PEOPLE OF SUNTEC STORIES OF ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO WORKED EXTRAORDINARILY TO KEEP THE SUNTEC FLAG FLYING
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People of SunTec
Stories of ordinary people who
worked extraordinarily to keep
the SunTec flag flying
February 2021
Foreword
Rising
If one had to describe SunTec in one sentence then many of whom have trusted their business with our
it could well be said it’s a collection of professionals solutions and have been happy through the years.
who make it happen, no matter what.
It’s little wonder then that when the pandemic
to every
Right from inception, three decades ago, we as an struck so suddenly in March 2020 and we had to
organization have been privileged to be associated go into lockdown that our people all over the world
with some of the finest brands in the banking and so ably rose up to take the challenge of meeting all
telecom space not through some quirk of fate but our customer and employee commitments, working
occasion
because of the hard work, agility and persistence of from home. We didn’t lose a day, not even an hour,
our men and women. in adapting to the new circumstances, which was
indeed unprecedented.
We’ve built an organization, and a suite of products,
that prides itself as a leader in the relationship This compilation of stories is a reflection of the
pricing and billing space globally. The operative word unputdownable spirit of our employees who, come
here is relationship because we sincerely believe in rain or sunshine, put the customer at the center
it. Longstanding relationships with our people, some of everything. This very spirit results in enduring
of whom have been with the organization since its relationships both outside and across the organization.
founding day and relationships with our customers, We hope you enjoy reading these stories.
Nanda Kumar
Founder and CEO
SunTec Business Solutions
February 2021
SunTec at a glance
C ANADA UK
GERM ANY
USA
Offices in 8 countries across the world UAE
INDIA
Over 130 clients across 45+ countries
SINGAPORE
Technical person years of experience (avg.): 12 years/ person
Male/ female employee ratio: 66:34 AUSTR ALIA
Technical/ non-technical employee ratio: 87:11
89% employees based out of India
Total employee strength: 634
A message from the VP of HR Reflect, Respond and Reimagine 2020 to us was a year about people, of embracing We may have used the words ‘resilience’, ‘reinvent’ uncertainty, and re-imagining our business model. and ‘reimagine’ several times over the last year, Prakash P Nair We switched to the remote working model at a however, thanks to our colleagues we were able to Vice President – Human Resources, speed and scale we had never imagined, all the walk the talk. Be it our Business Continuity Planning Knowledge Management and Talent Development while focusing on our people - keeping them team’s ingenious planning, the IT and admin team’s SunTec Business Solutions motivated, engaged and productive. And I must prompt infrastructure support or the HR team’s admit none of this would have been possible relentless efforts in connecting with all employees, February 2021 without a strong leadership team and a clear vision. it truly has been a momentous year for us. SunTecians have stayed true to our organizational The words of the Japanese scholar, Kakuzo Okakura culture with a firm focus on quality and are quite fitting here: “After all the art of life is a completeness. Despite these trying times, constant readjustment to our surroundings.” individuals across departments and geographies rarely dropped the ball and certainly never I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as we settled for suboptimal. This book captures a few enjoyed putting it together, taking you through our such stories of our people, who demonstrated journey, our people, and our commitment to always adaptability, novel approaches, and a problem- do our best. solving attitude.
Our stories from the pandemic
The bond of family pulled When you are surrounded by a population of close to eight
hundred thousand people it seems unlikely that you could
I didn’t begin a single call without sincerely
me through be lonely. But that’s what Pulkit Bhardwaj felt like when the
pandemic hit in late February 2020 and started spreading
enquiring how the person on the other side
rapidly in the ensuing months. Pulkit is based out of Frankfurt,
was doing.
Pulkit Bhardwaj, Frankfurt the fifth largest city in Germany and the hub of finance and
What really worked for Pulkit was that he removed his
business in the country.
salesperson hat and took a more humane approach in his
interactions with client as well as colleagues. “I didn’t begin
With Sandhya, his wife, providing close family support, it was
a single call without sincerely enquiring how the person on
a particularly anxious time for them considering his mother
the other side was doing and how they were coping with the
had just started chemotherapy sessions back home in Bikaner
pandemic,” he says.
[where he and his wife come from] after being diagnosed
with cancer. “There was no way to get back to India,” says he.
Eight months plus later, Pulkit has adapted fabulously. And it’s
Suddenly it seemed as if the whole world came crashing down.
not just him alone – the credit goes to the entire SunTec family.
The personal front was anxious and professionally a significant
“I’ve worked in other companies earlier but here the bond of
deal that was only a couple of weeks away from closing came
family is the strongest I have ever seen. My boss Padi and my
to a grinding halt because of the pandemic and the uncertainty.
super boss Amit didn’t fail to call and even today we have a
No bank wanted to decide.
weekly call where they don’t just discuss business with all of
us in the outposts but also enquire about our personal welfare.
Pulkit who flies the sales flag in the region asked himself
That makes a huge difference,” says Pulkit.
how he was ever going to sell in future. “Sales to me is a very
interactive exercise. You sit in front of the customer and talk to
Interestingly, the team takes extra care because presentations
them. You observe their facial expression and body language
today have to be timed well. We go into rehearsal mode and for
and that itself nuances the sale,” says Pulkit. In March, we
a one-hour presentation may sometimes practice for four times
were thrust behind a laptop to converse with a prospect who
just so we get everything right. And it’s paid rich dividends.
was often faceless and then the meeting ended on the hour…
no time for another coffee or a chit chat – so vital in the sales
At the end of the day, says Pulkit, we all drew inspiration and
process. Very often the customer is buying a million-dollar
support from each other that has pulled us this far. Though
solution – would they buy on MS Teams or even grant us
there was a second wave, there was business to be done
another meeting is the dilemma I couldn’t resolve in the first
and banks were buying and for a salesperson that is certainly
few weeks reminisces Pulkit.
reassuring. The resilience and strength that everyone has shown
in SunTec is truly commendable and admirable, from NK all the
“Moreover, since India went into a lockdown as well, I was
way down!
wondering how I would get supported. But the team back home
did a marvellous job,” says Pulkit. They never dropped the ball
once and many of the people supporting us in the field were
mothers with young kids who managed the work life balance
splendidly – working into the wee hours of the morning!
