Employees at Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages get permanent work-from-home option

Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages, the bottling partner of the American soft drink giant and one of India's top FMCG companies, has offered the option of permanent work-from-home for its employees who are not involved in production or sales and need not be physically present at work location. The company is also offering monetary support to employees to enable this process, BusinessToday.in has reported.

"This policy is led by empathy and flexibility, ensuring employees and their dependents to feel safe and be at ease, regardless of their work location. The idea is to provide a seamless experience that is meaningful both for the company as well as the employees," said Indrajeet Sengupta, CHRO at HCCB. "The unique feature of the policy is that it has been co-created by our colleagues who we feel know their problems the best. The situation is evolving and hence we remain open and flexible to any modifications that the policy may need."

As a first step, the company has started delivering ergonomically designed chairs from its office to the eligible employees, to their homes, on request. For uninterrupted internet connectivity, HCCB will provide monetary support for employees to install UPS for power back-up including monthly WI-FI expenses. Employees can also avail of monetary support to purchase tables, headphones, lamps, webcam, external microphone, even a coffee mug or flower arrangement.

Further, to deal with physical and emotional challenges, the company has provisioned for telemedicine facility and wellness counselling through the organisation 1To1 HELP. An app available for download, managed by a chatbot, will continue to be used by employees to update the company on their health and wellness. The company has also modified its health insurance policy with provisions to include parents and in-laws and 'top-up' cover for the immediate dependents.

The company said the policy has been designed by a cross-functional team with extensive inputs from a large swathe of the organisation. The policy makes available training programs and support materials to help employees effectively navigate their day, be productive, minimise digital fatigue and adapt to the new way of working. The company has also made available LinkedIn Learning and Harvard ManageMentor training programs.