Lesson in loyalty from heart of a dark tragedy

[1]

Bravery is more often that not just doing the right thing. But if that fatal night, the employees of the hotel had chosen to save their lives using the back exits they knew better than the back of their hands, we couldn’t have called it wrong either. The heroic acts of the Taj Hotel staff, which chose to stay back and help their guests over themselves, some unfortunately even over their lives, during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai is now a case study at the Harvard University. The study tries to find out “why did the Taj employees stay at their posts (during the attacks), jeopardising their safety in order to save hotel guests” and how can that level of loyalty and dedication be replicated elsewhere. While instilling the same sense of allegiance that Taj did in its employees is what a company’s dreams are made of, but there is still a lot a company can do to brush that level.
Arundhati Grover Jain, who works as an HR and Recruitment Consultant for a firm, says that being employee-centric goes a long way in cementing relationships. “One needs to be made to feel a sense of ownership towards the organisation, by way of various perks and facilities and create an environment that generates comfort to allow people to take a stand for the company if needed,” she says. Adding to the same line of thought, Pranav Sahni, the CEO of Education Solutions, says that they should feel a part of the organisation and not just employees. “They should be shown a growth chart so that they can pave their career path and work towards it. This will not only keep them loyal and motivated but also happy, which is essential to any company’s growth,” he tells us.
Harnessing long hours and sticking roadside motivational posters on walls, most companies consider their job done in being employer-friendly. However, failure to back it with actions doesn’t take the empty talk too far. As Marcus Santiago, a transcriptionist for an MNC, tells us, “You need to feel like a part of the family, and if they treat you like one you don’t mind returning the favour. Like last Christmas, which is a very special occasion for me, I had to be at work and incidentally I was the only one from my shift. My boss could have easily sat at home and expected to get the job done but he not only came to work with me but also got me a huge Christmas dinner which made me feel very special.” Incidents like these go a long way in imbibing a sense of belonging, something the Taj employees obviously had, along with a very strong and old work culture.
Like Shiveshwar Raj Singh, the Creative Director at Draft FCB Ulka says, “The management at the helm needs to walk the talk and set an example that runs right till the bottom rung.”