Deloitte India: Recognition that Pushes Boundaries and Delivers Excellence

Deloitte is a global, multidisciplinary professional services provider spanning 150 countries and over 450,000 people. Deloitte India comprises 35,000+ professionals providing Assurance, Technology and Transformation, Strategy, Risk, and Transactions, and Tax services. It is committed to being a workplace where employees can immerse themselves in a dynamic culture of inclusion, collaboration, continuous development, high performance—and recognition.

Situation

Deloitte India puts people at the front and centre of everything that they do. “People before processes,” explains Dr. Badari Narayana, Executive Director, Talent, Deloitte India. “Growth and success are very important, but not at the expense of people's health or mental and emotional well-being.”

The firm conducted a culture study and found a need to create a culture of appreciation to help acclimate new employees joining the firm and attract the brightest talent. They knew they needed a platform to help them, so they turned to O.C. Tanner.

“O.C. Tanner was very accommodating in the way they customized the whole program for us. We wanted a Deloitte look and feel with branding, tied back to our values, and a certain process flow. O.C. Tanner helped us assemble this culture of appreciation.”
—Dr. Badari Narayana, Executive Director, Deloitte India

"The O.C. Tanner team works closely with us, providing guidance and support at every step. They stay in regular contact, adding valuable insights along the way. It feels like they're truly invested in what matters to us, not just their own priorities," says Badari.

Solution

Deloitte India’s new recognition platform, Dot of Fame, is fully customized to reflect the organisation’s unique culture, making it both user-friendly and familiar to employees from the start.

After meeting with their CEO to explain the platform and change, Badari’s team spoke with individual business leaders, senior managers, and managers to introduce Dot of Fame. They spent several months socializing the platform, conducting training sessions so people understood what it was for and how to use it. Communication focused on encouraging leaders and employees to use the platform and start to promote a culture of recognition. The team gathered testimonials from people who received appreciation and shared it around the firm.

The team explains that while new initiatives often face challenges with employee adoption, Dot of Fame was a welcomed change. With Deloitte’s shift towards a more people-centric culture, there was strong interest in using recognition to make employees feel valued beyond traditional compensation and benefits.

The firm dedicates resources and budgets for recognition and includes recognition metrics in their KPIs. Their executive leaders, including Deloitte South Asia’s CEO Romal Shetty and Deepti Sagar, Chief People and Experience Officer, regularly mention in townhalls how important appreciation is, “not only for what people do, but for all the value that they bring to the table, and the integrity they display. Everything is articulated repeatedly from the top,” says Badari. 

Romal personally gives out group CEO awards, which are awards based on values and integrity rather than just performance. President's bonus, awarded by business leaders, focus on shared values. CEO's Awards recognise values too, but also visionary innovators, brand amplifiers, culture champions, and business backbones.

Deloitte India prioritizes its people, with a strong focus on their development and overall wellbeing, driven directly by the CEO. This commitment to employee care is a key reason why people are eager to join the organisation.

“A people-first culture begins with recognising the unique contributions of every individual. At Deloitte, we believe that consistent, meaningful recognition fuels innovation, collaboration, and success.”
—Deepti Sagar, Chief People and Experience Officer

To make recognition easy for their people, Deloitte India has integrated the Dot of Fame platform into Outlook, and the firm regularly sends emails reminding people to recognise. Employees can access the platform on their mobiles and appreciate on the go.

Deloitte India has integrated AI into Dot of Fame to help employees craft thoughtful, well-toned recognition messages. To drive adoption, they conduct regular manager training and communication, amplifying the message to foster a culture of appreciation across the organisation. This approach aims to raise awareness and ensure appreciation reaches every part of the organisation.

To further drive adoption, Deloitte India established a People Panel, consisting of cultural ambassadors from every business unit and service line, to encourage recognition across the firm. Currently, the panel includes 200-300 members. Dashboards provide insights into which service lines are effectively using recognition tools, tracking budget usage, and identifying areas where eCard adoption needs to be driven. The team analyzes how recognition is being used and works with the panelists to promote increased engagement.

Further, the organisation holds an Appreciation Month each year with multiple engagement initiatives to encourage recognition and conducts regular pulse surveys to see how recognition is working.

“Through surveys, we understand the pulse on the ground. We know that rewards and recognition is an important aspect for us to have a continuous focus on. So, it is part of every business leader’s agenda and is one of the top 3 priorities for the firm,” Badari adds.

Results

• In less than a year, 72% of employees at Deloitte India have logged into Dot of Fame.
• Over 14,000 appreciation moments in 2023.
• Their quarterly pulse surveys show good scores around recognition and appreciation.
• Retention has increased, with attrition dropping 10 points.

The firm sees a clear correlation between people being recognized and staying. And Dot of Fame is growing. When they first started, Deloitte India had 3 or 4 award categories. Now they have 15+, which shows how much businesses are interested in recognising their people.

Perhaps the most significant impact is the numerous LinkedIn posts by Deloitte employees when they are recognized through Dot of Fame or celebrate a milestone at the firm. "The joy shared on LinkedIn is overwhelming and completely unsolicited. This kind of joy can’t be measured in percentages. It’s not about money—it comes from the heart and reflects the genuine appreciation we’re advocating," says Badari.