The agile working model is a pioneering initiative by Tata Steel to provide flexibility and foster a culture of trust and outcome-based performance. It offers the following two options:

• Flexi Work from Home: An employee can work from home for any number of days from their base location but must work from the office when required.

• Absolute Work from Home: An employee can work from home for any number of days from any location of choice within India.

• Creche Facility at Workplace: Tata Steel ensures that your child is being well looked after, while you are at work and gets a place for lactation. We have company-run, top-end creche facilities in various locations. And in the areas where we don't have, we have tie-ups with third-party creche providers.

• Travel on Company Business with Kids: Primary caregivers can take their kids to a location outside the base city for critical business work if accompanied by an attendant to ensure the child's safety and security. A maximum of two children under the age of 5 will be permitted to travel along with their primary caregiver.

• Improving the Childcare Experience: We have curated handbooks for managers and caregivers to join hands to celebrate 'Moments that Matter' and support team members' transition through this momentous phase of their lives. The handbooks address concerns and help primary caregivers professionally and personally in this new phase of life.

• Financial Support: Tata Steel’s gender-neutral Policy supports you by offsetting the legal, agency, and regulatory costs involved, such as adoption fees from bonafide adoption agencies, legal fees resulting from the adoption process, registration fees from local, state, or national governmental agencies, and travel expenses for the adopting parent and child, if the adoption process requires travelling. Employees can avail up to ₹ 70,000 as financial assistance.

• Adoption Leave: You are giving a child a chance for a bright future. We want to support you at the outset of this journey you wish to embark on. Eligible employees are entitled to adoption leave with full pay for 12 weeks on adopting a child of age five years or less. Eligible primary caregivers are entitled to adoption leave for a maximum of 2 times and availed in one instance without a break.

• Maternity Leave: Eligible officers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay for 26 weeks. Up to a maximum of four months of additional leave may be granted to an officer who is unable to resume duty on the expiry of maternity leave on the production of a medical certificate.

• Surrogacy Leave: 12 weeks of surrogacy leave for the commissioning mother from the date the child is handed over, and a full maternity leave of 26 weeks is granted to a delivering mother, in case either of them is a Tata Steel employee.

• Childcare Leave: To help you look after your child of 5 years or below, Tata Steel provides 15 days of childcare leave every year. This leave is given at the start of the year and proportionately credited if you join us in the middle of the year. Primary and non-primary caregivers with children up to 5 years of age are entitled to a childcare leave of 15 days on full pay annually.

• Newborn Parent Leave: Primary and non-primary caregivers are entitled to up to 10 days continuous leave with full pay within six months of the birth of a new baby or adoption of a child of age five years or less.

• Nursing Break: To maintain a hassle-free balance between child care and work, a primary caregiver can take four 30-minute breaks (or two 60-minute breaks in exceptional cases) during their daily work schedule to nurse the child until the child attains the age of fifteen months.

• The Second Career programme enables women who have taken a career break to return to the corporate world on their terms.

• It provides them with many career options so that they can work when they want, where they want, on the project of their choice at their own pace.

• We aim to institutionalise a model of engagement wherein freelance or independent contractors can be engaged for short-term, project-based, or hour-based assignments.

• The candidates appointed as gig resources are paid a fixed-amount contract fee based on hours of engagement/ days of engagement/per month as applicable for the position.

• The forms of engagement include:
  • Short-term project-based assignments with a fixed duration (less than one year) where full-time engagement is not required
  • Positions requiring specialised or niche expertise
  • Positions where outcome with periodic milestones is clearly defined or positions where duration of involvement can be clearly defined or measured

Tata Steel believes that a thriving workplace is built on a foundation of active listening and meaningful dialogue with its employees. Understanding and addressing their needs and concerns is not just a strategy but a core value that drives us forward. To this end, we place significant weight on employee listening, mainly focusing on stress, happiness, and a sense of purpose. To truly grasp how our employees feel, we conduct comprehensive surveys that delve into various aspects of their work experience.

One of the critical levers we capture is their ability to manage stress. When we asked employees if they clearly understood their work demands and felt capable of handling pressure comfortably, 83% responded positively. This indicates that our efforts to define roles clearly and provide necessary resources are broadly effective.

However, when creating an open environment where employees feel comfortable discussing stressful situations with their managers, the score was 64%. While this is a decent starting point, it highlights an area for improvement. In response, we have initiated programs to train managers to foster more open and supportive conversations about stress and mental health.

We have Emotional Health Counsellors deployed physically at various operating locations of Tata Steel. Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) services are extended to contract workers and their family members.

Happiness at work is another crucial metric we monitor. Our survey shows that 72% of employees feel happy coming to work. While this is encouraging, it also leaves room for improvement. We continuously explore new ways to enhance the work environment, making it more enjoyable and fulfilling for everyone.

A sense of purpose in one's work is a powerful motivator. Our survey revealed that 80% of employees feel they make a difference in their roles, and 81% believe their work has special meaning beyond just being a job. These scores reflect a strong alignment between personal and organisational goals, fostering more profound commitment and engagement.

The feedback is invaluable. It allows us to pinpoint strengths and identify areas for growth. Our commitment to listening doesn't stop at data collection. We actively implement targeted initiatives to improve employee well-being based on these insights. For instance, in response to the feedback on stress discussions, we have launched initiatives to improve manager training and support systems.

Our continuous feedback loop ensures that we remain responsive to the evolving needs of our workforce. By prioritising employee listening, we aim to cultivate a workplace where everyone feels heard, valued, and empowered to bring their best selves to work daily. This ongoing process improves individual well-being and strengthens our collective mission, driving us toward a sustainable and thriving future.

The UpNext initiative introduced Organisational and Divisional Goals, which cascade into Individual Goals. The People Partners and Executive Heads across all divisions conduct town halls to ensure strategic alignment between Individual and Divisional Goals. In addition to the vertical cascading, we have enabled the horizontal cascading of goals amongst employees by introducing the concept of cross-functional collaborative requests for role-based goals and projects.

The revamped Performance Development System broadens its focus towards Developmental Goals and the existing Performance Goals. During Performance Contracting, employees also curate a development plan after a detailed one-on-one conversation with their reporting manager, as per the 3E model of learning (Experience, Exposure, Education).

The new PMS enables two mandatory feedback conversations between managers and employees to embed the roots of a feedback-seeker culture in the organisation. While the Development Conversation is an opportunity for employees to seek feedback on their professional development and career growth, the Mid-Year Review conversation is performance-focused. Each conversation is followed by a survey filled out by employees and managers regarding the quality of managers' feedback, which helps calculate the managers' effectiveness scores.

In the final stage of the redesigned PMS, the Talent Review committee assesses an individual employee, discussing, in addition to the Performance Rating, the specific development needs that will flow into the employee's development plan for the subsequent year.

Furthermore, Divisional Goals are to be evaluated and rated on the scale of A, B, and C, wherein we consider 30% of the achievement of Organisational Goals and 70% of the achievement of Divisional Goals, which subsequently impacts the rating distribution.

Specifically for workers, different policies on career development and career progression are in place for various Tata Steel Group entities based on local market practices. Performance and career development reviews assess the skill level of each worker, which is essential in their career progression and development. Such reviews are at an individual level at some locations, and team-based performance review mechanisms are in place at other locations (e.g., Incentive Bonus schemes, Team Performance Rewards, Iron Ore Sufficiency Rewards, Coal Production Enhancement Rewards, etc.). The annual bonus scheme for Permanent Workers depends on their performance across productivity, profitability, and safety parameters. Our performance appraisal systems also integrate compliance and codes of conduct.