Written by: Shahine Ardeshir – Director – People & Organisation at Mars Wrigley India
Published on 9th September, 2025
People say “It’s just a job.” But it isn’t. For most of us, work is an incredibly significant part of life: It’s where we spend most of our waking hours, where we build deep relationships, and most important of all – where we grow and evolve as human beings. Whether you love what you do or do it just for a pay check, the chances are your workplace is shaping you in profound ways.
At the same time, we operate in an increasingly complex and unpredictable employment landscape, with scores of organizations vying for the attention and interest of skilled, talented people. Many of the offerings focus on what the person can take home (salary or benefits), or the prestige attached (perks or job titles). Others make grand promises for the future (growth or foreign assignments). Not enough, however, in my mind, to speak explicitly enough about the experience of the employee themselves – which may be a missed opportunity.
In case you’re wondering why a differentiated and authentic employee experience matters, I’ll give you two important reasons:
First, most simply, it maximizes the bottom line. There are mountains of research that suggests that more engaged, happier associates in the workplace are more productive, make better decisions, and drive better business outcomes.
Second, and perhaps more importantly: we owe to our people to provide an experience worthwhile of the time, energy and effort they spend in our workplaces (virtual or physical). And even in a highly competitive talent market like India, I believe there is space for nuance and thought, about what kind of employer you want to be, while centering the employee themselves in your thinking.
So, what does it take? Here are five aspects to providing a differentiated employment experience. So whether you’re a leader in a large multi-national organization, or a founder of a start-up still getting off the ground, here are five things to consider baking in.
Trust
Do your people trust you? Do they speak up directly? What channels are in place for your people to express how they really feel? And, most crucially, what do you do with what you hear? You should consciously cultivate multiple channels (anonymous surveys at townhalls, an annual employee survey, an Ombudsman program are all great examples) to make it as safe and easy for associates to speak up as possible.
How much time do you as a leader spend with your people, and how accessible are you? Is there a personal assistant guarding your door, and a blocked out calendar – or can anyone find you if they need you? Open offices make this problem go away – they promote extreme accessibility to leadership and across functions.
And in conclusion – what do you do with what you hear? I encourage leaders to communicate with as much transparency as possible, about what they heard, what decisions they made, and why – even if the decision is to do nothing. Let people know you heard them, what you’ve decided and why, and most important of all, remain consistent to what you said. Remember, people trust behaviour and actions, not words.
Fairness
Fairness doesn’t necessarily mean treating everyone the same way, but ensuring that everyone gets to experience the values you stand for. Another way of putting this is that fairness is about equity – responding to unique personal circumstances appropriately – not equality (treating everyone the same). One of my favourite examples of fairness in action is flexibility at work. We operate on a hybrid model, with people in the office two-three days a week. And while we have core office hours, we allow associates the flex to pick a schedule that suits them. As a mother of young children, I’m currently by eight-thirty, out the door by five-thirty and closing my day out later at night – and my team doesn’t blink. Someone else may prefer a late start and late end. As long as the results get delivered, both are workable options that demonstrate fairness in action.
Think about what core practices in your workplace can speak to fairness. Would your employees describe their leaders as fair? If you’re not sure, asking them is a great place to start. No matter where you work, everyone needs to be held accountable for outcomes, but the means of delivering those can and should vary.
Accountability
I’ll let you in on a little secret: People like to be held accountable for results, and they like working in places where people are held to the same standard. Most people – despite popular lore – do not want to slack off, or sit around all day doing nothing. Most of us find meaning in our work, and organizations that promote that, that recognize it, that make it easy to drive accountability, usually come out on top. At Mars, we pride ourselves in holding ourselves accountable for results, and also enabling that accountability in others.
One of the best ways to test whether you are driving accountability is to examine who and what you recognize. Whether it is through promotions, performance ratings or even public recognition: Awards and celebrations – Why is that behaviour or project or person worthy of recognition? What you spotlight is what you reinforce – and it is our job as leaders to tie those recognitions back to a sense of accountability.
Support
Most leaders I meet find it relatively easy to hold people accountable for results – but providing support is often an afterthought. Conversely, one of the best opportunities to demonstrate support or care for someone is when they are struggling with performance. Support isn’t just about smiling when you see them. It’s calling out where they need to improve – but in a manner in which they hear you, and feel like you are invested in making them successful. Again, support can mean different things to different people. Some people feel supported if you give them extra time, one on one; others feel supported if you give them immediate feedback on something they could have done better. The important question to ask yourself as a leader is: Do you see the person as a person, or a resource?
Growth
None of the first four suggestions I’ve made will hold much sway in the long run, if you aren’t able to provide your people with growth. Most people want to level up, and see themselves progressing, and how you make that happen needs to part of any meaningful employee experience. Creating opportunities for employees to develop on the job, through projects or stretch assignments, is a great way to bring this to life. Also, talk to your people about options – what kind of roles could they do next? What skills and development will that require? Make their success and growth your responsibility.
In conclusion, I do want to recognize that none of the individual aspects I have written about are easy to bring to life, and one often feels like it contradicts the other. A leader who only cares and can’t hold people accountable will fail – as will a system where trust is high, but the perceived sense of fairness doesn’t exist. If you find yourself tipping in one or another direction as a leader, think again. The truth is that creating a truly differentiated workplace isn’t easy. It’s an everyday opportunity to step up into leadership, but we owe it to the great people who work with us to create a work environment they can thrive in.
