Swades Foundation Identified As 'Great Place To Work' For Upskilling Of Employees Within Organisation

Swades Foundation is certified as a Great Place to Work for August 2020 to July 2021, as a result of its initiatives for the well-being and holistic development of its employees. Over 4,000 hours of online training has been conducted for over 1997 participants on well-being, skill enhancement and programmatic knowledge building for employees from April 2020 till Mid Aug 2020

Considered the 'Gold Standard' in workplace culture assessment, Great Place to Work® identifies best workplaces solely basis and quality of people practices and employee feedback in the organisation. The certification is based on the result of an anonymous employee survey conducted by an external party to ensure an unbiased and uninfluenced result.

When Ronnie and Zarina Screwvala expanded the work of Swades Foundation in 2013, their vision was to create a permanent, irreversible change in the lives of a million people in rural India in the next 5-6 years. The key to the execution of this vision for their foundation has been carried ahead by the strong team of employees.

As of 2017, the attrition rate of the foundation stood at 38.8 per cent, which has now been brought down to 12.9 per cent as of March 2020. A survey conducted among all the resigned employees revealed that the major reason for the high attrition rate was the lack of opportunities for the employees to be a part of the unique 360-degree development model that the foundation is known for.

This indicated that they wanted to work in multiple verticals of the foundation, namely- Education, Water & Sanitation, Health & Nutrition and Economic Development and not just be restricted to the vertical and job role they were hired into. The problem was identified and was included in the management's 360-degree approach to work.

From April'20 till Mid Aug'20 - over 4,000 hours of online training has been conducted for over 1997 participants on well-being, skill enhancement and programmatic knowledge building for employees. Online employee engagement activities and mental health care sessions are also conducted on a regular basis.

"We are thrilled to have the Swades Foundation certified as a Great Place to Work. Upskilling of our employees within the organisation has been and will continue to be one of our key focus areas to encourage their growth and potential. We are grateful to have a strong team who are aligned with the broader vision of the foundation." said Ronnie Screwvala, Founder and MD, Swades Foundation,

Further, Rahul Katariya, HR Director, Swades Foundation commented, "An imperative to ensure employee satisfaction is providing an environment of transparency where the employees can approach the leadership and discuss growth and learning opportunities."

Before the onset of Covid-19, the founders and entire leadership team carried out weekly visits to Raigad to interact with the on-field team and sort out any concerns they may have. These interactions are now conducted without failover video conferences due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Swades Foundation is also a partner in the Chief Minister's Village Social Transformation Foundation and has MoUs with the Department of School Education and Sports and the Department of Public Health, Govt. of Maharashtra.

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