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Here's How an Organized Transportation System Can Contribute to Employee Productivity Transportation is the reason why leading IT/ITES, BPOs, and KPOs with high-intensity work and rotational shifts are already offering cabs on a large scale to employees

By Surajit Das

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Every company wants its employees to be working at their full capacity, giving every last bit of their attention to their work. However, a factor that gravely affects employee productivity is a long, exhaustive commute, day in and day out. According to a study conducted at the University of West England, adding as little as 20 minutes to the everyday commute can make employees as miserable as receiving a 19per cent pay cut. This is indicative of the fact that commuting is one of the top aspects that can make or break an employee's efficiency. A contingency plan that organizations can follow in order to improve the productivity of these exhausted commuters, is to provide an organized transportation system that brings them to and from work on time and with minimal efforts from their side.

The State of Commute in India

A 2018 survey conducted by Feedback Consulting found that, on an average, Indian commuters travel almost 35 km per day. Furthermore, the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) revealed that India saw a nearly fourfold increase, from 6.34 million to 24.62 million, in the number of two-way commuters between 1993-94 and 2009-10. India, therefore, is a workforce on the move. There is no denying the fact that commuting in India, especially in the busy metro cities, is no easy task. Congested roads, low-quality road infrastructure and an increasing number of private vehicles lead to significant delays in commuting, adding not minutes but hours to the entire process of getting to work.

As a result of this extended commute, Indian employees have admitted to feeling tired and less productive at work. Unfortunately, commuting has affected more adverse than just feeling less than fresh. Studies suggest that constant commuting can cause ailments such as increased cholesterol, high blood pressure, anxiety and even depression.

The Role of Organizations in Simplifying Commutes

Organizations that identify the everyday struggles of commuting, offer up a simple solution. The group employees taking similar routes to work and provide cabs that pick them up and drop them home every day. This significantly reduces the number of private vehicles on the road and ensures that employees reach work and home on time. Enhancing the efficiency of company-sponsored cabs are innovative technologies such as predictive analysis and artificial intelligence. Automated transportation systems powered by these technologies can optimize the shortest routes and make sure commutes never take longer than they have to. These systems can also predict traffic conditions and reroute accordingly, ensuring that all snags and delays are avoided.

Travelling via shared cabs allows employees to spend their commuting time as they please, chatting with their colleagues or watching a TV series on their device. As employees start reaching work on time, without having to deal with the traffic themselves, their overall productivity shoots up. They have more hours to complete their tasks aligned for the day and are in an alert state of mind that is conducive to good work. The work-life balance achieved thanks to the timely commute further contributes to their productivity.

Corporates Benefit Too: The Upsides of Offering Organized Commute to Employees

Corporates that offer organized commutes to their employees benefit from their increased productivity. Often, employees reach late to work due to delayed cab pick-ups and multiple pickups from locations that do not fall on the shortest route. Technologically driven cab systems negate these delayed pickups and lost productivity by plotting the quickest routes every time. As employee efficiency increases, companies can achieve their organizational goals sooner than expected.

Organized transportation systems are also more cost-efficient than other alternatives. Leading transport automation service providers such as Automatic offer favourable billing mechanisms based on kilometres travelled from point-to-point that allow corporates to save money on transportation of employees.

Companies that offer organized transportation to employees also contribute to their safety and security, thereby increasing employee satisfaction. This is why leading IT/ITES, BPOs, and KPOs with high-intensity work and rotational shifts are already offering cabs on a large scale to employees. Once organization across the country begin offering employees this essential benefit, India's combined workforce will be at its productive best, catapulting its strides towards becoming an economic superpower.


Surajit Das

Co-founder and CEO, Routematic

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