hSenid Biz Signs MOU with Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce - University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Posted On Tuesday 6 September 2011 at at 01:00 by Sri Lankan Human Resources Portal
In an effort to make Human Resource Information
Systems more accessible to the student population of Sri Lanka, hSenid Biz a
leading global HR solutions provider signed a Memorandum of Understanding with
the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and donated their award winning HR
information system, HRM Enterprise to the university. HRM Enterprise is a
complete HR solution which covers a wide spectrum of contemporary HR
needs.
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From left: Representing the University of Sri
Jayewardenepura, Senior Lecturer Dr. Aruna Shantha, Dean of Faculty of
Management Studies and Commerce Prof. Sampath Amaratunga and Vice Chancellor
Dr. N.L.A Karunaratne, Representing hSenid Biz Director/General Manager Mr.
Sampath Jayasundara and Product Manager Mr. Asitha Goonewardena
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Speaking at the occasion Vice Chancellor Dr.
N.L.A. Karunaratna stated that “Sri Lanka needs to foster a human resource
management approach of its own to mobilise the vastly talented human capital
productively. We welcome the effort of hSenid Biz to bring cutting edge HR
software to the university” and went on to say “The real benefactor of this
initiative will be the nation as it will help develop better equipped graduates
from our University”
The MOU signed between hSenid Biz and the
University of Sri Jayewardenepura will enable students to gain hands-on
experience with a comprehensive Human Resource Information System that covers
all areas of Human Resource Management and enable them to discover how their
theoretical knowledge can be applied in a practical environment.
“hSenid Biz as a home grown true multinational
company, serving a customer base of over 650 in 24 countries, is always looking
for opportunities to make Sri Lankans more competitive in the global sphere. We
are delighted to work with the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and wish to
establish a long standing relationship in order to positively contribute to the
Sri Lankan education system” stated Mr. Sampath Jayasundara, Director/General
Manager of hSenid Biz.
“The involvement of the private sector in the
development of Sri Lanka’s undergraduates is the way forward and we encourage
more organisations to follow the example of hSenid Biz in assisting Sri Lanka’s
universities to produce highly employable and capable graduates” said the Dean
of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce- Prof. Sampath Amaratunge.
Also speaking at the signing senior lecturer Dr. Aruna Shantha mentioned
“Learning with a good blend of theoretical knowledge and practical experience
for University students is what will add real value to them and we are
extremely pleased that hSenid Biz has taken this step towards helping us give
our students a meaningful learning experience.”
Also present at the MOU signing were
representatives from the panel of lectures of the Management faculty and the
Product Manager of hSenid Biz Mr. Asitha Goonewardena.
A trend setting workshop - Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Posted On Friday 15 July 2011 at at 01:44 by Sri Lankan Human Resources Portal
“‘Sexual harassment in the workplace’ is an untapped but essential area to be covered specially in the Asian part of the world”, says the founder of Epitom Consulting Mr. T. Ragulan.
Ragulan, also notifies that this sensitive issue will be taken up by Dr. Arosha S. Adikaram, a senior lecturer in Human Resources Management at the Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Colombo on 27th of July 2011 at Galle Face Hotel from 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm.
Dr. Adikaram has continuously and actively contributed to the cause of eliminating sexual harassment from workplaces during the past 10 years through numerous research, workshops and awareness programs, as well as through local and international publications on the subject.One of her papers, ‘Sexual harassment among women in the banking sector of Sri Lanka’ received the ‘Best Paper Award’ at the International Conference on Business and Information (BAI) held in Singapore in 2006.
Dr. Adikaram was also honored as one of the ‘Ten Outstanding Young Persons’ (TOYP) of the year 2010 for her academic accomplishment and leadership by Junior Chamber International (JCI) Sri Lanka, and was awarded the ‘Pride of HR Profession’ award, by the World HRD Congress in India, for her contribution to the field of human resources management.
Dr. Adikaram has a number of publications to her credit, including the books titled ‘Is Sexual Harassment a Problem in Sri Lankan Workplaces’ (publishers: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Sri Lanka Foundation) and ‘Labor Law and Relations: a Human Resource Management Approach’ (publisher: Stamford Lake Publications).
