CluneTech Newsletter H1 2023■

IDLF has had an impressive first half of 2023, turning what was a challenge into a very big opportunity. Capitalising on that opportunity became the focus of the entire IDLF team resulting in securing an additional €74 million in potential revenue from investors looking to Ireland for residency. These individuals and their families are from all over the world, including the USA, South Africa, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Canada to name a few.

The second half of 2023 is shaping up to be equally as exciting with new partnerships and collaborations opening up new opportunities. To further capitalise on these opportunities IDLF will be traveling to South Africa, China and the USA to promote the Irish immigrant investor programme and IDLF’s investment fund to retail investors, as part of a roadshow with our key migration agency partners.
‍

IDLF invests in the Pembroke Hotel & Ballyroe Heights Hotel

IDLF promotes Reside In Ireland in the USA

Recognising the important international recognition that Ireland receives every year during St Patrick’s day, and nowhere more so than in the USA, IDLF co-hosted a Reside in Ireland event with its authorised Fund Manager, HAL Fund Services Ireland. 

Leading the delegation, IDLF CEO, Joanna Murphy, described this unique opportunity for US investors to secure residency in Ireland for themselves and their families under the Reside in Ireland programme. IDLF has worked with many high-net-worth American clients to help them, find new opportunities and a new life in Ireland. 

IDLF Strategic Advisor, Mr Enda Kenny - Ireland’s former Taoiseach, provided the keynote speech and captivated the audience with his first-hand experience of leading Ireland out of the depths of the financial crisis and into the economically stable position that Ireland now finds itself in. The audience of senior professionals and high net worth individuals enjoyed the opportunity to meet with Mr Kenny during the relaxed networking event. 

‍

IDLF and Reside In Ireland receives coverage in the USA

‍Editorial media coverage includes The Washington Times and Authority Magazine (a Medium Publication).

‍

IDLF Investor shares their personal journey from South Africa to Ireland

The IDLF team on location interviewing one of their investors for a client testimonial as part of an upcoming partner event in South Africa.

‍

Our most recent Group awards

‍

We were listed as a Great Place to Work yet again!

CluneTech was listed as the 17th Best Large Workplace in Ireland at the annual Great Place to Work Awards on Wednesday 22nd February 2023. This is CluneTech’s 8th consecutive year to be named as a top Irish workplace, which is based on direct feedback from employees, provided as part of an extensive and anonymous survey about the workplace experience. This was a notable year for the Best Workplaces Awards, as it is the first time that 100 companies were recognised. In addition, we were absolutely over the moon when CluneTech’s Great Place to Work Team was recognised as Ireland’s Best Great Place to Work Team. Read more about our latest Great Place to Work Recognition here.

‍

 

Later this year, we were also officially recognized as one of Ireland’s Best Workplaces in Tech and Best Workplaces for Women ™ in 2023. The Best Workplaces for Women recognises those top organisations which, while providing a great work environment for all employees, are creating positive and supportive workplaces for women in particular. This is CluneTech’s 4th consecutive year to be recognised. To learn more about this recognition and about our female workforce across the globe, check out our blog post.

‍

b2b Media Employer Branding Awards (Bulgaria)
‍

CluneTech received two awards at the annual b2b Media Employer Branding Awards Ceremony in Sofia, Bulgaria in February: First Place in the Flexible Workplace Category for introducing three new benefits: Summer Flex Hours, Lifework Days and Meeting Free Fridays which reimagined our employees’ experience and took the terms “flexibility” and “work-life balance” to a whole new level, and Second Place in the Excellence in Teamwork Category for various employee engagement initiatives that we have run throughout the past year. These initiatives demonstrate CluneTech’s #OneTeam culture and show the real sense of connectivity and recognition amongst our teams. Read more

‍

bCause Foundation Awards (Bulgaria)

‍Early in 2023, CluneTech won a bronze medal for its CSR Programme “CluneTech Cares” and its various volunteering campaigns throughout 2022. The recognition comes from the bCause Foundation and recognizes CluneTech’s commitment towards creating a positive company culture through volunteering activities. Elena Novakova and Antonia Petrova, two of our volunteers, received a certificate on behalf of the whole team.
‍Read more.
‍

CluneTech is committed to supporting activities that enhance and serve the communities in which we live and work. As part of this commitment, in 2021 we added a Volunteer Day to our existing employee benefits in a bid to empower our employees to support the causes closest to their hearts. If you would like to learn more about our volunteering opportunities and how you can avail of them, check out our Volunteer Day Page on Workvivo.

