Boosting productivity and employee satisfaction at Garena Singapore

Let's start with the green. It's immensely soothing to see so much natural light, soothing greens, and plants. And then there's the view from the 17th floor at One-North in Singapore, stretching on as far as the eye can see...and then there's the space..

Garena Online, a Singapore-headquartered Asian Internet company with services spanning digital content, e-commerce and payments, has pulled out all the stops to make its 7,500 sq m office as welcoming as possible in order to attract and retain the talent it needs to keep at the forefront of a digital economy. The company has a presence in over 10 Southeast Asian countries and beyond, and has a staff strength of 4,500.

Here's a peek into the magical workplace:

Garena's manifesto lists several core values which are featured in every function room as well as on this feature wall.

A glimpse of the view and a multitude of discussion areas. Organic silhouettes abound in Garena's office.

Real plants populate vertical walls. A staircase connects the two floors at the office.

Kidney-shaped desks in the main workspace can be configured into different clusters to boost collaboration. Standing desks are also available to those who prefer them.

Each room has a meaningful name. This was named Hwa Chong after the educational institution in Singapore. One room was named Murray Terrace after the first location for the Garena office. There is also a Lee Kuan Yew room, named after the late elder statesman.

Various rooms are customised. The Shangri-La room, for instance, is scented with an exclusive fragrance from Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. It is one of the most popular rooms in the office. The main workspaces, which are open-plan, also feature phone booths for those who need to make voice calls. 

Six sleep pods on each floor - a total of 12 - allow staff to catch some sleep when they are rushing deadlines. The pods are open from to 12.30 to 2pm, and again from 7pm to 9.30am.

Two professional masseurs are in high demand throughout the day.

The pantry, reimagined.  It had a mound of free-to-take fresh fruit in one corner. Breakfasts are catered, and employees may order dinner by a certain time in the afternoon for free. 

Staying green with battery and glass recycling facilities.

The chilled beverage section.

As well-stocked as a supermarket - snacks galore for the taking.

Instant noodle fans will find much to choose from.

The frozen snack section. Lots of choice!

A mini garden chess set in one corner.

Lots of activity in the recreation schedule.

Group games.

The tour was arranged as part of a media update on Shopee, Garena's e-commerce platform arm.

The Shopee e-commerce platform is designed to be a fuss-free way of buying and selling items, C2C.  

Garena's platforms also include BeeTalk, which connects users with similar interests and in the same vicinity. 

Garena's Airpay is popular especially in rural Southeast Asia, where people may be 'unbanked', without a bank account. The reverse ATM network allows customers to exchange cash at brick-and-mortar shops for digital currency that they can use to pay for digital goods as well as physical goods. 

Interested?

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog posts about Shopee's new launches and how to take #instagramworthy shots

View the WorkSmart Asia picture story about HubSpot's office opening in Singapore. HubSpot also offers standing desks to employees.

Hashtag: #shopeeSG

posted from Bloggeroid