PetSafe Parent Brand, Radio Systems PetSafe Europe Ltd, Named a Best Place to Work

Listen to this article

PetSafe Brand parent company, Radio Systems PetSafe Europe Ltd (RSPEL), has been crowned Best Workplace in Ireland 2018 by Great Place to Work Ireland, beating the 2nd place ranking it achieved in last year’s awards. The accolade comes on the back of the business being recognized by Great Place to Work as 9th Best Workplace in Europe last year.

In the employee survey assessment, RSPEL achieved top marks, with 100 percent of staff declaring the company a Great Place to Work, a 3 percent increase on last year’s score. The company also achieved highly in its overall score—which measures culture, trust and employee experience—achieving 98 percent, far exceeding 70 percent, the minimum to achieve certification.

Specializing in innovative companion pet and sport and hunting products, RSPEL offers comprehensive pet training, health and wellness, waste management and play product solutions through its PetSafe Brand and training and tracking products for professional trainers and hunters via its global SportDOG Brand.

Business has flourished for RSPEL since it first opened in Dundalk in 2012, growing by 25 percent over the last three years, and headcount has risen steadily by 50 percent. Since last year’s Great Place to Work recognition, RSPEL has built on its projects to foster great working practices and inspire and motivate its team. The company has introduced new programs such as ‘Creative Thinking’ and ‘Office Improvement’ and established a bi-annual ‘Fantastic Five’ award initiative. Categories include ‘Einstein Idea’ which recognizes great creativity and ‘Iron Man/Woman’ which offers those with 12 months’ full attendance an extra three days of annual leave.

In the last year, RSPEL has also introduced policies to help encourage better work/life balance, offering employees both flexi-time and working from home. On top of more traditional perks, as a pet-centric business RSPEL, also offers 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.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have been given the accolade of Ireland’s best workplace by such a prestigious organization, it’s a great achievement for our business,” said David Verdon, general manager at RSPEL. “Over the last year we’ve been focused on gaining a better understanding of our customers’ needs, improving teamwork and enhancing employee wellness and it’s fantastic to have this work noticed. Every team member has helped in this achievement, so I take my hat off to each and every one of them. We are now focused on continuing to improve the business and to positively impact on the lives of our customers and their pets.”

This year marks the 16th year of Great Place to Work Ireland recognizing great workplaces with the publication of its Best Workplaces in Ireland lists, and the number of workplaces who are realizing the benefits of empowering their employees to flourish in a supportive high-trust culture continues to increase.

“It’s been a mixed year for Irish workplaces who have seen good trading growth is tempered by ongoing uncertainty over the impact Brexit will have. Infrastructure challenges are making planning for expansion difficult, and we’re on the threshold of full employment in our cities which creates a real headache for organizations who are trying to attract and retain top talent,” said John Ryan, CEO of Great Place to Work Ireland. “The organizations on this year’s list know that beyond a certain point, employees aren’t going to be tempted by a slightly more generous financial package: they want an environment where they feel psychologically safe, encouraged to grow, provided with opportunities to develop, and empowered to do their best work. Rather than simply throwing money at their staff, Irish workplaces should take advantage of reward and recognition opportunities as a chance to develop their employer brand; enhancing and amplifying their unique culture.”

The Best Workplace accolade was presented to the RSPEL team at the Great Place to Work Best Workplaces in Ireland awards in Dublin on February 21.