Dr. Adikaram, pointing out the importance of raising awareness about the issue of sexual harassment at workplaces in the Sri Lankan working community says that more than 50% of working women and about 7% of working men are subject to sexual harassment at workplace around the world. She further says that “Having been involved in research and teaching on ‘sexual harassment at workplaces’ for the last decade, I have been appalled to realize how grave and prevalent this phenomenon is among Sri Lankan working females, and how almost all of these instances go unaddressed and unnoted. Unlike many other countries around the world, in Sri Lanka the issue of sexual harassment is not taken seriously, and not addressed properly. It is not even considered by many as a topic worthy of discussion”.
“Unless companies realize the importance of eradicating sexual harassment from workplaces and also deal with instances of sexual harassment effectively, there is very little the victims can do. The first step in combating sexual harassment and avoiding the many negative consequences of sexual harassment, is by raising awareness about the issue among the working community and encouraging companies to develop effective policies and procedures to deal with the issue” Dr Adikaram adds.
Epitom Consulting, a promising business consultancy firm which is striving to serve the knowledge base of Sri Lanka has initiated to talk openly about this untouched and sensitive topic. This aspect of work life plays hidden but massive role in deciding the performance of the employees, an organization’s reputation, a country’s image about its corporate culture. The workshop is scheduled to take place on 27th of July 2011 at Galle Face Hotel from 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm.
Ragulan ensures that the workshop would help the participants to identify what sexual harassment at workplace means, explain the importance of eradicating sexual harassment from workplaces, identify what organizations should do in preventing and handling sexual harassment instances, and identify what victims of sexual harassment should do in dealing with their experiences.
For further details http://www.epitom.org/workshops-2/july-programme/
Article from http://www.AdaDerana.lk
Workshop on How to Conduct a Disciplinary Inquiry......
Posted On Monday 4 July 2011 at at 23:24 by Sri Lankan Human Resources Portal
Maliban employees recognized for their commitment
Posted On Sunday 3 July 2011 at at 13:32 by Sri Lankan Human Resources Portal
Maliban Biscuit Manufactories (Pvt) Ltd recently held an event at House of Maliban premises the Ratmalana in order to recognize the value and appreciate the services of their staff. This was a show of gratitude by the management towards the employees for their continued commitment and dedication, one of the many factors that enabled the company to win the National Quality Award. The employees were given the opportunity to socialize, relax and enjoy the lineup of entertainment that was organized on their behalf.
The programme for the day consisted of several speeches, including a speech by A. G. R. Samaraweera, Chairman of Maliban Group, cultural events to entertain the employees and the launch of a Maliban Song, which was composed recently. Performances during the day were by the Police Cultural Group, students of the Aesthetics Faculty of the Colombo University, renowned local musician, Victor Rathnayake and his sons Jayantha and Dilum Rathnayake. Incidentally, the Maliban song, which was sung at the event, was composed by Geethanath Kudaligama and performed by Victor Rathnayake. The event also saw employees being presented with tokens of appreciation by the chairman of Maliban. About 1,525 employees attended the occasion.
Among them was Mrs. A. K. C Ranaweera, who said that the management of the company has always extended the highest level of support to the employees by providing them with the knowledge required to carry out their duties methodically.
She added that she was touched by the event that had been organized especially for them and wanted to thank the Chairman of Maliban for extending his assistance at every possible occasion. K. H. Jagath said that there is a link between the Chairman of Maliban and every employee, which is the secret of the company's success. He stressed that it is the employees' love for their work that has sustained the company and as a result Maliban was able to win the National Quality Award.
Human Resources play a vital role in achieving corporate objectives. Therefore it is a major responsibility and a requirement to ensure the wellbeing of employees in the organization. With Maliban Biscuit Manufactories (Pvt) Ltd receiving the National Quality Award for the second time the focus falls upon employees who have contributed towards this accomplishment.
"There are 1525 employees from different categories who contributed towards attaining the National Quality Award and at the outset I take this opportunity to express my pleasure and heartfelt thanks for their commitment and cooperation," said Mr Bandula Perera, Group General Manager - HR/Admin, Maliban. He added, "I am very much delighted to announce that the employees' contribution towards achieving the National Quality Award has been recognized by the Chairman and Board of Directors".
