What keeps employees associated with an organisation for a long time?
My pondering emanates on the backdrop of two women who have been a part of Symbiosis for a long time. One is Dr. Rajni Gupte, who was the Vice Chancellor of Symbiosis for two terms, that is, ten years from 2013 to 2023. The other is Dr. Bhama Venkatramani, the Dean of Academics and Administration, who was at another leadership position. Both of them are retiring from Symbiosis after 33 years of service. Seeing their journey at Symbiosis and with Symbiosis for such a long time, I wonder what keeps people in an organization for such a long time?
Dr. Rajani Gupte and Dr. Bhama Venkatramani joined Symbiosis in 1991, and both of them joined the Symbiosis Arts and Commerce Junior College and started teaching eleventh-grade students. Later, as they acquired more teaching proficiency and their academic degrees, specifically their Doctoral Degrees, they climbed up the ladder. Dr. Rajani Gupte became the Director of the Symbiosis Institute of International Business and later became the Pro Vice-Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor of Symbiosis International University. Similarly, Dr. Bhama Venkatramani became the Director of one of the most popular undergraduate programme, the BBA.
I still recall the day I pulled Dr. Bhama out of the junior college to discuss whether we could design another undergraduate program that could make students more professionally attuned, a program that would bring more professional skills than a regular BCom. Both of us sat down and carved out a programme and started the Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies and launched the BBA program, and Dr. Bhama was appointed the Director of this institute. Later on, she became the Director of Symbiosis School of Banking and Finance and then was elevated to the position of Dean of Academics and Administration, wherein she oversaw the academics and administration of Symbiosis, including schools, other institutions and the University.
Dr. Bhama and Dr. Gupte have been with us for 33 years, and when I look at their journey, I wonder what keeps people in an organization for that long? Is it just the salary or intangible gains that extend beyond salaries? Is it the ecosystem and the culture, or what is it really? Then, when I look back and recount how many people have been in Symbiosis for that long, I feel glad to say that there are innumerable people who continue their journey at Symbiosis for decades. It’s because when people join Symbiosis, they join a family.
Dr. Mujumdar Sir recruited people way back in the 70s, 80s and 90s, and many of them still continue with us, even after their retirement. It is the sense of belonging that is instilled in everyone at Symbiosis. It means that the culture of an organization plays a preeminent role that extends beyond fringe benefits and salaries. Given the competitive world that we live in, I am sure that the employees of Symbiosis must have received job offers from other educational institutions, but they refused to take those up.
It is the family culture that we follow at Symbiosis. Everybody feels it is their own organization, the work culture is decentralized, and everybody is given autonomy to function in their own fields. Everybody has a sense of belonging to Symbiosis. Some young people have of course, left Symbiosis for better salaries or some other personal reasons, but they still keep in touch with us. Many of them have worked outside and come back to us and rejoined Symbiosis.
I am so happy that these two women stalwarts of Symbiosis have contributed to making Symbiosis what it is today. I am sure at the end of their sojourn at Symbiosis, they have a sense of fulfillment and contentment with what they have accomplished. Dr. Gupte shall continue to be with us as an Advisor, and Dr. Bhama, though she will be moving to the south, will continue also with us as an Advisor. At Symbiosis, no one retires. Our most significant source of inspiration is Dr. Mujumdar Sir, who continues to work as hard at the age of 88 as he used to earlier! He still comes to office every day, is interested in every new project and still gives us fresh ideas.
There are so many universities worldwide, including Stanford and Harvard, where Professors continue to serve even after their retirement as Professor Emeritus, Distinguished Professors or Advisors. The important thing is that they keep inspiring the young students. They come to the campus, sit in the libraries, work in the laboratories and continue to inspire others.
I would like to thank Dr. Bhama and Dr. Gupte for their contribution to Symbiosis and would also like to bring to light the fact that they have become role models for many Symbiosis employees.
I hope this ‘family culture’ at Symbiosis continues to inspire young people who can think beyond materialistic gains because an organization gives an identity to an individual and this identity is far more important than anything else!!