23 March 2017 12:00 am
Vogue Jewellers held its Employee Recognition Awards 2016 ceremony at a grand event at Taj Samudra Hotel.
The HR team, with the guidance and support from the management, put together an event of grandeur laced with culture and colour. This event brought together the large Vogue family spread across Colombo, Kandy, Kurunegala, Nugegoda and Negombo. The prime objective of this distinguished event was to recognize the long-standing service of Vogue employees.
The proceedings began with religious observances followed by singing the National Anthem and honouring the founding Chairman the late Sarath Hemachandra and those deceased members of Vogue. This sequence of rituals is done not only at special events but also on working days as well and was exemplary of Vogue as a leader in the industry.
Madara Hemachandra then very warmly welcomed the gathering with a candid speech. Soon afterwards, Vogue Jewellers Managing Director Anura Hemachandra addressed the gathering. It was both very interesting and enlightening at the same time.
During his speech, Hemachandra shared some vintage photographs of the very first Vogue Employee Recognition held at the same hotel 23 long years ago. He went on to elaborate on the specialization of some the legendary Vogue craftsmen of yesteryears. It illustrated the manner in which Vogue is committed to value and reward its team members who have contributed to the progress of Vogue over the years.
Hemachandra related the fascinating story of how the Vogue logo, the ‘Vogue Lady’ was born. It was indeed intriguing to learn that she was born through the pencil of the late founder Chairman Sarath Hemachandra.
This followed Dhammika Kalapuge, one of Sri Lanka’s leading customer service and inspirational trainers, who conducts annual training programmes for team Vogue, delivering a truly motivating keynote speech.
Subsequent to these, the presentation of the awards began with the segment of five-year recognition being recognized first. The proceedings then moved on to recognizing a few members who have contributed towards the progress of Vogue in a special way. This was followed by the 10-year service recognition awards segment and 15-year service recognition award segment, respectively.
CEO Udara Karunatillake and COO Nandana Herath were exclusively recognized for the special leadership skills with which they spear headed operations during their stints spanning over 15 years. Having awarded those who have served for 20 and 25 years, amidst a standing ovation, two very special awards went out to recognise the loyalty of Kapila Senevirathna and Gnanapala Wijethunga, who had faithfully served Vogue for 25 and 36 years, respectively.
Many members of team Vogue, representing the design team, production team, service team and general staff went down memory lane, sharing interesting anecdotes and unique examples, which conveyed the caring generosity of the management. The speeches were indeed very motivating for the members of the Vogue family. The considerably high rate of 40 percent employee retention at Vogue is certainly remarkable for any organisation.
The awards were given away by Director Samantha Hemachandra, Director Dr. Pujith Hemachandra, Managing Director Anura Hemachandra and Chairperson Chandra Hemachandra.
Additionally, the special acknowledgement of the relentless contribution present Chairperson Chandra Hemachandra has made over 55-long years from the very inception of Vogue, received a standing ovation.
Adding a little culture and colour to the event were Channa & Upuli Dance Troupe and Jananath Warakagoda on his drums. All in all, it was a memorable day that made the employees feel appreciated and motivated. They had the rare opportunity of meeting the entire staff, rejoice the special recognitions, be photographed with the management and capture more casual snap shots with their great colleagues and wrap it all up with a fellowship lunch. It was indeed refreshing to see how the management took time to appreciate the staff with such glamour.