I have a clear plan of what work I am going to complete
each day
Anjali Sekhar, Thiruvananthapuram
When many were grappling with the remote working model, that we had done earlier that the transition was seamless. From
juggling between meeting deadlines, and striking a work life the very first day of working from home we had Teams installed
balance, Anjali Sekhar seems genuinely upbeat. A part of in our systems. There were slight hiccups in connecting to the
the product team at SunTec, Anjali is the product owner for VPN initially as it is a prerequisite for developers to do their
Enterprise Product Catalog (EPC) and the deal management work but that too got sorted.”
modules.
The highlight of Anjali’s nine plus months of remote working,
She excitedly reveals that she was working on a challenging yet however, has been all the time that she could spend with her
fulfilling project when the lockdown was announced. She was eight-year-old daughter, Aditi, something that she could not do
tasked to design an all-new UI for the EPC module, to make before.
the navigation user-friendly and attractive. It involved research,
spending time on the design while also ensuring internal reviews “After my maternity leave this is the first time that I’m spending
and interaction with peers. so much time with my daughter. Now I see so many behavioral
changes that she is having during these ten months that
There was some amount of pressure to deliver as the first phase I’ve never seen during the eight years of her life,” she says
of EPC was to be released at a sales meet on May 1, 2020. Was animatedly.
she up to the task? She sure was!
“I usually have the habit of waking up early. I start my work at
Completing my work during mornings and
3:30 or 4:00 am. I didn’t feel that I was doing anything very planning my work ensures I am calm and able
different. I just organize my work and have a clear plan of what
work I am going to complete each day. And I even initiated
to deliver.
reviews with my manager, ensuring the design was reviewed
Anjali’s discipline helped her sail through these unprecedented
every two days,” says Anjali.
times. “During office hours I spend most of my time in meetings.
So, completing my work during mornings and planning my work
She continued to meet her target every day. A month later, she
ensures I am calm and able to deliver.”
says, the sales meet was a big hit, and they garnered a lot of
appreciation. “Initially I was wondering how were we going to
Outside of work, she enjoys working out and is also learning
work in isolation? But the whole team made it so smooth. We
classical dance. “It totally refreshes me,” she says.
were collaborative. Maybe it was because of the BCP activities
We started becoming more Every day presented a new challenge for Bijoy P I, our General
Manager for Product Engineering. The product engineering
The work pressure had increased, and the team had to stretch
themselves for longer hours. Delivery timelines were more
empathetic towards people team was among the few teams that was directly impacted
by the remote working model. Most of their work involved
stringent as customers pushed back even on a few days’ delays.
But Bijoy and his team managed deliveries with timely planning.
collaboration and being a large team of 100-140, they were
Bijoy P I, Thiruvananthapuram evidently concerned about how work would shape up in the
Today the number of product defects/ issues
new set-up.
have come down to one fourth.
Further, it had only been three-four months since Bijoy had
moved into his new role. He was just getting to know his team He says, “From a development point of view we normally do a
and that’s when everything went virtual. Personal connections sprint planning, which means we aim to deliver certain number
were paramount more than ever during this time. of items from the product engineering team in a month. We
undertake several product enhancements. The pace of this
“I started having conversations with the technical architects sprint planning has remained the same during this time. We
every week. I spoke to all 14 members of my team to ensure did not go down with respect to numbers. Productivity has
that they are comfortable working from home and don’t have remained the same. Today the number of product defects/
issues,” he shares. issues have come down to one fourth, which is because we
have made quality improvements.”
Initially there were some hiccups figuring out the
communication tool, but soon the team was accustomed to the He also shares a remarkable rapport with his manager, Sathish.
new ways. Operational challenges and medical emergencies They do a product engineering review twice a week – a quick
within the team were attended to with highest priority. “Some and informal meeting. “I like that because that is when you
of my team members were in a situation where they had to really open up and discuss a lot of things. I had the pressure
stay home alone, especially bachelors; we had to literally pick to ensure that the output doesn’t go down. But Sathish
them from their homes and send them back to their family. We understands the nitty-gritties of any problem. He is there when
even had our BCP team deliver laptops to my team in the most we have a problem. He motivated and pushed me to go ahead
remote locations of Chennai. There were situations where some and get things done. When I do not have a solution, he gives the
of our employees or their family members were infected by the big picture view. He just doesn’t talk from a product engineering
virus,” he says. point of view; he connects our actions to the larger picture.
That makes so much of a difference because it brings a sense of
“All these challenges truly changed my perspective,” he adds. purpose. We used to have very candid discussions on Tuesdays
“We started becoming more empathetic towards people. It led and Thursdays almost on all the problems,” he says.
to a mindset change and even the way we look at a problem. If
you ask me whether we could really survive this pandemic, the
answer is yes!”
A big kudos to our “I joined SunTec after my maternity break. I had to go
through 4-5 rounds of rigorous interviews from HR to
Taking each day as it comes, Mahalekshmi plans her day
based on the changing routines of her two kids (aged
knowledge management technical and an interview with GVR and NK. But the good
thing about the pandemic is that I got to interact with all
four and two). Harikrishna V, her husband, her biggest
support system, helps her with the children as well as other
& training team the SunTec leaders (through virtual interviews), which may
or may not have happened had this been a hiring in normal
household chores like doing the dishes. “I’m so grateful for
him,” she says with sheer delight.
times,” says Mahalekshmi Harikrishna, our Singapore-based
Analyst in the Global Support Team.
