Perficient Growth Stories – Celebrating Excellence!

One of Perficient’s core values is Pride, and with good reason. We’re proud of our work, our colleagues, and our accomplishments, all of which we celebrate. I recently got the chance to sit down and connect with a few colleagues who were felicitated with the delivery excellence awards and got to talk about their journeys with Perficient – and their pride at their accomplishments, both personal and professional.

The growth platform that keeps giving:

“I joined Perficient after taking a break from my career to raise my child and got the chance to work with the EHI team. I was determined to prove myself that my skills weren’t rusty, and not only got converted to a full-time position but was soon promoted as well. I’ve since then been offered the chance to lead my team which has helped me to grow as a leader.”

I’ve been turned away from several organizations when I applied due to my career gap, but Perficient not only took a chance on me, but provided me the space to learn and explore new technologies.”

“I started my career as an intern in healthcare solutions, and after a few years in the field, I sought new challenges, which led me to Perficient.” said Dharmendar Gajraj.  “My goals were clear – to become an expert in the field of healthcare and help the global community while doing so. With Perficient, you’re allowed the space to explore, and I got to work with different facets of healthcare beyond what I had previously worked on, while simultaneously getting to work on new technologies.”

Subramanian Nachiappan talks about his time with Perficient with pride. “My career here has been nothing short of a rollercoaster – I joined as a technical consultant for java development and have gotten the chance to work with close to 15 different technologies while continuing to grow my expertise in Java. I’ve been in several different projects and gotten the chance to lead multiple teams – sometimes simultaneously. Perficient’s allowed me to grow not just as a professional but as a person too.”

“I started off my career with training in legacy tools in 2001 – I can remember how the economy was at that point.” says Asokraja Somasundaram. “It motivated me to constantly upskill myself, gaining knowledge in SharePoint, and soon got the chance to visit the UK for a month to train as a tech application specialist. I’ve never looked back and have been able to grow, which only increased since I joined Perficient. In the project we were working on, due to the vast amount of data present, I helped lead the charge to shift from manual to automation. This led to further challenges where the validation would in turn take a long while, so we decided to start a process where the validation would work along the automation.

Technologies’ always been a passion to me since I entered the field, and both Perficient and my team have enthusiastically supported my efforts to explore new solutions, encouraging a culture of creativity and collaboration. Innovation, and Perficient’s dedication to it as a core value, has always stood out to me during my time here, where we constantly look at our methods and improve on them.”

Leadership and excellence:

“I love that Perficient trusts you to deliver, and the freedom to set and complete your goals. I try incorporating the same culture in my team. I’ve always felt that I was never a supervisor – first and foremost I was a team member as well. I believe in the democratic process and would have conversations across the team to decide on the best solution for any problem. For me, leadership is calmness under pressure and to be the captain of the ship – especially when things get stormy. They have to be able to deliver on time, keep up morale, and make tough decisions, when necessary, with no space for second guessing. So far, I think I’ve been able to uphold the trust my manager had in me when she recommended me for a leadership role.” – Madhumitha

“My team started with initially just 2 members which has steadily grown to seven, and as we grew, we started helping other teams and helped train new resources in addition to our own responsibilities. I’ve been able to conduct over 4 Java bootcamps and have helped train over 40+ interns. Beyond that, I’ve helped organize social gatherings and technical discussions where my team gets to participate in technical discussion and learn, while simultaneously being able to feel seen and heard.

To me, collaboration and engagement are important values for a leader – you need to be able to collaborate with everyone and check in on everyone while also bonding with your team on a personal level. Good leaders help make better leaders – and I try to encourage team members into taking on ownership of tasks and processes and pitch in with other colleagues where they can.”

