Most Respected Companies: Earning Respect
As companies evolve so does the work culture. We see that companies that score high on the respect index are those that have kept their core values intact through turbulent times.
The 2022 edition of the BW Businessworld Most Respected Companies (MRC) survey was conducted by our knowledge partner TechSci Research, against the backdrop of the disruptions in economic activities caused by the restrictions and lockdowns that were imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey is perception-based and evaluates companies on parameters such as corporate social responsibility, women friendly policies, a rewarding work culture, effective growth plan and financial returns. The study maps the current perception levels in the minds of employees and self-employed individuals in India. In all, 21 sectors were identified and the survey was conducted using 575 respondents including senior and mid-level employees.
Overall, Tata Consultancy Services emerged at the top of the Most Respected Companies list based on the chosen parameters, followed by Google India, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Amazon India. These companies ended up as the Top 5 in the Most Respected Companies rankings based on the specific survey parameters. Financial performance; work culture; focus on developing and adopting new technologies and corporate governance were considered to be the critical parameters. Besides, women friendly policies, prevailing policy framework and the companies’ focus towards CSR activities were also factored in while finalising the survey results.
While TCS tops the MRC list for FY21, in the last MRC rankings published in early 2020 (for FY19), the ITeS behemoth was ranked second. It gained the top spot riding on high scores across parameters such as Effective Growth Plan, Financial Return, Trustworthy Leadership, Embracing Latest Technology, Woman Friendly Policies, CSR and Work Culture. Of course, the period under review was pandemic-affected, which brought in its own set of challenges for TCS, as it did for other companies.
“Despite a sharp fall in revenues in the first quarter, progressively strengthening demand for our services helped us stage a swift recovery during the rest of the year, helping clock full year revenues of Rs 164,177 crore in FY 2021, growing 4.6 per cent over the prior year in reported terms, and degrowing by 0.8 per cent in constant currency terms,” said Rajesh Gopinathan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, TCS.
Google India is ranked second in the list this year. As of April 2022, it was maintaining a 98.71 per cent market share in the search engine business. The majority of Google’s revenues are generated through advertising. At least 467 million people in India regularly access YouTube.
According to Karan Chechi, Research Director, TechSci Research: “The survey was aimed at identifying the most respected companies in 2022 based on the people’s perception across various sectors in India. Major rating parameter of the survey include financial health, work culture, corporate governance and CSR activities. In the parameters, the research focused more on financial return, effective growth plan and corporate social responsibility because even after pandemic, companies were able to achieve profit and they helped the society by indulging in various CSR activities in difficult times. The survey results show the level of trust and confidence people have in leading corporations operating in India.”
The entire exercise was divided into four stages. The framing of questionnaires was an elaborate process that included going into details specific to the companies and sectors, creation of an algorithm of questions to give a scientific perspective to the questionnaire, translation of the questionnaire in relevant languages to elicit effective response from all the sectors. Each of the parameters decided were mapped on a 5-point scale. In the last stage, weightages were assigned against the eight parameters and a score was calculated for ranking the most respected companies.
How We Measured Respect
The 2022 edition of the BW Businessworld Most Respected Companies survey was conducted by TechSci Research. TechSci identified 21 sectors and conducted research across 575 respondents including senior and mid-level employees.
The sectors covered included Apparel/ Textiles, Automobile, Banking, Cement Manufacturers, Chemicals & Paints, Consumer Products, Ecommerce, FMCG, Handset Manufacturers, Healthcare, Hospitality, Infrastructure (Power, Heavy Engineering), IT/ITES, Metals and Minerals, NBFCs, Oil & Gas, Pharmaceuticals, Real Estate, Retail, Technology and Telecom (service providers).
The entire exercise conducted in four stages, began with framing the questionnaires, followed by respondent identification, data collection and finally analysis of the data. The framing of the questionnaires was an elaborate process that included going into the details specific to the companies and sectors, creation of an algorithm of questions to give a scientific perspective to the questionnaire, translation of the questionnaire in relevant languages to elicit effective response from all the sectors.
The questionnaire was designed to gauge the respondents’ perception based on the following eight parameters – effective growth plan, financial return, innovative product/services, trustworthy leadership, embracing latest technologies, corporate social responsibility, women friendly policies and work culture.
The respondents from 150+ companies were identified based on their age and work experience. The largest pool of 235 respondents were those with more than eight years work experience and were aged 35 and above. The next lot of 187 respondents had 4-7 years of work experience and were in the 28-35 age group. The smallest lot of 153 were self-employed individuals of age 30 and above. The database was created targeting employment hubs including Noida, Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai.
The data was collected from employees through interviews on phone calls, links sent through email and LinkedIn. Automated validation checks enabled data hygiene, followed by stringent quality checks on the data files. About 12-15 industry employees and 10-12 non-industry employees were selected from each sector to map the perception straight from the stakeholders as well as from the outsiders.
In addition, 20-25 respondents from each industry were identified and asked to rate top three companies from their domain. Finally, each of the parameters were mapped on a 5-point scale but Financial Return, Effective Growth Plan and CSR were given relatively higher weightage because in difficult times due to Covid-19, very few companies were able to achieve significant increase in revenues and profit and gave back to the society through their CSR activities. In the last stage, weightages were assigned against the eight parameters and an average score was calculated for ranking the Most Respected Companies.
All the companies ranked by MRC survey deserve our heartiest congratulations for holding on to their core values under difficult circumstances, as well as best wishes for their future endeavours.
ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
Knowledge Partner: TechSci Research
