Q: Which companies have inspired you the most in cultivating a ‘great workplace’ – and how does this help you to motivate your employees?
A: The global tech industry has been spearheading the creation of great workplaces and as a player in this space, we draw our most notable inspiration from like-minded companies.

For example, Google is not merely an office; it has made building up an incredible organisational culture its main focus.

On the other hand, while less known for its great workplace culture, Adobe nurtures one of the world’s most creative work environments that’s fostered to provide its employees with a space to grow and flourish.

These companies and more, along with our own experience, have shown us that a great workplace is not defined by the number of benefits offered to employees. Rather, a great workplace is synonymous with the practices adopted by a company that reflect its core values, ethos and principles, which govern and nurture its teams

Q: What do you consider to be the main components of a great workplace
A: Most importantly, the level of employee engagement is what makes a great workplace stand out. Employees should be able to challenge norms with efficient alternatives without any fear of repercussion. Only such an environment can nurture ‘leaders without titles.

Secondly, employees need to feel a sense of belonging in a cultural context to perform to the best of their abilities. Furthermore, trust is the defining principle of a great workplace, which is created through the leadership’s credibility

Meanwhile, the respect and fairness with which staff members feel they are treated, the appreciation they receive and the levels of energy that bring about employee comradeship all form the essence of a great place to work

Finally, an organisation must convey transparency and trust to offer employees a greater sense of control of their professional lives. This motivates them to pursue their aspirations with confidence, and relate their personal goals to organisational growth and success.

Q: And what are the main lessons you have learnt from participating in the Great Place to Work Sri Lanka survey?
A: It has been an excellent way for us to benchmark ourselves against local and global best workplaces.

Participating in the Great Place to Work Sri Lanka survey over the years has helped us discover newer ways of improving our workplace culture, which is invaluable.

Furthermore, the survey’s feedback goes a long way in reshaping not only our recruitment and retention policies, but overall corporate strategies that ensure the progress and wellbeing of our employees.

Q: Could you outline how workplaces and their cultures have changed since early last year?
A: Year 2020 showed us how workplaces must be reimagined across industries in the COVID-19 and post-pandemic era.

One major change has been the expansion of the employers’ role – moving out of the workplace to play a crucial part in their employees’ financial, physical and mental wellbeing, and becoming a life partner to their people

Our focus on being a life partner to employees has never been more important to us as it is now. We have seen that organisations that focussed on creating a great workplace culture and embraced a broader role as an employer weathered the pandemic far better than their peers

Q: Is organisational agility a priority for your company – and if so, what measures have been taken to achieve this?
A: We have always operated with talented cross-functional teams with a focus on continuously improving organisational processes to enable us to manage change and make decisions quickly.

This level of agility across functions has seen us being able to continue business as usual despite many challenges.

As stated above, one of the fundamental ways we drive agility is through our self-managed teams that step up, and take on responsibility and leadership. Such proactive and engaged teams can make decisions independently, and innovate and challenge to deliver the best outcomes.

However, organisational agility is not limited to internal processes. At 99x, they extend to our customer acquisition and retention as well. We continue to explore new markets and opportunities, and have launched several new digital services – including a few catering to such markets.

In addition to these initiatives, we’re also embracing digital in more innovative ways than we used to, given some of the restrictions still in play such as those on travel.

Q: How does innovation and customer satisfaction make for a robust workplace culture?
A: Innovation and customer satisfaction go hand in hand with great workplace culture. One is simply not possible without the other two.

Any business strives to acquire and retain satisfied customers. What isn’t always understood is that this process begins with your employees and their satisfaction within the company.

Managing staff morale and a portfolio of diverse customers while staying innovative in a constantly evolving industry can make doing business a challenge.

However, a great workplace culture – one that promotes openness, normalises challenging norms and encourages leadership in all – creates the bedrock on which employee and customer satisfaction driven by innovation can be built.

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INTERVIEWEE DETAILS
Mano Sekaram
Founder
Chief Executive Officer
COMPANY DETAILS
Telephone:4721194
Email:hello@99x.io
Website:www.99x.io