And the policy has proved to be rewarding for the company itself. By implementing the `Suggestion Scheme', along with its other human resource policies, Kee Pharma has been able to reduce its employees turnover rate from 14-15 people per month three years back to 5-6 people per month at present.

"An employee gets paid Rs 10 for each suggestion he or she gives for the improvement of the company," says Anil Motihar, managing director, Kee Pharma Ltd. Motihar adds, "It does not matter which position he or she is on the hierarchy ladder. Similarly, there is no limit on the number of suggestions one can give. Moreover, if an employee's suggestion proves profitable for the company after implementing it, then the employee gets a lump sum reward of 10 per cent of the savings accrued to the company following the suggestion."

A novel idea, indeed. Kee Pharma has zeroed in on strengthening the bond with its employees after experiencing a high turnover rate of employees. "In fact, almost all the companies across the pharmaceutical industry have the same experience, at least at the field workers' level," says R K Khanna, head of Human Resource and Administration, Kee Pharma. "And this is quite evident from the number of medical representative recruitment advertisements in the media."

Kee Pharma is finding its own ways to get around the problem. Lately, the company has resorted to what is called `Theory O of Management'. "Theory O is an amalgamation of Theory X, Y and Z," explains Khanna. "Its propositions are based on employees' participation. This implies creation of an environment where employees do not feel alienated from the way the company functions. In other words, the policy is to create a culture wherein the employees feel a sense of ownership and responsibility in the light of the company's need."

If the feeling of alienation leads to disenchantment among the ranks of employees, particularly field workforce, and hence fosters quitting, then the rigid career growth in big companies also adds fuel to it. "In addition, the mushrooming of small players in the field of pharmaceutical business has also added to the woes," Khanna says. According to him, the small companies lure the employees of other relatively big companies with a higher pay package and senior positions. "This works by the spread of word of mouth as the field is very incestuous in which many medical representatives work in a particular region," explains Khanna.

To make these job offers less attractive, Kee Pharma has put more emphasis on growth within the company. "This means that that employees' promotions will get priority and in case of filling a vacancy at a senior position, our employees will get priority over hiring a person from outside," explains Khanna.

Kee Pharma has started practising an open interaction policy whereby all the employees always have free access to their superiors in case of any kind of problem. This policy is aimed at promoting greater interaction and freer flow of communication across different levels of employees and the management.