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At the For All Summit 2025, the panel on “Keeping Employee Experience Paramount: Learning from India’s Best Workplaces™” delivered a clear message: The future of work in India is about purpose, not just policies. This thought-provoking session, featuring Zubin Saxena (Hilton) and Rachana Bahadur (Synchrony India), proved that great Employee Experience is the ultimate business strategy. For these Best Workplaces, building a strong Workplace Culture is the foundation of success.
When asked for the “secret sauce” of a top workplace, both leaders highlighted that organizational success, particularly among the Best Workplaces, flows from a deeply human-centric approach. For these companies, Keeping Employee Experience Paramount starts with intentional listening. And, there is also a non-negotiable value system that reinforces the desired Workplace Culture.
Synchrony’s Pillars: Listening, Flexibility, and Trust
Rachana Bahadur emphasized that listening to your employees is the first step. Synchrony employs a holistic approach that captures feedback from multiple sources, making employees comfortable enough to share key information.
- Holistic Listening Ecosystems: This includes formal mechanisms like the Great Place To Work® India Trust Index™ Survey and informal coffee conversations. Therefore, the goal is to capitalize on every piece of information employees share.
- Flexibility and Choice: Synchrony’s workforce operates from over 5,000 locations in India. This demonstrates that the organization is commitment to providing choice and flexibility.
- The Manager Connection: Insights from their annual survey revealed that employees perform better when they connect better with managers. This focus on strong connections is core to their successful culture.
Hilton’s Foundation: Values and Scientific Hiring
Zubin Saxena pointed to the company’s multi-year history, asserting that the “secret sauce comes from the values that are built by the company.” Values matter most in the service industry. He explicitly noted the mnemonic for Hilton’s core values: Hospitality, Integrity, Leadership, Teamwork, Ownership, and Now.
- Value-Driven Hiring: The hiring process is the first touchpoint where talent understands the culture of the team. Hilton ensures that hard conversations about compensation and roles are not one-sided or purely “scientific,” but rather genuine interactions.
- Game-Changing Initiatives for Support: Hilton has launched initiatives that focus on empathy and life balance. This reinforce that the employee experience is a paramount approach that extends outside the office:
- It’s Okay Initiative: Explicitly permitting small, human delays (e.g., arriving a few minutes late because of a pet emergency).
- Caregiving Leave: Offering 10 days of paid leave per year to care for friends or family.
How Can Leaders Deal with High Attrition by Making Employee Experience Paramount?
Addressing the challenge of high attrition, especially in people-centric industries like hospitality, Zubin Saxena explained that while compensation matters, the solution is multi-faceted, focusing on human connections and long-term loyalty. This is key to sustaining a Great Place To Work India.
- Honoring the Human Side: A human side to business must be honed across all levels. This includes embracing a “boomeranging” policy: “when somebody wants to join us back, we hire them back.”
- Commitment to the Culture: Attrition is mitigated by having value-driven leadership, a precise hiring process, and a continuous investment in employee experience initiatives (like their global ‘Catch Me at My Best’ recognition program). The strength of the workplace culture is the ultimate retention tool.
Managing the Multigenerational Workforce: Context and Purpose for Gen Z in a Strong Culture
Rachana Bahadur provided key insights on managing a multigenerational workforce at Synchrony. This came with a special focus on catering to the needs of Gen Z, who represents the future of talent among the Best Workplaces.
- Robust Training and Learning: Gen Z talent requires very robust training and learning programs to grow their skills and feel supported in their development.
- A Seat at the Innovation Table: This generation wants to be a part of innovation, not just execution. Synchrony addresses this by organizing numerous Ideathons nationwide.
- The Power of Context and Purpose: They want to know why they are doing what they are doing. Leaders must provide context, making the work relatable and instilling a vital sense of purpose. Which is critical for their buy-in to the Workplace Culture.
The Final Takeaway from the For All Summit: Trust Your People to Be Themselves
The panel at the For All Summit 2025 concluded by offering one key takeaway for the audience on Keeping Employee Experience Paramount in the years ahead:
Zubin Saxena: “People really blossom when you give them the space to be themselves. Let them do what they are best at.”
Rachana Bahadur: “Feedback is a gift. Nothing is better than developmental feedback, so listen to your employees.”
Ultimately, the leaders from India’s Best Workplaces confirmed that an authentic and accepting environment sustains a great culture. Here, employees see trust, and they are given the space to fully contribute.
Ready to Elevate Your Workplace Culture?
To know more and to be part of For All Summit 2026 – click here to explore how your organization can join the ranks of India’s Best Workplaces!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the crucial first step for making the Employee Experience paramount?
Listening to your employees is the foundational step. Companies must implement a Holistic Listening Ecosystem, combining formal mechanisms (like surveys) with informal dialogue (like coffee conversations) – to truly capture and act on all feedback.
What is the “secret sauce” for companies recognized as Best Workplaces?
The core differentiator is a deeply human-centric approach. Success flows from two main pillars: intentional listening to employees and maintaining a clear, non-negotiable value system that consistently reinforces the desired culture.
What is the ultimate key for sustaining a great culture?
The ultimate key is trusting your people to be themselves. Leaders should give employees the space to blossom and utilize their unique strengths, fostering an authentic and accepting environment.
How can leaders effectively mitigate high attrition rates?
While competitive compensation matters, the most powerful mitigators are fostering human connections and committing to a value-driven culture. This includes celebrating employees (e.g., through recognition programs), having a precise hiring process, and even embracing policies that welcome back former, trusted employees (“boomeranging”).