Mahalekshmi Harikrishna, Singapore I heard a lot about SunTec from my husband,
Having joined the team a mere six months ago, Mahalekshmi and how intuitive and great the product is.
recalls all her inductions and trainings being conducted
through videoconferencing. “I must give a big kudos to our Mahalekshmi also shares an interesting anecdote about how
KMTD/ training team, who made me very comfortable when she began her SunTec journey. Her husband works for a bank
I joined,” she says. Right from bringing her up to speed about that happens to be one of SunTec’s customers. “I heard a lot
the products to supporting Singapore time, all factors were about SunTec from my husband, and how intuitive and great
considered to ensure Mahalekshmi had an insightful training the product is.” In fact, when I first saw the LinkedIn post on
session. SunTec hiring, I was so thrilled! I jumped at this opportunity
because I had already heard so much about the company.”
While getting adjusted to the virtual mode was a tad bit
difficult initially, collaboration and support from her team
went a long way in terms of her being able to seamlessly
support her clients today. “In case a client raised an issue,
and I was unaware of how to go about it, I just sent a
message in the morning (Singapore time) to my team
members. Either one of the two colleagues replied promptly,
be it at any time. They always ensured that as a team we are
responsible and deliver in a timely manner,” she adds.
Thanks to the pandemic, “Given that the biggest factor in my work involved travel -
meeting different people and traveling across continents,
people’s trust levels have this isolation made me feel like something was so wrong. This
change in office setup seemed to help me,” he says.
generally gone up Sandeep and his team had also begun giving product demos
virtually, which under normal circumstances was done face
Sandeep Bhaskar, London to face. A stumbling block, however, to these virtual meetings
was how does one break ice when you start, and end calls on
the dot and have no time to catch a coffee? To address this,
Sandeep Bhaskar, our Senior Solution Consultant shares a
he began using the initial few minutes of setting up video
graphic account of his meeting with an Australian Bank in
conferencing to informally chat with the prospects. Further,
early February last year, for a POC. As he walked into the
during the demo, one person was on standby to address
large meeting room of the bank in Australia’s financial capital,
questions on chat and audit the call, thereby ensuring they were
Sydney, to his dismay he was greeted by mask-clad clients
able to add value and every query was addressed seamlessly.
who maintained a good six feet distance when interacting.
“There’s something really wrong I thought because this was
my first glimpse of the new normal,” he recalls. Organizations do not even expect sales
Based in London, Sandeep typically spends a lot of time
executives to be there physically anymore.
traveling and meeting prospects. In his spare time during these
His perspective on remote demos: “thanks to the pandemic,
visits, he prefers sightseeing. However, this time he decided to
people’s trust levels have generally gone up and organizations
avoid local travel and took a flight straight back home.
do not even expect sales executives to be there physically
anymore.”
On his return, him, and his wife Yogita Nayar, visited South
Downs National Park for a quick weekend getaway. It was
The enterprising person that Sandeep is, he also created an
here that the new reality truly hit home. “Everyone around us
app, ‘Helping Hands’ earlier in 2020 with some of his alumni
again were in face masks and shields. That’s when I realized
from International Institute of Information Technology
this pandemic is mainstream and probably something that we
(Bangalore) and ex-colleagues to support people during the
need to be worried about.”
pandemic. The app essentially helps people who are looking
for items to be delivered home. For instance, people could get
Work-wise Sandeep and his team were used to virtual
grocery delivered if they were in isolation or unable to step
collaboration, however, for him the real disruption came from
out. This was his little effort to make a difference in the lives
being confined to his home. In fact, to cope with this work
of people.
from home situation and have a change of scene, he devised
an exceptional plan – he decided to change his home office
Apart from this venture, Sandeep says his Saturdays
setup every month. From one room to another, garden to
were mostly spent on Zoom calls with his parents back in
balcony and finally now running out of space at home.
Thiruvananthapuram.Our first responsibility Supporting a workforce that went fully remote, reassuring
anxious employees and ensuring safety of all associates.
transition was that a Business Continuity Planning (BCP)
committee was formed earlier. The BCP team conducted
was to connect with all This is what the Human Resources team, the front line of
SunTec had set out to achieve. As an Assistant Manager for
mock drills diligently so, when the lockdown was announced
it came as no surprise. The team was able to effortlessly
600+ associates Employee Engagement (HR), Shyam Gopinath recollects the
early days of the lockdown. How was he going to build the
move into the remote model.
same relationship with the associates in a virtual mode, he
had thought.
I couldn’t have done it without the team. It’s
Shyam Gopinath C, teamwork that helped the us survive and
Thiruvananthapuram “Our first responsibility was to connect with all 600+
thrive.
associates seamlessly. It was very tough indeed. But the kind
of contact and employee relationship that we have built in
“I couldn’t have done it without the team. It’s teamwork that
the last nine months is phenomenal. We were able to record
helped the us survive and thrive,” he says.
95% employee connect in the first six months,” he says
enthusiastically.
He adds, “This has been quite an experience and we learned
many lessons. We are now working towards creating a more
On probing further about how Shyam and his team managed
agile model. While so far, the HR team has been the only
to pull of this herculean task, he credits his leader, Prakash P
point of contact for all associates, we are adding a new
Nair for being a strong leader and pushing the team beyond
dimension. In the days to come we want to partner with the
their comfort zone.
managers of the associates and add an additional layer of
contact.”
“We had built a framework at least two and a half years
ago, called the HR buddy framework. The 13-member HR
While strategies have been re-visited, what remains
team including Prakash were assigned to one function each,
consistent is that people always come first. “We are all part
handling 50-60 associates. The HR buddy is essentially the
of the SunTec family. I’ve been with SunTec for over four
first point of contact for all associates, including those who
years now, and you won’t believe when I was stranded at
are on site, for growth and development opportunities.”
home due to the lock down, I was given food, sometimes
even infrastructure.”
