In October 2014, Hari Krishna Exports, a US$975 million Indian diamond manufacturing company, made international news when it gave 1,268 employees a generous performance incentive of approximately US$5,700. This was part of a radical loyalty program the company had started in 2011. However, with the market dynamics of the diamond industry constantly changing, giving such performance incentives on a yearly basis would be a great challenge. Price fluctuations at every step of the process—from procurement, to polishing, to the retail markets of the diamonds—created inherent risk in the industry. Intermediaries such as diamond polishers, in comparison to miners, had less control over the upstream channels of diamond procurement, which usually comprised exploration and the mining of diamonds. What would be the ultimate engagement level of the employees? Would such performance benefits for retaining talented employees be sustainable over the long run for an export house?

In October 2014, Hari Krishna Exports, a US$975 million Indian diamond manufacturing company, made international news when it gave 1,268 employees a generous performance incentive of approximately US$5,700. This was part of a radical loyalty program the company had started in 2011. However, with the market dynamics of the diamond industry constantly changing, giving such performance incentives on a yearly basis would be a great challenge. Price fluctuations at every step of the process-from procurement, to polishing, to the retail markets of the diamonds-created inherent risk in the industry. Intermediaries such as diamond polishers, in comparison to miners, had less control over the upstream channels of diamond procurement, which usually comprised exploration and the mining of diamonds. What would be the ultimate engagement level of the employees? Would such performance benefits for retaining talented employees be sustainable over the long run for an export house?

In late December 2014, one of the founders of the Indian start-up Deltecs InfoTech (Deltecs) was considering the progress of his organization. Deltecs had received several awards for its product, an innovative middleware that companies could use to create their own applications on mobile platforms. Its customers had also received awards for the innovative ways they had deployed the Deltecs product. The company had grown at a rate of almost 100 per cent per year. To sustain that growth, it would need to explore new products or new markets, which would require additional funding. The co-founder also wanted to achieve 10,000 business-to-business customers by 2020. To do so, Deltecs would need to focus on acquiring and retaining employees who could achieve this growth strategy. The co-founder was considering various funding sources, including equity- and debt-baced options. He also wondered whether to outsource some or all of his company’s human resources management functions.

In late December 2014, one of the founders of the Indian start-up Deltecs InfoTech (Deltecs) was considering the progress of his organization. Deltecs had received several awards for its product, an innovative middleware that companies could use to create their own applications on mobile platforms. Its customers had also received awards for the innovative ways they had deployed the Deltecs product. The company had grown at a rate of almost 100 per cent per year. To sustain that growth, it would need to explore new products or new markets, which would require additional funding. The co-founder also wanted to achieve 10,000 business-to-business customers by 2020. To do so, Deltecs would need to focus on acquiring and retaining employees who could achieve this growth strategy. The co-founder was considering various funding sources, including equity- and debt-baced options. He also wondered whether to outsource some or all of his company's human resources management functions.