Why artists love Pencillati

Happy 2014 everyone !

Our ongoing recruitment drive gave us an opportunity to talk to many artists shortlisted from an ocean of job applications. As the conversations became deeper and more meaningful, we grew interested in finding out the core motivations of the artists working in our industry today, and how well did Pencillati fair on those grounds. It took a little bit of research and some really comfortable interview chats to get to the bottom of it. Here are our findings,

1. Share and inclusivity in the company

While founding the studio, we knew that it was a good idea and our industry was ready for it. A concept truly alien to Indian studios thus far, most of the artists get pleasantly surprised when they come to know that we treat every team member as a business partner and they would never be shortchanged for their contributions in making the studio grow. This is ensured in various ways including attractive salary packages, stock options, performance bonuses and complete transparency in running the business. Each team member knows and contributes to hows things have been planned for the future and what is expected out of them. This makes the whole context so productive and trustworthy, that it has come out as the biggest factor in drawing the best talent to Pencillati.

2. Personal learning and development

Most of the successful artists agree that our industry is driven primarily by self learning. Formal education offers a limited exposure in a fast changing environment. The tools and technology relevant today may become totally obsolete and get replaced with better ones within a few years. The real learning and development happens on the job, in the thick of the action. We ensure that each of us feels sufficiently challenged and motivated to break our personal barriers and reach the next level in whatever we choose to do. Once a week (usually a Saturday) is dedicated as ‘personal development time’. The whole studio becomes a folk fair on this day. Some of us sharpen our life drawing or water colours while others learn music, read books, try out new games and gadgets in our gaming den or watch latest hollywood flicks. But most popular one is the Digital Tutors subscription available to all our artists which promotes a lot of cross learning and skill enhancement within the team, throughout the week. Not only do we argue that Pencillati is India’s first art services studio to offer an inclusive growth opportunity to its team members; we are most definitely the studio with best learning and development ecosystem to offer (at least in India). We firmly believe that it is the caliber of our artists that makes the studio and not the other way round. Pleasantly, most of the artists give this more importance than the financial aspects of the job.

3. Money talks (but it can’t sing and dance)

If this were 2004 in India, money would have been the number one priority, but the industry has matured up over the last decade. Today’s artists are more aware about the fact that money alone can not provide them complete satisfaction. They need a more holistic growth in order to become a better individual and a meaningful part of the society. Having said that, our remuneration packages are class leading and only help our team members in appreciating the finer things in life; in turn making us a team of excellence driven individuals.

4. Kill micromanagement, rescue creativity

A problem that has plagued our production houses since time immemorial; our founding team was clearly committed to kill it right from the day one. The solution was simple and elegant- Keep the team size small, hire self starters who can think for themselves and don’t need a dedicated manager to guide them. The results have been…again, surprisingly pleasant. Eradicating unnecessary management makes people more responsible about what they deliver and prevents them from becoming clueless nine to fivers. Win-win!

5. Infrastructure is a silent game changer

Biggest displays, meanest processors, kickass softwares, latest pen tablets and gadgets. We cannot stress more on what a ‘fully loaded’ work desk can silently do to enhance your productivity and unleash that creativity trapped within. Add to this some amazing food, soulful music, movies, industry events, nightlife, ease of commuting with long hours of connectivity and you have the recipe for awesomeness. THAT is why our studio is loaded to the hilt with the best technology and resources, always. And we are located in one of the most happening parts of New Delhi, the national capital of India. Care to check it out? Be our guest anytime 🙂

After having tried out this approach for about a year now, our clients are pretty amazed at the quality of our service and have reciprocated to our love with their commitment. So if you are looking forward to change the way you work…wherever you are, try out these highly recommended ideas and if you have any suggestions or feedback for us…please do share it as a comment below.

Yours Gamingly,

Vex