Covid hit us by surprise and work life changed completely. I was working in the hospitality industry which hit a stop due to the restrictions on travel. I joined as a consultant in a call center as it was one of the few industries hiring for remote work. A few months into work, an opportunity arrived to put me back on the career path that I always wanted to be on - a human resource professional.

My friend and now colleague Sydel had reached out to me to enquire about a role in the company she was working for. I have known Sydel since my post graduation and she always had high standards so when she spoke about Frappe it was something I could not ignore. She had all good things to say about the workplace, especially the culture. In the previous companies, work was always micro-managed. Hearing of the no-manager culture at Frappe was a shock to me.

My interview process was completely different where my first call was with the founder and the HR director. I was imagining all the difficult questions that they could ask me and my mind was all over the place. The first thing I was asked by the founder Rushabh was if my parents named me after the famous author ‘Sidney Sheldon’ and I think that did break the ice and my mind was at ease. (Later on, I was grilled though)

My first month was completely disastrous cause the culture here was completely different and I was so used to being told what to do that going and taking initiatives without being supervised was something I could never imagine. But things work out for the best especially when you follow one golden rule - “help is given to those who ask”. I always follow this rule and I think all the elements of our culture fall perfectly with it. I reach out to folks without any hesitation and that helps me bond with them.

My role went through a lot of changes from initially only helping in onboarding and exits since we hired on a large scale, to now managing entire operations. I also get to organize small activities such as football, cycling, and movies, and the best part is I can do it without the need for any approval. My favorite part about my work is it's my responsibility to organise two off-sites a year. Even though it’s a challenge it's super fun. The first offsite I managed was average at best according to me because I did not have a great bond with the team members back then. Four off-sites later I think I know the secret to managing a good off-site is to get everyone interested to be there. Folks at Frappe are awesome when they are interested and stubborn when they aren’t.

I learned a lot about my work since I had responsibilities of my own. Working with so many folks who don’t hesitate to speak their mind made me introspect about my life. I still have a lot to learn, since I always strive to grow more as a human being rather than just growing professionally.

Covid hit badly and it affected a lot of people but to me, the silver lining was I got an opportunity to explore Frappe.