Intrepid Colombo, part of Intrepid Travel, the world leader in sustainable experience-rich travel with a mission to create positive change through the joy of travel, was bestowed with the Great Place to Work Certification™ in recognition of its vibrant and distinctive workplace culture, garnering an overall 98 percent in the Trust Index Survey.
The survey received a score of over 94 percent in various aspects such as engagement, justice, integrity, and leadership behavior, with 98 percent agreeing to the company’s approach on equality, working environment, and going onto strongly endorse Intrepid Colombo to friends and family.
“Intrepid isn’t just a business that is here to make a profit. We want to create positive change in the world – whether that’s for our staff, our customers, our colleagues or the communities we visit on our trips. I’m thrilled that this certification recognises our culture and values and the work of our amazing team here in Colombo,” said Intrepid’s Managing Director Asia, Anu Karunatilaka.
Intrepid Colombo was started back in October 2012 to provide IT development services to the Intrepid (then PEAK) group. Since then, it has grown fast and now not only provide IT development but also IT service support, financial services (AP/AR/System), customer services, HR services as well as support services for back-office travel related processes for the Intrepid Global offices, also a Destination Management Company. Intrepid Colombo has grown fast from a handful of staff to now over 170 in 10 years on track to be the biggest office in head count and are fast becoming a centre of excellence for services within Intrepid.
Employees at Intrepid Colombo enjoy a relaxed and vibrant work environment with access to an open office concept, hot desks and a leisure area including pool table and resting pods. They can opt-in for flexible work schedules, balancing their work with other commitments at home. The ‘four-week work-from-anywhere’ option at Intrepid lets one work from any location, preferably another of Intrepid’s 26 global offices, too.
Every employee at Intrepid is offered one free tour per year, plus five additional days leave to use towards this. This enables employees to experience trips for themselves, meet tour leaders and customers and have the opportunity to explore the world. There are also generous travel discounts for friends and family. Other benefits include salaries pegged to the Australian dollar, two weeks paid parental leave for new parents in addition to any government parental leave.
Intrepid is a certified Benefit Corporation (B Corp), independently verified to have the highest environmental, social and governance standards. As a B Corp, Intrepid balances making a profit with having a purpose. This means that its financial bottom line must be balanced equally with its environmental and social impact on the people and places visited.
As a certified B Corp, Intrepid is committed to building an inclusive global culture. The global team includes members from 65 different nationalities with the opportunity to work and collaborate globally with a diversity of cultures, languages and ethnicities.
As a certified B Corp, Intrepid is deeply committed to the wellbeing of its employees. Last year, despite the impacts of COVID-19 on the travel industry, the company received the highest ever staff engagement score of 82 per cent. Every employee plus their immediate family can access four free counselling sessions per year via its Employee Assistance Program. Employees are also encouraged and given 20 hours per year to use towards volunteer work for a project or cause in their local community that they feel passionately about.
