Happiest Minds: Focus On Youth , Wellness Pays Off

IT services firm uses technology to hire/retain staff and make communication a two way street.

- RUKMINI RAO

IN LATE 2011, IT industry veteran Ashok Soota announced a new technology services company, Happiest Minds, his second venture after Mindtree. His vision was to build a digital native company which would clock $100 million revenue in five years and give top priority to employee wellness. A decade later, Happiest Minds came out with an initial public offering. As of December 2023, it had grown to 5,246 employees, with 28% of them being women. But more interestingly, workforce is 84.5% millennials and over 10.3% Gen Zs. After listing in October 2021, it laid out Vision 2031 with a goal of becoming a billion dollar company. Operating revenues were $146.1 million in first nine months of FY24.

Sachin Khurana, senior vice president & chief people officer, says people centricity at the company has evolved in phases. With nearly 95% employees in their 30s and 40s, understanding the mindset of younger demographics such as millennials and GenZ has become a must, he says. "The most important factor for them is environment. How open is the space? Does it have restrictions? Or how hierarchical the company is, as they don't like hierarchy at all?," he says.