It took the team two to three weeks to contact all
employees, reaching out to at least five associates in a day.
Speaking about what kept him busy other than work, he
The aim was to understand the challenges they faced, be it
remarks, “I understand the value of reskilling and bridging
admin, IT or any other. The HR buddies also had a POC from
the competency gap. So, I used this time to complete a few
the admin and IT teams to help address employee concerns
certifications.”
in a timely manner. What further helped in the smoothThe BCP team made me comfortable and the transition was quite smooth for me
Santhi S, Thiruvananthapuram
Santhi was all set to resume work in April 2020 after her The time and extent to which people are unit at the hospital. But he was quite careful and followed all
maternity break. “I was nearing the end of my maternity leave, measures including social distancing. Thankfully, we’ve all been
making necessary arrangements to join back and preparing
working and interacting has changed. safe so far.”
myself physically, mentally, and logistically. That was when the Everyone is cooperating very well.
pandemic struck,” she recalls. Santhi shares her mantra during these challenging times: “Life
Work continued as usual. In fact, it went on more efficiently, isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass but learning how to
She works in the revenue management product team as a she shares. “The time and extent to which people are working dance in the rain.”
Functional Owner. She was quite apprehensive of joining back and interacting has changed. Everyone is cooperating very
after a long break. A major restructuring was done to her well in the situation.”
team during her leave. “Most of my team members were new
and I was apprehensive about how I would fit into the already Not just her own team but Santhi is very appreciative of the
functioning team, achieving our company’s goals and targets,” BCP team too. “The BCP team made me comfortable and the
she says. transition was quite smooth for me. It reflects our company
culture,” she adds.
Additionally, remote working meant she needed to form a
delineation between her workspace and family space within She has been able to not just come back to work and adjust
her home. “I re-arranged my guest bedroom into an office to the new team but has also been able to spend quality time
space. My son is five years old, and my younger one is just six with her children and family.
months. They constantly need my attention, so I had to lock
the room and make it a professional surrounding.” She eagerly shares that her son’s interaction has increased
during this time. “He was a very shy boy. But the online classes
Amidst all of this she received a call from Mudit, her manager. and virtual mode has changed his perspective. He is more
“He called me days before my leave ended and appraised me confident because his mama is with him. If I am on a call he
of my role and made me very comfortable. He appraised me even comes and say hello to my colleagues. It’s like seeing a
of the changes and gave me all the reassurance I needed.” new human after this pandemic.”
As soon as she had commenced work, she made some But none of this would have been possible without her
changes to suit her schedule like starting work early and husband, Harikrishnan’s support, acknowledges Santhi. He is a
taking timely breaks in between. “I would give some time to doctor by profession.
my kids in the morning, then come back and work and then
take a break to attend to their needs and then go back and “He has been such an emotional support. In fact, he was
work again.” continuously exposed because he manages the critical careWe had the assurance that Employees across SunTec will agree in unison about their smooth transition to
the remote working model. However, what went into making this possible? A
strategic foresight, the perseverance to meet challenges head-on and the ability
Furthermore, continuous cleaning service and upkeep of offices was ensured.
The corporate services team traveled daily to the office. There were times when
they were stopped at every checkpoint, having to explain and produce the
the company is taking care to run operations like clockwork are just some of the qualities that Ajithkumar
Soman Pillai, the Manager for Corporate Services at SunTec demonstrated.
travel declaration forms. On several occasions they had to return home, but the
team made it a point to be in office for a few days. Maintenance schedules and
activities were met.
of us “We at Corporate Services were among the few people who realized quite
early on that the pandemic could be serious. When this news started coming The second and most important task was getting the assets and IT infrastructure
out of China, we read up in detail about it, while others casually dismissed it. I delivered to associates during the lockdown. Laptops and other IT consignment
remember the moment of impact when COVID was declared as a pandemic and had come from Bangalore to Cochin, but the team could not bring it to
Ajithkumar Soman Pillai, our team got into the control mode,” says he. Thiruvananthapuram. City borders were closed. Our Admin SPOC in Cochin,
had to approach the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Cochin to get a special
Thiruvananthapuram SunTec’s Technopark office in Thiruvananthapuram was perhaps one of the first permission, post which the consignment was driven into Thiruvananthapuram.
to initiate the hand sanitizer program. “We had hand sanitizers installed across
offices in India. And we had them functioning much before the government As the demands for laptops surged, a larger consignment was to come. The
started stressing on sanitizing.” laptops had arrived at the warehouse and had to be brought from there, for
which the collector’s permission for a pass was required.
By the time the lockdown was announced SunTec offices were protected in
terms of sanitation. “We maintain these hygiene protocols throughout the year, “There was no response from the Collectorate Officials who we approached
pandemic or no pandemic. But now it was enhanced,” he says. repeatedly through the day. So at nine o’clock at night we contacted the
District Collector directly. He finally granted us permission at 11 pm. The next
In fact, on the day of the lockdown announcement, SunTec was more than just day at five o’clock in the morning, our cars left from here and were back in
prepared. “I have never seen such a fabulous coordination by a BCP committee Thiruvananthapuram with the whole consignment of laptops by afternoon the
as ours in all my years of experience in corporates. No hiccups, no obstacles, same day. This was the best experience,” says an enthusiastic Ajithkumar.
nothing at all,” exclaims Ajithkumar.
“It brought home two messages - one that if you want to do something, you can
All praises for Arathi and Srijith from the BCP planning team, he shares: “They’re get it done. And second, there are actually very helpful and able government
extremely able. They listen to advice, they give advice, and most importantly, officers out there,” he adds.
they are there.” Even at the peak of the lockdown, assets were delivered to employees. “Over
100 IT assets have been delivered across locations,” he says with much certainty.
Recounting the numerous challenges faced, from facility management, such And as of today, the Corporate Services Team, in tandem with the BCP team
as maintenance and repairs to restrictions on movement, there were so many have been able to ensure such a seamless infrastructural logistics that we have
hurdles to be crossed. 100% productive WFH status. We also have in place a ready to execute, all points
covered “Back to Office Plan”.
