How To Build A Winning Workplace?

Abbott India has distinguished itself as a leader in creating an exceptional workplace culture. The company has won the prestigious "Best Place of Work" award at the BW People HR Excellence Awards 2024 and has set a benchmark for employee engagement and well-being. In this interview with Deepshikha Mukerji, Regional HR Director, Abbott India, she shares insights into the key strategies and initiatives that have positioned Abbott India as an employer of choice. 

Can you share some of the unique programmes or initiatives that companies can implement to create a positive and supportive work environment?

While people may join an organisation because of its purpose, they tend to stay when they feel respected, valued, and heard. In today’s dynamic environment, companies are incorporating innovative strategies to cultivate an engaging workplace. These include continuous learning opportunities for growth, a healthy work-life balance, and financial and emotional security. 

We invest in our employees through a well-defined development process which is aligned with our talent strategy. We offer opportunities to strengthen and upskill, with access to appropriate trainings in an employee’s professional and personal journey. In addition to several learning modules and workshops as a part of our Abbott Learning Academy initiative, we offer short-term, on-the-job, cross functional learning opportunities or ‘learning gigs,’ to support their career growth. Our leaders actively engage in mentoring talent across Abbott. Mentoring helps employees acquire new cross-functional expertise and perspectives that they can apply in their work. We have tied up with leading business schools in India such as IIM Ahmedabad and ISB to facilitate development programs for our high potential talent and future leaders of Abbott. Beyond work, we have customised trainings on market-leading topics such as cultivating a growth mindset, digital capability building, resilience, collaboration and strategic planning.

Additionally, employee groups are vital in fostering a sense of community and belonging. At Abbott, the Working Mothers of Abbott forum help women employees connect, share, and learn. Our employee networks, including, Women Leaders of Abbott, the Early Career Network, the PRIDE Network, and the Abbott disABILITY Network, further support diversity and inclusion. Digitisation and automation of HR processes are essential to improving efficiency and convenience for employees. We implemented AI-driven platforms, such as Abbott’s HR chatbot, SmaHRty, to provide real-time support.

These initiatives not only attract top talent but also ensure that our employees remain engaged, productive and connected, contributing to a thriving organisational culture.

What do you believe are the key factors that contribute towards becoming the ‘Best Place of Work’?

Abbott’s culture is among the factors that sets us apart as a great place to work. For more than 135 years, we have been focused on our purpose to help people live fuller lives. For the people we serve, we do that with innovative products and services. And for our colleagues around the world, we provide opportunities that allow every employee to achieve their full potential and offer the health, wellness and financial benefits that help provide security for them and their families.  

How can companies ensure that employee well-being and work-life balance are prioritised and maintained?

Companies can prioritise well-being and work-life-balance by creating an environment that addresses employees’ physical, mental, and emotional needs. This can be achieved through flexible work arrangements, wellness programmes and a culture that encourages ‘me-time.’ When employees feel supported in all aspects of their lives, they are more engaged, productive and committed to their work.

At Abbott, we champion this approach through our flagship wellness programme – BeStrong, that focuses on financial, social, physical, and mental/emotional wellness. Physical well-being is supported through awareness sessions and exercise challenges; we de-stigmatise and provide services for mental health conditions. Employees are educated on financial planning and build community through initiatives like volunteering. Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provides continuous support to ensure employees always have the resources they need.

Looking forward, how does your company plan to continue enhancing the workplace experience and maintaining its status?

We continuously assess our existing initiatives benchmarking against industry best practices. We change with the dynamic business environment to provide relevant and effective support to our people. Most importantly, for us to understand what we can do better, we need to know what our employees think about working here and how they’d like us to keep evolving. Our ‘Your Voice Counts survey’ helps us monitor what is good in our culture, what’s getting better, and where we need to improve. We pay attention to what we hear in each survey and take action in response. We’re also focusing on digitisation and automation of HR processes, which are essential to improving efficiency and convenience for employees. The workplace of today is vastly different from what it was a few years ago. At Abbott, we recognise the power of technology to enhance collaboration, innovation and employee experience.