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May - 2015 - issue > Best Startup to Work for - Visual Effects

Trace VFX: Devotedly Adhering to a Culture Revolving around Quality, Consistency & Swift Execution

Susila Govindaraj
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Susila Govindaraj
Defining a strong work culture is the very first step towards transforming your company into a prominent brand. Properly harnessing this unique fingerprint will empower you to turn customers into advocates and employees into brand ambassadors. Strongly believing in the power of work culture, Trace VFX, a visual effects company, heavily invested in building a robust foundation for a solid culture; revolving around quality, consistency and swift execution. Devotedly adhering to this culture enabled the company that started its operations in Mumbai in 2010 with seven people to emerge into a 300 people strong company with 100 percent year-on-year growth. "Culture has always been extremely important to us at Trace. We purposefully started with a small operation to really invest in our team before trying to scale. Doing so has allowed us to grow without losing the values which set us apart," says Jon Mason, CEO, Trace VFX. Keen on providing a high-level of service, Trace has 24/7 producer coverage across LA, New York and Mumbai to serve clients anytime, anywhere.

Affirming Growth with Comprehensive Feedback System

Trace constantly gears its artists with a six month appraisal cycle, which affirms their growth. Backed by a comprehensive feedback system, the company individually discusses each staff member's accomplishments in the past six months and plans for following six months. "If our staff are better artists than they were six months ago, then naturally the company as a whole will be better. We want people advancing as fast as they possibly can," says Jon. "It doesn't matter where you come from. You get out what you put in". The company also has a female security guard to safeguard women employees and offers a shuttle that takes people to and from the train station.

Growing Further

The company fosters a strong group ethic by forming smaller teams. Whenever Trace hires a batch of freshers, it places one of them in each team with an experienced professional who can mentor them. Apart from bringing veteran trainers over from top companies in the U.S. and Europe, Trace is also looking to send its people abroad for training. The company also seeks to establish a greater amount of collaboration with clients, where they can send their people to work with the team at Trace and vice versa.


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