He’s known by many names, and has a mini-fan base to go along with it, he’s the one who is responsible for many big launches- ladies and gentlemen presenting this month’s employee interview candidate the one and only Rikpratim Majumdar (commonly known as Rik)
First off, how would Rik describe his journey at eWards?
Rik: After being around for almost a year and a half, I would describe it as a pretty usual journey- when I joined as an intern I was shy, and had my own particular corner (we shall rename this as Rik’s spot). The analyst team consisted of Manish, Ashish, Saloni, Ritika and me, that was it and later Saloni left. Rik’s spot (as we’ve renamed it) was two places to the left of Divya and when she went on leave for her marriage, I started drifting more into the corner and ultimately made it my own spot. I hardly used to interact with the others, apart from the occasional lunch. But, even then I would purposely have lunch right after the others in order to avoid going out or having lunch with the others (quite the tactic for saving lunch to yourself J), and then one fine day I get to know that I am the talk of the town- it still remains a mystery (how just how).
This became a turning point- I finally started coming out of my shell and then Sharad joined (fresh draft in the analyst team), and as I got to know him (that he is Sharad) we became quick friends, mostly because we were the only guys in the analyst team (apart from Ashish and Manish).
There’s also this journey from Ac Market to Everest House. First we shifted to Open House where life changed- side effects included forgetting the 6:30 pm wrap up time, not leaving the office even after sunset, new work responsibilities and of course the tech team grind.
Next we moved to Everest and I really loved it- Open house did not click with me because it felt like working in a warehouse, Everest House felt like an office- with your own space and the first thing that I did was search for a new Rik’s spot. Since then the interns we worked with are filled with wonderful experiences — I’ve experienced 3 sets of interns from the Sanjana squad to Mahima squad to the present squad (interns take note).
Coming to the lockdown chapter- it started in the classic tech team way, hours and hours of calls, mails and meetings, the initial days were absolutely exhausting. Once we got a hold of it we sort of balanced the demands, whether it was sending EOD mails to Manish, or conducting regular meetings we got into it.
There’s also the journey of going from an intern to Senior Analyst- how’d it go for Rik?
When I had initially joined in Feb 2019, my Masters was confirmed and I had joined with the intention of working for 6 months and then moving on, that did not happen -I fell in love with the place because of the nature of work and people- it was diverse, you don’t have to stick to task A or task B. Due to this I deferred my Masters by a year, and now after a glorious journey I’ll be moving on to pursue my Masters (we’ll miss you L)
What are the challenges that you find while working in eWards?
I wouldn’t call it a challenge, rather I would call it my own challenge- I do get nervous when I have to talk with sir from time to time (yes, sir is aware about it too); When I came for my interview I remember Sir was in the cabin and Manish was running late, and sir took my interview. When it was over I was not expecting any offer, and then when I got my offer letter I was shocked- but it was worth it.
Communication with Sir was a challenge for me, I basically did not how to disagree with sir’s opinions and felt a little intimidated. Overcoming that was quite an achievement, the challenge does come from time to time but now I am at a level where I can communicate with Sir more openly.
Great, now what does Rik like about his job and eWards?
Firstly, everyone that works in eWards is of my same age group, the company consists of young minds which makes it a different office experience and everyone is approachable. I also like the freedom I have with regards to my work, the freedom makes it worthwhile.
Secondly, the team that works under me- being responsible for them, being responsible for work being delivered and managing them, and finally as a Product Brainiac I love the research part- it teaches you a lot.
Next, most memorable moment at eWards?
It was around May last year, when there was a mess up which required us to work a lot, we would stay and work till 12:00 or 12:30 am, and when we finally made the breakthrough we felt relieved and had a feeling of invincibility- we could do and achieve anything.
This one was a collective effort that remains a memorable moment for all of us. Also I remember Manish’s words- “You can have all the experience and skill, but in the end if you don’t have heart then you won’t stick around during tough times.”
Quite inspiring, but we cannot miss out on embarrassing moments?
Ummm….I have one, this was during last year (2019) conference when a lot of people were called to speak up- my speech was on trend reports, and while I intended to say that if you see an error you can report it to me, I ended up saying “the trend reports that you see, that is my work” which was frankly quite embarrassing. (You can imagine the crowd reaction)
Your favourite person(s) in eWards (Yes, it’s time for the real questions)
The good part- there are multiple names, the bad part- Rik had a tough time deciding on the names, but here goes.
There are a few with whom I share a very good friendship that goes beyond formal office friendship- these people are my friends on a personal level too, I can talk to them about personal things too.
Sharad is definitely on the list, followed by Karishma and Paridhi, and then there’s Shreya and Sneha. (Plays Yaaro Dosti in the background).
Plus there’s Ritika with whom I share a good friendship, and Abhishek, Radhika. I’ve learnt a lot of client communication and sales related practices from Abhishek, and when it comes to Radhika, I have a simple sentence- if I ever had to shift my team, I would choose Radhika’s silo, the way she manages her team, the way her team is united is admirable, she’s like a balance between casual and formal (Basically her leadership qualities)
If I actually ever had to shift my team I would shift to either Abhishek’s team or Radhika’s team. (There’s so much to learn from them)
If you could change anything at eWards?
In a very innocent voice- working hours and of course- AC’s in Everest House (ha ha)
What will you miss about eWards?
First off, eWards has helped me come out of my shell (overcoming shyness), helped me develop a structured approach for research, developed man-management skills, and taught me to be a leader.
I will really miss sending those messages along with the entire tech team for any closures.
And, finally as my closing words I will state that the culture around eWards is brilliant- you can approach sir, you can learn from anyone and everyone, and most importantly eWards empowers women, it’s different from a majority of the tech companies around.
