Advantis, the transportation and logistics arm of Hayleys PLC, has embarked on a
pioneering journey of cultural transformation by introducing the ‘Advantis DNA’.
The employee-led initiative focuses on empowering and amplifying the voice of the
Company’s multi-generational workforce, enabling them to reshape and transform the
Organisation in response to the rapidly changing world.
“As a new cohort of young, dynamic, and ambitious professionals rise to positions of real
responsibility, and new generations enter the workforce, we recognised the need for a
conscious and structured effort to support their integration into our Organisation.
Simultaneously, it became evident that we needed to adapt ourselves and our Company to
align with their aspirations and the rapidly changing nature of work,” said Ruwan
Waidyaratne, the Managing Director of the Advantis Group.
He further explained, “The Advantis DNA represents our acknowledgement of the need for
change and our commitment towards empowering our people to grow and thrive, driving our
Organisation to new heights. This evolution is designed to anticipate future cultural shifts
over the next decade, document our team’s experiences and suggestions through regular
pulse checks and regularly reexamine our culture every three years”.
The launch of Advantis DNA represents the culmination of a 20-month long programme of
extensive employee consultation – spanning 2,300+ employee voices, 17 cultural surveys
and 19 leadership workshops for Advantis teams in Sri Lanka and across the globe.
Each session was focused on gaining a holistic and accurate understanding of
organisational bias for strategic emphasis, leadership preference, employee management,
criteria for success and other dominant cultural elements. Accordingly, Advantis hosted
further employee consultations to help co-create a blueprint for an Organisation-wide cultural
transformation in which all employees would be given the training, encouragement,
resources, and tools needed to achieve their maximum potential.
“Before embarking on this ambitious programme of cultural transformation, we studied
established global benchmarks in the corporate culture, including emerging players in the
logistics and construction fields. Moreover, we also looked at global conglomerates that have
successfully fostered an inclusive organisational culture where people can thrive and be
future-ready,” said Sagara Peiris, Member of the Group Management Committee of
Advantis.
He further added, “Drawing from all of these elements, as well as our established strengths,
we developed the Advantis Culture Canvas. Each of these elements was then broken down
into small and defined actions that would incrementally move the organisational culture to
align with the aspirations of our teams”.
In order to introduce the entire team to the Company’s revamped Values, Purpose,
Philosophy and Spirit, Advantis organised an event filled with gamified experience for all
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employees, creating a series of activities, and contests that helped reinforce values and
demonstrate how those values can help lead to effective actions across every aspect of the
business.
Advantis is Sri Lanka’s most diversified transportation and logistics provider, with over six
decades of experience and operations spread across Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the
Maldives, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand. Backed by the blue-chip multinational
conglomerate Hayleys PLC, Advantis is at the forefront of the logistics and construction
industries providing end-to-end solutions covering Integrated Logistics, Projects and
Engineering, Marine and Energy, International Freight Management and Travel and Aviation.
Employees at the Advantis DNA launch
Advantis Managing Director, Ruwan Waidyaratne, introducing the Advantis DNA
to the gathering
Employees engaging in the Advantis DNA workshop