We were one of the first companies to use our fleet of vehicles
Nanda Kumar, our CEO’s assurance during this time was a big boost for all, says
for our housekeeping staff. he. “NK’s words - I’m here to take care of you, you guys do your job, I’ll take
care of the rest - that gave us a will to work. We had the assurance that the
“Maintaining physical assets of a company is not possible unless you physically company is taking care of us irrespective of what happens outside. It was such a
have somebody doing those things. So that was the first challenge for us. How confidence builder for everybody.”
do we get people to the location? We needed to have PP kits for emergency, we
needed 24X7 security and we needed to be prepared in case any of our staff got “GVR too has been there to guide and to instruct us, all through this period –
infected. So, we provided our own transportation for the housekeeping staff. We just a message or call away. In fact, my functional Head, Mahadevan Krishna
were one of the first companies to use our fleet of vehicles for our housekeeping has been on his toes from day one. Anything that we needed at any given time,
staff, to ensure their and the company’s safety” we just need to pick up the phone and he was there. My team too has worked
uncomplainingly and willingly” he says warmly.
“We continue to provide company transportation to the housekeeping staff
despite the public transportation service having commenced. This speaks “The beauty of this is that people have actually understood and ensured that
volumes of this company,” he adds. during such trying times we need to be a team, a company, and work together.”The management support Life changed dramatically for all of us over the last 10 months and business
activities were disrupted like never before. During such unprecedented times
it was the BCP team’s thorough planning and relentless efforts that laid the
We have had a BCP meeting every single day that’s attended
either by GVR or NK.
has been excellent groundwork for business continuity and efficient recovery. Arathi R, the General
Manager for Global Support has played a pivotal role in managing and leading the She has been on her toes for the last ten months. “We have had a BCP meeting
BCP activities at SunTec. every single day that’s attended either by GVR or NK. We have not missed any
calls. We use this forum to give updates, raise concerns as well as keep track of
Arathi R, Thiruvananthapuram “As soon as the pandemic reports started pouring in, our global delivery and our employee wellness. Another thing that we track is people deployed on site
support teams were made alert because we had people traveling to Singapore who must travel back because of visa expiry. Their return was stalled because
and other APAC regions initially. So, we began restricting our travels,” she shares. airports were shut globally. Slowly we got them in as and when it was safe to
travel.”
A vision and guidance were issued at a management meeting. While the
infrastructure to work remotely was always available at SunTec, what was never Additionally, what truly helped iron out the asset issue was that Arathi and her
tested was how the whole load would be handled. team had mapped out everything. They identified which resources had laptops
and who didn’t. With this, two things got sorted out – classification of assets and
“The BCP team was formed with Global Delivery, Global Support, IT, Corporate identification of resources. So, when the IT stock arrived, it was easy to identify
Services and HR as the key functions. So, when the guidance came that we who needed it first.
must have trials of work from home, we started rolling it out week by week with
10 percent of the team. By the time we reached 50 percent the nation-wide She extends appreciation to Sreejith and Jamal too, whom she fondly calls her
lockdown was announced. We were anticipating it, but we had to completely right and left hand. “We distributed all activities among us right from laptop
switch over to the full work from home mode overnight. And luckily for us, there distribution, which needed a lot of strategizing. Without their involvement this
was absolutely no downtime.” would not have been possible. Every day we would spend half an hour trying
to map the people and the requirements and the allocation list. We kept the
Initially many associates had issues with access to VPN, shortage of laptops complexity between ourselves. So that the Corporate Services team only needed
and communication challenges. So, the BCP team’s priority was to enable to think about the route map. Having this framework and clarity of process
people to work from home. Once people had settled in, their focus shifted to helped us. “
ensuring teams were able to work effectively. That’s when Microsoft Teams
was introduced across the organization. “We did not see any drop in our service Arathi is very appreciate of all the support she received from the teams. “The HR
because of infrastructure. We must give a shout out to IT for managing the team did a very good job of reaching out to all the employees, even those on site,
infrastructure so well,” exclaims Arathi. as well as those who wanted us to reach out to family members. The IT support
led by Girish has been excellent and so has the admin support.”
The team made a very strategic distribution of IT assets. Whatever was available
was deployed prior to the lockdown. When the new laptops were procured The BCP team reached out to employees through surveys all through the work
from vendors, the BCP core team worked out the priority for the infrastructure from home period to understand their concerns, take feedback and thereby, take
distribution. Local employees were targeted first and when the courier services necessary action. Feedback on challenges of working from home, apprehensions
opened, it was sent to employees across states. about safety when resuming office, back up options in case of connectivity
issues, and options to work from office in case of critical deliveries, were
“We focused on development team and resources working on critical deliveries collected and addressed. This, along with feedback from managers and the HR
first. We worked with managers to find out who should get it because this was buddies helped the BCP team take decisions that was in everyone’s best interest.
a scarce commodity at that time. I think we all worked very smartly, and we had
absolutely no chaos. That probably is one success factor,” says Arathi. In conclusion, she says, “The management support has been excellent. Their
insights helped us be prepared. Initially we thought we would be back to work in
a month or two. But the management saw this continuing for a while and they
did not spare any investment to make it work for a long time.”I had the assurance that SunTec would be there if I
needed anything
Mahesh Mohan, Paris
Businesses, restaurants, and tourist sites in the world’s most
visited country, France were all shuttered in early March
My manager/ engagement manager and the
(2020) when the country announced its first lockdown. HR team were always in touch to check if
Mahesh Mohan, our Analyst in the Solution Consulting
team was amidst testing and a project delivery for a well-
any support was needed.
known bank in Paris. Overnight the country had imposed a
“I had the assurance that SunTec would be there if I needed
nationwide lockdown to curb the pandemic. For Mahesh, his
anything and that gave me a lot of confidence. My manager/
first reality check was when face-to-face meetings with his
engagement manager (based in Paris) and the HR team were
client was no longer feasible and he had to figure a new way
always in touch to check if any support was needed. And
for seamless communication.
the client has always extended support and ensured I had
whatever I needed,” he says.
