What makes an employee stay with a company in the long-run? Ft. GreyBians

I have recently started my second year with GreyB and this isn’t my first job. But, this is the first time I have started a second year with a company without switching. I understand in the corporate world this may reflect wrong on my part. However, I had my reasons to keep looking for a better job and maybe I have landed where I intended to be.

Not just me, but so many of my colleagues have been working here for five, six, or even 12 years. What made them stay?

Let’s hear what the GreyBians have to say about them celebrating their work anniversary year after year with GreyB and what keeps them hooked to this company.

Avantika

Sr. Research Analyst

So my experience mainly starts with the story of many of us who are looking for something new and exciting. As a CS student, I was never very good at coding. I had gotten a coding job but I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to be any good at it. On the other hand, I love technology. Learning new things, going into the depth of topics, being up to date with what’s new in the world and all. GreyB to me was like a mix of everything I love. The kind of work we do is exciting. It’s almost a second chance for people like me who believe they are not meant for traditionally technology-related roles.

Secondly, the people here are so driven. Your goals are set according to your capacity. There’s room to grow as much as you want to. Every mentor is just there to listen and take you three steps ahead if you are willing to take two. There’s never any judgment, there’s just constant motivation (including feedback) to better yourself, which lacks in a lot of companies where everyone is focused on their growth. Here every one cares and gives a damn about others. Which is something I think is very unique.

Ankush

Sr. Research Analyst

My journey started on March 12, 2018. Where I got lucky that our Annual Meet was around the corner and that too at Rishikesh. So I was expecting a tour of the Himalayas and some fun with no true sense of the meaning of the work I do and the domain already entered in. (I mean, who knows about IP!) But something magical happened, I met my CEO (Deepak Syal), and they were giving one speech on the Annual Meet conference day. And I exactly remember what they said, “…We are a thinking company…we are here to promote innovation…” Baammm! This thought got into me so hard and deeply that I started thinking about my job as some “Intelligent place” to work at.

The journey continued, I was doing well but all of a sudden my performance started degrading. I lost three projects straight, zero Tier-I. I was at the bottom of my career but then I got shifted to a new team and after three days after my joining this team, I was called for a discussion (by Prasun, my mentor). He said “I feel that you are afraid of something and you are not giving your best. I remember your first understanding discussion dude, it was just amazing. But now, I don’t feel that power inside you. So stop being afraid. Believe in yourself that you can do anything.” These were life-changing words for me. After this point, I never went back and ripped that old Ankush from inside me and worked hard on myself.

Now my only goal was to give ALL in, no matter what. But in order to do so, I wanted to do something which could bring courage and confidence to me. This is how I decided that “I will become an example of work-life balance and will not let my health suffer in any case”. I applied for a Gym membership on December 08, 2018. Post that, I never turned back and give work and life equal importance.

Today it’s been more than 4 years here in GreyB, I believe what makes us continue here is the “PEOPLE” that surrounded me. Even, now my mentees are that reason to keep going and to keep growing. The journey is a 100% roller coaster, but I know I will learn and I will become better. One thought I would like to pass on to my younger self – is “Always believe that you can do. With this attitude, you can do anything.” Still, many more years to go!

Prakash

Team Lead

The one thing which keeps me motivated to continue in GreyB is the people of GreyB. They are always ready to help whenever you are feeling stressed, facing any problems, or any sort of thing. Also, this is not restricted to respective mentors. Everyone is there to guide and help. I remember, in my initial days, I was struggling in doing projects, and felt very under-confident, and nervous. Gaurav Sahni was my mentor at that time, and I feel that he used to sense my problems automatically, without me reaching out to him. He helped me a lot to boost my confidence and pass that phase. Also, being from an electrical background, I faced lots of challenges in doing projects in the telecommunications domain. I think I have disturbed so many people like Mahesh, and Aman who were experts in that domain. And they always helped me understand the complex tech.

I also enjoyed how we celebrated small things. Like, we had one client call late at night (1-2 AM) and it went really well. Then Arindam took everyone for Dinner after the call. Talking about my current experience, where I am working in a new role and with new responsibilities, I am always able to find people like Nikhil, and Prasun who are ready to guide me whenever I am facing any problems. I also like one thing if you have any idea and if you are able to convince others then you are free to pursue that. In a recent example, Arindam and I were discussing the current problems regarding hiring, and how we can filter out quality candidates.

We decided that why not to revamp our existing model of written tests which was only related to aptitude and reasoning-based questions. We decided to add more questions related to our work, and we are in the final stage of making a new set of questions. So, these are the few things that helped me to get stick with GreyB for the last 5 years! Leaving some work organization after a year of working or two is no big deal these days. Still, many more years to go!“

Others also had similar experiences to share. Talking about their journeys, they reminisced about how times of failure and frustration would come and how they would deal with them. The common point that surfaced above all these answers was THE PEOPLE, THE WORK CULTURE!!!!

Though most employees work for money and only when they find it interesting, here the situation looked a little different. No one talked about the packages they were being offered nor the typical work. The main reason we could conclude was the people surrounding us, their efforts to push us, their guidance, and the healthy competition that keeps us growing.

What is the one reason that keeps you motivated to work with your present organization? Let us know in the comment section below.