Veteran’s Team Member Network (TMN) India Chapter celebrates its first anniversary this month. As part of the celebrations, we shine a spotlight on Parthajit, who is the executive sponsor of the chapter.
What can you tell us about your career journey?
I've been with Wells Fargo for eleven years now. It's only my second employer, post my life as part of the services. For those who have been with me in virtual meetings, my background is of a ship – it's the ship I lived on for three years. After my premature retirement, I joined the stagecoach, and built my career around information security and risk management.
It's been a busy year for the Veterans TMN. Can you share some of the accomplishments of the network so far?
Wells Fargo has been leading the market in our efforts to create an ecosystem for veteran hiring and inclusion. We've hired a large number of veterans at Wells Fargo India in the past year – from less than ten to now close to 50 - in different roles across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai. We've had a number of speaking opportunities in external forums. We also facilitated an industry partnership between NASSCOM and Army last October, to launch a NASSCOM Veteran cell that would act as a platform for veterans seeking to enter the corporate world, and for corporates interested in beginning their veteran inclusion journey. We have a buddy program in place to support newly hired veterans on their significant career transition, as we understand that veterans face distinct and unique challenges when moving from corporate to military life.
What challenges did you experience in your own transition, and how has this guided your thinking about what the Veterans TMN can offer to new hires?
The operating environment was very different. It took me some time to adapt to the 'new world,' as I thought about it back then. I knew someone who had been disabled in action. Because he was disabled, the services no longer needed him; he had to exit and suddenly had no source of income. He had a wife and young daughter and no means to support them. This kind of story is not unique. Many people deal with that scenario. If an organization like ours could make a difference to a family like that, I would be very happy.
In my experience, the way corporates think about veteran's inclusion: give them a job, and the buck stops there. To me, that is only the beginning. If we bring in more people with my background, veterans' understanding about corporates – and vice versa – will improve from there. Wells Fargo can provide a career opportunity and folks like me bring our perspective to the table.
What do you think sets Wells Fargo apart in the way we think about diversity & inclusion?
We have top leadership commitment. Looking at the four pillars that make up the WFIP Diversity & Inclusion Council – aside from Veterans, we have LGBT+, Gender, and Diverse Abilities – I would say we are on the right path. Our managing director Arindam Banerrji requested a virtual meet-up with the veterans specifically a few months ago, and they asked him, “What is it that you want us to be?" The answer he gave: “We hired you as veterans, because you have unique strengths. Now that you have come to the corporate world, do not be a corporate person. Be yourself, that's why we hired you." An organization's success revolves around what kind of decisions you make. The more diversity you have in the people sitting around the table, the better your decision-making will be.
In your day job, you look after Controls. When looking at D&I, how do you think about ensuring controls?
I mentioned earlier that we have leadership support. I believe leaders' responsibility goes further – that leaders should set an example for how employees should behave. For example, if there is some joking going on in huddles that makes fun of a certain section of people – or trait that a person has – it is the leader's responsibility to call it out. I am not saying people shouldn't crack jokes and enjoy life. But having fun should not include hurting people. Before, when we were still working at our facilities, leaders sit on the floor with people. It makes you think differently. People start aligning to what the leaders practice.
Culture is another important control. We are a global organization, and there are many opportunities for us to encounter different perspectives even just in the meetings we attend and the people we work with. That unique combination acts as a check and balance.
What feedback have you heard from veteran employees so far?
Most have appreciated Wells Fargo's openness and transparent culture; they love the fact that there are others who are eager to help them become successful in their new role and second career outside the military. The VTMN chapter members make it a point to buddy with the new joiners and help them settle down in the new world. I am not trying to conclude that everything is working well and there's nothing new or different that needs to be done. We have focused on expanding our base and have grown from less than 10 to close to 50 in a short period of time; it's time we look back, introspect and involve the veterans to identify lessons and do few things differently that helps all us going forward.
What's in store for the Veterans TMN?
As a leadership team, we continue to look at how Wells Fargo can continue to become a more inclusive environment for our employees. Culture building, awareness, and sensitization efforts also remain priorities for us. The vision for this initiative is to ingrain veteran inclusion into the fabric of our culture, and veteran hiring as a part of our regular talent acquisition efforts.