As a pandemic raged across the globe, the leadership and team at MANE relied on the organisation’s deep commitment to family values to support each other and keep the essential business operating efficiently over the past year.
“The MANE culture is incredibly strong’’, said Tathiana Remick, senior vice president, fragrance North America, noting that the company is family-owned, with Michel Mane, a fourth-generation family member, serving as president of the Americas. “That family culture comes straight from the leadership at the top.
“Our employees have exemplified those values over the past year,’’ she added. “They never wavered, even with competing priorities at home, even when the world was sort of falling apart, not just in the office but at home. Our employees prioritised MANE and we will never forget that.’’
Thriving under such extraordinary circumstances makes this year’s recognition of MANE as a Top Workplace especially poignant, Remick said. The recognition is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a survey administered by Energage, LLC, an employee engagement technology partner.
“This award means so much because it comes from our employees,’’ Remick said. “We try to build a balanced and productive work environment. Our people are always at the core of our business. To be recognised by them means we are doing something right, especially in a year like 2020.’’
A global company, with headquarters in France, MANE creates exclusive fragrances. The company’s New Jersey operations opened in the early 1970s with a tiny staff and has grown to about 250 employees at its Parsippany and Wayne locations. Worldwide, the company employs 7,000 people. Deemed an essential business — fragrances are used in everything from soap to hand sanitisers — MANE continued its lab and manufacturing operations, putting significant safety measures in place to protect employees who needed to work on-site.
“The safety and well-being of our employees is our first priority,’’ Remick said. “We maintained continuous communications and developed the agility to test things out and adapt to the ever-changing environment.’’
With the success of remote work for some employees and the desire to provide employees with maximum flexibilities, the company is in the process of developing a new work-from-home policy that will expand employees’ options.
“For us a happy employee is a productive employee,’’ Remick explained. “What we have learned over this past year is we can add more flexibility to support work-life balance.’’
The pandemic also underscored how central employees are to the company’s success.
“We knew our employees are our heroes and they certainly proved it this year,’’ she said. “Whether it was essential workers on site or those who were able to maintain our customer engagement at home, they all stepped up to the challenge.’’
This has added up to a high level of satisfaction among MANE customers, as well.
“We, as a company, have done well and have been commended by our customers for maintaining the high level of service they are used to throughout the past year,’’ Remick said. “That is very gratifying.’’