Another edition, another interview- this time we’ve got an employee who can be described as blossom from powerpuff girls. Her journey is nothing short of a person who blossomed and excelled in everything she did, and left a lasting impact- presenting Shreya.
First off the basic question- How would Shreya describe her journey?
The past two years has eWards has taught me a lot. When I joined as a fresher I was involved in client servicing, working under Shanky. I was clearly very shy and hardly spoke to anyone, the only ones I would speak to were Sneha, Shanky and Divya. I used to sit in the corner sit (the one popularized by Rik) and it was not until conference that I started opening up, Divya Di would guide me through everything. When I look back I see my journey as a learning curve, from a shy new employee to an outspoken one today :P
I started with servicing and then moved into sales, where I learnt new things specially while working with Sheetal Ji since data driven marketing was new to eWards at that point of time. There was also the designing competition which I loved to take part in (mostly because of the gifts). That is the point when I started thinking beyond servicing, I really liked the design bit and yes I had sent two designs for my clients (hidden Graphic Designer), it was really fun.
Then there was my travelling- my first one was with Shanky which was more like a servicing trip, and the second one was with Nikunj. My third one was with Abhishek and Sneha which was memorable- work and fun went hand-in hand. My last trip was this year for Chennai, which was technically a solo trip- it gave me an opportunity to represent eWards and also learn so much about servicing. I believe people should travel as it gives you a broader perspective when it comes to servicing and clients. The travel part is what makes sales fun.
For me travelling was an achievement since I had to convince my parents and when I finally went for my trip it was absolutely fun and if anyone gets an opportunity they should go for it since it is funnn. In my last trip there were back-to-back meetings and I would forget about food but I found a way- it was all fun and memorable.
Moving on to what were the challenges that Shreya faced during her journey at eWards?
I think challenging would be trying to balance with sales. When I worked with Abhishek’s team sales would be a little challenging but Abhishek was always supportive and would encourage me to get sales done.
Another challenge would be the entire Work From Home phase. Sometimes we’d have a lot of work, sometimes we’d have less work. Balancing and prioritizing work was the challenge along with balancing health, family and work.
I’ve enjoyed my journey, despite of the little challenges that popped up here and there.
Next, what do you like the most about your work and eWards?
About my work, I’ve done a lot here- I wasn’t just into servicing, I was into social media marketing, sales, client negotiation. I sort of transformed into a client consultant- like with Sheetal Wears, the client developed a lot of trust on our work and he would trust our ideas and word quite a lot. It is quite a wonderful thing to have clients trust you. My role was never restricted, like when I was assigned to handle eWards Instagram Marketing I did not know much about marketing but I loved to take care of it. No one and I mean no one at eWards make you feel that you’re not capable of doing something if you have a good idea or suggestion your input is taken and applied, and that helped a lot in my work.
When it comes to work freedom, I have always been given total freedom and accountability which I loved. You don’t usually get this level of freedom in other companies and every single person is approachable here. People are approachable and there’s no wall between different departments- one can always approach anyone. Like once I had asked Saqlain for help with learning a new skill and he immediately gave me all the help I could ask for. I really enjoyed working with all the people here.
What was your most memorable moment?
One of the best memories would be meeting so many amazing people here at eWards, getting to know a lot on a personal level (two of them are permanent J) and having a good list of people in my 3 AM list.
Then there was the time when I was shifted to Abhishek’s team, Shanky had given me a heads up and I actually dropped a couple of tears L and I actually did not know much about Abhishek at that time, but that was a funny moment that proved to be my transition moment at eWards. Sneha and Abhishek became my Mummy Papa at eWards, they pushed me to succeed, grow, learn and constantly improve. Today I am actually grateful that I moved into Abhishek’s team. In the process I also started the didi, bhaiya trend- be it Shank Di, Divya Di, Manish Bhaiya, Ashish Bhaiya and sometimes Nikunj Bhaiya :P
Another moment would be the opportunity I got to represent eWards at Xaviers University at their annual fest, where we launched their app. The feeling of going to my college to recruit juniors a year after graduation was a special feeling.
Your most funny/embarrassing moment?
Funny was related to Sheetal Ji. We all regarded him as Sheetal Ji and had the impression that he might have been quite an aged person. I was very excited as he was one of my clients and he actually came to the office, and when I saw him he was actually quite the opposite- quite young actually. Sheetal Ji and Coffee Culture would be two of my clients who played an important role in my development and growth.
Umm.. for embarrassing there was a moment during my initial days when I ran a campaign for one client using the name of another client, and I was very furious with myself with the mess up and on the very next day I went for a meeting with Nikunj where this incident was used a reference :P and I was embarrassed, I did not utter a word for almost a week (even though I was still a quiet person). There was a certain level of tension regarding how Abhishek will keep me in his team for a year (it did work out well though, been two years now)
This however was one of those learning moments. Till date whenever we do a sms campaign for any client we still get very alert and anxious while setting it up (Koi galti nahi hona chahiye).
Your most favorite and not so favorite (Get ready for koffee with karan style grilling)
Not so favorite main koi nahi hoga (smartly answered), I’ve met so many people that I do not have not so favorite type. J
Coming to favorite Kanika and Avani are my constants, they’ve been with me through it all (and our trio). Then there’s also Sneha, Abhishek, Abhro, Sakshi (The tom and jerry duo), Sharad, Rik, Shanky, Divya DI, Sir, Maam, MJ and Nikunj.
And then there’s also the entire team (Shreya likes the entire team).
I’ve had the privilege to develop good and close bonds with a lot of people in the team but the trio (which will now be the duo) will always be close to my heart.
If you could switch your role in the company
I would say, I would have loved to work with Social Neeti, specially with Shalu. Working with the SN team and the constant servicing and designing would give me a good area to learn and new skills to develop. Although I am not open to working for too long (ha ha)
Next, out of curiosity would be the developer team- I am actually curious about their work and how they do what they do.
If you could change or add anything what will it be?
Well, for the benefit of the team- Saturday off
Along with Yoga sessions, Stress Management perhaps once in a month. Then fun sessions, an event with ex-employees too that would allow everyone to enjoy and know the team.
How has eWards changed your life?
First, I’ve become quite open and outspoken. Secondly, interacting on a professional level, then the individual lessons that I’ve learnt- Shanky taught me how to be calm, Nikunj taught me how to professional, Abhishek taught me a lot, a lot of my friends who taught me to speak at the right time, then there’s the openness with sir where we can always approach him (I was initially a bit scared) but when I started interacting with Sir I realized you can always approach him. I learnt a lot at eWards, my entire learning curve will be memorable and something that I am proud about.
Any closing words?
To all the new ones you can ask once, you can ask as many times as you’d like to, you’re always welcome to ask because people are always ready to listen, help you out and help you learn. This is the coolest part about eWards everyone is approachable and open to help you out.
