Q: In your view, what are the main components of a ‘great workplace’?
A: The backbone of a great workplace is creating and sustaining a first-class culture. At Daraz, we build our workplace culture on five core values – viz. ownership, integrity, teamwork, creating change and customer commitment.

Our values ​​underpin our shared vision to be the most inspiring marketplace and help us do so with meaning. These values shape us into being who we are as a Daraz community and form the unique culture we’ve created in our company, enabling us to celebrate innovation, drive and passion, and make work fun.

Meanwhile, a great workplace comprises incredible people who feel empowered to create change, find their work meaningful, and are inspired to develop and grow themselves – supported by their company.

These principles make Daraz a great place to work; and as we evolve and grow, we aim to uphold these values and keep our employees in focus.

Q: How have workplaces and their cultures changed since early last year?
A: When COVID-19 shut Sri Lanka down in March last year, it became clear that sourcing essentials during the lockdown was tough for most people islandwide.

We quickly realised the difference we could make with the manpower we had at Daraz and our platform’s strong user base. The entire workforce pivoted their focus in using the platform for good in Sri Lanka, from the commercial team sourcing daily essentials to the operations team rallying to ensure that we could reach the public with everything they needed.

Everyone came together to change the direction of Daraz within a day and worked as a team to get essential transactions off the ground.

In addition to this, we were also able to use the traffic coming to our website for a higher cause by offering users the chance to donate to local charities that were actively involved in addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Collectively, we raised millions of rupees and fed hundreds of families

The lockdown was a testing period for the whole country. However, the fact that we could use our platform in a meaningful manner at such a challenging time gave our employees a new appreciation for their jobs and role in society.

This has had a lasting effect on our Daraz community as we understand that our website isn’t only a marketplace but was a lifeline for people at a time of need.

Q: In what ways can a great workplace culture contribute to Daraz’s performance?
A: We create a unique culture by combining our core values, raw entrepreneurial spirit and innovative approach that originate from our startup roots.

Furthermore, the trust our employees feel develops an environment of open communication that drives collaboration and ensures the whole team has a shared focus. Our employees therefore, feel empowered to develop new ideas and drive forward new business initiatives.

In our organisation, we firmly believe that ensuring employees are invested in the Daraz journey drives success. Without curating a great environment and open culture, we could not be performing at the high level that we’re currently delivering.

Q: How important is employee engagement in the context of nurturing a great workplace culture?
A: Employee engagement is crucial in developing a great workplace culture and especially important in a company evolving as rapidly as Daraz is. Our workforce is growing daily with over 1,500 employees working for Daraz Sri Lanka at present.

Therefore, it is imperative that we understand the pulse of the company as we move forward. By giving our employees a direct and confidential voice to management, we can celebrate our strengths and recognise our areas for development through an honest lens.

Q: What is the role of senior management in promoting an open and engaging culture?
A: Communication in our company is fluid between all levels; it is one of the main reasons we have grown successfully and yet managed to keep our entrepreneurial spirit alive.

We foster a culture of transparency through information sharing and openness, and our senior managers lead the charge in this effort.

Every single employee can contribute to change, which our managers actively encourage. In fact, some of our best innovations have come from junior members of the team.

Q: And finally, what are the main lessons you have learnt from participating in the Great Place to Work Sri Lanka survey?

A: Taking part in the Great Places to Work survey enabled us to understand the pulse of the organisation.

We learned that communication between our human resources (HR) levels is open and transparent; the employees trust our management to make the right decisions, and feel supported in developing and evolving with us.

However, our biggest takeaway from the survey is that our employees are proud to work for Daraz.

As one of the fastest growing companies in Sri Lanka, it is important to receive open and honest feedback frequently from employees to continue our efforts to create the most progressive, transparent and fun workplace in the country.

We are delighted to be known as a great place to work. Indeed, we believe this will not only motivate employees but also raise our benchmark in achieving employee satisfaction so that we continue to strive to do our best.

 

INTERVIEWEE DETAILS
Rakhil Fernando
Managing Director
COMPANY DETAILS
Telephone:7644200
Email:marketing@daraz.lk
Website:www.daraz.lk