PetSafe Brand parent company, Radio Systems PetSafe Europe Ltd has been crowned the Best Workplace in Ireland 2019 by Great Place to Work Ireland for a second year running.
The accolade comes on the back of the business achieving third place in the Great Place to Work Best Workplace in Europe awards last year.
RSPEL scored particularly highly for its ‘social, friendly and welcoming atmosphere’ (98%), ‘professional development and showing appreciation’ (97%) and its ‘outstanding camaraderie’ (95%). The company also achieved highly in its overall score - which measures culture, trust and employee experience - achieving 92%, far exceeding 70%, the minimum to achieve certification.
RSPEL specialises in innovative companion pet and sport and hunting products, offering comprehensive pet training, health and wellness, waste management and play product solutions through its leading PetSafe® Brand, and superior training and tracking products for professional trainers and hunters via its global SportDOG Brand.
The RSPEL business has gone from strength to strength since it opened in Dundalk in 2012. Headcount has risen steadily, increasing by 20 per cent in the last year alone. Since the 2018 awards, RSPEL has introduced further workplace initiatives to keep the team motivated and happy. These include the launch of ‘Extreme Thinking’, a taskforce that focuses on ways to further improve key elements of the business such as Communication and Performance Recognition.
New initiatives resulting from ‘Extreme Thinking’ include ‘Get Some Balls’, where employees give marbles to teammates as a thank you or compliment; the teammate with the most marbles at month end receives special recognition. Another taskforce introduction has been ‘Solution Box’, an anonymous feedback box where employees suggest a solution to the problem they are raising.
RSPEL is a forward-thinking business and has adopted a flexible working culture, offering both flexi-time and working from home. On top of these benefits, RSPEL is pet-centric, offering perks to ensure employees have great relationships with their pet. These include being allowed to bring dogs into the office, eight hours’ ‘paw- rental’ leave to help new pets settle and three days’ paid pet bereavement leave. RSPEL also helps to cover the cost of pet care, including microchipping, insurance and health check-ups.
David Verdon, General Manager at RSPEL said: “Being recognised as Ireland’s best workplace for a second year running is absolutely fantastic and the entire team is thrilled. We’ve worked really hard to create an outstanding culture where employees go to work feeling motivated and engaged and this will continue to be our focus for the year to come. Achieving this accolade has been a real team effort so I extend my thanks to every one of our employees; we couldn’t have done it without them.”
2019 marks the seventeenth year of Great Place to Work® Ireland recognising great workplaces with the publication of its Best Workplaces in Ireland lists, and the number of workplaces who are realising the benefits of empowering their employees to flourish in a supportive high-trust culture continues to increase.
John Ryan, CEO of Great Place to Work® Ireland said: “Securing a place on the list of Best Workplaces in Ireland is a greater achievement than ever before. These organisations have opened up to us, giving us a deep understanding of the culture that drives their performance. Even though we’re dealing with an unprecedented level of economic and political uncertainty, these Irish organisations are ready to deal with the challenges: they have built agility and plasticity into the core of their workplaces, developing the high levels of trust that are critical for adaptability.”
The Best Workplace accolade was presented to the RSPEL team at the Great Place to Work Best Workplaces in Ireland awards in Dublin on 27th February 2019.