“Initially, it was a disaster because all of a sudden you are
losing all your luxuries like perfect internet connection,
In fact, it was with his client’s help that he could handle the
or collaboration,” he says. Regular team catch-ups and
challenges easily.
prioritizing tasks were some of the first steps that he and his
team had taken to mitigate the impact of remote working.
In hindsight, Mahesh says it was meticulous planning
and prioritizing tasks that helped him sail through work
This period was particularly a trying time for Mahesh since
challenges. “There were moments of frustration when you’re
his colleagues based out of Paris had to return to India,
completely stuck in your room, but you need to find that
which meant he was the only one on site. Amid all this chaos,
balance.”
he even had to shift his hotel given practically everything in
Paris was closing. However, the support he received from
In the following months, Mahesh spent his free time with his
his client and the SunTec team including the HR and project
friends, going out cycling. While his annual visits to meet his
management team is what helped him put an end to his
family back home in India had to be cancelled, he is looking
anxieties.
forward to seeing them once the situation is favorable.I put extra measures to detect system glitches and
eventually automated checks
Rajeev R, South Africa
The pandemic upended the lives of millions in South Africa I was checking the bank’s systems to see if everything was
despite having gone under a lock-down as early as March 27, functioning normally. I checked the data for pricing. It is then
2020. Rajeev R, Senior Manager for Project Management, that I spotted some glitches in the data received from the
who is based out of the client location in the continent was external systems. I immediately had this fixed and intimated
equally anxious about the situation. “I had many questions the respective teams and continued to manually verify the
popping in my head when I first heard of the lockdown,” he data. I then put extra measures from our side to detect
says. glitches and eventually automated checks for transaction
amount comparisons.”
Rajeev handles upsell and coordinates all technical product
requirements for a leading bank in South Africa. His typical
workday involves managing the production environment. “My
The client has always been very supportive,
biggest concern when the pandemic struck was regarding understanding and empathetic.
handling large volumes of data and bandwidth issues due to
the remote model.” The client was very appreciative of this meticulous
assessment and immediate fixes. He says, “The client
Communication with peers and clients was another has always been very supportive, understanding and
significant hurdle in the initial days. Queries were open for empathetic.”
long, and he faced a challenge regarding sharing accurate
data. However, within the first few weeks of remote And while the remote working model may have blurred
working, the IT team at the bank enabled access to servers personal and professional boundaries, Rajeev says his wife,
that directly connected to the data center along with Sini Priya and little daughter, Nakshatra have been extremely
facilitating VPN access. This allowed Rajeev to seamlessly understanding and supportive. He concludes that one of the
handle reams of data from the comfort of his home. learnings for him during this challenging time was that he has
been able to prioritize important tasks and put a schedule for
He shares a particular incident that to him is his everyday himself to ensure he was able to manage both work as well
task. “I was at home and normally I don’t sleep very early, so as home.I’m very thankful to my Indu C Nair’s typical day as a Test Architect in the Product &
Innovation team requires her to write test designs. It involves
drastically, Indu and her team were able to manage very well.
She believes it had a lot to do with the flexibility that she and
team. They completed all her team to do the testing, but the ‘how’ and ‘what’ to
test is the intelligence that comes from her and is typically
her team received from the organization, which also made
them comfortable in stretching themselves.
their activities on time documented. What has changed in her routine over the last
nine months is the number of calls that she attends. She is extremely happy that she also got to spend quality time
with her family. “I did not have to spend two hours in travel,
Indu C Nair, Thiruvananthapuram “That was a little bit irritating for me as I am not used to which gave me more time to do other things.” she says.
being on calls so much,” she admits.
However, she truly acknowledges the flexibility that she got
during this time. Managing her team, attending meetings,
and responding to emails took up most of her time in the day,
leaving her with very little time to do her own work. She had
to find a work around, so she decided to wake up early (4:30
am) to complete her testing work without any disturbance.
She would then attend to her household chores and get back
to office work by 10:00 am.
While collaboration was a challenge initially, it has become
a part of life now. She is grateful for all the support that she
received from her team.
“I’m very thankful to my team. They completed all their
activities on time and with an expected output.”
The infrastructure support we received was
commendable.
“The infrastructure support we received was commendable
too. Some of my team members had VPN connectivity issues,
or their data plan got expired. All such issues were fixed
immediately by the IT team,” she adds.
Over the last nine months while the workload increasedDonning many hats and excelling in all of them
Jaya Nair A, Thiruvananthapuram
It was mid-March when Jaya Nair was suddenly being pulled Being responsible yet sensitive towards each
in multiple directions – work, home, and a multitude of things
in between. “When we first heard about this pandemic, none
other is very important in times like these.
of us thought that it would disrupt our daily lives the way it
Work posed different challenges though. There was no social
did. In fact, every aspect of a working woman’s life has been
interaction and something as small as brainstorming required
impacted,” says Jaya, the GM for Global Delivery at SunTec.
blocking calendars. However, the silver lining of this disruption
is that the team has developed a sense of responsibility and
Jaya found herself grappling with work-life balance. Schools
started sharing proactive updates. A nugget of wisdom from
were shut, there was no house help, which meant more work
her: “Set clear expectations with people. Being responsible yet
on the home front while also being able to work from home.
sensitive towards each other is very important in times like
However, she breathed a sigh of relief when this transition to
these.”
working from home was made seamless in a couple of days.
