Story of our Training & Quality Assurance Manager – Ms. Vidyashree Cawa

Compassion, People, Passion, and a Feeling of belongingness are the key pillars which make a place a home. Even the most expensive house or decorated workplace in the world is incomplete if it misses these elements. As rightly said by famous American Writer – Ben Stein, ‘the human spirit needs to accomplish, to achieve, to triumph to be happy.’ Kaizen strongly focuses on the factors mentioned above to boost the human spirit which is one of the key reasons behind its monumental success in a decade’s time. Kaizen always tries to create an atmosphere where every employee feels a part of the family.

Every expat understands it is not easy to leave your home country and go abroad for work. You feel nostalgic and homesick every moment. You need someone who supports you mentally and emotionally and motivates you to do something exceptional in your personal & professional career. In my case, this role was played by Kaizen Asset Management Services – a firm I am proud to call my home. It is a family I built 1500 Miles away from home in Mumbai, India. 

I am Vidya Cawa – Training & Quality Assurance Manager at Kaizen AMS.  I am responsible for ensuring that residents at Kaizen-managed communities are happy with the services and their queries & concerns get resolved within the lead time. In my role, I ensure that every team at Kaizen meets its quality parameters and the firm achieves its purpose of Creating Memorable Experiences and Communities through continuous improvement. I feel Kaizen truly understands the fact that the ‘best care of the clients starts with employees’. Kaizen always strives to achieve utmost employee delight and ensures employees always enjoy their work. This philosophy encourages everyone in my team to serve the residents & clients in the exact same manner and follow an approach where human touch, respect, and professionalism occupies at the foremost place. Each of my team members put their heart while addressing the resident’s issues to create those unforgettable experiences for every resident.

Let me elaborate on the factors why I call Kaizen AMS my home.

Compassion is the greatest reward an employer can give to the employees which will make them feel the company is their home. Supporting the employees in their bad phase of life is the best way to drive loyalty and boost their morale. 

The year 2020 came as a pandora’s box for me like many across the world. In June 2020, my husband lost his job due to a market slowdown. Things became from bad to worse when in July 2020, I fell victim to the Covid-19 pandemic. Kaizen AMS leadership came as a blessing in disguise for me. Without me requesting they transferred my salary in advance. Like a true family member, Kaizen supported me in my difficult time. 

Another strong reason for me to call Kaizen my home is its wonderful people. I share a strong bond with everyone at Kaizen and they are always with me in my good and bad times. Kaizeners have made me believe time and time again that ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed’. When I was suffering from Covid-19 every Kaizener called my husband to keep a track of my health. Here I would like to name a few special people who have always been with me like a shadow. My dear friend Jaza Naveed (Portfolio Manager) checked on my health and ensured all required medicines and equipment are available all the time. She used to send all the latest educational material to my husband on the best practices to recover from Covid-19. My beautiful coworkers – Binny Varghese (Portfolio Manager), Muhammad Hassan (Experience Manager), and Raqueeb Mohammed Abdul (Experience Manager) used to deliver delicious homemade food to me to ensure I get my meals on time and recover quickly from Covid-19.  All my fellow Kaizeners went the extra mile to support me in every possible way. The support I receive from my coworkers makes me feel an integral part of the Kaizen family. Here I remember a quote by Late. Peter Schutz (Former CEO of Porsche) ‘Hire Character Train Skills’.  I feel Kaizen AMS has done a wonderful job in hiring people with very high moral values, character, and ethics. 

Kaizen AMS emphasizes strongly in fostering passion among its employees. Like a family member, my leaders Fadi Nwilati (CEO) and Sara Nwilati (Head of Talent), and all my coworkers encouraged me to try something new every day to enhance resident happiness. Everyone at Kaizen drives me to experiment new ways to achieve utmost resident delight. I feel this is the reason Kaizen has been a consistent winner in the ‘Customer Happiness’ category at all major awards like – Smart Built Environment (SBE) Awards, and International Real Estate Community Management Summit (IRECMS) Awards.

Another reason why working at Kaizen AMS always feels like home is the feeling of belongingness. The top leadership personally invests a significant amount of time in the professional & personal development of each employee. Kaizen invests significant time & money in providing world-class management training to the employees. Fadi Nwilati and Alex Voytov (COO) organise Leadership sessions frequently to impart their learnings and ensure Kaizeners thrive in their role and emerge as leaders of tomorrow. Fadi’s valuable guidance & sessions on leadership inspires and empowers me to manage my team of 21 Customer Experience Executives in a more professional way and drive maximum productivity from them while maintaining their utmost satisfaction.

Furthermore, Kaizen’s leadership is always open to provide their valuable suggestions to resolve the personal problems faced by the employees. I recall 2 years ago, Fadi provided career guidance not only to me but also discussed career plan for my son who was in school at that point of time. This has helped my son in career planning and he now understands the clear part once he has graduated. 

This has been a small summary of my incredible experiences with Kaizen. While working at Kaizen, I never felt away from my family back home. The best thing about working at Kaizen AMS is you never feel like an employee, you always feel like a part of a family where everyone stands by you despite any odds. Knowing and working with Kaizeneres coming from 20+ nationalities was like Music. Some had high notes, some had low notes but always created a ‘beautiful song for me.’