Sabiha Sultana
Design Monks is a fully remote organization with over 30+ employees (till September 2024). Here, we are pretty concerned about the employees’ mental wellness. We regularly talk with them, especially before every weekend about how their lives are going. Also, try to meet once every month or two months.
This time, we want to make it a little bit organized and it’s quite like a casual interview. I made a list of some questions about their thoughts as an employee of Design Monks and asked some of the employees of Design Monks to answer. And today, this blog (not actually a typical blog) is all about their answers.
The interviewees are:
- Md. Walid bin Sayed Ridoy (Senior Product Designer)
- Nurshad Rahman (Product Designer)
- Arafat Hossain Miraz (Motion Designer)
- Abid Hasan (Project Manager)
- Monira Akter (Digital Marketing Executive)
Well, I asked them to share some photos of them with the DM team if they have any. With the questions and answers, you’ll see these photos as well.
So, let’s see what they think about Design Monks:
1. How do you feel being part of the Design Monks team?
Md. Walid bin Sayed Ridoy
Joss✌️. Definitely, it’s great to be a part of Design Monks, especially for the friendly team members.
Abid Hasan
I’ll tell you about my feelings about being a part of DM. But first, I would like to share my journey to join Design Monks.
It happened all of a sudden. I took a gap of two months from my previous venture, but after a while, I decided to get into a full-time job again for professional and personal reasons.
I was connected to Atiq Vai for a long time. However, we never met or talked before. As I was looking for a remote job, I planned to meet Atiq Bhai just to get familiar and get some tips as he has already been active in the Remote field for a long time. So, I knocked him on LinkedIn on 28 Feb and sent a follow-up text on FB the same day.
Actually, I thought he wouldn’t reply, but he did. Eventually, he asked me if we could meet virtually at 10 pm. I was so happy and I thought it was just a regular networking session. But, when I got into the meeting, Atiq Bhai asked me to wait for another person, Noman Bhai. That time, I was really confused and I understood that it was a job interview that I was not prepared for.
But yes, we had a long conversation of around one and a half hours, and I found this the place I was looking for as it all aligned with my personal preferences, and vision of an ideal workplace where I want to work, grow, and succeed together! And this is how the journey began, and now it’s been 6 months since I was with Design Monks.
Now, let’s get to the point about my feelings.
The feeling and experience of being part of this amazing team with such a big responsibility is like a dream to me. I love the culture here most. DM is far far away from typical corporate politics, negativity, and ill practices. The DM believes in the mental and overall well-being of every Monk. We wholeheartedly consider each member of DM to be a family member.
I have personally learned and gained a lot from Design Monks. I want to show my gratitude to Noman and Atiq Bhai and all the team members for teaching me a lot of things, and I am learning every day from them, for their support, love, and kindness.
In my role, I am also trying my best every day for the growth of DM and giving my input from a management perspective on how we can make DM grow faster, ensure the growth and well-being of every team member, and make DM a better workplace every day.
So, I will say DM is an ideal workplace every employee dreams of and it’s the right place for maximum career growth, better performance, and leadership development.
Monira Akter
I feel truly blessed to be a part of Design Monks. At first, I was a little bit confused about how we’d manage everything remotely as I never worked in a remote environment before. But they literally changed my concept of a remote environment.
From communication to organization, everything is so smooth here. Also, it’s rare to get a team where every single person is so friendly and cooperative.
2. Does Design Monks help you grow your skills? How?
Nurshad Rahman
Yes, Design Monks helped me grow my skills. Our seniors always review our designs and provide necessary feedback. We get opportunities to discuss the complex UX flow and collaborate with the cross-functional team. We keep getting feedback and iterate until a design is perfect. This is how the DM team helps us grow our skills.
Abid Hasan
DM is an inevitable part of my career growth. I joined Design Monks with Project Management knowledge but with no design knowledge; it was never my type of thing.
However, working in a completely design-centered team and managing a whole bunch of talented designers and developers was a completely new experience for me.
Here, I need to mention Noman Bhai, co-founder of Design Monks, who has always been with me. He helped me adapt to the design industry. In the first 3-4 months, he was always with me like a shadow.
He helped me learn things, provided resources, and advised me on what I should study to not only learn about the design industry but also improve my existing PM skills. And I am continuously learning from him.
Also, my fellow teammates, and designers, helped me understand things better. They were always so collaborative and supportive, and I am grateful to them for their consistent support and cooperation.
