Dr Mokshprabha Menaria

I got a call from Secure in the summer of 2012, “We have an opening for a Front Desk Associate in the Admin department. Would you be interested?” “No, thank you for contacting me; I may get back to you later after speaking with my family.” After a few days, I went to the head office in Pratap Nagar with my mother-in-law, my one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and my father-in-law for an interview with a company whose name I had never heard of before. Father-in-law preferred to be in the parking area while my mother-in-law and I went in to see if the job was still available.

The Receptionist attended to me while I waited for the HR person. My daughter enjoyed her time playing there. Mukesh sir, Head of Administration, came and asked me, “Do you want to apply for the front desk opening here?” “Yes sir”, I replied, and then continued to narrate the entire tale of how I got here without receiving an interview call or procedure. They enquired about my ambitions, hobbies, experience, and background. After two rounds of interviews, they were still hesitant about me for this position. However, they agreed to recruit me as a Trainee Associate for three months, and if I perform as expected, I can continue.

The next day, I started working there and was introduced to Jisha, who was a senior and my first mentor. This is how I began my journey from the front desk to Dr Mokshprabha Menaria. I had an MBA degree in HR and a fair bit of customer service experience, so hospitality and communication were natural to me. However, there were lessons to be learned, I had to master the processes and live up to the job expectations and duties. As time passed, I learned many skills – teamwork, communication, and flexibility, etc.

Though I was growing in the role, I always envisioned myself as an HR professional. So, I sought a way to advance in the field without jeopardising my current position. In April 2015, I enrolled in a PhD programme. Everyone praised and supported me – my manager, co-workers, and most importantly, HR, who believed in the growth and development of their employees. I contacted Ketan sir (VP, HR at that time) for a letter of approval to pursue the academic degree, which they gladly provided me, looking at my enthusiasm and dedication. They also suggested some current HR issues to which I could contribute through this research.

Meanwhile, I performed well at work; I was promoted, and was given the opportunity to take on a more important role when Jisha took a planned maternity leave. I had also groomed a colleague to work at the front desk with me. By this time, I’d figured out how to juggle between family, work, and college all at the same time, without compromising anywhere. My mother-in-law died of illness in 2017; I realised her pivotal role that enabled me to manage my job and family efficiently. It became more complicated when I was pregnant. I had to take care of four distinct domains at once without sacrificing any one of them. Time passed, and I gave birth to Devegya; I took a brief sabbatical.

In September 2018, I returned to work and was given the task of handling travel desk billing. While there, I learned accounting terms and devised a mechanism via which I could identify improvements; my efforts were acknowledged by a merit award. My PhD was also put on hold during this period. I considered abandoning the course in the middle and concentrating solely on my family and work. During this whole time, I applied for many roles in the HR function, but unfortunately things did not work for me. So, I decided to prioritise my younger child, current work assignment, and the PhD.

A major plot twist – in December 2019, I applied for an internal vacancy in the Design and Communication function for a commercial profile hoping to learn new skills and gain a different experience. This time, I was selected and joined full-time in February 2020. In March, we all were struck by the Coronavirus pandemic, and in late March, the first lockdown was announced. By this time, we had started working from home. This was a period of transition for me in my new role. Negotiation, vendor relations, logistics, collaboration, and teamwork, were among the new abilities I acquired.

Since the situation was not normal,  the scope of my job had space to accommodate other responsibilities. I could devote more time to analysing my research data, preparing my thesis, and publishing new research papers. As long as work from home lasted, I focused on finishing my PhD after completing my official tasks. During this period, I also took several essential online courses and earned certifications. In September we had to start working from office; I expedited my research and finished my thesis before we started business as usual; in February 2022, I earned a PhD.

My career with Secure has been a continuous learning experience. From a Front-desk Associate Trainee to a Commercial Executive. I’ve worked on a wide range of operations over the last ten years – answering phones, managing guests, organising meetings, doing audits, invoicing, negotiating, creating new vendors, logistics, and more. Secure, I believe, has had an important influence on my development as a professional. I appreciate the leadership team’s efforts in fostering a learning-oriented work environment with countless opportunities to grow and learn.