DUBAI — Kids First Group becomes the first nursery group in the region to earn itself the well-deserved title of a “Great Place To Work.” A certification awarded by the American Institute, “Great Place to Work” celebrates organizations that have met all the requirements needed for an employee to deem it a healthy, productive, trusting environment to work in. Using a data-based model for quantifying employee experience, The Great Place to Work Trust Model™ surveys employees and uses those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace. The qualities they focus on the most include fairness, credibility, respect, pride, camaraderie, and most importantly, trust.
Kids First Group owns and operates over 30 nursery schools, supports the development of more than 2,500 children between the age of 3 months to 6 years and employs more than 500+ competent and qualified staff. With such a large group, an effective system is put in place to translate the company’s key values across the board from nursery directors and managers to teachers, and their assistants on a branch level.
“Even though we witnessed exponential growth, the company culture still remained the same, says Diana Zeidan – Area director with over 7 years at KFG. “It’s a culture that allows everyone to bring forth innovative ideas.”
The “Great Place To Work” certificate rewards organizations where employees “trust the people they work for, have pride in what they do and enjoy the people they work with.” Kids First Group achieves this by constantly investing in their staff’s personal and professional development, to the point where employees hold a personal accountability and “act like owners, treating the company’s assets as their own and behaving with the company’s long-term vision in mind,” says Diana Takieddine, Group HR director at Kids First Group.
“We follow the motto, Happy staff = Happy children, meaning that if our staff are happy, this is then reflected on the children at the nurseries,” says Diana. This is done by fostering a safe space for open dialogue, encouraging feedback, and taking appropriate action to resolve issues. In addition, “We encourage work-life balance by offering flexible work arrangements including remote work options and flexible hours.”
