StartupTalky

Tag: Esper

  • How Companies Are Coping With COVID 19 and the New Normal?

    The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively made everyone’s normal life slow. The Indian government had ordered the lockdown in March and asked 1.3 billion residents of the country to stay home. In June 2020, the lockdown has been lifted with few restrictions.

    The lifestyle of people has changed due to this pandemic. Covid-19 has completely transformed the working pattern of the corporate world. Work from home, sanitisation everything is now a part of the new normal. Few employees are still working from home. Sanitization has become a new routine in every company.

    We had conversations with a few people about the changes in their lifestyle and how they are coping with new issues and the pandemic. Let’s take a look at their opinions.

    Esper
    Oliveboard
    Markelytics Solutions
    The Sports School
    75F
    Snapbizz
    Star Squared PR

    Esper

    Shiv Sundar, Co-Founder and COO

    “At Esper, our first priority is our employees’ health and well-being. We quickly switched to working remotely as a response to the Pandemic. Apart from working on projects and maintaining business as usual, we also continued to host monthly hack days virtually, which helped to keep the team in good spirits. While we are still largely working remotely, we are gradually returning to the office. Currently, we have a limited, rotating schedule in place wherein our teams take turns to collaborate face-to-face on alternate weekdays. We have strict guidelines in place to sanitize our office as well. We plan to maintain this balanced model of remote work and office hours until physical attendance is a completely safe option.

    The global pivot to remote work was a valuable reminder for organizations to always have a backup plan in place. The New Normal will emphasize the need for IT resilience and cyber hygiene in every organization. Going forward, we will see businesses be more strategic about technology performance and look beyond just using cyber hygiene to avoid risk. It will be embedded into the very structure of businesses as a staple to ensure business continuity and seamless customer engagement. A strategic and resilient IT infrastructure system will be a key feature in defining the New Normal for businesses, regardless of their size.”

    Oliveboard

    Abhishek Patil, Co-Founder and CEO

    “Oliveboard Team is still working from home. We will continue to do so till the end of the month and then make a decision based on the situation. To stay connected with all the employees, we have zoom/hangout calls in smaller and company level groups. While work is going on constantly, to keep employee motivation levels high, we also share fitness challenges in our company Whatsapp groups. We play games like Tambola, Quiz etc. to keep our spirits high during these times.”

    Markelytics Solutions

    Jasal Shah, CEO & MD

    “The fact of the matter is that Covid-19 will have a global impact on business and the economy. Our primary concern at the moment is the well-being of our employees and our community. Also, we’re in the unlocking phase, and hence, we’ve allowed a few employees to work from the office, whereas most of them are working remotely. This has ensured that there is no interruption in the services we offer to the clients globally.  Ours, being a digital company, online research is our core capability. So, we already have online tools & online panels to support our clients’ projects. We are also receiving quite a few requests for our DIY Online Qualitative Solutions, Online Brand Communities, Panel Management Solutions et al. There will be a new normal post-COVID, and methodology (from traditional to online) will be the first to change.”

    The Sports School

    Sankar UV, Director

    “Our prime focus is always on the well-being of our students and staff. We have taken appropriate measures like regularly sanitizing the entire campus, mandatory usage of masks, regular health and temperature checks, and also distanced seating arrangements to abide by guidelines of social distancing. Moreover, ours being a residential school with a focus on sports, we provide a much safer opportunity for students to continue their education and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The pandemic has had a huge impact on schools and has led to the suspension of physical classrooms and the shift to online classes. The new normal post-Covid will be the transition to digital from traditional classroom teaching. At The Sports School, we have been adapting to this and have been conducting online classes for academics, and even sports fitness and well being, online.”

    75F

    Gaurav Burman, APAC & Vice President,

    “The world is in the midst of a pandemic with so many unknowns, where the brightest minds are developing innovative ways to modify their businesses and we do that for the commercial building industry. Being able to give companies and their employees some peace of mind that their facilities managers are taking the initiative to make their environments safe and healthy is extremely important and we believe will become the norm even when the outbreak is over.”