“I don’t think we have given enough credit to the IT and admin
Jaya recalls working on a POC for a US client, with all women
teams and we have taken them for granted,” she says. From
on her team. Th team had agreed on the schedules that worked
providing data cards, to setting up laptops and collaboration
for them (either working late night or finding a quiet early
applications, the IT team relentlessly offered support with speed
morning). Managing their children’s online classes, summer
and efficiency.
vacations, and running the project all at the same time.
However, they worked with clock-like precision – expectations
While Jaya was juggling between the many roles that she plays,
were clearly set, and deliverables defined. If someone worked at
she recalls how setting a schedule for Uday, her 10-year-old son,
night, they handed over to the next person in the morning with
was one of the first steps she took to manage work and home.
a status update. Each of them passed on the baton smoothly
At first he was confused about why both his parents were
for the other person to take forward. “Even though there
unable to interact or play with him even while they were at
were many risks involved, it was a very satisfying and fulfilling
home the whole day. He wondered why he was asked to stay
experience, says Jaya. All of us (Nitha Chandran, Smitha Suseela
quiet while they were on calls. But he adapted to the fact that
and Anamika Ramdas) came together and delivered that POC
that his mother had a home office now like he had a home
within the set timeframe.”
school.
Despite the tough times, Jaya finds her reward in the seamless
POC delivery. A commendable job by her and her team!This time was a This was also the time when the leadership team had
requested for a product defects dashboard to be created
extending support to them in these challenging times was
indeed something that she was happy to do.
blessing for us daily. She had to clean up the defects from the tool by
analyzing the data including the age of defects and
distribute the details to the concerned departments and
I could do 100% justice to my work while
Suni Stanes, Thiruvananthapuram product owners. spending quality time with my family.
“I had to get that done from scratch. But during this time, I “I could do 100% justice to my work while spending quality
Suni Stanes is a SunTec veteran, having been with the could focus more, and I could send out the defect report to time with my family during these ten months.”
organization for a decade now. She works in the Enterprise the product management team and the product engineering
PMO team, where her work mostly involves data crunching team on time.”
and preparing pretty reports. One of the perks of her role is
that she gets to work across departments including product The defects that were published by her were then worked on
development, delivery, design, product engineering, support, by the respective teams.
HR, IT, purchase, admin, and legal. She is currently working
with the product management team and critical delivery Suni extends her sincere gratitude to her managers
projects. Karthik and Sreejith and her entire team for supporting her
throughout. She also is very appreciative of Gireesh GV from
In March 2020, she had commenced working from home the IT team and Ajith Kumar Soman Pillai from Corporate
before many others because her son, Steve, was preparing Services for she had an episode when her laptop busted.
for his eighth-grade exams and she wanted to ensure she Anxious about sending her daily reports, she had reached out
was able to help him with his preparations. While on one to them. A laptop was then sent to her through a cab in a
hand her biggest concern was being able to connect with couple of hours.
the product and function owners and publish the dashboards
on time, on the other hand she was ecstatic that she could “I was pleasantly surprised when the laptop reached me so
spend time with her family. “I couldn’t spend quality time quickly,” she exclaims.
with my son. So, this time was a blessing for us,” she says.
Her mantra to staying calm and happy during this time was
She shares that Microsoft Teams turned out to be a to ensure she kept herself busy. As part of ‘Be the Change
saving grace for her over the last year. “By installing this Core Committee Team’, which is driven by a small group of
collaboration tool, they made things very smooth. Whenever SunTecians, she restarted an engagement initiative online.
a meeting was set up, people were there before time. It was To her surprise they garnered over 100 participants. She
quite surprising for me. Whenever I called anyone, there also actively participated in is the She Club – where all the
responded to my queries quite promptly. So, it was very women Suntecians share delicious recipes.
productive.”
She is quite active with SunTec SNEHA, the CSR committee
“I could send out my reports on time,” she adds. too. Interacting with the support staff and their families andI’m glad that the organization A resourceful and multi-faceted employee, Pratheesh P Nair
has often found himself in different projects, performing in
areas. We did multiple workshops with the client. In fact,
the client only speaks Spanish, so we have translators and
trusted that I could play a various capacities. He is now playing the role of a Solution
Consultant for a new client in Latin America. He was
partners who translate for us.”
functional role transferred to the US two weeks before the lockdown in
2020 for an upgrade project.
Everything has been going smooth. We were
always connected. And I got very good
Pratheesh P Nair, USA Just a month before being assigned to his new project in
support from the offshore team.
the USA, he completed a project in Vietnam and returned to
India. He was extremely worried about leaving his parents
He adds, “Everything has been going smooth. We were
back in India.
always connected. And I got very good support from the
offshore team. There were absolutely no communication
“I have been traveling a lot for the last couple of years. So, I
challenges. People were available and I didn’t even feel the
have not had a chance to stay with my parents. I was mainly
time difference at any point.”
worried about my parents, and how they would manage
because there is no one else at home. They are in Kochi and
While work has offered many opportunities to Pratheesh,
my brother is in Thiruvananthapuram,” he says.
even on the personal front this unprecedented time led to
a positive change. “Previously when I used to travel, I used
He continues, “The spread of the pandemic was fast in
to call my parents only once a week may be. And that call
the US; however, the lockdown hadn’t disrupted my client
lasted for less than two minutes. My parents would get all
interactions. I was more worried about getting offshore
the news about me from my brother. But after this pandemic
support.”
I talk to them regularly,” he says cheerily.
He remembers working on a project for a Northern American
In conclusion, he shares how his perspective about life has
client where an immediate environment upgrade was
changed. “This time has made me reflect that our human life
required at the client site. He managed to pull that off with
is really very simple. There are things that are beyond our
the help of the offshore team and the client’s support.
control. We have some resources available. But ultimately,
“We worked on weekends too to ensure that their normal
we all depend on a third force - some people call it God, and
business was not affected. Many pilot activities were done.
some a supreme power. We depend on that third force.”
