Following its brand overhaul and the signing of Conor McGregor as official ambassador for CIS and Cyprus in February this year, Parimatch has established itself as one of the industry’s leading lights through the mantra of people being the company’s main driving force. As it celebrates its achievements so far, Parimatch’s senior team highlight the importance of positive work-life balance and how ‘engagement’ takes precedence for themselves and the company’s 1,600 international employees…
Providing inspiring and agile workplaces is at the heart of the Parimatch business model and according to the company’s top brass their recent rebranding success was only possible thanks to the energy and personal involvement of every team worldwide. Sergey Portnov, CEO at Parimatch, explained: “Our people are the main driving force of Parimatch. The rebranding process was challenging, but rewarding. It really made us come together as a team to evaluate what the new look Parimatch stands for.”
“The challenge of rebranding was to capture and maintain elements of the brand’s heritage, and not to lose the essence of what attracts loyal customers, whilst also innovating,” he continued. “We took the time to do our research, establish our current and target audiences and distill our aspirations to inform the new look and company ethos. Now the rebrand has launched, the next challenge is to continue to build awareness of the brand across key markets.”
Parimatch’s senior management believe the core success of the company, which was established 25 years ago and now is represented across Cyprus, the CIS region and African continent is down to developing its employees and cultivating a keen and progressive environment. “To nurture the growth of our employees, we provide the best learning and training opportunities so that they can perform at a high level,” he said. “We do not use the word ‘motivate’, we use ‘engage’. Education programs are fascinating at Parimatch. One-hour lectures or two-month trainings are available to all employees. Topics are varied, ranging from management and business issues, to meditation and self-knowledge. For me to be inspired, the key is not to focus purely on capital and move beyond the numbers. If you remain focused and have a sincere attitude, inspiration will follow.”
Parimatch’s Deputy CEO, Roman Syrotian believes the company is unique in how involved the senior management is across the business’ various sites and in how they approach their relationships with their teams. He said: “Parimatch has the most engaged and dedicated management team. They are immersed 365/24/7 in what they do. In recent years we’ve grown to become the official betting and wagering partner for the UFC in EMEA, with Conor McGregor as official brand ambassador, alongside our sponsorship agreements with sporting institutions including Ukraine’s national football team, FC Apoel (Cyprus), FC Shakhtar (Ukraine), Virtus Pro and Team Spirit (e-Sports). None of these would be possible without strong leadership and engaged employees who see these accomplishments as opportunity to develop themselves and the brand even further.”
As Deputy CEO, I like to think I come across as calm and detail focused to my colleagues and part of this is keeping a focus on work-life balance. One of the key differences between my week and weekends is that workdays start at 11am rather than at 8am. That’s partly a joke, but I find that weekends provide a good opportunity to reflect on work without being occupied by daily routine tasks. Outside of work, my weekend usually involves football, volleyball and the gym alongside spending time with my family and friends. Positive work-life balance is is something our senior management works hard to instill in our teams.”
Echoing Syrotian’s assessment of Parimatch’s people-focused values, Katerina Belorusskaya, Partner at Parimatch, Chairwoman at Parimatch Foundation, said: “At Parimatch, it is our people who drive the business, so we place a high value on personal development and upskilling so that our employees always have the opportunity to learn. I began working at Parimatch because of the wealth of experience and knowledge I knew I would gain from joining an international business. I continue to learn every day, and even though the company has grown and evolved in my time, the one constant is the energetic corporate culture and loyal team.”
“I get inspiration from the team I work with,” she continued. “When I see that my team are fired up with the idea, I immediately have both energy and inspiration. It’s contagious! I think this mutual excitement is a core part of our culture. I also think success breeds inspiration. When I feel I’ve achieved a good result, it really inspires me to aim even higher.”
Parimatch’s international reach could be regarded as a potential stumbling block in terms of developing well integrated workplaces across borders. Maksym Liashko, Partner at Parimatch, rejects this belief highlighting the company’s success at uniting employees and customers within diverse territories. “I was attracted by the international opportunities at Parimatch. When I met Sergey Portnov, our CEO, I learned that the company operated in many countries and jurisdictions. This makes the work very interesting in terms of corporate structure, and I relish the challenge of creating unification despite different regulatory environments. Our focus on creating emotional contentment amongst the team, and enabling others to realize their full potential is what makes Parimatch such a fulfilling place to work.”
Measuring the company’s success, Liashko believes there is both a philosophical side to it as well as the simple balance between profit and loss. “In a philosophical sense, from the business point of view success is growth of the company, the implementation of ideas and being perceived as successful by clients and employees. It is also engaging to recognise that all Parimatch’s achievements are the result of team performance and the company as a whole. To sustain the momentum, each week has to start with new assignments and new challenges.”
As Parimatch looks to the future, its people power and core management team is poised to confirm some even more exciting announcements as they continue but Sergey Portnov and his management team guarantee they won’t be getting complacent. “Every six months a strategic session for the company is held,” Portnov concluded. “Top and middle management share their victories and failures from their teams, insights, and future plans, as well as determining priorities and key work streams for the coming period. It is important to evaluate performance regularly, to make sure a strategy is working and being executed in the right way and to ensure we stick to our core value of family-like relationships and genuine commitment from all employees, despite the results driven, high performance business environment.”
