Samagra Development Associates Reviews

- Extremely penny-pinching / cheap company for a firm which expects 60 hours a week from its employee and makes profits. Examples: 1) Centrally managed Google-form to book flight tickets, where the admin will book the cheapest flight for you (with no food and seat selection allowed) irrespective of your timing preference. If your flight gets delayed - you'll be stuck as the admin will create chaos for booking another flight (which would obviously be costlier). They pressurize you to book flights A MONTH in advance - and call you out if you don't for whatever reasons. 2. Food allowance : INR 300 per meal (shameful, to say the least). Plus there are tens of conditions to claiming food allowance, for e.g., it cannot be in your base location (even though you're traveling), it cannot be a snack item (e.g., chocolates), and so on. 3. If you unknowingly claim something as expense due to lack of policy knowledge, they cut the claimed amount from your salary as a "penalty". 4. The monthly townhall is done in a basement, with steel chairs stacked up right against each other, with unbearable suffocation in summers. This is for a 9 hours crammed day. 5. Hotel per night cap is INR 2,500 - 3,000 (shameful, again). Even an NGO treats you better. 6. Gives 6 flybacks per year from your project base location to Delhi ONLY, that is, 1 flyback every 2 months to Delhi, even though your home might be somewhere else. The only Delhi part wasn't changed despite several requests from all employees (for reasons beyond anyone's understanding) 7. The firm does not provide laptop and MS-Office suite to consultants! You're expected to get you own - Extremely top-down, with hardly any place for logical dissent. What CEO says is the word in most cases (even on topics where he has zero knowledge of ground). Even senior leadership who don't agree with the CEO have been asked to leave - Too many irrational processes, which are just forced down on everyone and centrally tracked by admin. Examples: 1) Weekly planning and reviews - 2 hours planning on Monday and 2 hours review on Friday, every week 2) Monthly planning and reviews - 4 hours planning at start of month and 4 hours review end of month, every month 3) Quarterly planning and reviews - 6 hours of planning at start of quarter and 6 hours of review at the end of quarter, every quarter 4)Team Pulse - wherein the entire team including PL sits and tell how they're feeling (as if they'll be honest) 5) Team Feedback - where the entire team including PL sits and everyone gives feedback (good and bad, compulsory) on everyone (creates trauma for most) 6) PC Coaching - a 2-3 years overall experienced guy will provide you feedback every 2 weeks, even though there hasn't been much done in 2 weeks. This is centrally tracked and therefore "must be done" 7) PL Coaching - valuable, but again implemented as a process 8) Compulsory 2 district visits per month - even though your project doesn't need district visits at all and you can spend the time on other productive work 9) Townhall - every month where the leaders presents about their work and everyone listens - A profitable social impact company, where the CEO expects employees to work for national building and social causes, makes profits as a company, but don't want employees to have perks or have that lens at all - Extreme favouritism by CEO, picks and promotes whoever he deems fit, fires whoever he deems fit - Appraisals are highly based on "feelings" of your lead, and you cannot do much about it - If you an MBA, avoid this firm like a plague. They fired 25% of the the first batch of MBAs they hired from top colleges within 3 months giving reasons like "cultural fit". They didn't give hikes to MBAs because "they're already being paid highly" (leadership's words) - Highly inconsiderate to employees, rejects valid requests veiled as "expected sacrifices from the employees"