Recognizing its healthy and participative approach and the continued efforts in putting its people first, Katunayake-based Star Garments Group, a leading global apparel manufacturers was recently bestowed with the Great Place to Work certification by the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place to Work® Institute.
This certification was awarded after assessing its employees’ experiences across five key values to include credibility, respect fairness, pride and camaraderie through the renowned Trust Index© Survey and Culture Audit© Management Questionnaire which evaluates the company’s existing practices towards its people. The survey results indicated that almost 90pct of the statements within these key values were positive and true.
The company strongly believes in creating and fostering a work environment that encourages learning and growth among every individual, with knowledge-sharing at the heart of its beliefs. Over the last two decades, the group across all its facilities in the country has held over 1,784 training sessions with the participation of over 41,398 senior heads, including 700 supervisor trainings across all its factories.
Star Garments Group recognizes the importance of having numerous opportunities for one to grow and learn and believes this to be one of the most contributing factors for employee happiness. It strives to continuously invest significantly in this aspect to every individual, as employee development at Star is never a solitary journey instead it is a partnership with the view of cultivating a growth mindset among every one of its team members.
This is well reflected in its annual training sessions, on average ranging between 150-200 programmes with around 2,000-3,000 employees actively participating in them, in addition to around 20 development sessions for its supervisors. The weightage of these trainings can be categorized into managerial competency improvements (40pct), technical competencies (25pct), motivation and personality development for operational-level employees (35pct.)
Continuous professional development is not just a buzz phrase at Star, it’s a well-defined philosophy and strategy curated to encourage individuals to gain emerging and contemporary skills and competencies to take on basic and complex issues, to not just spur growth and innovation across the facilities at Star but also in stimulating one to be the best version of themselves.
These programmes are facilitated by well renowned trainers and institutions in the country, from both the state and private sector. Employees also indulge in the various social responsibility activities the company carries out, such as providing leadership, personality development and career guidance among schools, universities and vocational training centers including skills development for teachers, and introducing the world of apparel manufacturing and management among government organizations.