Soben Spotlight – India

15th December 2022

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What’s it like to work for Soben? As part of our ongoing spotlight series, we caught up with Sahil Oberoi and Rakshit Seth from Soben IMC India.

Good afternoon to both of you and thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. Let’s start with some introductions:

SO: Hi, I’m Sahil, I’m Operations Director for Soben’s teams in India and Sri Lanka. I’ve officially been with Soben since early 2020, but have been working with CEO and Founder, Scott Smyth, since around 2016. In last 3 years , we’ve built the team in India from 5 people to the 50 it is today.

RS: I’m Rakshit Seth, Head of Operations for the IMC here in India. I’ve spent the past three years working with Sahil to build the team we have today in Gurgaon.

 

What can you tell us about the IMC?

SO: The IMCs, or International Measurement Centres are Soben’s Centres of Excellence. We employ around 80 professionals across India and Sri Lanka to provide high-quality quantity surveying services to our clients. Our well-structured teams specialise in preparation of Bills of Quantities. Each project is led by a Manager and a dedicated Project Lead Quantity Surveyor, working with a team of Quantity Surveyors and Assistant Quantity Surveyors to achieve client satisfaction.

 

What has been your proudest achievement during your time at Soben?

RS: Definitely the pace at which we’ve grown the team. We started with a team of five, who are all still with Soben – so we’ve retained that core of the business. From there we started recruiting talent from the wider market, and from universities. Now we’re a team of around 50 professionals, delivering complex projects for major clients. This has been challenging. Sometimes our teams are tackling projects in a new domain, doing things for the first time – but they’ve impressed me in how they have come together, learned fast and ensured that they always fulfil our clients’ expectations. In building the team, it has been very important to me to learn from past experience, not repeating the mistakes I’ve witnessed in previous companies. So, I’ve ensured we’re really focused on creating opportunities and developing our staff. Irrespective of qualifications or experience, if an individual is proving themself, then we ensure they are getting the opportunity to develop.

SO: For me, it has been the chance to give opportunities to people in India and Sri Lanka – particularly the next generation of Quantity Surveyors. Helping young talent create a career path, at a time when there are fewer opportunities in the market [due to Covid], has been wonderful. Introducing these young, talented professionals to the corporate world and training them in our industry has been an honour for me.

 

How would you describe the culture at IMC India?

RS: Our office culture is something we’re very proud of. We’re trying to break down the traditional hierarchies to ensure everyone in the team feels heard. Our doors are always open and people feel comfortable talking to management.

SO: Yes, we’ve created a friendly and, above all, supportive environment to help people thrive in their work. We’ve built a culture where people work incredibly hard, but are always willing to support and help each other. It’s that supportiveness that makes this such a great team to work with. If you’re struggling to meet a deadline, or have a particularly complex challenge, you know your colleagues will be by your side.

RS: And we recognise work well done. Our regular Project of the Quarter award is an acknowledgement of the hard work and commitment of our teams. And a good excuse to celebrate!

 

The Soben India IMC team enjoying a night out.

 

How has 2022 been for you and the team?

SO: It is certainly a high pressure environment. As one of the region’s tier 1 providers of quantity surveying services, the workload can be tough.

RS: Agreed, we’ve had a huge amount of work this year, and our people have been under a lot of pressure. We know that this hasn’t always been easy, and are committed to putting more measures in place to support our people next year.

SO: Yes, we have a really incredible team of professionals and recognise that they are consistently going above and beyond for our clients. It has been an extraordinary year and our people have worked very hard – they deserve recognition for that.

 

As we head into a new year, what does the future hold for IMC India?

SO: The work keeps coming, which is a testament to the dedication of our teams. That means we’re always looking for new talent to join us. We will be opening a huge number of roles from January onwards for graduates and experienced talent alike. As well as hiring the best graduates from top tier universities in India, we’re also looking for experienced Quantity Surveyors to join the team.

RS: But we haven’t forgotten about the existing team either. We’ve just created a new social committee who will be arranging a host of social gatherings over the course of 2023 – I’m looking forward to what they come up with!

 

How is Soben IMC helping to Shape the Future with Integrity?

RS: We’re really invested in developing new talent and creating opportunities. We currently have ten interns working with us from top tier universities. They come to Soben to do an internship for a period of between 6 months and 1 year to learn the trade, receive hands-on training, and experience corporate life. Post completion of internship and performance evaluation we have offered jobs to most of the interns, who have been doing incredibly well and are already key members for our team. We’re committed to developing people at pace – graduates joining Soben can expect to learn the same in half a year with us, as they might from 3-4 years at another organisation. We’re committed to attracting fresh talent and building strong career paths to support their futures.

 

The India team is part of Soben’s wider IMC with colleagues in Sri Lanka

 

You mentioned you were growing the team in 2023. How can people find out more about joining Soben?

SO: Yes, we’ll have lots of open roles in 2023 for talented Quantity Surveyors. Experienced professionals can reach out to myself or Rakshit to find out more, or email a resume to [email protected].

RS: And we’re always looking for graduate talent. If you’re studying at Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University), Chandigarh , National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra or Lovely Professional University, reach out to your recruitment placement officer to find out more about opportunities with Soben.

 

Thank you Sahil and Rakshit, it’s been a pleasure getting to know about India IMC.

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