And we delivered seamlessly.”
Pratheesh was then moved to work on a project in Latin
America. “It was a challenging project for me because I had
not played the role of a Consultant. But I’m glad that the
organization trusted that I could play a functional role. It
has given me more exposure to the technical and functionalAn anxious time yet a
day. Now, with this pandemic we could not be at the customer site and hence
Anupkumar Narayanakurup is the Principal Architect in the product management
managing expectation and having in-person conversation took a back seat. So,
team at SunTec. He was at a client location in Oslo when the news of the
gratifying experience
the expectations suddenly changed. In terms of any kind of prioritizations or any
pandemic was first out. Although he started his travel with little sign of the
discussions that we needed to have, we had to block calendars. Suddenly 24
pandemic, by the end if his travel the virus was spreading like wildfire. He was
hours in a day started feeling short. Setting up of a home workstation and taking
worried about being stranded at Oslo and remained skeptical of airport travel.
Anupkumar Narayanakurup, a break in between work to be with my family are the positives of this journey.”
Thiruvananthapuram He recalls going from store to store in search of masks in Oslo but to no avail. It
was then that his client helped him and another colleague with masks from the
In hindsight, he agrees having a fixed start and end time to work along with the
discipline of taking regular breaks would have helped. “You will actually find
pharmacy in the bank’s premises. “I remember on our return too, one of the team
yourself in a much better position both personally and professionally. It is very
members at the client location, an elderly person, brought the mask that they had
easy to get caught up in many urgent things and put aside certain important
at their home, to enable us to travel back. It was a very kind gesture that I will
things, which eventually get into the urgent category. This is something I believe I
not forget in my entire life,” he says.
could have done better.”
His travel back to India was quite dramatic too. On February 28, 2020, his
transit from Oslo to Thiruvananthapuram was through Frankfurt and Abu Dhabi. These six months have been the best time of my life because I
He remembers being the only person wearing a mask on his flight from Oslo could spend time with my father.
to Frankfurt. Finally, when he had reached India, the government announced
that people who had returned from foreign travel, especially Europe, must be On the personal front, Anup moved to Pandalam to be close to his father.
quarantined. After coming to India and being in office for more than a week and “After more than 25 years I had an opportunity to stay with my parents and
a half, he had to quarantine for 14 days and by then, the country-wide lock down grandparents, for over six months. That is one of the best things personally. My
had commenced. father had a terminal illness during this time. These six months have been the
best time of my life because I could spend time with my father before he passed
Speaking of his remote work experience, he shares: “When it comes to delivery, away in October 2020. It was a difficult time but something that I shall cherish
we are actually constantly traveling for most parts of the year. So remote after a lifetime” he says.
working was not a different experience for many of us. But now we didn’t
have anyone rooted in the office to contact for anything and this was a unique He is also very grateful for his reporting manager’s understanding and support.
experience. I must say our colleagues were available and responded quickly, as
if we were working physically, side by side. May be, having video calls instead of
text messages or voice calls would have helped us to feel closer.”
“We were operating almost in a 24X7 fashion. It became like that because
everybody was remote. There were challenges of being with family yet being
disconnected” he adds.
Although Anup had a set routine, he had some challenges too. “I get up early
in the morning because that is predominantly my most productive time in theThe key lies in starting now For Arun K N, 2020 year will remain a significant year – a
year of several high and lows. He is the Support Manager in
support their business needs in the new normal. “But our
support process was carried out in the same way as it had
the global support team at SunTec. happened in office. All client support activities were carried
Arun KN, Thiruvananthapuram out from home. There was no deterioration in our service,” he
“By the start of 2020, even though the world was amidst says.
chaos and fear caused by the pandemic, my family and I
were in a very special place in our life as we were eagerly
waiting for our little one to arrive in March,” says Arun in
I don’t think there were escalations from
retrospection. any of my clients from a business continuity
“Our little boy Anirudh arrived on March 20, 2020 and on
perspective.
March 23, 2020, my wife and the baby got discharged from
“I don’t think there were escalations from any of my clients
the hospital. As per custom in this part of India, she had to
from a business continuity perspective.”
go to her mother’s place for post-partum rest. On the same
day, the lockdown was announced in Kerala. So, I had to rush
He is extremely appreciative of his colleagues for their
back to Thiruvananthapuram. It was a tough time for me
support and understanding during this time. “When the
because I couldn’t be with my child and wife. However, I was
lockdown started, everybody was happy because they got
relieved as my parents were with me in Thiruvananthapuram.
to be with family. But later when the work started pouring
So, all in all, I was happy.”
in, and our working hours extended, most of them were very
understanding and raised minimal concerns. My manager,
Speaking of the transition to remote working, he shares that
Arathi, did a good job in handling the BCP activities and
it was a seamless one for his team. “I would say if it took
providing us with the right guidance at the right time while
three weeks for other teams to settle in, the support team
managing the continuity of work,” he says.
was able to do it within two weeks because we had utilized
the work from home option as and when required due to
In hindsight if he were to change anything over the last year,
personal constraints.”
it would be taking care of his health and taking necessary
breaks. In fact, he has already taken a step in this direction.
However, he admits that it was a challenge to get hold of
people on calls initially as most of them were always busy.
“It is important to relax and take good rest and come back.
But soon working methods had changed - ad hoc meetings
I’ve been telling my team the same. Also, there is no point in
became planned meetings. And the way the team responded
getting anxious. The key lies in starting now, so that we can
to issues and change requests became more streamlined.
eventually complete tasks and move forward.”
Given that Arun spends most of his time interacting with
clients, he shares that there was an initial panic at the client
side too. They wondered how the team would deliver andYou can also read
