There are few things more important to an organization’s success than hiring well, which is why so many companies focus today extensively on employee experience. To understand how other companies approach the subject, we wanted to share some best practices from leading employers in South Africa.
Novo Nordisk South Africa has been certified for the second year in row as one of the Best Places to Work. We recently met with Sara Norcross, General Manager & Vice President Novo Nordisk South Africa to discuss some of the programs and initiatives they are driving around employee wellbeing.
1. Novo Nordisk South Africa topped the list of the Best Places to Work in SA for the last year. Can you share some of the initiatives you are driving for employee wellbeing?
We have just recently launched the Roadmap to Health and Wellness Journey and the “It Starts with Me Campaign”, which invites all employees to start their personal journey to wellbeing by following the 4 milestones of the Roadmap:
1) Choose a goal,
2) Make a commitment,
3) Cultivate good habits,
4) Achieve your goal, then celebrate and start again with a new goal.
The Campaign “It Starts with Me” makes the journey personal by reminding everyone that to make changes to our health, we have to believe that change starts within each one of us. Through this journey, every employee is provided with practical tools such a pledge card to insert their photo and stick it in a place that’s visible to remind them of their pledge towards wellbeing and to support them on their personal. Each employee also has an awesome wellness journal curated with a goal setting section, habit trackers, meal planners and body scans to encourage self-reflection and promote body self-awareness. It is hoped that the journal will motivate employees to take time out to prioritize their wellbeing and empower them with non-judgmental information to help them make better decisions about their health. As part of the Journey, there will be drop-in sessions with practical information to guide employees on how to go about cultivating habits that stick using James Clear’s “Atomic Habits” principles and an opportunity for people to share their own success stories and challenges.
2. How to drive a strong corporate culture in a hybrid era?
Our purpose is to drive change to defeat diabetes and other serious chronic diseases. That change needs to start with our people. At the beginning of the Coivd-19 pandemic, the P&O, Communications and Leadership Teams worked together to ensure we kept staff informed, engaged, and motivated. This included various check in sessions between managers and their teams, communications being sent from our Leadership to virtual exercise and yoga lessons to keep us all fit and virtual scavenger hunts to bring a sense of competition and fun. Many of our meetings are still being conducted in a hybrid manner, and as the regulations changed, we decided to offer our office based staff a 60/40 working model which means they could work in the office 60% and work from home 40%.
3. In your point of view, what the office of the future might look like?
In our industry, the office of the future is definitely hybrid, allowing employees the flexibility to work remotely on some days and work in the office as needed. The office space will move away from assigned desks & offices and instead, colleagues will book hot desks and meeting rooms for when they need to be in the office for teambuilding, networking and collaboration. The office space will be more attractive from a design perspective while being fit for purpose taking into account the evolving needs of employees where employees feel excited to meet with each other in an environment which inspires innovation. Some examples may be enclosed booths to facilitate direct lines into video conferences with those working remotely or in other geographies. There may also be library spaces and quiet thought booths to accommodate various personality preferences. Employee wellbeing will remain critical, whether it’s the provision of natural light, wellness spaces, opportunity for hydration or using any outdoor areas more effectively. The pandemic has also exposed our vulnerability and fragile relationship with the global ecosystem, thus many business leaders are experiencing a heightened sense of responsibility to attain carbon neutral status. The office of the future will have environmental considerations, using low energy technology with a focus on alternative sources of power to ensure minimal carbon emissions.
4. In your point of view, why companies in SA have a duty to help employees achieve their best ?
Top of mind is consideration to your employees, without them the organization cannot succeed. There are many ways to help employees achieve their best, through development and mentorship opportunities. Providing spaces for continuous learning to keep employees engaged and motivated to broaden their skills is important.
There has been a shift towards more purpose driven work and I think if we consider the new and incoming younger workforce, this trends is aligned with their thinking. With this in mind, we have also seen a more intentional move towards inclusion and the need for the workplace to be inclusive in its policies, environment and experience to ensure all employees feel valued, seen and heard. Covid-19 catapulted many organizations into the remote work, and many are now implementing hybrid working models, this means empowering employees to manager their time and fostering a trust culture.
