By including the family, we create that sense of belonging."
- Arjun Handa, CEO, Claris Lifesciences

Family buy-in is an integral component of the career decisions an individual takes. Sometimes, people change jobs, or move cities for their loved ones. It’s a realisation that Arjun Handa, the CEO of Claris Lifesciences, a pharmaceutical company, encountered head-on in 2002-03. During one-on-one appraisal sessions with several of his 600-odd employees at that time, Handa was surprised to find several of them confessing that they were ready to work hard and build their careers in his company but their families believed they were stunting their growth by staying on in one job for too long. “Families often question why an employee works so hard, and if they do, they should capitalise on that and jump salaries and designations every few years,” says Handa. It was a learning key to Claris’ growth, felt Handa. So, over the last 10 years, the company’s management has deployed the soft power of familial bonds. 

In this age of collaborative leadership and talent crunch, employees must be aligned with company goals to achieve better business results. But, Claris Lifesciences, the Ahmedabad-based manufacturer of generic drugs believes getting through to employees is just the first step. To really have an engaged and involved workforce, you need to get through to the employees’ families. 

Here, that bonding begins even before a new recruit joins the company. Families of potential employees are invited to spend a day with the HR team in Claris’ 78-acre campus in Ahmedabad (that houses their five manufacturing plants) to get a sense of the company’s values, facilities and work processes. “We want the family to experience first-hand the life and the work their spouse, son or daughter is likely to have at our company,” says Denis Macwan, manager, human resources. After a meal at their canteen, the family is taken on a city tour of Ahmedabad—to visit the Akshardham temple, Sabarmati Ashram or go shopping for Gujarati bandhani—especially when the candidate is busy in interviews. “This initial relationship builds trust. Usually, families are more than happy and supportive of the candidate’s decision to join the company,” Macwan adds. 

But factory visits are just a beginning of the company’s efforts to interact with families of employees. Once a new employee joins, and moves base to Ahmedabad, the company helps them settle in by looking for apartments in the right locality, providing guidance on school admissions, and helping spouses who’ve uprooted themselves to find new jobs.

N Kumari, deputy general manager, was apprehensive about shifting base from Delhi to Ahmedabad to join Claris six months back. But the company pitched in with loads of help, she says.“They were with me till we finalised the accommodation and my children got admission in school.” 

These issues greatly impact employee productivity at work. When people have personal problems, they can’t concentrate. Beyond aiding productivity, the connections established this way are a powerful anti-attrition tool. “People think twice before leaving us for a job that might pay `20,000 or 30,000 more but will not have this support from the company,” Macwan says confidently. 

To inculcate a sense of belonging, families of the nearly 400 senior employees are invited to major company events such as the Uttarayan kite flying festival celebrated on campus, or the garbha and dandiya nights during Navratri.

When conventional logic is that the personal and professional must never mix, is the Claris method an overkill? Arjun Handa, the 33-year-old CEO, waves away such management gyaan. With rapid strides in technology, and the all-pervasive BlackBerry or iPhone, people spend more and more time “at work”. Often, it’s at the cost of eating into an individual’s personal life. “So we try to help families share a little bit of their loved ones’ work lives to compensate for that,” Handa elaborates. 

His insights seem to be spot-on. Every quarter, Claris organises an optional factory visit for employees and their families. Groups are invited turn by turn, and the turnout is usually a whopping 95 per cent, according to the company. 

Families of the nearly 400 senior employees are also invited to all major company events such as the Uttarayan kite flying festival celebrated on campus, or the garbha and dandiya nights during Navratri. On the company’s foundation day, the families’ achievements—a new PhD degree earned by the spouse, academic excellence of the daughter or other positive developments—are celebrated with gifts and awards.“There are three things employees look for at the workplace—job security, a sense of belonging and a good trajectory for their careers in the company,” says Handa. “By including the family, we create that sense of belonging.”

Unlike other corporates where husband-wife teams, or blood relations are discouraged from working in the same office, employees at Claris can refer their immediate family.

Claris also adeptly channels the goodwill created. The company has market presence in over across 91 countries, and before every international audit, the senior leadership team visits temples to pray. Families are encouraged and invited to join in. After a successful audit, the Claris HR team sends thank-you letters home with a box of sweets as a token of gratitude. 

There are other business benefits as well—including a thriving employee referral scheme called Family First that was introduced in 2010. Unlike other corporates where husband-wife teams, or blood relations are discouraged from working in the same office, employees at Claris can refer members of their immediate family—wife, siblings and children—for job openings. It’s a win-win situation, says Macwan, as the company gets access to good talent, builds better relationships with employees, and families find it convenient to work in the same workplace as their loved ones. 

Dhara Makadia is a good example. Her husband has been working in Claris since April 2006. He referred her, and it’s been a year since she was hired as an officer in the process quality assurance department. “I knew a lot about the company already, thanks to the regular company events I attended over the years. Now, I plan to refer my sister for a job,” she says. To prevent any bias or favouritism at the workplace, the company ensures relatives are not placed in the same team or function. And to keep the selection process fair, they have to go through the same rigourous screening as everyone else. As a result, around 12 out of 45 referrerals have been recruited so far and the HR team hopes more would join the ranks soon. Yes, it’s all in the family for Claris Lifesciences.