Stepping into a new organisation is always an apprehensive move in one’s career path. And here I was, after clearing three rounds of rigorous group discussion, personal interview, problem solutions and making the cut over 200 other odd students; standing right outside Peninsula Business Park, one of the poshest commercial spaces in South Mumbai, all set to walk into Tata Capital.
For me, coming from the world of advertising, a universe full of numbers was quite a leap. But a challenge is never set down in my rule book.
The office was a typical set up from The Suits, men in blazers and ties, women in not a shade different from formal whites, pinks and blues. It is the Corporate Era, I said to myself. My heels hitting the marble floor was the only sound after the receptionist’s important call that I could hear. I shyly approached my desk and pressed the power button of the computer while I pushed a Reset button within – Work Mode On.
The project assigned to me – Mortgage Offerings in the Builder Channel seemed quite alien to me until I met with my Mentor, Mr. Rahul Pandey. A man of great experience across industries and currently Product Manager at Tata Capital Housing Finance Limited was humble enough to answer all my questions. From the deliverables to my final report, Sir, broke down each step of the process to me. In return, I presented my timeline. In the span of 8 weeks that I was to work with Tata Capital, I had planned to devote Week 1 &2 to research, Week 3 & 4 to on-ground analysis, Week 5 & 6 for solution and decision making and the last would be for feedback and presentation.
Impressed with my plan so far, Mr. Pandey gave me full freedom to think, come up with ideas and get the same reviewed. In the first two days I walked up to each and every manager across businesses to understand the nitty-gritties of the business. May it be Construction Finance or Home Loans, Credit System or Collections; a thorough first- hand knowledge of each was essential for me to come up with innovative ideas on the digital front of our current product offering.
The core idea was to digitise the loan seeking process in congruence with builders. Currently, the builder business contribution was 15%, the agenda was to bring it up 25%. In my contribution I suggested the following –
- Tata Shubharambh - a digital kiosk at Builder Projects that allows each visiting customer to drop in his KYC details in order to generate a credit score that tells him/her the percentage of loan that Tata Capital will provide him/her for their dream home. This also facilitated smooth lead generation for both lender and builder
- Builder Connect Module – a tri-pillar mobile application that connects the builder, lender and customer to keep track of every step in the process
- Tata Home Sweet Home - A loyalty program offered to all CAT B & C builders that they in- turn can provide to all customers buying units in their project
All in all, my experience with the firm was way beyond expectations. Not only did I end up learning a lot, but it also rejuvenated my confidence in the direction of business.