Egyptian metal company boosts export and employee satisfaction

Established in 1975, the Egyptian Tawakol Metal Industries produces high-quality iron products. The company has been a successful local supplier for many years. It wanted to expand and improve its operations but lacked the insights and processes for it. With the help of CBI. the company has boosted its employee satisfaction and broadened the export network.

“CBI helped us to speed up our export and position ourselves worldwide. They assisted us in finding customers, developing tailor-made products that are currently in demand and determining the right moment to export,” said Tawakol’s owner Mr Rashid Tawakol.

Roadmap to happiness

Every business is a mini-community, and changes in processes and habits can often result in positive change. By training employees in aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and monitoring progress, it allowed the business to adapt to more sustainable ways of working. “CBI helped us with a CSR roadmap to boost employee satisfaction and motivation. And it worked: business has grown, and we are hiring many new people,” states Tawakol.

Nature & nurture

Tawakol implemented measures not only related to hard business and production activities. To increase employee satisfaction and loyalty, Tawakol has organised sports activities such as gymnastics and soccer. He even set up a competition between the three factory locations. As one employee states: “This isn’t common in Egypt. This is something new.” Tawakol has invested time and energy at many different aspects and implemented many different ways to interact closer with its employees. For example, they gave everyone a plant and organised a competition to see who is best at caring for it.

Dismantling stereotypes

Inclusion and equal opportunities are also areas of attention. In a male-dominated culture and industry, this required breaking old stereotypes. As one of the female administration employees observes: “Tawakol makes an effort to include minorities into their business. They prioritise making people of gender and religion minorities feel welcome, and that benefits the atmosphere at the office. Tawakol is about inclusion and not dividing people - men and women of different religions create a healthy team”.

Gamechanger

At first the intrinsic operational aspects of the company were addressed. An inside-out approach. After that, CBI also helped Tawakol to improve business by accessing new clients. They did this by tapping into foreign markets and providing help with networking and identification of market opportunities. “Partnering with CBI has changed not only how we operate but how we think and approach every aspect of our business. We are set to launch in several new countries soon,” states an enthusiastic Tawakol.