How kudumba culture inspires compassion in crisis

A company’s culture truly reveals itself not during happy hours or product launches but in moments of crisis. 

As Cyclone Michaung ravaged Chennai—home to more than 80% of Freshworks employees—during the first week of December, a picture of a compassionate and caring community unfolded. Employees volunteered to set up emergency shelters inside Freshworks’ main office in Chennai, established helplines for colleagues in need, and organized global donation portals to raise funds.

The storm made landfall on India’s east coast on December 4, battering the city with sustained winds of 70 mph. Torrential rains flooded major parts of the city, uprooting trees and causing extensive damage to vehicles, roads, and infrastructure. In Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu and home to 6 million people, rescue workers plucked people from their houses and military helicopters dropped food rations.

Freshworks’ Slack channels, normally buzzing with myriad work topics, were soon flooded with human stories—urgent pleas for generators for ventilator-dependent individuals and requests for essential items like medicine, blankets, oxygen cylinders, dry ration kits, candles, matchboxes, mosquito repellent, tarps, and sanitary supplies. 

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Responding quickly, a group of employees from different teams formed the backbone of the company’s cyclone response. Their first initiative was the “war room,” designed to help those stranded in flooded areas with urgent accommodation and essential supplies.

The group was led by Senior Director of Global Workplace and People Experience Vijayaraghavan Parthasarathy, Director of Social Impact Shanmuga Anandaraman, Director of Sales Jayaraman Nagasundaram, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition Operations Vignesh Vijayakumar, Sales Lead Julian Christie, Account Manager Nivya Raja, corporate and social responsibility executive Ahamed M, Product Marketing Associate Krishna Srinivas, Senior Account Manager Senthil Kumar, Freshworks STS Software Academy (FSSA) students, and the admin and facilities team.

The war room team converted 15 rooms inside the office into temporary dormitories for 37 employees and their families forced to evacuate their homes. As phone lines kept buzzing, first-response volunteers received 48 calls in the first two days and conducted 10 visits to deliver food, water, and transport services. The team also set up 12 in-office accommodations with facilities for sleeping, showering, and meals.

“The war room became a central command post. Some of us manned the helpline numbers and mobilized volunteers on the ground, while others worked to help employees with infants, senior citizens, pregnant women, and sick family members. Everyone did their part,” said Vijayakumar.

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Volunteers also collaborated with the Give campaign by the nonprofit Bhumi to organize donation drives for affected employees and support staff. The social impact team used corporate social responsibility funds to distribute blankets and tarps to nearly 350 distressed families. Volunteers joined forces to prepare dry rations and hygiene kits for flood-affected families.

"Over 100 employees gathered at the Chennai office to showcase their commitment to social impact. The prevailing sentiment was, ‘If not us, then who?’" said Prasanna Bharati R, manager of social impact.

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“What really keeps us going is how all of our employees play their part in bringing to life the spirit of care and compassion, which is our kudumba culture,” said Shanmuga Anandaram, director of social impact. (Kudumba, derived from the Tamil word for “family,” is how Freshworks describes its culture.)

Reflecting on the events, Customer Success Specialist Praveen Manavalan added: “A heartfelt thanks to my fellow Freshies who assisted me late at night with essential items despite the waterlogging in our area.” Nityashree Yadunath, product marketing lead, agreed: “What a fine example of the kind of teammates we have, the culture we have built, and the spirit of Chennai!”