Abans celebrates peak performance with unprecedented annual awards

Abans PLC hosted its annual awards ceremony, ‘Abans Achievers Night 2022’ at RIU Ahungalla on Thursday, 6 October. The event was graced by Abans PLC Board of Directors Dr. Saroshi Dubash and Rusi Pestonjee, LG Sales Director Keith Chung, Abans PLC senior management, heads of departments, sales and back-office support teams. 

The gala event was held after a lapse of almost three years, due to the pandemic, to acknowledge the enormous commitment and contribution of its front and back-office staff. A total of 202 awards were handed out to the best achievers who sustained the company through many market disruptions during the past turbulent year. 

The last financial year marked Abans PLC’s best performance in the history of its operation, in terms of revenue and profit. Which would have been next to impossible, amidst the economic crisis and import restrictions, without the backing of its dedicated staff. 



Abans’ attempt to foster a performance culture over the years, has resulted in the introduction of multiple performance management and recognition tools to drive performance. However, previous awards ceremonies were largely sales oriented. Abans Achievers Night is the first comprehensive awards framework, on par with globally acclaimed standards, to acknowledge the achievement of employees in all verticals, in a single platform. 

The initiative bore fruit last year, announcing 61 award titles, criteria for assessment and the selection process to ensure transparency. Abans PLC being a retail organisation, launched sales and customer service awards to improve sales performance and service levels at the sales touch points.  

As an organisation which aggressively drives innovation and digitisation across all verticals, the Innovation Awards were introduced to stimulate innovation in seven categories. These were cross-functional team awards open to both back-office and sales staff. About 20 teams competed for these awards that accompanied attractive cash prizes. The nominees were assessed based on the Triple Bottom Line concept, the impact on profit, people, and the planet. The much-awaited Long Service Awards, 19 in total, recognised those who faithfully served the company for over 25 years and acknowledged their commitment and outstanding service. 

Over 500 participants at the residential event were entitled to a performance-based all-inclusive stay at RIU Ahungalla. Abans PLC senior management’s decision to host an event of such magnitude during such an economically turbulent time is to be applauded. 

“Abans is a people-first company and our employees have gone the extra mile to see the company through these tough times,” said Group Chief Human Resources Officer Dulani Nissanka. “All such incentives contribute significantly to boost performance,” said Dulani. “Recognition plays a vital role in fostering a high-performance culture. This is the whole idea behind the Abans Annual Awards.”