My nine months at Maru

On the 27th of March, I will celebrate my nine-month anniversary at Maru, an organisation I knew of through Ged Parton, our CEO, before joining. Ged has a great reputation in the research sector for his strong, growth leadership and caring, people-management style, alongside his tenacious approach to continuous improvement and development-driving market leadership.

What became more apparent through my onboarding process, was the incredible market appetite for our leading proposition and research services Maru supports, through its behavioural science-based System 1 methodologies and proprietary technology.

I am also very proud to be a part of an organisation that prioritises employee health and well-being. When our employees feel supported and recognized, they are able to do their best work, which ultimately drives our company’s success. These are the really important features that some organisations talk about and fall short delivering.

Since I joined Maru in June 2021, our leadership team have implemented an incredible number of employee well-being initiatives and benefits:

• In July 2021 every employee (including those who had just joined) were allocated an additional three days of holiday – to support well-being and family time, after the challenges of lockdown through COVID-19 and concerns that carried.
• The business increased emotional support: launching third-party mental health sessions and disseminated supportive materials – ensuring people felt supported locally and globally.
• Our Managing Director (MD) regularly sends out chocolate goodies to all staff, to say, “Thank You”.
• Around the same time the leadership team set our united goal of being productive and efficient with our time. Meeting requirement reviews and needs were implemented to support well-being and productivity.
• In November, we all took part in activities supporting the Maru Cares program. Maru Cares is committed to advancing causes related to societal inclusion and diversity.
• In December, our MD organised a fabulous dinner and games night, which unfortunately was postponed due to COVID-19.
• In February, the leadership team undertook a review of regular in-work training and learning, ensuring staff commit time to their development. This is in addition to our benefits pack which provides staff five learning and development days each year to support our self-development and skills.
• Monday 14th of March, I arrived at my in-home desk and powered up my laptop and Outlook - in Ged’s all-staff weekly email he sends on a Friday weeknight, we were all delighted to hear about another well-being initiative – Refresh days, starting from this week. All staff will take a half day on Friday, every other week, so another 10.5 days leave to ensure a good work life balance.

These generous contributions to me and my colleagues’ well-being, development, and health, create a strong sense of purpose and commitment to the organisation. They encourage hard working, and most of all, engagement. I am fortunate to work for an organisation that cares and demonstrates care across all its people.