Maliban's employee base includes staff members, who are well experienced in their field of work, as well as newcomers. The company believes the wealth of experienced employees provides the motivation for the new employees to perform their duties at the required standards and contribute towards the progress of Maliban.
Maliban's employee base includes staff members, who are well experienced in their field of work, as well as newcomers. The company believes the wealth of experienced employees provides the motivation for the new employees to perform their duties at the required standards and contribute towards the progress of Maliban.
Maliban is known to be synonymous with quality and the company considers "Quality as it's religion" and this has been communicated to each an every member of the company who has contributed to maintaining the standard of work.
The employees are the driving force of the company. Therefore, managing and developing human resources is a vital aspect of Maliban. With that focus the company's human resources department frequently directs the employees to improve their knowledge and skills. Thus, the Chairman and the Board of Directors of Maliban duly recognize the employees' contribution towards the company's growth and believe that the National Quality Award was made possible with their support and contribution.
Article from http://sundaytimes.lk
The Top 7 Employee Incentive Gifts Categories
Posted On Friday 1 July 2011 at at 23:35 by Sri Lankan Human Resources Portal
Many companies mistakenly assume that pay and benefits will improve business results. Unfortunately this is not the case because comparable pay and benefits are typically treated by employees as “entitlements”. Since most employees view them as such it is difficult, if not impossible, to increase business performance using pay and benefits. It takes a more focused effort to provide that little something extra to get employees to stretch their performance.In order to reach a higher level of employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity, it is best to find methods to say “thank you” in special ways. That’s where employee incentives come in.
There a number of different incentive plans to choose from and before designing your incentive program, you should seek input from you workforce about what things they value most. In some plans rewards are totally individually based and others have a team perspective. Others have a combination of both reward types.
Every company culture is a little different but we have found the following 7 employee incentive gifts categories to be the most prevalent across many industries.
1. Gift certificates/gift cards
2. Electronic items
a. Cameras and accessories
b. Computers, software, and accessories
c. Home entertainment
d. Telephone related including cell phones
3. Trophies and Plaques
4. Watches and Clocks
5. Apparel including accessories
6. Food and beverage
7. Home/Garden/Garage and accessories
Although it is not exclusive, this list should give you some ideas about possible employee incentive gifts. There are lots of third-party incentive companies that can assist you in designing and administrating an incentive program. Don’t worry, there are plans to fit every size company budget.
If you want to increase employee productivity, increase retention, and motivate your employees to reach the next level, then implementing a company incentive program is a great first step.
Article from : http://employeerecognitionideas.net
Article from : http://employeerecognitionideas.net
Hayleys HR Head presented Lifetime Gold Award for contribution to profession
Posted On at at 00:20 by Sri Lankan Human Resources Portal
Head of Group Human Resources of the Hayleys Group Sunil Dissanayake has been honoured with a Lifetime Gold award for his contribution to the Human Resources (HR) profession.
The award was presented by the Institute of Personnel Management (IPM) at the National HR Excellence Awards 2011 on Tuesday 28 June 2011 at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo.
Over two decades of Dissanayake’s illustrious professional life have been in the field of human resources development and management, and have encompassed training, advisory, consultancy and senior management roles in leading companies in Sri Lanka and overseas.
A Graduate in Hotel Management and an Honorary Member of the Institute of Personnel Management, Dissanayake who hails from Baddegama in the Galle District, joined the Hayleys Group in July 2007 and was appointed to the Group Management Committee in the same month. He is also a non Executive Director of Hotel Services (Ceylon) PLC, the owning company of the Ceylon Continental Hotel and Director of Hayleys Group Services (Pvt) Ltd.
Prior to joining Hayleys, he held several senior management positions in large private sector entities in Sri Lanka and overseas in human resources management and in hotel management. Over the past 20 years, Dissanayake has served as Head of HR (Gulf) for Citibank NA (based in UAE), Director of Human Resources at Carson Cumberbatch, Head of HR at SriLankan Airlines and Vice President HR and Learning & Development at HSBC Global Resourcing.
