Name: Abbott Laboratories Ireland Ltd
Area of business: Healthcare
Website: www.abbott.ie
Abbott Laboratories believes in building trust between employees and the company from the very beginning. With a comprehensive 'on-boarding' programme for employees, all newly hired staff members are provided with a detailed induction pack, which is customised to their specific roles and responsibilities, and assigned a mentor to help them achieve their career goals. Emmet Wrafter, human-resource manager at Abbott, believes this is one of the reasons the company is a great place to work.
"Abbott recognises that its employees are its most valuable asset and this is at the core of the company's philosophy. We have received great feedback about our approach to on-boarding. New employees recognise and value this level of investment, and this builds a very solid foundation of trust between them and the company."
As part of its vision for the future, Abbott has developed a five-year strategic plan. Employees are encouraged to contribute with ideas and feedback on an ongoing basis, with inputs being gathered through communication sessions and internal and external surveys.
"This transparent approach with employees in respect of our business plan further contributes to enhancing the relationship of trust between management and staff," says Wrafter.
Another element that assists communications across the company is the newly developed web-based 'Employee Discussion Board'. It offers employees the opportunity to engage in dialogue on a whole range of issues, and enables senior management to communicate directly with all staff members. Wrafter believes it's a very effective method of communication:
"We used the discussion board recently to facilitate a consultation process with employees on the revision of our car policy. This enabled both office and field employees alike to contribute equally to the review at a time that best suited them. The feedback gathered enabled Abbott to put in place a better policy that had extensive buy-in from staff."
Last year, Abbott piloted a 'Life Navigation' programme, which faciliates employees' working needs, from allowing staff members to work from home more often to recognising the different working rhythms of individuals, for example, identifying those who are morning people and those who prefer to begin work at a later time. It also enables employees to volunteer in their communities.
"The key benefit for employees is that they are empowered to manage the demands of their work and personal life by having more control over the management of their time. From the company's perspective, employees are much happier, more productive and loyal to the organisation," says Wrafter.
As a global company with more then 68,000 employees worldwide, Abbott values highly the diversity of its workforce, and celebrates this with an annual Diversity Day. In Dublin, this provides an opportunity to celebrate and showcase the diversity of Abbott employees, while building greater understanding and awareness of other cultures.
