After Sima aunty, Indian Oil gets into matchmaking, for its employees

IOC is keen to play Cupid for its employees as a part of its personnel retention policy.

Sima Taparia, popularly known as Sima aunty, became a phenomenon after the airing of Netflix’s latest docu-series Indian Matchmaking, in which she tries to bring together single men and women in marital bliss.

Off-screen, Seema Yadav and Tarun Bansal, both employees of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), tied the knot in late February, whose union took place through a matrimonial service recently launched by the country’s largest oil marketing company.

Among the many congratulatory messages they received on social media was one shared by IOC Chairman and Managing Director Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, who wrote in a tweet: “I was absolutely thrilled to witness the joyous union of Tarun and Seema, the first Indian Oil couple to find love through our very own 'IOCians2gether' platform that aims to create work & life partnerships within IndianOil!”

I was absolutely thrilled to witness the joyous union of Tarun and Seema, the first #IndianOil couple to find love through our very own 'IOCians2gether' platform that aims to create work & life partnerships within IndianOil!

Wishing you a lifetime of happiness! pic.twitter.com/LINOvRiz7C

— ChairmanIOC (@ChairmanIOCL) February 24, 2023

Some social media users alleged that the couple had already been planning to get married and their wedding was used to promote the matrimonial service. Moneycontrol could not confirm this.

What’s clear is that IOC is keen to play Cupid for its employees as a part of its personnel retention policy.

“The goal is to create work and life partnerships (for employees) and stay bonded with IndianOil. I am confident that IOCian-2gether will provide a vital resource for support and happiness for our employees,” said Vaidya.

The platform has been developed in-house and aims to offer a safe and supportive environment for employees to build fulfilling relationships while pursuing excellence in their personal and professional lives.

“Like the wide range of welfare initiatives rolled out by the Company, IOCian-2gether is an endeavour that aims to enhance employee wellness and resonates with IndianOil's Core Value of Care. As a company that prides itself as a family that nurtures strong bonds, this is yet another step towards cementing the bonds of the employees with the Company,” Indian Oil said in a statement to Moneycontrol.

Energy and infrastructure companies have faced challenges in attracting talent and retaining it, especially on project sites. Top executives have often complained about how challenging it is to get engineers to work at far-off sites that do not offer the lifestyle of cities and may require them to stay away from their families.

Many drift away from the sector to jobs in information technology and other businesses, forcing management to work on strategies to retain talent.

Indian Oil said that to use the website, unmarried employees of the company would have to post their profiles on the platform and can connect with other individuals who have also registered.

“The employees can connect to profiles they find interesting and like-minded and mutually take the relationship forward. The portal operates on a voluntary registration basis, allowing individuals to create and manage their profiles according to their preferences and interests,” the company said.

The website has a strict privacy policy and ensures the confidentiality of its users' data, the company added. The portal is managed by Indian Oil’s Information Systems team.

While the service itself is not very different from other matrimonial services, what sets it apart is that it aims to do matchmaking only within the pool of Indian Oil employees.

But energy companies have a long way to go to ensure diversity across teams. Are there enough women in Indian Oil to ensure the initiative succeeds?

The state-owned company said it does.

“Indian Oil has a significant number of women employees working across the length and breadth of the country as well as across hierarchies, from the ground-level teams to the boardrooms. The platform will also extend important support to the growing number of women employees in Indian Oil who are powering the Company's operations even at the country's remotest corners,” it said in the statement to Moneycontrol.