Gopinath Nagalingam
How Swym’s Culture of Ownership Creates Positive Experiences
Taking ownership throughout your career looks different for everyone. Some find opportunities to be team leaders. Others strive to solve problems and create efficient solutions. For Swym’s Gopi Nagalingam, taking ownership is everything.
He’s been with the company since 2018 and currently works as the Lead Technical Support Engineer, managing a seven-person team and responding to customer support needs as they arise.
But Gopi’s day-to-day activities go beyond managing Swym’s operations. Since day one, he’s felt connected to the company through a sense of ownership and the opportunity to take his work to the next level as a responsible team player.
“From the moment I started, the people I’ve interacted with have instilled confidence in me. They value me. It’s been an eye-opening experience,” he says.
Happy Employees, Happy Customers
You’ll find companies everywhere championing the phrase, “customers first.” After all, without customers, a company can’t survive. But Gopi says Swym is built on a different philosophy.
“We are very employee-centric. By taking care of your employees, you take care of your customers,” he notes, “And this lets us deliver tremendous value to our customers because everyone behind the scenes is working together to create a great experience.”
Part of Swym’s approach to taking care of its employees, Gopi says, is allowing them to take ownership at many levels. As a remote-first company, this is essential. Whether it’s a manager ensuring all team members feel valued or an individual working to turn in their deliverables on time without micromanaging, the culture revolves around responsibility.
“Whatever we’re doing is documented. We have to truly take ownership and communicate so everyone stays on the same page,” Gopi adds, “And I think because of that, the understanding and trust we have with each other is special. It’s unlike anywhere I’ve ever worked.”
And while Swym’s employees embrace the responsibility to deliver on a daily basis, a better experience for customers is created in the process. Gopi notes that this is because ownership and empathy go hand-in-hand. Whether for the customer or the co-worker on your team, taking time to be available and address concerns is key.
Gopi says, “Our communication reflects the Swym culture. We are always trying to deliver value by creating an experience, not just a resolution.”
From Day One
Taking ownership can be tricky to navigate when employees don’t buy into the concept. But when they do, amazing results often follow. Gopi says this is why Swym focuses on building its culture of ownership from day one.
“When we search for new people to join our team, we look for problem-solving abilities, not just expertise in the field. We want to see a spark in them and a determination to not give up,” he says.
Of course, this is a two-way path. Gopi recalls the process of onboarding new hires and how his team helps these individuals get comfortable while instilling the value of responsibility.
He says, “It’s our job to help them find their strengths and weaknesses and learn how to solve the challenges in front of them. We take ownership to spend more time with them and help develop their skills. And they take responsibility to absorb what they learn and grow in their roles.”
“After working together to unlock their potential, our new team members become some of our best resources,” Gopi adds.
This approach has scaled with Swym as the company grew from a small startup with a handful of employees to a booming e-commerce player with over 80 team members.
“I’m happy we’ve been able to maintain this culture,” Gopi says, “It’s very difficult to maintain a positive culture. By adding like-minded people, we’ve been very successful in doing so.”
When employees are encouraged to play to their strengths, everyone benefits. Gopi says this has been what fascinates him most about Swym. It’s also one of the things he loves most about his role.
He says, “You’re allowed to take ownership in the areas you want to and are passionate about. We have a lot of freedom. It makes investing in what I do very easy.”
Interested in joining the Swym team? Check out our current openings or write to us at careers@swymcorp.com for exciting opportunities.