As you enter the headquarters of Abbott India located in Mumbai’s BKC, the mood inside is one of focussed activity interspersed with fun and frolic. A recreation room is filled to the brim with games and bean bags, with employees flitting in and out for a quick moment of rest and relaxation or an intense competition over a board game. And while there is definitely pressure to meet deadlines and be productive at work, the emphasis on taking a break is equally apparent. What we are speaking of is a very large entity positioned as a diversified healthcare business that has been operating in India for over a century now. And its businesses encompass a range of segments from medical devices to diagnostics and nutrition products to branded generic medicines. Powering all this in India are its 12,000-plus employees, the second largest for Abbott’s global business after the US.
With its target of remaining a preferred destination for top-notch talent—that it considers is vital for its growth—Abbott India designs policies with employees as the focus. “Talent is a key priority for us and all our initiatives are based on ensuring that we help our employees grow within the organisation. The India talent strategy has been a key strategic pillar to help us deliver our business goals,” says Deepshikha Mukerji, Regional HR Director at Abbott India. With these focus areas, Abbott India has emerged as one of the top companies in the BT-Taggd Best Companies to Work For in India ranking this year.
The long-term objective for the pharma major is to build a diverse, innovative workforce of tomorrow. According to Mukerji, the company’s HR policies are aligned with this strategy and business priorities. “Our HR personnel work closely with business leaders to identify key talent priorities, capabilities and succession planning for critical roles. The changes in the external environment and corporate priorities keep re-shaping the talent requirements, impacting both short- and long-term objectives,” says Mukerji.
And to keep up with its talent requirements, Abbott has introduced an employee assistance program (EAP) that offers customised counselling and resource services to support employees and even their families. Added to that is a flexible benefits initiative. “This gives employees the security they need to choose benefits that matter to them at their stage of life. It relates to insurance, lifestyle and development,” explains Mukerji.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the company is its India wellness strategy, which she explains is, “a structured, uniform and holistic employee experience catering to the most prevalent facets of wellness over and above the existing benefits”. Within the strategy is the India Wellness Program that helps employees and their families achieve physical, emotional, financial and social wellness. Ambati Venu, Vice President of Pharmaceuticals at Abbott India, explains that sustainability for the company means delivering long-term impact for the people it serves. “It is about shaping the future of healthcare and helping the greatest number of people live better and healthier lives. For this, we constantly work to build a strong, more sustainable Abbott and that is why our 2030 sustainability plan includes targeted actions to create the workforce of tomorrow,” he says.
At Abbott, mental health wellbeing is covered through the Mind Strong initiative, also as a part of the India wellness strategy. “The objective has been to increase awareness on the issue, apart from providing a preventive mechanism to manage stress, sleep and other issues related to anxiety,” says Mukerji, adding that it is an integrated solution aimed at creating a culture of acceptance on mental and emotional well-being.
In a world where talent is the scarcest good, companies like Abbott spend a substantial amount of time, money and effort in upskilling employees. That includes developing new skill sets and digital skills across levels, and expertise in using AI-based tools and bots. “We have a well-defined development process aligned with our talent strategy. Employees are offered many development opportunities and have access to appropriate training,” she explains. Some of the initiatives include learning gigs on the company’s career connect portal called SmaHRty—an AI-enabled HR chat-bot that helps transform employee experience and offers real-time resolutions to queries on HR policies and benefits.
In line with what is taking place across the world, diversity, equity and inclusion are key at Abbott India. A highlight of this is the Women Leaders of Abbott (WLA) platform aimed at attracting, retaining and advancing women talent in the organisation. Mukerji says that WLA’s agenda has three strategic pillars—content, inspire and grow—and this covers areas such as creating an engaging culture, having a meaningful and enabling work environment for women employees and improving the gender diversity ratio. Other initiatives under the WLA platform include Wo-Mentoring, Empower, Happy Feet and Working Mothers of Abbott.
Abbott, as a part of its 2030 sustainability plan, is also looking to address the shortage of global STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) talent. This will be done through Abbott’s STEM programming and internships at high schools and colleges. The plan is to create opportunities for over 100,000 young people, with half of them coming from under-represented groups. For Abbott India, life clearly goes beyond work.
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