Alexander Kjerulf was the rock star in the World HRD congress this year.

In my talk, I told the participants that India absolutely needs more happiness at work. It’s not that workplaces there are particularly bad, it’s just that the war for talent is still going strong. Indian workplaces are facing some stark realities:

Employee turnover among specialists and middle managers is around 20-30%.
Annual average pay rises are 12-13%.
There is a huge fight to attract newly educated Gen Y employees.
In short, Indian workplaces are doing their best to attract the best people, keep them in the workplace and help them perform optimally. The problem is that they’re doing all the wrong things, e.g. wellness programs, bonuses, pay raises, promotions, etc. While there’s nothing wring with any of this, it simply isn’t what makes employees happy at work – at most it makes them satisfied.

In my speech, I tried to focus on what really does make people happy at work – and therefore more likely to stay in the workplace, more likely to do their best work and more likely to try to convince acquaintances, friends and family to also work there. And it seemed to really ring a bell. Here’s some sample feedback from my keynote:

“Your presentation was the best I’ve seen in 20 years in HR.”

“It was really great listening to your talk. I have implemented a lot of it in my life and I can already feel a huge difference.”

“Alexander Kjerulf was the rock star in the World HRD congress this year. He mesmerized participants from 79 countries with a simple yet powerful approach to create a happy work place.”

Your take

What is your opinion of Indian workplaces? Are people there happy and fulfilled or just going through the motions?