A Chat With Prisha, Our Bangkok MD

With our offices split across the UK and Bangkok, we thought it would be a good idea to sit with our Managing Director in Thailand, Prisha, to talk about what it is like working for in tech and keep the good ship MOHARA on track.

Hey Prisha, what would you say are your biggest challenges?

One of my biggest challenges is finding the right employees with the right combination of skills. Making sure everyone stays motivated can also be difficult sometimes. I try and provide my support and create a positive environment for them because I believe the happier and better supported they are, the better their performance will be, especially when the pressure is on.

Can you describe your typical day in our Bangkok office?

I walk into the office. Then I get updated by our management engineers about the status of their projects. If certain projects need help, then I get the list of what they need and then contact the UK office as soon as possible. I also keep an eye on how things are going in the office. It’s really important to make sure my employees feel able to ask questions about things, so I always try and always be supportive and ask first whether they need help.

92.9% of respondents to Stack Overflow’s 2018 Survey were male. What difficulties have you found being a woman in tech?

You need to be very confident in yourself. At first, it might be intimidating to walk into a room full of men knowing they will all talk tech. You need to not be afraid and prove to them that you’re capable of the same or more. I also think that women can add a different perspective to the conversation. I do like that being a woman in tech means I have to perform at my maximum which has helped me to grow, although it shouldn’t always be that way.

What has been the hardest moment as MD of our Thailand office?

I would say when we had to recruit a large number of employees in a small amount of time. I always try to keep my employees satisfied and committed to the company’s success, which ultimately is the key. I have to always encourage teamwork. Being honest and transparent would help them to speak up. We can then work together towards where they want to be. That communication means I can give the most effective support I can offer. They need to know how important they are and also to never underestimate the importance of a good work/life balance to their success.

What is your top tip to get on in tech?

First of all, probably have the right mindset. Don’t be afraid of technology and be enthusiastic about learning new things. If you are curious about how things work then read up about them. Dive down into the information out there whenever you can. Bring the conversation to the table and have a discussion with people around you and never be shy to ask questions about technology. This is one of the reasons I love the innovation sessions we hold at MOHARA. It’s an opportunity for people to showcase cool new things they have learnt. They will share it with the team and we can discuss it, how we can use it, or what it can be used for. I also really like it when we have the opportunity to use this new tech and work on a variety of interesting projects.

What are your main challenges in working with teams in Bangkok and London?

The language barrier and sometimes the time difference. Our different office time zones often help us react to problems quickly and work through the night while the UK sleeps. Complications can happen though because our public holidays are different! Also, the language barrier between Thai and English can cause some misunderstanding because some programmers are not as familiar with English, or the UK team with Thai! We do provide them with an English course in the office to help them improve their English and make sure we have lots of engineers already fluent in English to help the others!

What is currently your favourite area of technology?

The Internet of Things (IoT). I’m interested in IoT and find it very convenient and useful. I feel like there are unlimited ideas for using IoT and we will always get to learn new things every day from that.