Pros
One would think this is a startup so the everything would be fast(yes it is) but how about the process ? (that's what gives AlphaSense an edge) - this company surprised me when I joined, the focus in terms of tools, documentation, engineering & product org maturity is really commendable! 1. Eagerness to grow, continuous improvement in product development process 2. Open door culture, delivery head is transparent and collaborates with team before coming to decisions 3. Smart engineers, come from premier institutions in India and majority of employees already know the term "team spirit" well 4. Meals at work from a premium restaurant(actually the cafeteria was managed by Kfactory - famous restaurant in Baner, Pune (pre-covid time) 5. Top of the game machines & dev tools 6. Employees are able to own part of company through stock options 7. Leave policy, Covid Leaves, 1st Friday half day since 2020 (till pandemic) - lot of orgs started Friday off in May but AlphaSense was way ahead and gave us this benefit quite early - and not just for a month 8. Awesome work life balance - could be credited to engineers in Helsinki ;) (European influence of separating work hours) - no micromanagement in India office, people can work with all the flexibility - very clear categorisation of off hour support (until an unless its big bang, employees are not disturbed - have not seen this in Indian offices otherwise) 8. Learning opportunities, company paid certifications, option to switch roles within organisation(this one is really good and encourages people to be cross functional)
Kontras
HR org could do a bit more 1. AlphaSense gifts, usually startups are known for spoiling employees with merchandise (it was definitely good before covid) 2. Sometimes it takes a lot of time to hire new team members which may impact delivery, lot of factors: e.g. other orgs have 90 days notice, AlphaSense is new in India(brand value can be improved), people are not that aware of startup culture in Pune - compared to other metro cities. India leadership working to identify and mitigate these challenges already.
