Our Approach
Strategic Direction and Accountability
Since 2008, the Global Diversity & Inclusion Council is the guiding force for Sandoz diversity and inclusion, and addresses the topics of diverse talent, building an inclusive culture and identifying marketing opportunities to serve diverse, underserved patients. The Global D&I Council articulates the business case for diversity and helps to jumpstart some of our most important leadership, recruitment, training, mentoring and diversity programs both globally and in some key local markets.
To build on the momentum of the Global D&I Council, we have created a network of D&I Councils in many of our key markets. They work locally, with the support of their Country Managers, to implement diversity initiatives and make sure that our practices benefit employees and patients.
To measure our progress on diversity, we developed a global scorecard and local country scorecards with aspirational targets, and we hold each Country Manager accountable for the success of these efforts.
Being the Best Requires Attracting the Best
Our vision is to become the leading generics company by cultivating an inclusive, high performance environment that values diversity. Our strategy is to leverage our recruiting efforts around the world to create a pipeline of talented candidates with truly diverse backgrounds in the 160 countries in which we operate. Attracting and retaining diverse talent gives us a key competitive edge in the global war for talent.
Empowering Our People to Reach Their Full Potential
We don’t just want to find the best employees, we want to make sure that all employees receive the guidance and resources they need to reach their full potential. We have created leadership development initiatives to support our associates in this journey. In 2010, we launched the Sandoz Leadership Experience, which provides ongoing leadership training to groom the next generation of leaders. In 2011, we launched the Women @ Sandoz leadership program which identifies and develops our female talent pipeline. We recently announced our new employee network, Global Women in Leadership (WiL), which offers women at all levels career development support and tools to build professional relationships.
Building a Culture of Inclusion – a Corporate Priority and Personal Responsibility
To achieve our goal of providing affordable, accessible medicines to patients around the world, Sandoz requires the participation of every employee. As such, all employees are expected to participate in mentoring, recruiting and supporting their colleagues. All employees also have an obligation to treat one another with dignity and respect – from the newest employee to the most senior. To this end, we have developed Inclusive Leadership training, a program which focuses on the importance of managing inclusively in order to build and sustain our high performance culture.
In addition to training, we are also focused on raising awareness for and promoting diversity and inclusion through the quarterly D&I Newsletter, the employee magazine Connect and global Townhall meetings. Since 2011, we have produced a global Diversity & Inclusion Annual Report, which highlights our programs and initiatives from around the world. Finally, since 2008 we have been recognizing D&I achievements with the Sandoz D&I Annual Awards. These awards are given to a team and an individual who make significant contributions toward fostering a diverse and inclusive environment.
Driving business results by leveraging diversity in the marketplace
By investing resources into understanding our patient groups and their diverse needs, Sandoz can better achieve its mission of increasing global patient access to high-quality, affordable medicines. Local D&I Marketing programs help to ensure we reach patient populations which would normally be missed by traditional market research. To date, we have developed D&I marketing programs in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkey and the United States.
It is clear that we already have the knowledge, skills and worldwide reach to be successful. Now, we are building a culture that draws on the broadest possible spectrum of ideas, experiences and perspectives. Looking ahead, our corporate culture aims to fully embrace its diversity and to empower every member of our team to succeed. This shared commitment will truly make Sandoz the very best it can be.