Launching its inaugural study “Best Companies to Work for 2013 – Sri Lanka”, the “Global Great Places to Work” initiative has bestowed elite status to three companies of the LOLC Group, in the first ever survey conducted in Sri Lanka during the year 2012. Among the top companies felicitated, Lanka ORIX Finance PLC (LOFC), LOLC Micro Credit Ltd (LOMC) and Commercial Leasing & Finance PLC (CLC) of the LOLC Group, emerged within the Top 1-5 rank of the Top 15.

The “Great Places to Work” is a global initiative which originated from the USA. This global study has been reaching more than 40 countries since 1980 to felicitate truly inspiring companies and thousands of employees worldwide. Their 2013 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work for includes Google amongst many others.

For their inaugural case study in Sri Lanka, the GPW institute joined hands with over 5,000 employees from a number of organizations in the banking and financial services sector including multinationals, public listed companies and the like. The survey was conducted in collaboration with Lanka Monthly Digest (LMD) and in partnership with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and was independently supervised by the office of Great Place to Work Institute – Sri Lanka. The evaluation and scoring process has been based on the responses given by employees for pre-defined criteria such as credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie.

Two of the winning LOLC companies surpassed the “Global Benchmark Rank” of 82 (the average score given for the best companies to work in the world), whilst the third nearly reached this rank. This was deemed an exceptional achievement for the LOLC Group, given that LOFC, LOMC & CLC were the only LOLC Group Companies to take part in, competing in par with other notable and leading brands in Sri Lanka.

An average percentage of over 95% employees have confirmed that LOFC, LOMC & CLC were undeniably Great Places to Work for, which according to the GPW officials was an impressive highlight and achievement for the entire Group.

Commenting, Mr. Kapila Jayawardena, Group Managing Director/CEO of LOLC said, “This is a moment of great pride for all of us at the LOLC Group. We attribute this accolade to the passion and commitment of our employees. It is their fervent efforts that have placed three of our best performing companies amongst the top rungs of Sri Lanka’s Best Companies to Work for. ”

Speaking further he said, “Our fundamental business philosophy is centered on enhancing the human resource potential of our people by providing them the right conditions and opportunities to excel at their best. They have been able to perform with single minded focus to place their companies on top as Great Places to Work, to say the least in their own words. I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to all our employees as this is a true testimony of their success.”

In her congratulatory note to the winning LOLC Group Companies, Ms. Kshanika Ratnayaka, Chief Executive Officer of Great Places to Work Institute of Sri Lanka said, “This is indeed an exceptional achievement, and one that truly epitomizes your group tag line Imagine the Possibilities. We, at “Great Place to Work”, look forward to working with many more of the LOLC Group Companies in the course of our journey to make Sri Lanka – a great place to work.”