This report is the fourth annual list of the ‘best firms for data scientists to work for’ published by Analytics India Magazine (AIM).

This report aims to rank firms based on how well suited a company’s policies are for their employees. Last year, AIM expanded the scope by reaching out to a wider set of firms with data science teams in their organisations. In continuation with the initiative, we surveyed hundreds of employers in India to glean insights into how they have created an exemplary work environment for data scientists.

We derived an overall index to determine this year’s rankings of AIM’s best companies for data scientists to work for. AIM listed five parameters to compute the ranking of 50 firms — Learning & Support, Productivity & Engagement, Benefits & Well-being, Rewarding Excellence and Diversity & Inclusion. The overall index was calculated using the average score of five sub-indices (based on the parameters mentioned above). The sub-indices themselves were calculated based on the scores given to the answers (of the survey questions) asked by AIM. These scores were normalised on a scale from 0 to 1 before the average for the sub-indices was taken.

The hierarchy to calculate the overall index can be seen in the chart below.

No fee was charged for participation in the survey, and the participation was voluntary.

Below we discuss the results of the analysis and present the top-ranking companies across the different sub-indices and the overall index. We highlight the various policies or initiatives that these companies undertook, for which they were listed in the top 50.

Overall Index

All the firms that submitted responses have formulated workplace policies or undertaken initiatives in an effort to build a conducive work environment and provide all the resources needed for data scientists to be content and successful at their jobs. Some companies did better than others.

Intuit India scored the highest overall index at 0.73 to register itself as the best firm for data scientists to work for in 2022. Intuit had the highest ranking in the Learning and Support sub-index, scoring 0.90. This is mainly due to the high focus on its learning hours that are integral to its work ethic, along with the different platforms that the company has made its data scientists available to present, influence, and learn. The company also scores high (0.96) in the Benefits & Wellbeing, to rank second within the sub-index. The company provides a comprehensive list of benefits in terms of medical/life insurance and a range of flexi-benefits to ensure the financial, physical, and emotional well-being of its employees. It also offers one of the highest-paid leaves to its employees.

American Express stands at the second position with an overall index score of 0.70. The organisation ranks second in the Learning & Support sub-index with a score of 0.85. The company not only mandates high learning hours; it offers all the support its employees might need to upskill. For instance, the company reimburses its data scientists for courses they can enrol for on third-party websites and offers functional “Nanodegrees” internally upon completing sessions and assessments. With an above-average median salary hike and band promotions every quarter, the firm scores very well in Rewarding Excellence (0.82) to rank fourth within the sub-index.

With almost the same score (0.70) as the second position, Walmart Global Tech India ranks third on the Best Firms list for 2022. Walmart scores the highest (0.83) within the Diversity & Inclusion sub-index. The company has the highest representation of women in its data science teams. This reflects its wide array of initiatives to ensure higher representation of women and create a work environment where women employees feel safe and empowered to seek flexibility and autonomy. The company also makes it to the top five of the Benefits & Wellbeing sub-index, with 0.93. The company offers one of the highest numbers of paid leaves along with a variety of flexi-benefits that allow employees to work from anywhere at any time. The company also offers a sabbatical leave option of up to three months.

In fourth place, we have Lowe’s India with a score of 0.69. The firm scores 0.96 on the Benefits & Wellbeing subindex mainly attributed to the high number of paid leaves the company has to offer along with a variety of flexi-benefits that include work flexibility, health benefits, counselling services, WFH setup reimbursement, etc. The company does well in terms of Productivity & Engagement to rank 7th in the sub-index. A comparatively lower attrition rate, along with a zero per cent absenteeism and 90-day failure rate earn the firm a score of 0.66 within the sub-index. The firm ranks 8th in the Diversity & Inclusion sub-index, with a score of 0.58. The firm has undertaken some of the best initiatives among all the companies to improve women’s representation within the organisation.

Fractal Analytics scores 0.69 to rank 5th. This can be mainly attributed to its high score of 0.96 in the Benefits & Wellbeing sub-index. The company puts unconditional trust in its employees with an instant leave approval and no tracking leave policy. The company also allows its employees to choose their work timings and provides work from home option. Secondly, it scores a 0.72 on Learning & Support to make it to the top 10 of the subindex. The company has created Fractal Analytics Academy, which provides its employees access to self-paced learning content in data science. Data scientists can present their work and success stories across a wide spectrum of platforms and audiences.

Learning & Support

Data science is a relatively new field and is evolving rapidly. Professionals working in this field need to stay updated with the latest trends and technologies. Hence, it is imperative that enterprises not only make resources for skill training available for their employees but also create a culture that encourages their data scientists to upskill. Beyond this, data science as a field is also resource-intensive. Companies need to ensure that they provide all the support for data scientists to carry out their projects or research. This section looks at some of the firms that did well in Learning & Support.

Productivity & Engagement

Data scientists are a difficult talent to scout. They are high in demand and at the same time challenging to retain considering the high attrition rate in Indian tech firms. Keeping a steady influx of data scientists followed by retaining the top talent is very important. Low retention can severely impact a company’s productivity and quality of work. The Productivity Engagement sub-index analyses the organisations’ efforts to engage their talent and improve their productivity.

Benefits & Wellbeing

As data scientists work hard for their firms, it is up to the companies to show a genuine interest in their overall progress. Employee benefits are one way to show employees that the organisation is invested in their career and their (and their family’s) overall well-being. Apart from salaries, these benefits can be a differentiating factor between the firms and their competitors that can help attract the market’s best talent. In this section, we see some of the top performers under the Benefits & Wellbeing sub-index.

Rewarding Excellence

While company benefits can attract the right talent, rewarding excellence can motivate data scientists and employees to stay at the firm and continue working with a drive. Rewards can come in salary hikes, feedback, awards, promotions, or various team-building activities. This section analyses some of the companies’ top initiatives to get a high score for the Rewarding Excellence sub-index.

Diversity & Inclusion

AIM’s Analytics Salary Study this year showed that the gender pay disparity within data science roles still exists. India’s top corporates also lack representation of Persons with Disabilities (PwD). To ensure that such trends do not continue and ensure equal opportunity and representation for people of all genders, sexualities, and abilities, proactive measures at a company-wide level are needed.

Read the full 30+ page report

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