Varthana, a leading NBFC that provides loans to private schools and to students for higher education was ranked 68th among the 100 best places to work in India. The survey was conducted by the Great Place to Work® Institute, India in collaboration with The Economic Times. Participating for the fourth year, Varthana jumped 23 places from 91st last year, with 92% of the surveyed employees endorsing its high trust-high performance culture. The survey also recognised Varthana for instilling pride and respect among its employees, inspiring trust and for creating a workplace environment that promotes camaraderie. Varthana has gained national recognition for its workplace operations and culture over the last 4 years of its participation in the survey with it being certified a Great Place to Work for four consecutive years, India’s 100 Best Companies to Work and India’s top BFSI companies for three consecutive years and also among India’s top Best Workplaces for Women. According to this year’s survey, 95% of Varthana’s employees feel great about how the organization contributes to the society, that the management is ethical, that it is a safe place to work and that the facilities and celebrations contribute to a positive working environment.
Steve Hardgrave, Co-founder and CEO of Varthana, credits the award to all the employees who are as passionate about transforming education as he is. “As a company, we have a very profound social mission that goes well beyond the typical commercial objectives of a business. It is a very noble vision to help unlock the full potential of India’s young people as it is something that is going to make an amazing contribution to not only the country but the world,” he says. Commenting further on the recognition, he adds, “It validates Varthana’s dynamic culture, which is built on the pillars of respect, transparency, passion, empowerment, and encouragement. It also strengthens the company’s reputation as the best service provider to its customers.” Steve also notes how the organization focuses on helping its employees develop personally and professionally, take on new challenges, new responsibilities and grow in a satisfying way and believes that Varthana is enriched by a very special group of skilled people who contribute to the culture and make it quite special. Over 1,000 Indian organizations from across 20 industries participated in the Great Place to Work survey 2022, which evaluates organizations for their outstanding people practices and workplace cultures. The study awards organizations that excel both in people practices crafted for their employees and proactively act on the feedback received to create a High trust culture. Varthana’s Trust Index Score this year was 92 which was 10 points ahead of the average trust scores of the 91 participating BFSI organizations, 4 points higher than the average scores of the top 100 best companies to work for and 2 points higher than the average scores of the top 25 best companies to work for in India.
“The country is going to face a massive education crisis in the coming years because of the impact of COVID-19,” notes Brajesh Kumar Mishra, Co-founder and COO of Varthana. “Children who are graduating into young adults and joining the workforce will suddenly find that they lack the necessary skills and competencies to do a good job, earn money, and advance in their careers. Hence, it is very important for the country to invest in infrastructure that can quickly bridge this gap. Finance is one of the most important resources required to accomplish this. We, at Varthana, are providing capital to students and to educational institutions so that the country can progress at a faster pace and we clear this backlog as quickly as possible.” Chandra Kumar CS, Head – Team Transformation at Varthana, states, “Varthana is dedicated to transforming affordable education in the country. India has the world’s largest young population but the country’s current education infrastructure is insufficient to meet all of the education needs of students. Varthana is attempting to transform the sector by providing financial support to schools in order to improve infrastructure and education, allowing more students to receive a proper education. This is a noble purpose that anyone with a desire to do good in the world can identify with.” In addition to having a great culture, Chandra Kumar adds, “Varthana takes pride in being a ‘People and Customer Oriented’ organization, with management focused on providing an enabling environment for its employees that includes sustenance, career growth, fairness, engagement, and work-life balance.”
About Great Place to Work
Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. They help organizations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. Emprising®, their culture management platform, empowers leaders with the surveys, real-time reporting, and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. They use their unparalleled benchmark data to recognize Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies and the Best Workplaces™ in the U.S. and more than 60 countries, including the 100 Best Companies to Work For® list published annually in Fortune.
About Varthana
Founded in 2013, Varthana works towards bridging the gap in education financing and reducing the employability gap in India by supporting affordable private schools and students with affordable financing options. To date, the organization has financed nearly 4,500 affordable private schools which educate more than three million students and employ more than 100,000 teachers. Its student loan business has also grown significantly since its inception, partnering with over 500 institutions and financing over 5,000 economically disadvantaged students. Varthana aims to make education accessible to over 10 million students by 2025.