Pros
Wonderful people - drawn from a variety of geographies and backgrounds, but a uniting belief in social change. Many employees have experimented with several lines of work before zeroing in on this one. Lunch-time discussions are often fascinating. Tremendous scope for learning from colleagues, many of whom are leading specialists
Chilled-out Culture- Informal relationship with managers, limited hierarchy, no strict dress code, freedom to step out of office in lunch breaks. Quarterly reviews seem more focused on assessing employee satisfaction than achievements per se
Group Lunch- All employees contribute a minimal sum from their salaries for a month's worth of freshly cooked, free meals. Also, snacks and tea/coffee are stacked for use at any time
Cutting Edge- QUEST drives innovations in a number of areas often overlooked in the Non-Profit Sector- mentorship (of external entrepreneurs), Branding and Use of Technology (hardware, M&E technology, mobile platforms and internal management). QUEST also seeks to become an industry leader with frequent participation and organization of conferences
Partners- Strong network, including Accenture and Microsoft and some 10 partners across India
Employee Events- Monthly 'learning' days, annual 'retreats' and periodic team meetings in resorts, annual sports day
Opportunities for travel to the field- The initiative, of course, rests with the employee. One could visit offices in Gujarat, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala or Tamil Nadu (which are fully funded)
Employee Benefits: Dedicated sum for learning opportunities, health insurance, provident fund
Cons
CONS
Slow Decision-Making: The organizational structure includes a large number of employees under one manager. Hence these managers are often stretched between multiple meetings and follow-ups, leading to projects and decisions being stalled for long periods
Erratic Workload: For several employees, work can become incredibly intense in certain periods and suddenly very laid back. (Of course, this is not in any way unique to QUEST. A more constant work rate could help with maintaining work life balance.
