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<\/p>\nHola, amigos! Welcome to the last episode of Tiger Tales – the Women\u2019s Day series<\/b>. We hope you found our stories exhilarating.<\/p>\n
Today, we are going to introduce you to one more distinctive woman of Vtiger. She is one of the oldest employees. She is a workaholic. She is Vidya!
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Brace yourself for quite a progressive story!<\/p>\n
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Vidya Devaraj was born and brought up in Bangalore, India. In 2003, she completed her Bachelor\u2019s Degree in Commerce at Bangalore University and worked for Bhushan Corporation for a year.
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In 2004, she joined Aplibase, which was the sister company of Vtiger. Back then, there were only eight employees in the company, including Vidya. She single-handedly managed hiring, finances, and administration. When Vtiger CRM was founded in 2009, Vidya became a part of it.
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Woah\u2026 that\u2019s 17 long years. Kudos to you, Vidya!<\/p>\n
Vidya currently leads the HR team and manages responsibilities across:<\/p>\n
Vidya is a reliable, core member of the Vtiger family. She has seen the ups and downs of the company and has worked tirelessly for its betterment.
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”I remember the time Vtiger was not widely recognized. We have faced many struggles and strived to improve the CRM. As a result of our hard work, our customers have increased over the years. And today, Vtiger is globally recognized. Many prestigious institutions invite us to recruit their students”<\/i>, she proudly says.<\/p>\n
Being in the office and working for Vtiger has become Vidya\u2019s way of life. She loves her work and says that she finds it thrilling to meet deadlines.
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We asked what motivates her to go to the office every day. She says, ”Vtiger is like my home. The employees here are like my family.”<\/i><\/p>\n
I\u2019m sure all of us at Vtiger will agree on this – she is like a mother-figure to most of us. A person you can fall back on if you face any issue in Vtiger or in life.<\/p>\n
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Talking about her responsibilities, Vidya admits that she is always the decision-maker, but she is open to suggestions. She also wants to improve her managerial skills.
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”I can delegate work to my team members, but I can\u2019t force them to finish it on time. I try to be tough on the outside so that nobody takes advantage of me. But when somebody needs an extension, I fail to put my foot down and stand by my decision.”<\/i>
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We can surely relate to you, Vidya. We are humans, after all. ?<\/p>\n
”How was working from home during quarantine?”<\/b> we asked her.
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”It was initially terrible because coordinating with the team was difficult. Working from home increased the workload. Tasks were delayed because of distractions, leading to backlogs. I feel that my personal and professional lives have merged. Since I am working from the office now, I have observed that work gets done faster. As our tasks have dependencies, we need to be in the office.”<\/i><\/p>\n
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Jumping into her personal life, Vidya is married to Devaraj M for the last 14 years.
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”Initially, there was a little bit of friction in my marriage because I always prioritized Vtiger over everything. But things take time to settle. Marriage is also work; it needs patience and understanding from both parties. Once your partner understands your commitment and passion towards your profession, everything becomes easy.”<\/i>, she reveals.<\/p>\n
”How do you achieve a work-life balance?”<\/b>
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”My parents and my in-laws are very supportive, and they understand my dedication towards work. My husband never questioned me about working late or working more. He has been very co-operative. My kids have never demanded my time; instead, they push me to go to work. To be honest, my children are teenagers now, and I don\u2019t remember being around them a lot while they grew up. I have always been there for Vtiger, day and night. I guess I\u2019ve been lucky.”<\/i><\/p>\n
![\"03\"](\"https:\/\/voeyenew.vtiger.com\/s\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/03-1-233x300.png\")
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Along with work, she also aspired to study CA, CS, or MBA. Since Vtiger has always been her first preference, she couldn\u2019t go forward with her plan.
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Hence, proved. Vidya\u2019s dedication level = above par!<\/p>\n
Aren\u2019t you curious to know who inspires her? We are!
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Vidya\u2019s mother and her grandmother are her inspirations. They gave importance to education and encouraged her to be financially stable. She also looks up to Sreenivas Kanumuru (CEO of Vtiger) and Prasad A (CTO of Vtiger) as her mentors. ”Both of them have different personalities. Sreenivas is slightly lenient depending on situations, but Prasad is steadfast. I give both their examples to my children.”<\/i><\/p>\n
”What principles did you grow up with?”<\/b>
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”My upbringing was very modern. My father always taught me to be strong and disciplined. He says there is nothing to worry about if you are on the right path. I personally also don\u2019t like to draw a line between men and women. Women have the capability to do anything, without a doubt. If anyone tells me not to do something because I\u2019m a woman, I defy it and attempt it. I don\u2019t like to be categorized.”<\/i>
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Good going, Vidya! We\u2019re proud of you.<\/p>\n
Talking about her goals, Vidya recalls she always wished to work at an MNC.
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”When I was in my early 20s, I used to see a Honeywell bus pass by my college every day. Since then, my dream was to be a part of a multinational company. Unknowingly, I have been working at one for ages. I am not sure about changing jobs because I have been in Vtiger for the longest time. I don\u2019t know if I am ready for it. But I will work until I can.”<\/i><\/p>\n
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