Our Tribe — Celebrating the amazing teams at ClearTax
“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot. Together we can do great things.” - Mother Teresa
We at ClearTax deeply resonate with these words. Often we have discussed how business is a team sport, and having one or two extraordinary performers or stars does not win the game, but a team of good players who are in sync and support each other with their individual strengths can take us places.
As we rebound in full form to our pre-covid performance, we want to express our gratitude to our wonderful and diverse teams from product and tech to category, sales, post-sales support and operations who have stayed strong during the economic crisis and kept up their contribution and team spirit during the past six months, despite all odds.
To know more about the unique composition and practices of our teams, we interviewed representatives from across the organization. Here are some extracts from the proud and emotional responses we heard from them.
Shalabh Kumar, CA & SME Business Category Team
WHO WE ARE: Motivated | Driven | Happy
I have truly understood the meaning of teamwork in this team — each day brings new instances of coordinating, helping each other and moving together towards the final goal. We are able to leverage each other’s strengths admirably and the best part is that we celebrate each other’s wins with real joy and appreciation!
During the lull of the lockdown, the team brainstormed together and took the opportunity to interview more than 100 customers in 1.5 weeks. They reached the understanding that most potential customers (CAs and accountants) were looking to improve their knowledge during this time. Hence we launched a webinar series which received an enthusiastic reception and led to a record breaking start to the business once the lockdown was lifted.
We are fun-loving as well! Every Friday evening we have a team call which is a strictly no-work call and lifts our spirits just before entering the weekend.
Rakesh Sasidharan, Product Team
WHO WE ARE: Innovative | Focused | Caring
We live by the spirit of one for all and all for one. Our team is powered by the idea of what we are building. Our team strength doubled during WFH and initially we struggled to keep up with virtual introductions and coordination with new 2D faces on screen.
But the goal drove us to overcome these teething troubles and we have taken responsibility as a team to make every new entrant feel comfortable and settle down. We own a product, which means we constantly think of our customer — in this pursuit everyone brings new ideas to the table for healthy discussions and everyone chips in for quality testing.
Every day we meet for half an hour to discuss the product and end the meeting with some fun and smiles. We communicate more on whatsapp and slack groups than through structured meetings and this reduces cognitive overload.
Sagar Thakar, Enterprise Business Category Team
WHO WE ARE: Mindful | Bold | Unapologetic
We work hard and sweat during peace so as to avoid bleeding in war. We are a very young team and it is always the best idea in the room that wins. We always look out for each other, move fast, and celebrate the small things.
We often end up working long hours and weekends to achieve more — our motto is to never look at the clock when a customer wants to hear from us. I am most proud of this trait in the team!
Given our comfort with each other, we love sharing jokes and memes on our whatsapp group and laughing with and at each other — this is what bonds us and helps us get through thick and thin.
Avantika Singh, Consumer Partnerships Team
WHO WE ARE: Constructive | Collaborative | Communicative
My team members are like extended family members and support each other in every way. They maintain a healthy competition among themselves, yet foster a spirit of belongingness and responsibility towards each other.
One of the most memorable instances of teamwork I saw was when we launched our GST product a few years ago, and while none of my team members were from a compliance background, we divided the modules and helped each other perfect the concept by spending late nights and got to execution at a gravity-defying pace.
Our team is fondly known as the ‘Desserts house’ since most of us are foodies and our favourite way to unwind is to indulge our sweet tooth. Every celebration calls for a treat and this ritual truly binds us together in the best way! We work hard and party harder (of course there’s a hiatus on that right now).
Shivakumara Patil, Inside Sales Team
WHO WE ARE: Motivated | Go getters | Driven
More than a sales team, I like to say we are a team of tax doctors or consultants who solve big problems for our customers. We diagnose and operate with precision and focus.
We are a close knit team and every team member is treated equally. There is always someone to listen to each team member and there is high trust. The team leads are constantly in touch with their teams on a professional as well as personal level, especially during WFH.
The team works on the weekend without being asked. Their drive is infectious — after achieving 150% of their targets in one of the recent months, the team still soldiered on and aimed for more. One of the most touching instances I witnessed of late was the team donating their incentive earnings to an NGO.
We make it a point to congratulate ourselves on our efforts on a daily basis, run contests, and pull each other’s legs a lot.
Conclusion
In essence, we observed that every team is unique as well as similar in many ways. While the goals they work on are vastly different, their skill sets are varied and team compositions are distinct, what drives them to succeed is a common uniting ambition, customer centricity at every step, and a deep human connection. This is what unites us as a tribe!
