Abstract

The case ‘Sohan Roy’s Innovative Employee Benefits and Efficiency Improvement Initiatives at Aries Group’ describes the various initiatives of Aries Group founder and CEO Sohan Roy (Roy) that were instrumental in the Aries Group becoming the leading design/inspection firm in the Middle-East and growing into a consortium of 56 companies in 16 countries by 2020. Roy’s initiatives focused on Model Management Principles and Efficiency Management Systems that helped the management and employees become more committed, valued, responsible, efficient, and productive. The case touches upon Roy’s varied interests in areas like poetry, cinema, theater, and visual media and how he converted his passion in these areas into business opportunities in fields as varied as Maritime, Entertainment, 3D Technology, IT, Media, Multiplexes, Healthcare, and Tourism. It then focuses on the efficiency software system EFFISM, Roy’s latest initiative to improve employee productivity and performance. Developed in-house under Roy’s guidance by Aries International Maritime Research Institute (AIMRI), EFFISM helped employees improve their productivity through proper time management. It also helped the management track and monitor every activity in the Group companies in real-time. EFFISM was also instrumental in bringing down operating costs and effectively managing remote working employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case also describes Roy’s holistic employee benefit programs for the staff, their children, spouse, and parents, including paying salaries to employees’ wives, allocating 50% of the company profit to employees, introducing pension plans for employees’ parents, and several other welfare schemes. A look at the Group’s growth plans follows.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the role of the founder in the success of a business
• Examine the benefits of performance/efficiency management system for both company and employees
• Learn about the importance of holistic employee benefits and its link to employee loyalty and productivity
• Know about the different types of model management principles
• Understand the importance of converting passion and interest into a business opportunity

Keywords

Time management; Founder’s vision; Employee retention; Employee productivity; Employee motivation; Employee benefits; Entrepreneurship; Performance Management