- The Galician technology company stays loyal to its philosophy of combining business objectives with a commitment to society.
- The workforce at Igalia enjoys a comprehensive series of benefits including private health insurance, free English classes and the option of teleworking, all with the aim of increasing their job satisfaction.
- The company has offices in A Coruña and Pontevedra and is made up of over 30 engineers aged between 22 and 30, 16 of whom are partners in the company and who run it jointly.
Igalia has selected Intermon Oxfam, Unicef and Médicos Sin Fronteras as the recipients of this first donation of €9,964, which will be shared equally between the three organisations. Igalia has complete faith in the way in which the charities manage their funding, and the money will be channelled into general programmes run by the three charities.
Javier Vázquez, one of Igalia’s co-founders, summed up the company’s philosophy. “What we want is for our employees to be happy in their work and to stay here rather than going to another company just because they might offer them more money.” To achieve this, Igalia places great emphasis on a series of social responsibility initiatives that go beyond the donation of a percentage of its turnover to charity.
The company also sets aside part of its revenue for actions designed to improve the quality of life of its employees, help them balance work with their personal/family lives and improve their skills and qualifications. With this in mind, Igalia offers its personnel a series of different work options and benefits:
- Option of working flexi-time and of teleworking for 3/8 of the working week
- Private health insurance
- Preventive physiotherapy sessions
- English classes in the workplace and support for stays abroad
- Cheque-crèche for employees with children
- Three free hours a week to collaborate in free software projects
Igalia, a jointly run business initiative
Igalia is a company specialising in the development of innovative free software technologies and solutions. Founded six years ago, it employs over 30 engineers whose ages range from 22 to 30. One of the distinguishing features of the company is its decision-making structure, as all decisions are subject to the majority approval of its 16 partners, all of whom work at the company. The remaining employees also have the option of acquiring a stake in the company within a maximum period of three years.
While customers from outside Spain account for over half of Igalia’s turnover, the company remains wholeheartedly committed to its founding idea: free software from Galicia for the world. With its head office at A Grela industrial estate in A Coruña and another office in Pontevedra, the company has just been invited by the University of A Coruña to take up one of the three areas reserved for businesses at its newly opened Information Technologies and Communications Research Centre (CITIC).
Igalia is also working with the bank Caixanova and the Rey Juan Carlos University on the creation of a Master’s course in Free Software, the first of its kind in Galicia.
Further information:
Igalia. Responsibility
http://www.igalia.com/igalia/responsibility/
