Fast Company Magazine: Cognizant’s Global Head of Outreach Named Among the 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2015

Archana Raghuram was honored by Fast Company magazine as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2015 “for motivating colleagues to make a difference”. She heads Outreach, Cognizant’s social initiatives program, led and sustained by the voluntary efforts of the company’s employees, and dedicated to the cause of education for underprivileged children.   

Launched in 2009, Fast Company’s annual list of the ‘100 Most Creative People in Business’ is a “snapshot of the range and depth of creativity” across the business landscape.

The magazine wrote: “Archana Raghuram made volunteering fashionable at Cognizant, motivating 50,000 employees, mostly millennials, to dedicate more than 900,000 after-work volunteering hours over seven years to educate and build school infrastructure for underprivileged children, train teachers, offer caree counseling, and more.”

It noted, “She set up a technology platform through which employees can offer their time and skills, bringing transparency and accountability to the program. An app shows daily volunteer opportunities, allowing employees to sign on with a single click, and a metrics-driven Impact Index measures the effects of their work on a monthly basis. The program has directly helped 400,000 school kids so far, has stemmed attrition at Cognizant, and has inspired other Indian companies to follow suit.”

“I opted to run the volunteering program not because it was a career path, but because I was inspired by the chance to work toward making a difference in so many young lives,” said Raghuram.

When asked about the one thing pertaining to her job that would surprise people the most, she said, “The fact that so many people volunteer despite their long work hours. Generally, people think of our volunteering as a linear process where volunteers help and children benefit. But it is a much more synergetic process—everyone involved is enriched by the experience.”