Arkadia Marketing Ltd is the overall winner of the Business Leaders Malta Employee Research Award in the ‘over 150 employees’ category.

Arkadia came on top as a result of its good practice at the workplace and the healthy dynamics between employer and employees.

Arkadia Marketing Ltd employs 388 people, out of which 194 work in Gozo. Part of the Mizzi Organisation, Arkadia started out with the commercial centre in Victoria in 1998. Along the years, it increased its portfolio with a food store at Portomaso, two Arkadia FoodExpress convenience stores, one in Paceville and the recently opened Swatar outlet, and eight high-street brands for women, men and children’s wear and accessories: Peacocks, Parfois, Orsay, Suite Blanco, Tape à l’Oeil, Piazza Italia, On Top and Pimkie. It also runs a logistics centre in Xewkija.

Arkadia will also be responsible for the regeneration of Valletta’s indoor market, or as it is popularly known as Is-Suq tal-Belt – a €7 million project that will bring a new lease of life to the neglected site, with several food stalls, catering establishments and a lounge area.

“We are honoured that our human capital management strategies have been recognised by this reputable and independent benchmarking exercise,” said Shirley Grixti, HR manager for Arkadia Marketing Ltd.

“We have always carried out in-house employee engagement surveys to gauge our staff’s satisfaction. This was the first year that we opted to outsource the survey to give our employees more anonymity in their replies. We are glad that the results acknowledge we are on the right track and we strive to continue improving on what we have already achieved with our staff.”

For the employee research study, every participating company is invited to answer a questionnaire designed to examine the successes and shortcomings of human capital management strategies. Employees rate their employer for leadership, communication and teamwork, training and development, reward and recognition, corporate culture, performance orientation and employee well-being.

This year, there were 16 participating companies clustered in three categories defined by company size.