Among the many achievements to his credit are the establishment of Group HR Divisions for Hayleys and Carson Cumberbatch; setting up and operating a Learning & Development Department for Citibank (Gulf), development and implementation of a successful voluntary retirement scheme which included offering retraining opportunities for over 1,000 employees of SriLankan Airlines in the aftermath of the terror attack of 2001 and facilitating optional employment in other organisations; facilitating the introduction of a pioneering policy against sexual harassment at the workplace at the national carrier in 2005 and the introduction of ‘toast mastering’ at SriLankan Airlines in 2001. Under Dissanayake’s leadership, SriLankan became the Overall Runner-up at the first National HR Awards.
He also pioneered the launch of the ‘HR Ball’ for the HR community in Sri Lanka in 2002. The event is now held on an annual basis.
Dissanayake has also been called upon to accept many significant honorary and advisory positions in the sphere of HR and in the hotel industry. He has been President of the Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association and a Member of the Hotel Classification Committee of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority.
He is at present a member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Steering Committee for Human Resources and Education and is also a Steering Committee Member of the Lanka Business Coalition (LBCH) for the prevention of AIDS.
12 Ways to Keep Your Employees Happy Without Raising Wages
Posted On Wednesday 29 June 2011 at at 21:34 by Sri Lankan Human Resources Portal
An article from : http://www.bschool.com
The old adage, “a happy employee is a productive employee” has been proven to be true time and time again. Looking at many of the most successful companies today, many of them have a wide variety of ways they keep there employees happy and working. While it’s true that raising wages will always make employees happy, there are several other things you can do to ensure their happiness. These things will also probably be significantly cheaper than an across-the-board wage hike.
1. Flexible Hours
All businesses are different, and some are much easier to allow flexible scheduling than others. However, simply making any effort can have positive results. Employees have lives outside the workplace, and sometimes issues with children come up, family emergencies, or simply needing a nice vacation. Allowing employees to have some flexibility is a great way to keep them happy. If a employee asks to leave work early to pick up their child from school, letting them go, and having them make up the time later (if you so desire) is much more effective in terms of employee happiness.2. Casual Fridays and Other Themes
Businesses have many different kinds of dress codes. Some are strict, and business formal, while others lean towards business casual. No employee likes wearing a suit and tie every day, so allowing employees specific days of the week to “dress down,” is a great way to keep them happy. Making the dress-down day theme oriented can also produce great results (usually, something more inventive than a simple Hawaiian shirt day will have better results). Potential ideas include, sports teams, colleges, wear your favorite sweater, and so on.
3. Coffee and Tea for Everyone
It’s no secret that a little caffeine can do wonders in terms of motivating an employee. It’s often difficult to complete tasks if you are run-down, or otherwise simply very tired. Giving employees a high quality coffee-machine, with a variety of options (including tea, for those who don’t like coffee), is a wonderful decision. In terms of cost, it won’t be as much as raising wages, but it will certainly help motivate some employees to keep working away. There will always be those who disagree, but in my experience, half of the office would be asleep before lunchtime without some coffee or tea.
4. Family Events
Employees like to take their families to work-related events. It’s a great way for them to build new relationships, and just have a good time outside of the traditional workplace. “Family Days,” as they are sometimes called, can be tremendous for employee motivation. Serving good food, maybe some beer, having fun games, and generally making a great experience at a family event is fantastic from an employee-motivational standpoint.
5. Company-wide Competitions
Competition is the mother of productivity. If you can come up with a great competition, with a great reward, you just might find that your employees really get into it. It depends on your industry, but one example would be a sales competition for a sales company. Other competitions can involve things outside of the work place, such as fitness competitions.
6. Child Care Facilities
Sometimes things happen, and employees will need to bring their children to work. If you don’t have anything that could be used as a childcare facility, you risk unhappy employees who will be forced to jump through hoops in order to take care of their kids in difficult situations. Google allows their employees to, in an emergency, bring their kids into work, and Google has nice toys (such as legos) for kids to entertain themselves. If you don’t provide emergency child care for employees, then they may have to start their own daycare business, and that wouldn’t make anybody happy (unless you really like kids).
7. Nice Office Supplies
This may seem funny, but consider it. I don’t know how many employees have complained over the years about a lack of office supplies, but it’s a large number. Employees need supplies to do their work. So having nice post-its, pens, and paper readily available is a must if you’re going to be keeping your employees smiling and working.