    Snapbizz

    Prem Kumar, Founder & CEO,

    “Kirana stores are today the heroes and the lifeline for serving over 1.3 Billion people across the country and the current COVID 19 crisis has led to a new norm of doing business in the present economic environment. Besides, being experts in grocery tech and in the FMCG ecosystem, our relevance has exponentially gone up due to the present situation and we expect this to be a turning point in our journey. Our goal currently is to keep pace with the expectations of the retailers and their partners. To keep things in order we are constantly strengthening our operations on the technology and data sciences front to rise up to the emerging expectations of the marketplace. As a result, we are enriching some of our product features such as SnapOrder (retailers’ B2C ordering app), SnapSupply (distributors’ B2B ordering app) and SnapPulse (retail analytics solution) in order to enable the ecosystem players to effectively meet the current demand. We have also rolled out a lighter version of our retail technology solution exclusively for small Kirana stores to hold the fort during these difficult times. Furthermore, we are currently on a fast-track model to build a network of over 3 lakh stores across 42 cities and become a $ 21Bn platform.”

    Star Squared PR

    Priyan DC, CEO

    “The Global pandemic has unleashed a trail of death and misery globally. This is a tragedy of such an enormous scale that it will take years if not decades to fully recover from it. Only recently, the Star Squared PR team was preparing for yet another year of exciting growth when news of the virus took us all by surprise in the first quarter of this year, followed by the immediate lockdown and work from the home mandate for all employees. Our learnings from work from home have been pleasant though, with the teams stepping up to the occasion and delivering professionally. More importantly, we quickly streamlined our processes to ensure our client work does not get affected despite the challenges and continues to be our main priority. We also developed fresh protocols for reporting and brainstorming to ensure there is no dip in our creativity when it comes to client counsel. We used this opportunity to develop new training modules to keep the teams engaged, energised and motivated at all times.

    I think the Pandemic has also taught us a lot of things including the fact that we are resilient and will adapt and succeed despite the odds. The new normal is hard to predict but will definitely include social distancing for a long time to come, along with flexible working hours factoring in a lot more work from home. The PR business is also transitioning and new formats embraced by journalists such as webinars to debate news will also become the norm. Face to face meetings with journalists and clients will also reduce as it has emerged that this is possible through video calls and other avenues while saving precious time for everyone and delivering the same results.”

    Conclusion

    With the ongoing situation, it is quite clear that this is the new normal that we all have to adjust according to it. All the companies have to line up their work after carefully analysing the situation. Companies also need to take action so that the working environment can be safe, both physically and mentally for employees. While doing this, the business should also flourish.

    FAQs

    When was the first lockdown started in India?

    The first lockdown started on 25th March 2020.

    Who is the founder of Snapbizz?

    Prem Kumar is the founder of Snapbizz.

    Who is the founder of Olive Board?

    Abhishek Patil and Satish Kumar are the founders of Olive Board.

  • Why should you Focus on Upskilling Employees in Your Organisation

    Studies show that the cost of one worker leaving an organization could be expensive. This doesn’t include costs associated with interviewing and hiring a replacement; it’s a cost of time and money that goes into the training and development of a new hire.

    Upskilling, or reskilling, is a smaller investment than hiring and training a new worker. As you reskill your employees, you create a more well-rounded, cross-trained workforce, and increase your team’s effectiveness.

    94% of global learners perceive upskilling as an employer benefit, similar to paid time off and health insurance according to the 2020 LinkedIn Workplace Learning report. Employees want to learn, so the challenge for employers is to make learning convenient, useful, and most importantly, relevant.

    In recent times, Indian startups have also started to focus a lot on employee upskilling. We got in touch with the heads of a few companies to understand employee upskilling helped organization.

