There is more to Empaxis than meets the eye.
If you’re an investment firm (including current and prospective clients), a software or services provider (including Empaxis partners), or an investment operations and/or technology consultant, then everything I have to share is for you.
For 8 days, I visited the Empaxis offices in Noida (adjacent to and southeast of New Delhi) and Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).
I checked on the progress with expansions and renovations of our facilities, as well as met with new and existing members of our rapidly expanding team.
More and more investment management firms are outsourcing and partnering with experts like Empaxis to digitally transform and increase operational efficiency and scalability.
Still, for some firms, misunderstandings and misconceptions around offshoring and the (hybrid) outsourcing model persist. For others, there is simply a desire to know more about their (potential) partners in offshoring and outsourcing for investment management.
In either case, my observations show a more personalized view of Empaxis and a better understanding how leveraging third parties (via the hybrid outsourced model) works in its ideal state.
Both Empaxis Noida and Kolkata offices are in the heart of prominent business and technology districts for their respective locales.
Being in major population centers, these places attract large pools of local and regional talent.
Where you’d expect to find the major players in banking/finance, technology, and consulting, Empaxis is right there alongside them.
Being next to the capital New Delhi and two hours from the Taj Mahal by car, the Noida office has its perks, including great views of the surrounding area from the 12th floor office.
But l Kolkata stood out for its greenery.
The facility is located in a designated eco-friendly area, full of lush vegetation, trees, and ponds within its perimeter.
When going to work, you feel like you’re “getting away from it all.” In the large confines, you can enjoy relaxing walks around so much greenery and nature that you don’t get in most parts of the city.
In the office itself, team members have a 180-degree view of all that greenery from their workspaces.
Speaking with our President Samrat Malakar and HR team, another consideration for the two locations was public transport.
They wanted to make it easy for our employees getting to work, and both offices are located near metro stations. Considering heavy traffic in Noida and Kolkata, the metro is a nice option, helping reduce our carbon footprint in the process.
Our team is growing, and we require both the quantity and quality of space.
In Noida, we’re in a great place as it is, but a significantly larger office is currently under construction, complete with Empaxis branding and includes individual offices for executive team members, conference rooms, a mini-library/quiet reading area, and expanded lunch and break rooms with meals and snacks provided. The new space will have even better views of the skyline than the existing one.
At Kolkata, I was there for the office’s grand opening. This new office, bigger than the previous one, is complete with Empaxis branding and newly remodeled. It is state of the art and also equipped with the amenities the current and future Noida locations have.
Visiting both offices, I saw firsthand the controls in place.
From a physical security standpoint, the entire premises are gated and guarded 24/7. All employees show their badges to enter, and visitors need permission from one of the companies on site.
Within our building, employees must scan their badges to enter the office, where they first check in with the security team (24/7 presence) in the reception area.
After that, they scan their badge a second time to enter the work areas. Once in there, use of personal electronic devices is prohibited. If employees need to use their phones, they have to do so outside the work areas.
As for me, security at both offices knew about my arrival in advance, but once I got there, I still could not enter until I had my own badge, which came shortly after.
And for cybersecurity, Empaxis has invested heavily in that area, ensuring secure networks for messaging, file sharing, and Internet access.
Speaking with our IT team, they mentioned how our team’s work devices and emails are monitored, whitelisting sites and applications they can use, as well as contacts they can communicate with.
Additionally, our team undergoes regular training to identify and avoid phishing and scamming attempts.
Empaxis is audited by Ernst & Young, and we are ISO-certified and hold SOC I Type I and Type II reports.
Visiting both locations, I felt these were ideal and motivating environments to work in.
Entering the premises, you see Empaxis is amongst the large banking/finance, tech, and consulting companies. You see people from different organizations collaborating and getting things done, and you feed off the energy just being around them.
For our employees, they’re in great office spaces with great views around them. Combine that with the team camaraderie, and it’s a positive and upbeat environment you’re coming to every day.
Stepping out of the offices, there are food trucks, restaurants, and bars within and outside the premises that cater to employees and team gatherings.
For myself, I had the opportunity to try some of these places with the Empaxis team, as they introduced me to a variety of different Indian dishes.
All these factors contribute to the well being of our team, and high morale translates to better work performance and better results for our clients.
Simply put, it’s all about people, and I couldn’t ask for a friendlier, more helpful and talented group of people to work with.
One of the reasons I have been with Empaxis for 10 years is because I have so many great colleagues I enjoy working with.
It’s also the reason other team members stay and even come back to Empaxis, as our operations team leaders, Aditya Nayak and Pradeep Deondi. have done, including myself.
But having great people on our side did not happen by accident.
Our HR Team, led by Akshat Bhardwaj, has played a huge role in recruiting and selecting team members that fit in well with our company culture and contribute to the camaraderie.
Of course, we leverage best-in-class technology to serve investment firms in their operation, but ultimately, Empaxis success and excellent service to our clients are the result of people, culture, and the chemistry that has developed over the years.
Empaxis is a global organization, and remote communication is a necessity given the demands of our business.
Our US, UK, India, and Hong Kong teams have worked incredibly well collaborating remotely, but personal connections through a screen can only go so far.
It’s not until you actually meet with colleagues in person can you form a deeper connection.
Meeting together face to face with the team, we were able to have more meaningful interactions, observing body language and nonverbal cues that remote calls do not capture.
Additionally, you feel a stronger sense of commitment and accountability to your team after these interactions, which again, contributes to better performance and results for our clients.
As mentioned before, there is a camaraderie that keeps our team together, and Empaxis enjoys longer-than-average employee tenures compared to similar organizations in our industry.
This culture of belonging and collaboration translates well to serving our clients, whom our team forms strong relationships with.
Whether it’s daily reconciliation reporting or development projects, the Empaxis team builds connections and establishes a rapport with our investment management clients.
Speaking with our team, they enjoy those personal interactions. When our clients value the relationship so much that they have sent our team nice gifts, such thoughtful gestures mean the world to Empaxis.
Empaxis has always believed in customized servicing for investment managers in their operation, and also a personalized experience.
In an increasingly connected and digitized world, offshoring and the outsourced model must keep up with the changes, which means presenting a more an up close and personal view of one’s business.
And for proud organizations like Empaxis, we have every incentive to share with you our team, our facilities, and our processes.
If one thing I accomplished with my visit to India includes giving you a more intimate understanding of Empaxis, I consider it a successful trip.
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