Appinventiv’s Cultural Twist – How to Recruit & Retain Talent in Lockdown

The outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted nations in an enormous way, especially the nationwide lockdowns which have brought social and economic life to a standstill. The global crisis has brought new urgency to some of corporate India’s long standing challenges, and that companies which act now to address these priorities and adopt the “next normal” could emerge stronger from the crisis.

The pandemic reshaped what consumers buy and how they go about getting it. At the level of consumer activity, the COVID-19 pandemic has powerfully accelerated the uptake of digital technologies. Consumers across countries have reported major increases in the use of digital and low-touch activities across categories like delivery services, at-home entertainment, education, food, staples, shopping, communications, health, and fitness. New and increased users of digital services across the globe have also changed everything from finance, to healthcare, travel, entertainment and what not, taking consumers from hours to minutes to seconds in accessing a service or a product.

Recognising the Opportunities Brought By the Pandemic

It’s clear that digital technology can generate enormous value. The McKinsey Global Institute estimated in 2019 that new disruptive technologies could create some $1 trillion of value in India alone. The evolving digital landscape has been pointing to opportunities for the big companies, as well as small businesses and start-ups. Indeed, the pandemic has come as a wake-up call to embrace advanced technologies. 

The adoption of contactless technologies has driven businesses to rapidly digitize for greater visibility, faster and better decision making, and more effective collaboration among employees, clients and partners. The pandemic has literally jolted executives out of their customary ways of thinking and making decisions, how they respond to the crisis, both in India and worldwide, and have coaxed them to act in unison, and sometimes to unify across sector or competitive lines. One aspect of the response is that central and state governments, municipal bodies, companies, nonprofit organizations, and innumerable individual businesses have come together to find ingenious solutions at the local level.

And this is exactly where we have found an opportunity and paved the way for digital transformation, not just ours but everyone getting impacted in this fight to survive and win against the deadly pandemic. 

Here is How We Started Our Journey and Reached Where We Stand Today With Only a Brighter Future in The Picture

We witnessed an unprecedented change in the way people consume technology whether it is for work, learning, entertainment, routine chores or even just staying connected. The market seemed huge and brimming with opportunities but we needed to figure where and how to start. So we kicked off from investing hugely in research and development by hunting for individuals who could study the market meticulously and give us a realistic picture of which technology and sector to focus on at a particular point of time. 

As a result we found that Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) and Healthcare were sectors that grew greatly during the pandemic. We prioritised them and enabled our business with newer arenas to explore during the lockdown along with more digital adoption of technologies such as Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and IoT were amongst a few. 

Entrusting absolute belief in our teams, we not only pushed businesses to go digital but also to innovate. Some of our top clients include Ikea, Melltoo, Supertech, KPMG and Domino’s Pizza. Some of our startup projects like Karavan, Gullybeat, Moo, Mutelcor and many other apps have been like a blessing among the consumers, guaranteeing lifestyle improvement. Today, we have over 650+ employees working from India, USA, Australia and UAE. Appinventiv has clocked over 75% growth in revenue in the first half of FY 2020-21 compared to the first half of FY 2019-2020 when the company’s revenues stood at Rs 40 crore. We aim to clock Rs 100 crore in revenue in FY 21-22. 

Now That The Pandemic Has Changed Us, What Else Needs to Change?

The global crisis has disrupted many aspects of people’s lives. One of the lasting effects of this pandemic and the resulting lockdowns across the globe has been the massive shift in working arrangements. Covid-19 has swept the industries and their workplace like a hurricane, scattering employees in every direction, exposing many to new risks, and redefining what each one needs to do in their jobs safely, efficiently, and effectively and giving rise to the new normal of remote work.

Adapting to the new normal

The pandemic has been a fierce and impatient teacher. But what do they say about working under pressure? That sometimes it yields the best out of us. That’s exactly what’s been happening at our company and we can totally vouch for it. In order to make remote work a catalyst for our employees around the world, we evolved our culture to include more trust, compassion for each other along with learning, independence and inspiration to grow.  

The impact of continuing to work from home will be multifold. We are already prepared for the changes that working remotely is bound to get. 

• A more diverse workforce with a mix of onsite and remote staff
• More focus on productivity rather than micromanaging people
• Less focus on the hours clocked in and more on achieving the target
• The constant need to keep the employee morale high
• More attention to cybersecurity for preventing data breach due to remote work
• Better availability of information to enable less dependency and more freedom

It does sound easy but it takes a lot more courage and wisdom to embrace such a massive shift in the workspace culture. We have not only recruited successfully but acquired projects, delivered groundbreaking solutions while maintaining the motivation to achieve which is the utmost for a company to thrive in a crisis.

Indeed, the benefits of working from home have impacted in so many good ways on a global scale that we have definitely made it the best path forward, embracing it by choice not by force. 

Also Read: How Much Does It Cost to Build a Job Portal like Glassdoor?

Recruitment & Culture

As technology evolves we need to keep abreast. New features and improvements need to be introduced all the time. We ensured to come across as a reliable partner with decades of experience in the field and proven track record. We not only promised but delivered great technical quality, really dedicated developers, curiosity to solve problems, and positivity about the experiences we offer.

Thanks to our contingency plan, we were able to successfully maintain business continuity with a few new policies, as well as financial readiness amid the pandemic. Appinventiv ensured a seamless transition to work-from-home for all our people. Remote working and an agile culture allowed us to sustain 100 per cent operational capacity in less than 24 hours and today we can say that we are truly already acclimatized to the future of work.

We completed our second appraisal cycle in 2020, with an average increment of 22 per cent for a 600+ strong workforce. The Company also rewarded people with performance-linked bonuses for showing utmost resilience and delivering optimum results.

At a time when most companies were cutting costs and downsizing with frequent lay-offs, we continued to hire from remote locations. We ended up hiring 100 people during the lockdown in 2020, and the plan to hire over 300 more is already on the move. We want to grow at a record breaking speed along with each of our employees.

This is not it! We are expanding across the country, opening up to new and bigger opportunities not just for us but everyone else, facilitating a stable environment to work and enforcing the new normal of working remotely. Everyday, we are making sure for a smooth and easy transition for each of our employees to work from home with safety and security. We have come across to position ourselves as a company that recruits talented individuals irrespective of their qualification. Skills have taken the front seat at Appinventiv as compared to degrees.

The coronavirus crisis is a story with an unclear ending. What is clear is that the human impact is already tragic, and that companies have an imperative to act immediately to protect their employees, address business challenges and risks, and help to mitigate the outbreak in whatever ways they can. No matter the size and scale of your business, we make sure that your project is prioritized with a dedicated team of experts to deliver absolutely amazing results with innovative digital solutions. 

THE AUTHOR

Dileep Gupta

DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER