Last week, Roar Global was officially Certified as a Great Place To Work® , a recognition awarded to companies that have a great culture and practices that ensure equality, fairness and job satisfaction, by gaining an overall score of 96%. The Great Place to Work Certification™ has become a key deciding factor for new recruits, especially Millennials and Gen Z who prioritise work-life balance and prefer workplaces that are less bureaucratic, have diverse teams, offer a fair pay, and care for the physical and mental wellbeing of employees. It also gives employers a recruiting advantage by providing a globally-recognized and research-backed verification of a great team member experience.
To be Certified, every employee is required to to complete a survey sent by GPTW®. All responses are treated confidentially and are not shared with the employer. We had a response rate of 100% and all employees were encouraged to be open and honest when responding to the extensive list of questions. Following the independent analysis and careful evaluation of all suggestions and feedback, we were thrilled to be informed that we scored well above the national average on several factors.
We achieved a 100% score for being a workplace that made our employees feel physically safe and for treating everyone fairly regardless of age, gender, race or position. We also scored above 95% on factors such as leadership, credibility, impartiality, integrity, corporate image, pride, competence, innovation, communication, collaboration, support, and team spirit. Our lowest score, at 90%, was for equity, and while we are known industry-wide for offering a good pay and benefits package, we have already pledged to our employees that this is an area we will improve soon.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be recognized as a great workplace. It’s been a tough couple of years, with lockdowns and the current economic crisis, but through it all, we have managed to keep growing as a company, finding new ways to pursue bigger and more exciting projects and find greater meaning and purpose in our work. We have taken the feedback we received from the survey very seriously, and are looking forward to implementing little but crucial changes that I’m sure will go a long way in keeping our employees engaged and happy.”
- Mustafa Kassim, Founder and CEO, Roar Global
Reasons to celebrate aside, the results of the survey gave us important insights into how our employees feel about being a part of our company and where we can do better. Since we emerged as a media startup eight years ago, we have strived to offer a work experience that few companies in Sri Lanka offer.
Outside our HR policy, which sets strict protocols for our work processes and culture, we take a flexible and transparent approach to ensuring our employees are valued and feel heard. This can come in the form of a flat hierarchy where all members of a team take equal ownership of a project and share their ideas, unlimited PTO for physical or mental health reasons, and year-long opportunities for camaraderie such as outbound trips, parties and weekly cricket and football sessions.
“It's such a great honour to have been awarded the Great Place To Work Certification on our very first try. We have had impressive results, and to me, this is a testament to the hard work we have put into building a unique workplace culture. We were always determined to do things differently and create a culture in which individual employee aspirations and ambitions are considered as important as the company’s own. We aim for high-performance, while leaving room for flexibility, learning and growth. As a young company, we are growing alongside our staff and, together, we strive to make our mark in the industry.”
- Ishani Karunadasa, Head of HR, Roar Global
We also continue to offer hybrid and remote work, a policy we introduced well before the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure we hire the best talent, even if they live across the country or are balancing their jobs alongside starting a family or running a household. Most importantly, we have always taken pride in the diversity of our teams; we represent a wide spectrum across age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, education, and skills.
To be GPTW® Certified is a yearly process and we are aware that, as a company, we need to be in tune with the demands of the next generation of employees, all while constantly learning how we can create a safe and inclusive workplace - one that not only protects our employees but has a positive effect on society. At Roar Global, we are committed to impact and sustainability across all the work we do, and it has been a joyful adventure - not without obstacles and mishaps - to build the media company of the future.
