Arinma Holdings wins Diversity Impact Award at Employer Brand Awards

Minister of Science, Technology and Research Sujeewa Senasinghe awarding the Diversity Impact Award to Group HR Manager Lydia Mascarenhas and HR Executive Lakshini 

Bambaradeniya of Arinma Holdings  

Arinma Holdings has won the Diversity impact Award for its exceptional prowess in employ-ment diversity throughout the group of companies. The 14th Employer Brand Awards was held at the Taj Samudra Colombo on 17 July.

The Sri Lanka Employer Brand Awards are aimed at recognising organisations across the island that have demonstrated excellence in building a corporate brand to become an employer of choice. This award, recognises Arinma Holdings as a diverse work environment, through the im-plementation of best practices, policies and strategic human resource management.

Arinma Holdings is a leading conglomerate in water stewardship and building climate-resilient infrastructure in Sri Lanka, specialising in planning, detailed designing, contract management and construction supervision. Working on infrastructure projects within the public and private sectors, Arinma Holdings, manages a portfolio of over 225 projects across multiple sectors, cultivating strong symbiotic partnerships with many international corporates including leading multilateral financial institutions, development agencies and conglomerates with global presence. 

Arinma Holdings Group HR Manager Lydia Mascarenhas commented: “Nearly a decade since its incorporation in 2008, the company has now grown to a total workforce of approximately 1,000 employees [starting from just eight initially] and has strategically diversified its core business. It is an honour to have been presented with this prestigious award. Our diverse work environment poses both opportunities and challenges from a Human Resources perspective. With the rapid rate in which the company continues to grow it is important for us to prepare our employees for change and to develop a mindset that is welcoming.  We needed to devise a strategy for manag-ing diversity, inclusiveness and one which creates a healthy environment where every employee feels valued and appreciated. Arinma will continue to forge a path, innovating ways and means of managing diversity, inclusiveness and maintaining a healthy corporate culture in which all em-ployees feel valued.”

Comprising four major subsidiaries – Arinma Investments Ltd., Ceywater Consultants Ltd., Avonsmart Engineering Ltd. and Squire Mech Engineering Ltd. – Arinma Holdings has over-come the challenges associated with acquisitions and immediate growth in employee ratios. Through strategic HR practices and long-term company policies, Arinma has successfully assimi-lated several diversified groups in terms of nationality, gender, demography, age, vocation and talent.

The Arinma group has over 40 project locations in Sri Lanka, employing staff from the ages of 18-82 with approximately 1% of employees categorised as expatriate members, both male and female. The senior management of the Arinma Group also represents diversity in both gender and ethnicity, with 30% of senior management represented by women, higher than the usual 10%.