TEXT: Established in 1979, Midas Safety is the world’s largest private label manufacturer and leading exporter of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Industrial Clothing with presence in 13 countries. Midas Safety has been committed to excellence in shielding workers globally through solutions in Safety and Hand Protection by offering 16,000 unique products in over 80 countries to over 120 renowned customer brands.
Like many successful business enterprises, the beginnings were humble, and the organizational standing today has been built over many years of effort and investments. Undoubtedly the most important investments that have yielded exponential returns are the ones made in human capital. The passion, expertise and excellence that one finds in Midas Safety products are not just the result of the company’s investment in manufacturing plants and machines. The employees, whom the organization is proud of, are truly the ones who have driven the company’s success across products and customers.
The landscape, operating conditions and dynamics that confront businesses, change rapidly. Similarly business, customer and competitor dynamics also continue to evolve. Increasingly disruptive technologies and events are impacting companies more rapidly than in the past and a business can find itself struggling just in a matter of a few months. A small miss in the notification of regulatory changes, compliance or testing standard can result not only in huge claims, or blocked inventories worth millions, but can have even more severe reputational implications that are more difficult to address.
Investments in new machines no matter how high the return-on-investment (ROI), depreciate and shed value in the long run; investments in people help them evolve and return such investments many times over. An intelligent workforce upskills itself; all it needs is a nurturing environment, a culture which supports their performance, development and growth opportunities. Such intangibles might not be easy to quantify, need to be planned carefully and built through continuous efforts over a long period of time.
Midas Safety believes in providing employees a work environment that allows them to learn, apply themselves and operate without the fear of failure. The company has developed a culture of respect in which irrespective of where employees operate in the hierarchy, they are treated with dignity. Respect starts off right at the bottom of the organizational pyramid which houses a large population of workers, operators and supervisors.
Employees aspire to work for and be associated with organizations who they know will earnestly care for their safety and development. The organization’s health, safety and environmental programs focus on making the workplace safer and secure for employees and decreasing the impact our operations have on the environment and natural resources. Midas Safety focuses on minimizing injuries which is reflected in low injury rates and millions of safe-man hours throughout the past years. Numerous collaborations with UNDP, ILO, Hunar Foundation, Aman Tech and ongoing work on workers’ skill development reflect the company’s contribution and commitment to improve livelihood.
The employees also find Midas Safety contributing to the societies and communities from which they come. The organization’s CSR initiatives target to make the world a better place for future generations and to discover new avenues to support those in need all around the world. Midas Safety contributes over $1 million annually towards its CSR strategy, such as blood donation drives, employment skilled programs for underprivileged women, high quality educational online applications for children, and upgrading schools. On the other hand, Midas Safety’s sustainability program comprehensively decreases energy consumption and waste generation. The company actively works towards replacing raw materials with higher impact on the environment or on the people who use them; and it is the organization’s employees who come forward to driving such environmental initiatives which then qualify for local and international certifications from reputed certifying bodies.
A culture cannot be purchased or imported. It must be created painstakingly and is only possible when the leadership in the organization demonstrates, actively supports and rewards positive behaviors that form the backbone of a strong conducive culture. All of this put together encourages employees to freely communicate with colleagues and managers, to bring out the best in them and their performance. In return, employees demonstrate higher ownership of their work; and it is this that helps the company evolve, in meeting challenges posed by changing dynamics and disruptive external forces and events.
The company is progressively working to implement its strategic plan that will result in more employment opportunities, higher returns to National Exchequer, extending contribution to economy and society, and increasing Pakistan’s global presence. But more importantly, the organization’s people strategy is focused on further strengthening the culture which the company and employees are so proud of.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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