“Before my journey with Perficient, I was rather hot-tempered and impatient. After a lot of guidance not just from my manager but my peers too, I’ve been able to improve myself a lot. I’ve gotten much better at handling situations and conflict resolution – which has helped my personal life too. I can now analyze situations with a cool mind and can communicate much more effectively. I’ve learnt the value of a calm word over a heated sentence.” – Subramanian

“I like to look at the big picture and use all the tools possible to build for the future. I believe for leaders, planning ahead for the future is an important quality. Anything that seemed less efficient, I would drop a note to colleagues and any fixes were shared immediately, so we were proactive rather than reactive. I also believe in being accessible – something I’ve learnt from my time here. In Perficient, I’ve never felt any disconnect with top management. It always feels like talking to an old friend, which is something I love about our culture.” – Asokraja

Milestones of Pride

“It was an amazing moment when I got the Delivery Excellence award. It was humbling to be able to directly interact with the C-suite Leadership and get appreciated for our efforts, and how they play into the big picture. Beyond that, I felt pride in my professional work, while able to be a good mother to my child.” – Madhumitha

“I was recognized for my efforts and got the chance to lead the entire offshore development center, something I’m very grateful to the Leadership for trusting me to drive the project. During the Delivery excellence awards, It was a great meeting the C level executives and hearing them talk about our core values. For them to take the time to meet us and get to know us while they have so many responsibilities running the organization, it was truly a very proud moment for us all.” – Dharmendar

“Something great about Perficient’s culture is how there’s no barrier in communication between the leadership and the people on the ground. You can reach out to anyone at any time, and more importantly, the leadership interacts with you as well and knows the pulse of the people. During the delivery excellence awards ceremony, we got to meet with C level executives. Tom Hogan, Andrea Lambert and others from the C-suite took the time to get to know us all personally despite it being late at night for them and their huge responsibilities. We felt seen and heard – and it was touching that they went the extra mile to get to know us.

If I could pick one thing in particular that I’m proud of during my time here at Perficient, it’s my personal growth – where I evolved myself into becoming a better person.”

“Something that’s stood out to me about our culture is how we celebrate our people. I’ve gotten a lot of awards in previous organizations, but they were just mails which had zero impact on me emotionally. In Perficient, our successes are highlighted, and the entire organization celebrates right alongside us. The leadership cheers us on, where every single individual’s efforts are recognized.

I wasn’t even aware of winning the delivery excellence award, and only got to realize it when all the wishes from my team and colleagues poured in. It was a huge honor to interact with the C-suite in recognition of our work, and to hear about the impact our work was having on the organization’s future.” – Asokraja

Planning for the future – and advice for the present

“I plan to keep growing in the field of QA and work towards becoming a subject matter expert in the field. I’ve gotten the chance to mentor and onboard five interns and am constantly reminded that you can always keep learning. To those I mentor, and to those entering the field, I’d advise the same and to have confidence in yourself – especially to take up new opportunities. If you don’t try, you’ll never know.” – Madhumitha

“I see myself continuing to contribute to making Perficient a market leader and help build and establish us as experts in the field of healthcare.

During my time with the intern bootcamp, it was a unique experience teaching the next generation of consultants, many of whom come in with grand, almost unrealistic expectations. I got to guide them into the corporate world, teach them with practical examples and help them set realistic expectations while still encouraging them to strive to do their best. The most important message I try to pass on is that it’s okay to ask questions, and it’s okay to ask for help – all of us needed to at some point or the other.” – Dharmendar

“I’m interested in being techno-functional, leaning more towards technical expertise. It’s a journey of constant learning and adapting.

When I mentor interns, (one of my more challenging tasks) – this is the same advice I give them. To be truthful and sincere in what they do and have the willingness to keep learning throughout their career. To respect the job and their commitment to their role. It’s an ongoing process in the transition from college student to consultant– but I’m hopeful.” – Subramanian

“I’ve always been more of a techie than a people person, but I’m learning and growing, and happy to keep doing the same. I’ve always believed that in the long run, easy fixes only cause more problems. I rather prefer to analyze the code, and work on solutions that while it may take longer to implement, pay off in the long run, and more importantly, can be a base to build upon in the future. I’m not afraid to extend my hours for quality delivery of projects – something I’m grateful to my family for supporting me in.

I’d recommend growing your networks and being active on forums that have been formed about your interests, so you can always keep getting fresh perspectives and brainstorm new and unique solutions.”

It’s been quite the journey for all of our colleagues so far, and one thing is sure – we’re all excited for the future!