Happyperks: Motivating your employees to work harder

The Silicon Review

We ensure that all the hardwork is rewarded better - Atul Thakkar, Founder and CEO

Employee perks and incentives are major aspects of employee welfare and retention. Everyone knows that hard work deserves a reward. Large corporations often shower top performing employees with generous rewards that include cars, equity or even all-expense paid trips to a scenic location or tourism hotspots. More a company grows, more the employees it handles and subsequently, harder it gets to manage the perks and rewards program. In spite of the inherent difficulty, corporations often come up with innovative ways to keep their employees in good spirits.

Recognizing the market for this, a pioneering new startup aspires to provide avant-garde solutions to corporations for crafting tailor-made perks and incentives to boost employee morale. Happyperks was founded in 2016 in Bangalore, India to help employers manage employee rewards and retain the finest talent.

In conversation with Atul Thakkar, the intrepid entrepreneur and brains behind Happyperks

What were the challenges that you faced in the initial years?

As with any startup, in the initial years, we had to face the grind in terms of setting up shop, retaining employees, building the perfect business model, and so forth. But through it all, I think the most important thing I took away from entering the world of entrepreneurship is to never abandon your ship, even when it’s sinking. That’s what a real captain does. Stick to your goals, despite how many challenges come your way, because, in the end, it’ll all be worth it. I hope my peers and anyone else thinking of stepping into the entrepreneurial world will follow this valuable piece of advice.

How was your first project undertaking? Please share your experience.

Our first project roll was extremely successful. We were not only surprised with how well the business model worked but also the number of corporate employees and HR personnel we could reach out to, which was around 150 people. We were able to implement their valuable feedback with great effect and even improve our business model manifold.

How has the feedback from customers helped with your company’s growth?

Our consumers were very happy with our business model and have enjoyed the experience of customizing their perks. Corporate employers were in desperate need of a fulfilling and meaningful program for rewards and perks that would motivate their employees to perform better. We successfully delivered that with almost no glitches. Watching employees getting happy with the right rewards is all the motivation we need to grow our company further.

Would you agree that fostering a culture of feedback is the cornerstone of any successful company?

It is absolutely necessary to foster a culture of constructive feedback from your consumers. It is one of the most important ways to gauge your company’s success and customer satisfaction, which is the backbone of our business. We constantly garner valuable feedback from our customers and act upon it, which is why we’ve been so successful all these years. So yes, fostering a culture of feedback is crucial to the success of every organization.

How does your company tackle the ever-changing needs of a highly volatile market?

As the founder and CEO of a company like Happyperks, I believe that business owners should focus on their target audience first. Companies should make absolute utility of the same and once set with that, aim beyond the boundaries of the market and step into more volatile areas. Startups must always establish their target and determine what they will target in the future. Such an approach provides a solid foundation for sustainable growth and enables companies to deal with market fluctuations better.

What are the five factors that you would list as the biggest assets of your organization?

Dedicated, hardworking employees
Constantly keeping up with new industry and business trends
Adapting the business model when needed
Flexibility for the accommodation of a dynamic market
Encouraging customer feedback

Does your company have any products that are ready to be launched?

Yes, currently we are focusing on building our existing R&R employee engagement revenue model to increase employee reward mechanisms and improve perks distribution. We are also going to be launching some exciting new products and services for the upcoming festive season. We will be detailing our peer-to-peer recognition systems, introducing a new and improved 4-tier rewarding system for HR, individual teams and their employees.

Where do you see your company a couple of years down the line?

We envision Happyperks as being the number one corporate employee rewarding company in India. I believe that we are the future for rewarding all corporate personnel in a way that they deserve, by completely doing away with the regular, mundane form of giving incentives, which, sadly is still in existence. The time has come, to start rewarding the right way.

About Atul Thakkar, the Founder and CEO of Happyperks

Commercially adroit, performance-driven, and goal oriented, Atul has a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce with a Diploma in Web Technology. He worked for 15 years in the fields of operational/business development and entrepreneurship, garnering an unmatched experience. He spent 10 years as the COO in a design firm based in Mumbai, 5 years in Network18, and 4 years in Kraft9 Studio as the owner.

Atul’s exceptional track record in delivering significant value within all roles undertaken, through a combination of a razor-sharp business acumen and stakeholder management proficiency is what led him to his entrepreneurial achievement with Happyperks, and its immense success so far.