8. Parties
Who doesn’t love a good party? In my experience, some of the happiest employees are those who are celebrating a coworker’s birthday and eating some cake. If you are diligent and get everyone in the workplace’s birthdays written down, then you might just see happier employees. The gesture will look great on you as a boss, and it will keep employees being social and happy. Remember to change the cakes though, people like variety. Also, don’t ever cancel the office Christmas Party, it’s the most exciting one of the year.
9. Friendly IT personnel
IT is the bane of the existence of many employees in companies all over the world. There’s nothing more angering and frustrating then coming into work, only to find that your computer is malfunctioning which prevents you from doing your work. Having a friendly, well-staffed, IT department can do wonders for employee happiness. IT people should want to help employees. In fact, at a company like Google, they provide their employees with an opportunity to play video games while they wait for their computer to be serviced. Having this won’t just improve employee happiness; it will also probably improve productivity, as there will be less down time due to computer issues.
10. Delicious Food
If there’s one thing workers really care about, it’s food. Recently, my friends’ work place changed their kitchen manager. The food now apparently “sucks,” which has lead to my friend being unhappy, as well as many of his coworkers. How can employees work hard and be happy if they have empty stomachs, or view the cafeteria food as awful? If the food is delicious and healthy, then employees will be much more well fed and therefore happier. Once again, at Google, employees have access to more food than anyone would ever need. Their employees are ecstatic when it comes to their work, and I think it has a great deal to do with how full their bellies are at the end of the day.
11. Decorations and Windows
There’s nothing more depressing than a dark office with very little windows and seemingly endless rows of cubicles. Employees don’t want to feel as if they are working in a sweatshop. Adding color to the workspace, paintings, and making sure that it is well lit with ample windows can do wonders in terms of employee morale. You don’t have to do a full-scale remodeling, but investing in some artwork and color for your office can have a tremendously positive affect.
12. Be Open to Suggestions
If there’s one thing that people like to do, it’s voice their opinion. Being open to suggestions is one of the simplest and most-effective ways to keep employees happy. If employees feel that their opinion is valued, and if they see some of their suggestions implemented, then they will be much happier. The improvements could also turn out to be really great for your business. After all, two heads are better than one, so if you have all your employees thinking and making suggestions for improvements, then that’s a very positive sign.
Businesses should always be concerned with how happy their employees are. A happy employee will work harder, be more social, and will simply be better for the business than an unhappy employee would be. While raising wages is the quick and easy fix, in the long term, it’s better to focus on a variety of elements to help make employees happier and enjoy their work more. If you take any of these suggestions, I’m sure at least one employee will come into work with a smile on hides or her face every day.
Making the Right Moves
Posted On Thursday 23 June 2011 at at 00:40 by Sri Lankan Human Resources Portal
[Note: This article Captured from Workforce Solutions Review Online, March 2011]
During the recession, many companies faced extraordinary organizational and productivity disruption as they devolved in a matter of months, sometimes even weeks, from a heavily staffed, money-making machine to a very lean organization where every staff position had to contribute directly to revenue production.
Organizational Optimization
The answer lies in developing greater corporate agility through the discipline of “organizational optimization.” Many organizations today use a one-off approach to handling re-orgs, attrition and workforce reductions — they perceive a sudden need and quickly take a best-guess action. With organizational optimization, however, managers regularly pinpoint gaps and weaknesses in the current organization and then identify the changes, dates and financial impacts that will lead to an optimal state. Such changes might include increasing or decreasing head count, redeploying or replacing low performers, acquiring new skill sets, and even developing new training programs to increase the competencies of the current team.
The concept of ongoing business optimization isn’t new. All organizations do some level of financial planning. Managers rely on accounting software packages to help them forecast revenue, expenses and budgets, and they have contingency plans in the event their forecasts are wrong. In organizational optimization, managers follow a similar process for workforce planning. They use software to create a plan that includes new hires, layoffs, promotions, redeployments, and salary increases, along with all the financial impacts. They also have contingency plans in the event the business reality changes.
The goal with organizational optimization is to evaluate the cost and impact of each scenario, find the optimal solution given the current business reality, establish the right time frame for implementing the plan, then adjust the plan incrementally as necessary. The “gap” between business results and staffing levels is minimized for an improved overall outcome.
