acknowledging and appreciating the commitment of employees who withstood the financial turmoil and put in those extra hours to achieve the inflated sales and revenue targets will help in enhancing employee motivation and retention. The trend has also caught up with Indian companies, case in point being Titan Industries, which paid its employees ex-gratia to acknowledge their commitment toward exceeding sales targets when the company was going through a rough patch.