Our volunteers have been recognized

‍We are absolutely over the moon to share that in 2023 alone, CluneTech’s long term commitment to serving to the communities in which we operate has been awarded by two major organizations in Bulgaria:

‍Recognition #1 came from TimeHeroes - the largest volunteer platform in Bulgaria, with 40,000 registered volunteers, over 600 partner NGOs, and more than 1400 supported causes in 160 locations. Take a sneak peek at the below video from the awarding ceremony, where Elena Bratanova-Novakova, Antonia Petrova and Denitsa Pl Yordanova from the Taxback.com team in Sofia accepted the award on behalf of all volunteers in the company.

Recognition #2 came from the BCause Foundation. A bronze medal has been given to our company to recognize our commitment towards creating a positive company culture through introducing a Volunteer Day and the active involvement of our employees in the various campaigns which we have run throughout the past year. Elena Bratanova-Novakova and Antonia Petrova, two of our volunteers, received a certificate on behalf of the whole team.

‍

Well done to all of us here at CluneTech for our long-term dedication towards creating a positive change and supporting our local communities.
‍

CluneTech’s ESG Strategy

While sustainability and corporate social responsibility have always been within the scope of CluneTech and its subsidiaries throughout the years, this April, we have begun our official sustainability journey as a group.

We are working with corporate climate, ESG and sustainability services solution provider Clearstream Solutions, aims to individualise and develop CluneTech’s Responsible Business Framework and pave the way for our companies to gain a competitive edge and attract investors.

To give you a better understanding of the term ESG and why a well-planned and formalized ESG strategy is important for us as a group, we have put together a short educational article for you. Read more below.

If you would like to get involved or just get more information about the initiative, feel free to reach out Fiona MacCarthy, Group Head of Communications at Fiona.maccarthy@clunetech.com
‍

What does ESG stand for?

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance.

In a nutshell, an ESG strategy is an organization-wide approach that adjusts a company's environmental, social and governance practices to increase business sustainability.
‍

What is an ESG strategy and why it is important to have one in place?

Now more than ever, the success and growth of a business are directly tied to a solid ESG strategy, which also involves conducting business in a way that provides long-term value without producing any negative effects on the environment or society -- or minimizes the effects, at least.

A good ESG strategy includes various sustainability factors - such as a company's efforts toward reducing its carbon footprint, going green, encouraging diversity or introducing employee wellness programs. It also focuses on initiatives that matter the most to a business and are the easiest to put into action. As such, an ESG strategy paves the way for a company to attract investors, build customer loyalty, improve financial performance, make operations sustainable and gain a competitive edge.
‍

ESG vs. CSR: What's the difference?

Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, is a form of self-regulation that reflects a business’s accountability and commitment to contributing to the well-being of communities and society through various environmental and social initiatives. In contrast, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) are criteria used to measure a company’s overall sustainability. Corporate Social Responsibility is usually part of an ESG Strategy.
‍

Where are we now and what's next?

So far Clearstream has provided leadership and groupwide workshops and surveys which aim to increase the awareness of ESG, gain alignment and commitment and assess the priorities of CluneTech’s sustainability journey.

Next on the list will be to build our company-wide sustainability programme, which includes specific KPIs, as well as the involvement of our ESG champions who will drive the ESG engagement in the group.
‍

How can I get involved?

As we work to develop our group-wide ESG strategy, we want to ensure we are capturing all relevant activity and supporting data. We would appreciate it if you take a moment to respond to the questions in our survey 👉 Survey   If you are interested in getting involved – whether as a champion or contributing to our workstreams, please email Fiona MacCarthy, Group Head of Communications at Fiona.maccarthy@clunetech.com
‍

Nia Koeva - TransferMate – Q1 Winner
‍

“In the summer of 2019, I had the fortune and opportunity to visit this endlessly beautiful and charming place called Zakynthos Island, located in the territory of the Hellenic Republic. Navagio beach, whose name literally means shipwreck and has a special story telling about the origin of its name, is the most famous of all the coves located on the island, from where you can see this breathtaking view that I was able to capture and of course with a bunch of other beautiful shots. It was a great pleasure to be able to experience as many sights of this unique place as possible and I would certainly visit it again one day.”
‍

Mihaela Drekova -  TransferMate - Q2 Winner
‍

“This year I got to live one of my dreams - visiting south of Italy. And it did not disappoint at all. It was like walking through a fairytale. Especially Ravello - the place is so magical, I can't recommend it enough. The picture you're seeing is from Villa Cimbrone - the 1st reliable mentions of the villa are from the 11th century, Villa Cimbrone is a historic building on the southern coast of Italy, and its crowning jewel is the breathtaking views, on its Terrace of Infinity, which boasts Roman-style statue busts along the fence, overlooking the ocean of the Amalfi coast.”

If you’d like to take part in our next CluneTech Pics competition, make sure to keep an eye out on Workvivo for the announcement each quarter. The winner of each quarterly photo competition receives a pair of Apple AirPods and has their photo displayed as the background of Core HR so get entering! You can check out previous entries in our CluneTech Pics Space.