While they made my life easier in learning design, I’ve been trying to make their lives easier in terms of project management. I ensure they can perform their best, have the flexibility to do their creative work, are accountable, and deliver quality work on time that fulfills the client’s needs and ensures client satisfaction.
3. Can you share a memorable moment or experience that made you proud to work at Design Monks?
Nurshad Rahman
I was honored as the ‘Monk of the Month’ last April. Actually, my starting was not so smooth in DM. After the struggling phase, when they announced my name as the “Monk of the Month” I was stunned. It made me proud and inspired me to move forward. So, it’s the best moment for me in DM.
Monira Akter
I have lots of things to be proud of being a part of Design Monks. One thing I love to mention is a recent decision the entire team took. It was to support the flood-affected people.
As far as I know, Design Monks is one of the first companies that decided to donate one day’s salary to all the members. I was extra proud because the team members didn’t just donate their one-day salary, they donated all their team funds as well.
4. What makes you excited to come to work each day at Design Monks?
Abid Hasan
As I’m responsible for my team’s performance, growth, and success, as well as the timely delivery of projects and ensuring that clients’ needs are met and they are satisfied, this huge accountability motivates me and ensures I’m doing my best.
I’m also so connected with all of my teammates, management, and clients. So, I would say my responsibility, accountability, and the amazing team I work with are the biggest motivations to start a new day at Design Monks.
Monira Akter
Again, there are lots of things that inspired me to start working daily. I usually start my days with a standup meeting with my team. This has now become a habit for me.
It’s like saying good morning one after another in a big family.
There are some co-workers like Sabiha apu, who are more than colleagues. I can call them friends. Sometimes, I miss them during the holidays.
Another reason that inspires me to start work daily is challenges that I feel like I need to do properly within the given time. Overall, I never feel bored no matter how much work pressure I need to face here.
5. What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you before you joined Design Monks? Please write in detail.
Md. Walid bin Sayed Ridoy
DM is pretty much like a cri*mi*nal organization 😄. It means, once you are in, there’s no way to exit.
Arafat Hossain Miraz
The importance of time management. It’s because, in a remote environment, the most important factor is to complete tasks timely. And it’s a fact that I need to ensure myself. However, it took me a few months to understand the fact and I guess, if someone had suggested it before, it would be a great help for me.
Abid Hasan
Well, this is a diplomatic one! Honestly, I never knew I would be a part of Design Monks, especially since I would work with a design-driven company, and I didn’t know much about DM.
So, I wish I could have known and prepared for this role a bit earlier. I shared my story of joining Design Monks and how everything happened all of a sudden, hahaha! But I wish someone had told me to develop my design and development skills, especially UI/UX laws and principles, as that would have helped me prepare for the role better.
6. What skills do you think are essential for someone looking to join the UX team at Design Monks?
Nurshad Rahman
1. Humbleness
2. Taking responsibility and ownership
3. Learning and growth mentality
4. Good communication skills
5. Obviously, hard-working
Abid Hasan
Well, this is an important one for me. As I’m working as the lead of a very talented Product Design team, we’re always looking for skilled Product Designers and UI Designers.
A talented, well-balanced Product Designer is crucial for Design Monks and its growth. They are the heart of Design Monks, as they are the creators of the state-of-the-art services that we provide.
While we’re proud of our amazing team members, it’s quite challenging to find new product designers for our team. Although many people have decent design skills, most lack a few key skills that we value the most at Design Monks. It’s important to note that these skills are one of the secrets that make Design Monks different from others.
Usually, we look for some specific skills in designers when we hire. Like:
- A good grasp of Standard Design Principles.
- Understanding of UX Principles.
- Product Design Knowledge.
Along with these, there are a few more soft skills that make a designer a rockstar:
- Communication Skills
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- Problem-Solving
- Analytical Ability
- Empathy
- Accountability
At Design Monks, we believe in teamwork, collaboration, and collective success. We practice a respectful, friendly, and positive culture in the team, so having these skills is quite valuable to us.
On an important note, while we may compromise on functional skills, we never compromise on issues regarding ethics and values that might spread negativity within the team. So, having strong ethics and good values is a must to sustain in Design Monks, along with functional skills.
Thank You
So, that’s it. Thanks to all these participants who spent their valuable time answering my questions. Special thanks to Abid Hasan for his detailed answers and Md. Walid bin Sayed Ridoy for the shortest yet meaningful answers. Again, thanks to Monira Akter, Nurshad Rahman, and Arafat Hossain Miraz for your honest feedback.
Let’s hope for the best.