    How upskilling employees help organizations

    upGrad

    Founded in early 2015, upGrad offers online programs for working professionals. Owing to its commitment of making a future-proof workforce, upGrad provides its employees with a number of opportunities to help them enhance their employability quotient. It not only educate employees of the products and services but also, help them upskill their existing skill-set and knowledge horizon. You can read more about upgrad here . We talked to Mr. Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD, on how upskilling employees helped upGrad.

    Companies on an average spend a minimum of INR 30K to a maximum of INR 1.5 lakhs per fresher, to hire and train them, before they become productive. Through upGrad, companies can reduce this cost by as much as 50-60%. The rigorous learning that a learner goes through allows them to be able to hit the ground running on day 0.

    Plus, there’s no training cost incurred by companies post recruitment. Future employees and employers are getting to know each other well in advance. This is enabling them to develop a professional relationship even before joining formally. Companies adopting pre-boarding programs will witness a lesser churn, as these learners are developing deeper connection and more ownership in their roles.

    At upGrad, we provide training to new joiners of Fractal and Wipro. For these companies, a new joiner in Data role has to go through upGrad’s pre-boarding program, once the offer letter is rolled to the candidate. This allows the candidate to get acquainted with his/her role and be ready with the relevant job skills, even before he / she formally starts working for the organization as an employee.

    This kind of program is reversed engineered – basis the requirement of the role, these programs have been customized for the specific role in a specific company. Constant feedback is shared by the companies on updating / modifying the program, basis the company’s needs.

    On completion of the program, the candidate is absorbed in the workforce.

    PolicyX

    PolicyX.com is an insurance comparison portal helping consumers compare, choose and buy policies online. PolicyX provides health, motor, life, travel & corporate insurances from a wide range of insurers. We talked to Mahima Pandey, Founder, on how upskilling employees helped PolicyX.

    Upskilling employees help the organization improves its productivity and the performance per employee. The focus is to upskill the employee in accordance with the competencies and knowledge required for that role and this is a regular process which is being held on a periodic basis which in turn improves the overall performance of the Company.

    Rising Sun

    Inatur Ayurveda & Aromatherapy manufactures Organic and Natural skin, hair care and wellness products. These are safer, eco-friendly, and more effective skin care products. The company focuses on ethically sourced natural ingredients and drew inspiration from Ayurveda and Aromatherapy and ensured that every single product was crafted with Purity and Passion. We talked to Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO, on how upskilling employees helped Rising Sun.

    Yes absolutely training and upskilling employees works at all fronts. All of the employees stay positive and motivated. It further leads to increased productivity and employee retention.

    CASA EXOTIQUE

    Established with an urge to deliver incredible experiences, Casa Exotique has redefined a new benchmark for remarkable interiors and exquisite finishes. The company has been exploring the depth of Interior Designing and Styling with the help of a remarkable team of professionals who takes each and every turn to make your vision come to life. We talked to Ms. Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder, on how upskilling employees helped CASA EXOTUQUE.

    As talented as an individual might be, there is always room for improvement and those who are hungry to learn more are the ones that end up on the top of the ladder of success. I believe by up-skilling our staff, we can produce people who are confident in their abilities. Consequently, they will feel motivated and would be able to attend to the customer’s needs in a better way – which helps both the customer and the organization.

    Packman Packaging

    Packman Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of corrugated boxes, corrugated rolls, bubble rolls, bubble pouches, courier bags, POD jackets, duct tapes, e-commerce shipping bags and more. We talked to Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder, on how upskilling employees helped Packman Packaging.

    Packman has seen several positive results through employee upskilling training. We have witnessed once the existing employees get trained they tend to stay longer with the organization. Also, this leads to good productivity.

    Once, the employees are working longer in terms of tenure it also means lesser time to spend for headhunting for new employees. The employees know that their routine will not be monotonous as the organization keeps on hosting such projects that also, keeps the employees motivated because they also feel that the company cares for them. And a content workforce is always a great asset.

    CarveNiche

    CarveNiche is an innovative edtech start-up, which is using latest technologies such as machine learning and advanced data analytics to personalise learning for K-12 education. We talked to Avneet Makkar, Founder & CEO, on how upskilling employees helped CarveNiche.

