Adalvo: One of the best places to work in Europe

At the end of last year, I was delighted to receive the news that Adalvo, one of our Alvogen group companies, has been recognized as?one of the best workplaces in Europe in 2021. We have always attached importance to cultivating and maintaining a strong, positive, and united culture, with the aim of creating rewarding, productive places of work. It is great to see the acknowledgement of the hard work of so many to create such an environment at Adalvo. Given the challenges and disruption that we have all faced in the last few years with the pandemic, I am particularly proud of Adalvo’s achievement.

As a culture exists within a company no matter whether those leading it intervene or not, and as there is clear evidence that a successful, productive, and long-standing company requires a positive culture, to me it makes sense for managers to do what they can to assist in this regard. This is not necessarily a straightforward task as a company’s culture isn’t built or improved overnight, requiring long-term commitment from top management. Defining the company’s core values and how you would like the culture to look helps here, I have found.

There are several key attributes of a strong, united culture and these include creating somewhere where employees are able to think independently, act proactively and maintain their own opinions whilst being guided by shared values. On top of this, for a workplace to be motivating, work should be fun in order to counter the pressure and expectation of achieving greatness. Once a vision has been created, it is easier to put values into practice. So for example, at Adalvo, we were able to implement a “purpose-driven culture” that promotes passion, unity, and employee empowerment and integrity.

An organisation’s culture is not just about the employees’ wellbeing and productivity — it can help to define the company’s external identity too. When all employees are aligned, business decisions and the way that stakeholders are dealt with are also likely to be aligned. It is well known that a strong image is important for a business, so putting the energy into the company’s culture is likely to bring positive results in the public perception of the company as well.

And finally, a strong culture will help the company to retain their best employees. A pleasant, supportive, fun environment where employees are challenged whilst being given the freedom to think for themselves will give a company a huge competitive edge, attracting the top talent.

As we look forward into 2022, I am excited to build on this achievement and continue to help employees achieve greatness, allowing our vision to guide us, our ambition to drive us and our culture to unite us.