Promoting Diversity and Inclusion: Interview with CEO Antoun Massaad

Cedar Rose fosters a culture of inclusivity and employee well-being, valuing skills and experience over any personal characteristics. The company ensures employee motivation and engagement through positive encouragement, support, and recognition, while also promoting growth opportunities and work-life balance. Cedar Rose remains committed to maintaining a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace, celebrating the uniqueness of each team member and promoting equal opportunities for all.

How would you describe the work culture at Cedar Rose?

Antoun Massaad: „Our culture is very inclusive, we recruit based on skills and experience rather than gender, age, race, religion or orientation; so we have a wonderfully diverse workforce of people in several countries. We want all our employees to feel valued and appreciated and to have a healthy work-life balance. Work should offer a place to learn and grow, but also to make friends and feel part of a team.”

How does Cedar Rose approach employee motivation and engagement to ensure that employees feel valued and motivated in their work?

Antoun Massaad: “Through our management team we promote policies of positive encouragement, support and appreciation of all team members. Everyone knows who they report directly to, so there are regular discussions to ensure engagement and hopefully enjoyment of the work people are doing. Communication also highlights growth opportunities so the right people can be identified for future promotion or additional training. We share news of our successes and awards with all staff so that all employees can enjoy and share in that success. This extends to ensuring that different employees have the opportunity to attend conferences and award ceremonies to represent Cedar Rose, even overseas. Apart from the many financial incentive schemes we have in place, we also reward and recognize loyalty with annual bonuses for everyone related to length of service. Finally, we organise regular events and opportunities for our people to get together socially and bond on a more personal level.”

Looking ahead, what steps is Cedar Rose taking to ensure that its workplace remains diverse, inclusive, and equitable?

Antoun Massaad: “Fortunately our organization is made up of people from several countries and this already gives us a diverse workforce. We share in and celebrate each others religious holidays, and offer platforms to share news, either personal or professional. Through our website, advertising and social media posts, we aim to continue to promote diversity and inclusion so that Cedar Rose is seen publicly as a place where anyone from any background, religion, race, ethnicity, age, physical ability, gender or orientation has an equal opportunity to belong, feel respected, succeed and grow if they have the skills required to perform their role.”