    Upskilling is the need of the hour and specially with e-learning gaining prominence in today’s situation. Ed-Tech companies have to be hands on in delivering the best personalized learning experience for students, at the comfort of their homes. For this, our employees have been trained in the latest technology and tools to help us deliver quality education to students.

    Esper

    Esper is a cloud platform that automates application deployment and management for Android devices. Using Esper, enterprises can configure and monitor Android devices for various use cases, keep them secure to help their business function seamlessly. We talked to Shiv Sundar, Co-Founder and COO, on how upskilling employees helped Esper.

    Esper’s employees need on-demand access to answers on how to do their job more effectively, but they also need content that’s engaging, entertaining and sparks new learning journeys. Sometimes, this isn’t related to their job responsibilities. Sometimes, it’s related to future skill sets and work requirements or individual interests. Esper hires curious candidates and we foster this curiosity with a broad range of learning journeys.

    We use peer-to-peer learning and social learning tools to spark new collaborations and the types of friction-filled exchanges that are behind real innovation. We’re continuing to explore new ways to make learning more convenient and on-demand for younger employees.

    Finally, Esper believes that preserving the human and social elements of learning is crucial —the same LinkedIn report found that the APAC region is doubling down on learning automation. Learning is ultimately about people.

  • Different Policies the Companies have Adopted to Upskill the Employees

    Today, business has changed its pattern. Technology is must to run any business.  Any business can invest in advanced technologies, but creating a workforce that’s ready to use them is much harder. So, Upskilling employees is one of the top most thing companies focus on.

    Upskilling is basically the practice of teaching employees to use technology to do their job. Using advanced technologies can save time, increase productivity, minimize human. So, companies are ever ready to add an advanced emerging technology in their portfolio, but if employees don’t know what and how if it, it won’t be useful.

    What Indian Startups do to upskill
    What Indian Startups do to upskill

    In recent times, Indian startups have also started to focus a lot on employee upskilling. We got in touch with the heads of a few companies to understand what they are doing for employee upskilling.

    upGrad

    Founded in early 2015, upGrad offers online programs for working professionals. Owing to its commitment of making a future-proof workforce, upGrad provides its employees with a number of opportunities to help them enhance their employability quotient. It not only educate employees of the products and services but also, help them upskill their existing skill-set and knowledge horizon. You can read more about upgrad here . We talked to Mr. Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD, on how they upskill employees.

    As a part of the new joiner induction process, we offer our programs to every new joiner in the company during the first month of their employment. This allows them to experience our learning platform + student mentor support + submissions grading and, of course, learn a skill that will add value to their profile. This program broadly consists of 1 week of ‘HR Bootcamp’ (explaining about corporate structure and an overview of the company) + 3 weeks of any other program as specified below:

    • HR Bootcamp + Customer Focus, Customer Behaviour, and the Digital Landscape + Branding (Digital Strategies-Digital Marketing Program)
    • HR Bootcamp + Exploratory Data Analysis (Data Analytics -PG Diploma in Data Science Program)
    • HR Bootcamp + Understanding Problems & Formulating Hypotheses (Business Analytics Program)
    • HR Bootcamp + Divide and Conquer Algorithms (Software Development – PG Diploma in Software Development)

    These bootcamps and workshops are conceptualised with an aim to keep our people well-aware of the industry trends both, domestic and global.

    Being a company that endorses upskilling, we encourage our employees to take up our courses to upskill themselves by offering them our programs at 100% discount for an employee who has completed 18 months with us and 50% discount for an employee who has completed 6 months with us.

    Also, there’s an in-house Learning & Development team that conducts workshops for employees at frequent intervals.”

    PolicyX

    PolicyX.com is an insurance comparison portal helping consumers compare, choose and buy policies online. PolicyX provides health, motor, life, travel & corporate insurances from a wide range of insurers. We talked to Mahima Pandey, Founder, on how they upskill employees.

