Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
Padmaja Muralidhar: I have been training for almost 2 decades, travelling pan India. My daughter reached 8th grade and she said “Amma, I want you here with me”. I stopped training completely for a month. Boredom set in, I was restless. Again Anuhya said, please start your own company! You have so many contacts & connects. Why do you want to work under someone!?…..that’s how ACube Solutions was born. ACube is actually A3; Aryamaan, Ayushmaan and Anuhya, my two nephews and my daughter.
Great Companies: What are the various Services provided by ACube Solutions?
Padmaja Muralidhar: Initially, ACube was only into Training & Development. We started approaching colleges & corporate houses. Colleges were reluctant because we were training only. So we started Recruitment or Placement Services. Then some students had queries about Study Abroad, we initiated that too. As of now we are into Training & Development, Recruitment or Placement Services and Study Abroad.
In Training & Development, for Students we have Campus to Corporate Transition in which we handle - Computer Usage, Corporate personality, Cultural Sensitivity, Data Interpretation, Interview Skills, Numeracy and Logical Reasoning, Oral communication, Reading Comprehension and Resume Writing. It is basically being interview ready and increasing the ability to crack interviews. Next we have English with Voice and Accent with emphasis on English grammar, Phonetics, Sentence Stress, and Intonation, Syllable Stress and Word Stress.
For working professionals we have training programs like 7 Habits for success, Classroom Management & Student Mentoring, Coping with stress & emotion, Course Preparedness & Teaching Innovation, Critical & Creative thinking, Decision making & Problem Solving, Effective assertive communication along with Interpersonal relationship, Micro Learning, Negotiation Skills, Outcome Based Education, Presentation skills, Preventing Cheating and Plagiarism, Self-awareness & Empathy, Time Management Skills, Work Life Balance, Business Communication, Culture Orientation , Competency Based Program, Active Listening, Problem Solving and Decision Making, Analytical Skills ,Corporate Personality and Team Skills.
ACube’s Overseas Education vertical is dedicated towards providing service to students and helping them realize their dream of studying abroad. We offer end-to-end support to students and help them get into their ideal university.
The Recruitment vertical is still taking baby steps and we are about finding amazing people for businesses. We bridge resource gaps of organizations from start-ups to small medium enterprises to corporate giants.
Great Companies: What makes ACube Solutions different from hundreds of other similar service providers?
Padmaja Muralidhar:
We customize training curriculum for each & every client, even though the topic may be the same. We document the LEARNING CURVE, provide 360° Constructive feedback, our Work Ethics are aligned in the correct direction & our trainings are High Impact Delivery and last but not the least - Proactive ROI. Clients want to know ROI (Return of Investment) for which we have various matrixes to measure it.
In our overseas education, we train the students to clear examinations like IELTS. The students are provided help in writing their SOP, Resume and Interview skills with the universities. Again in the recruitment sector, the aspirants are given intervention training to crack interviews.
Great Companies: What are the struggles and challenges you face?
Padmaja Muralidhar: I started the company on 22 January 2020. The pandemic and lockdown hit us in the end of March/April. The work around from physical training to virtual was a BIG challenge, but we were training virtually by mid May 2020.
We had to let go of many a client, because of ACube being a Lady led business. Quality is rarely looked at but costing is emphasized on. Pricing is another challenge, due to the dilution in the training industry. I once met a gentleman in my travels for training. We go talking and he said “I am an international trainer too”. I was so happy and asked him where he had trained. His answer still makes me jitter. “I was visiting my son and his company wanted me to talk about my experiences. I did that for an hour. That’s why I am an international trainer”.
Since trainings moved online during the pandemic, its actually become a circus. The social media is filled with people who call themselves trainers. Some are vending training material. The colleges and corporate houses have also become very clever. They say, do one program for us for free. We need to understand how you do it. So we get all the content ready, go online and train their students. The Placement Officer doesn’t come back to us nor receives calls. They have lined up more vendors to cater for one program or one session. They allocate each vendor to handle a different topic! Darwin’s SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST is apt here.
Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What does 5 years down the line look like for ACube Solutions?
Padmaja Muralidhar: Personally, I love training the students in need of a job desperately. They would have studied in vernacular medium, so getting a job in MNCs will be a challenge for therm. I see a growth in the CSR funded training sector in colleges for placements. A little down the lane, having a foundation/NGO of our own to work with students in need. Metros or Tier 1 city students will not need the training for placement but the Tier 2 and downwards, will NEED it.
Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
Padmaja Muralidhar: Resilience is the key. We have to get up every time we fall. Reach out to experts for solutions. Don’t look at getting a service or product for lesser price but look at the quality of work. Grow in a planned and phased manner.
Website : https://www.acubesolutions.org/
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