For example, let’s say an organization is launching a new product, yet it is unsure whether the adoption will be swift or the market will follow a more gradual trajectory. The organization has a few options — it could staff up to support the best case scenario or wait and try to hire as demand requires. The first option could get very expensive as it forces the organization to take on significant cost that may not be offset by revenue for months. Staffing just-in-time to meet the growth would better align cost to revenue. In order to do so, however, managers need the ability to plan scenarios for different growth trajectories in advance, and need access to accurate current information to understand how they are tracking to their plan. These scenarios would include plans for redeploying employees from other departments, bringing on part-time or contract employees, hiring full-time staff, or even separating employees from other groups as this new product displaces revenue. The net result is that by optimizing the supporting organization, bottom-line results for the new product are significantly better. Unnecessary staffing cost is eliminated while the product is still supported in a proactive, high quality way.
To do this, executives must be able to track the actual impacts and costs over a defined period, continuously compare actual expenses to plan, and adjust the plan as needed. The first step in being able to do this is acquiring the right tools.
Visibility and Analysis
Today, software solutions can provide human resource managers the information they need to achieve organizational optimization. Typically, this software would include a current organization chart, a future organization chart, and a listing of potential next moves for each member of the team, as well as new skill-sets that need to be acquired. This information, presented along with date and net cost to the organization, creates the baseline for optimization. A monthly or quarterly review lets the organization realign the future chart and next moves with any changing requirements.
When looking for a software package for organizational optimization, make sure it provides visibility into key metrics and supports the required analysis for:
• Alignment between the number of employees in each function and business objectives,
• Total cost of the workforce and the impact of plan changes,
• Depth and distribution of skill-sets,
• Ratio of full-time to contingent labor,
• Scenario planning, and
• Key job positions and related succession plans.
This information and analysis is critical to gaining an understanding of the relationships that exist between HR, financial plans, and other business goals and metrics. The ability to analyze this information also accelerates the information-analysis-action cycle, shrinking a quarterly or monthly cycle time down to near zero, so managers can rapidly make decisions, iterate, observe progress toward the goal, and make course corrections along the way. Finally, this information supports improved process management, facilitating better collaboration, faster change implementation, and more accurate results tracking.
Rigorous Processes
Software is critical to organizational optimization because it is the only way to analyze multiple what-if scenarios. Without this capability, an organization cannot hope to arrive at the best configuration and action plan for coping with changing conditions. But software is also important because it brings objectivity to the process. This is especially important during times of intense change — such as concentrated business growth, rapidly changing economic conditions, and business emergencies — when actions based solely on emotion can do long-term damage.
In addition to software, organizational optimization requires discipline. The reviews must take place at regular intervals. Managers must maintain a tight link between their incremental adjustments and the current business plan. And adjustments to the workforce must be implemented as indicated in the plan.
By using technology to constantly analyze the relationship between the workforce and the business plan, and by establishing rigorous processes to ensure the workforce is regularly and optimally adjusted to meet current business goals, organizations can maximize the productivity of their workforces, position themselves to take advantage of every business opportunity, and avoid making strategic mistakes when the next crisis occurs.
IPM - National HR Conference 2011 - Have You Registered,... ?
Posted On Monday 20 June 2011 at at 21:08 by Sri Lankan Human Resources Portal
Cinnamon Grand launches Green Forum for staff
Posted On Sunday 19 June 2011 at at 10:27 by Sri Lankan Human Resources Portal
Cinnamon Grand launched Green Forum, a special environmental education and awareness initiative, for the staff last week.They keynote speaker at this forum was Professor Sarath Kotagama, leading environmental scientist, researcher, ornithologist and Professor of Environmental Science (Department of Zoology), University of Colombo.
He addressed the theme biodiversity, with emphasis on the state of the planet and the need for greener thinking and the practices in the hotel sector.
Green Forum, which will be monthly event in the hotel’s staff training calendar, is aimed at creating a forum of knowledge and advice by bringing together diverse personalities from the environmental sector.
The novel event also coincided with the month-long environment-related activities that the hotel is implementing in different stages, amongst all its stakeholders in commemoration of World Environment Day.