    We have a dedicated team of qualified and experienced professionals who focuses on upskilling the employees so that they perform as per the expectations set for their role. They are involved in conducting new hire trainings, refresher trainings, bottom quartile trainings and other skill based trainings as and when required as per the training need analysis and requirements.

    Rising Sun

    Inatur Ayurveda & Aromatherapy manufactures Organic and Natural skin, hair care and wellness products. These are safer, eco-friendly, and more effective skin care products. The company focuses on ethically sourced natural ingredients and drew inspiration from Ayurveda and Aromatherapy and ensured that every single product was crafted with Purity and Passion. We talked to Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO, on how they upskill employees.

    At RisingSun we provide constant evaluation and training to the employees relating their job skill sets, health, safety, and hygiene. We encourage them to read more books and learn more with regards to their job.

    CASA EXOTIQUE

    Established with an urge to deliver incredible experiences, Casa Exotique has redefined a new benchmark for remarkable interiors and exquisite finishes. The company has been exploring the depth of Interior Designing and Styling with the help of a remarkable team of professionals who takes each and every turn to make your vision come to life. We talked to Ms. Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder, on how they upskill employees.

    Up-skilling is very important for the growth of employees as an individual and the organization as well. We have approached up-skilling on multiple platforms because to foster an all-round skillset development. With our technical skill development training, we equip our employees with the ever-evolving technical skills needed to run the organization. With our soft skills development workshops, we teach communication skills to our employees to make them experts in communicating with clients and stakeholders. Last but not the least, we also arrange product and service training workshops to ensure that we develop good relations with our customers.

    Packman Packaging

    Packman Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of corrugated boxes, corrugated rolls, bubble rolls, bubble pouches, courier bags, POD jackets, duct tapes, e-commerce shipping bags and more. We talked to Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder, on how they upskill employees.

    Regular training programs are conducted at Packman to upskill the employees. also, employees are promoted faster, if they upskill themselves faster, this gives them further motivation. Packman makes sure to give balanced reward system so that other employees get motivated after seeing the growth of employees with better skills.

    Policy-wise Packman Packaging makes sure that every employee from the respective department stays updated about the latest technologies and trends. Employees working in the manufacturing unit are always trained whenever a new machine or technology comes in the unit or it is about to be installed. Similarly, from time to time Packman Packaging also conducts upskilling training for its employees from all the departments that include, marketing, customer service, and management teams.

    Packman strictly believes it is important to upgrade the existing workforce because only then the employees and company can grow together.

    CarveNiche

    CarveNiche is an innovative edtech startup, which is using latest technologies such as machine learning and advanced data analytics to personalise learning for K-12 education. We talked to Avneet Makkar, Founder & CEO, on how they upskill employees.

    Companies need to formulate a good development strategy to build comprehensive upskilling in the organisation. Having a plan would help you get buy-in from the organization’s leadership and from the workers themselves too. We conduct training for our employees on a regular basis.

    Esper

    Esper is a cloud platform that automates application deployment and management for Android devices. Using Esper, enterprises can configure and monitor Android devices for various use cases, keep them secure to help their business function seamlessly. We talked to Shiv Sundar, Co-Founder and COO, on how they upskill employees.

    Esper encourages employees to continually reskill, upskill, and pursue their passions and interests. Our employee upskilling programs includes peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. Every department gets one hour each week to share the knowledge of a subject matter expert with peers in an informal, open forum discussion.

    Hack Day

    Every other week, Esper’s entire team gets our hands dirty with a passion-based project. These hack days aren’t usually related to Android DevOps. Sometimes we work together to develop an app or learn new photography skills.

    Training and Courses

    Esper is continuously investing in new tools to help our employees learn in the flow-of-work. Our goal is to provide employees with tools to build their existing specialties and work more proficiently, like micro-learning and mobile eLearning. We’re also conscious that the future of work could require rapid reskilling, and we’re an agile brand, so our training options are forward-looking in that sense, too.