The company runs an in-house canteen to provide fresh and hygienically prepared food to employees three times a day during working hours. Until recently, the cost of this food was budgeted and included in an employee’s Cost-to-Company (CTC). Actual food expenses were deducted from their monthly salary. This was applicable especially to employees in the sales team, who work in the field.

Starting December 2021, the company decided to bear the cost of food and exclude it from the employees’ CTC. Permanent sales employees will now receive a daily allowance. This is good news, as it increases their take-home pay.

Why was food expense included in CTC earlier?

Initially, employees were often dissatisfied with the perks offered. They compared only the take-home pay with what other local firms provided, failing to appreciate the non-cash benefits Cocoguru offered—like ESI, PF, free canteen food, paid leave, etc. Despite management’s efforts to explain this, employees did not acknowledge the value of these benefits.

Originally, food at the canteen was provided free and was not counted as part of CTC. However, over time, employees began complaining about food quality and were careless in wasting food.

To better understand employee concerns, management conducted satisfaction surveys, genuinely wanting to improve engagement. Unfortunately, employees mostly pointed out negatives, taking all positives for granted.

Some employees even requested salary advances before month-end, while the company itself was under pressure from large loans taken for project execution and working capital needs.

It became increasingly difficult to manage employee expectations while running smooth operations. Management finally decided: “Let us do our best, regardless of whether it pleases everyone.” The following employee policy changes were introduced:

• All benefits would be quantified and included in CTC
• No salary advances
• No more employee satisfaction surveys
• Salary revisions only after the annual appraisal cycle
• No room for salary negotiations—employees could choose to stay or leave

A few employees accepted these terms and encouraged others to join under the same conditions. As these employees continued to stay and perform well, policies gradually became more employee-friendly:

• Start time was moved from 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM, reducing working hours by 30 minutes
• Festival holidays (10 days annually) were granted across the company and excluded from CTC
• One hour is granted during the afternoon to attend occasional social functions
• When ESI contributions decreased from 6.75% to 4%, CTC remained unchanged, increasing take-home pay
• Salaries were positioned above market standards
• Though CTC increased yearly, the food budget remained constant for the past 7–8 years
• Profit-based bonuses were given every 6 months

Today, we are proud to have many employees who have been with us for over 7 years. They perform well and take ownership. In recognition of their contribution, we are further liberalising our employee policies.