Great Place to Work Events
‍

From our annual global Health & Wellbeing Week, to zip lining, art classes and even wine tasting, Q1 and Q2 were all about strengthening the bond between our global teams and celebrating our amazing #OneTeam Culture. 

Here’s a sneak peek of some of our favourite Great Place to Work Events from 2023 so far!

‍

‍

‍

Wine Tasting and Art Class Events for our Varna Teams
‍

Zip Lining at Topola Skies at the Black Sea Coast
‍

Paint and prosecco evening at The Grafton Hotel Dublin
‍

Our Irish team at Castlecomer Discovery Park
‍

 The annual team building of our Veliko Tarnovo Team (Bulgaria)
‍

Our Shumen team hiking event to cave Biserna - the longest cave in the Shumen Plateu in Bulgaria.

Workvivo Spaces Worth Checking Out

Workvivo Spaces are micro-communities that enable employees to interact and collaborate across companies, locations and departments. They are a great way to centralise information, updates and tips on specific topics which makes discovery and reference at a later date easier. Similarly, some of our Workvivo Spaces offer a fantastic way of getting to know people outside of your usual day to day team, but with whom you share similar interests.

From CluneTech’s subsidiaries' designated areas to common employee interests and hobbies, Workvivo Spaces offers something for everyone. In this edition of our biannual newsletter, we want to share some of our favourite Workvivo spaces with you. Find out more below and make sure to check them out today.

New Hires Space
‍
From CluneTech’s journey to date, to important points of contact that you might need as a CluneTech employee, everything you need to know as a new starter can be found here. You will also have the opportunity to learn more about each of our businesses and their leadership teams. Feel free to use the space to ask any questions that you might have.

CluneTech Cares
‍
We have designed this space to bring our Corporate Social Responsibility Programme "CluneTech Cares" to life! Here you can keep up to date with the latest CSR events and initiatives and find out how you can get involved. We encourage you to use this space to share things like your best volunteering memories, how you used your CSR Day and your recommendations on who we should support.

Employee Benefits Spaces

‍At CluneTech we offer a full range of benefits to support you and your wellbeing. Our Employee Benefits Spaces provide information about the benefits included in your package, as well as regular posts to keep you up to date with any improvements we make. We have designated Benefits Spaces for Irish based employees, Bulgaria based employees, UK based employees and those based in all other locations.

Recruitment

‍If you are looking to develop your career within the group, or you would like to refer a friend to join the company, this space gives you information about our current job openings, as well as all most important policies related to our Refer a Friend Programme and our internal applications process.

The Green Zone
‍
‍A space for sharing advice on how we as individuals can be more environmentally friendly as well the efforts being made by our CluneTech companies to make environmental savings.

Pets of CluneTech
‍
Whether your pet has feathers, fur or scales, this space is for all of the animal lovers at CluneTech. Here you're free to share your funny and cute photos and videos with other pet lovers to brighten their day 🐾

Learning & Development
‍
‍In this space you can find all you need to know about our learning platform WeLearn, as well as information about upcoming training, webinars and assessments. Education materials published in this space are free and you can use them to enhance your knowledge and skills. In addition, we also have a CluneTech - Tech Trainings Space where we discuss tech training opportunities for our developers and IT staff.

CluneTech Kids
‍
A space for sharing tips and tricks, fun activities and useful resources that will make juggling working from home and being a parent easier. This is where we host competitions for the kids of CluneTech.

CluneTech IT bytes

‍The place where you can ask questions and find answers to any IT related queries you may have, along with access to useful resources such as informative tutorials and general updates.

Gaming Space
‍
‍This space is for all of the gamers of CluneTech! Here you will find our very own gaming community where members can share game reviews, gaming setups, gaming ID's or even create teams to play online together! Tips and tricks can also be shared into this space for all members to enjoy and develop their skills. From casual gamers to pro players, all employees are welcome to join this space!

CluneTech Book Club
‍
‍This space is for the book lovers of CluneTech. You can share your must reads here, favorite books and authors and motivational quotes from the pages of the books you loved.

CluneTech Cooks
‍
‍In this space you can explore a wide range of recipes from different parts of the globe, and at the same time, contribute by sharing your own breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert recipes in one convenient location. Moreover, you have the option to share recipes from online sources that you've experimented with and showcase them to your colleagues. We're excited to see your mouth-watering creations and irresistible delicacies in our CluneTech Cooks space.

The Not So HR Podcast

‍This Workvivo space is brought to you by TransferMate’s HR Team to celebrate the launch of “The Not So HR Podcast”. Join Hayleigh, David and Shauna as they will be discussing important HR updates from all over the world while also welcoming guests across a range of functions. If you’d like to share your ideas, suggestions, or feedback on the podcast, feel free to email hrpodcast@transfermate.com.