Inside Alation India: People-First Culture That Fuels Success

As a global company, Alation has offices across the world, including Chennai, Redwood City, Salt Lake City, London, Singapore, and Sydney. Distance aside, we’re connected by our central mission to help organizations realize value from their data and AI initiatives. Key driving forces for this include our commitment to our people and our servant leadership culture. 

To explore these themes and more, I recently sat down with Pankti Bindal, Engineering Manager at Alation and a key member of our India team. With over 15 years of experience in the B2B software industry in India, Pankti eagerly shared her perspective on our unique servant leadership culture, managerial styles that cultivate growth, and what sets Alation apart.

Putting our people first

As a newcomer, Pankti was initially struck by how leaders care for our employees (known internally as Alationauts). “Alation’s culture is something that really sets the organization apart from other companies in the space and especially in India,” Pankti shares. “At Alation, we not only build a data culture but also foster a team environment that allows us to grow and learn without sacrificing the quality of our personal life.”

Leadership encourages employees to bring their whole selves to work. Whether that means blocking an hour for school drop-offs or taking a day to volunteer as part of Alation's 1% pledge, people can feel confident in a culture that accepts and welcomes who they are outside of work.

Alation’s servant leadership culture

Unique to Alation is our servant leadership culture. “Servant leadership is the concept that every leader within Alation facilitates the team’s personal growth as well as the company’s,” Pankti explains. “As leaders, we empower our teams to achieve their best possible work, collaborate, and feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. And this way, they can achieve their career goals.” 

In this team-first approach, leaders at Alation prioritize the well-being of their colleagues. This creates an environment where all Alationauts can flourish and take their careers to the next level. 

How continuous feedback loops spur career growth

Unsurprisingly, career growth is on everyone’s minds here at Alation. As a leader, one managerial approach Pankti champions is “continuous feedback loops” that encourage radical candor. This can aid career growth through clearly set roles and responsibilities linked to company objectives. 

“At Alation, we have continuous feedback loops,” she explains. “We have regular check-ins with management, I have skip levels with my manager's manager, and then I have weekly connects with my manager. If there's anything that is deviating from that path of progression, then we make sure to call it out at once rather than wait on it and provide delayed feedback.

Coupled with Alation’s recently implemented Performance Check-Ins, these ongoing discussions help make growth and improvements a part of our everyday work culture. “I'm very much empowered to make decisions pertaining to my team and my deliverables,” Pankti concludes. 

Hybrid work

Recently launched at Alation is our hybrid-work model, giving Alationauts the chance to collaborate and come together twice a week across our global offices. 

Pankti appreciates the balance this model brings to her life inside and outside the workplace. “The hybrid work culture is just so good,” she states. “Whenever working from home gets monotonous or I feel like I need some face time with my colleagues, we have the option to go out and join our coworkers at the co-working space. For our culture, that's a real differentiator that Alation brings to the table.”

We’ve celebrated this return to work across all our global offices, welcoming Alationauts returning to work with succulents to warm up their desks, a chance for headshots, and meals together. 

Stephanie Aubrey, Chief of Staff, Office of the CEO, grabs a desk plant at the Return To Office Kickoff party in Redwood City.

Lunchtime at the Redwood City Return To Office Kickoff party.

Celebrations at the Return To Office Kickoff party in India.

The Alation EMEA team sharing a meal at the Return To Office Kickoff party.

Pankti’s favorite India memory: India kickoff event

One of Pankti’s favorite memories at Alation? Our India kickoff event. 

“The event that is most memorable to me is our India kickoff event in Bangalore,” Pankti reminisces. “It was a great opportunity to meet not only with leadership but with other team members. It was a fun mix of informative sessions as well as fun events and even cocktails!”

Some of our Alation leadership team even flew out from HQ in Redwood City to kick things off, with our Chief Executive Officer, Satyen Sangani, and our Chief Technology Officer, Junaid Saiyed, taking the stage to give a welcome address. 

Some of our India Alationauts celebrating together at the India kickoff event.

Learn more about Alation

At Alation, our people-first culture combined with our leadership approach helps foster team success across all departments. To learn more about our award-winning team, head to our careers page.