Caring for our people in a time of uncertainty

Over the past few weeks as the reality of this pandemic has hit all of us, many including myself are left feeling vulnerable and anxious as we adapt to social distancing and new ways of working. For me personally, I’ve found grappling with the sudden shift to virtual working whist balancing my personal and professional priorities a real challenge and I’m still learning.  We’ve discovered that we’re not superheroes. But at the same time, we’ve learnt that we are so much more than that…we’re human.

I’m so proud of the care, resilience and positivity shown by our Novartis associates during these difficult times, and their outstanding commitment to continue the vital work of delivering life-saving medicine to our patients.

In turn, it’s our role as a company to care for our people and help them support their loved ones as they adapt to new ways of working while juggling family and childcare commitments. Our people will always be our greatest asset and our People & Organization function has a vital role to play as we unite around our purpose to unleash the power of our people at this moment that matters most.

Here’s some of the ways we’re supporting our people:

Expanding our learning resources for families

With so many schools closed, many parents now have to fulfill the role of teacher in addition to their day job. With my three kids now studying alongside me at home, I know the enormous challenges many of you face in juggling these commitments and as a company we want to support you in this.

We’re therefore increasing our rich range of learning resources and extending access to these to family members.  Through our partnership with Coursera, associates can access over 3 800 courses from over 190 renowned global universities and industry leaders, in multiple languages. We’re now offering two additional Coursera licenses per family, so that partners and children can also benefit from these amazing online learning opportunities.

Another great resource for kids is Khan Academy. We’re proud to be helping this not-for-profit virtual home-schooling resource expand their reach and continue their important work, and by doing so take our commitment to learning to the broader society.

Support for childcare

I want to express gratitude in particular to our colleagues in manufacturing and laboratories, and other critical roles, who continue to come to work under difficult conditions to ensure the continuity of our research and development and the production of billions of doses of medicine that our patients rely on. I’m inspired daily by your commitment and positivity in the face of these exceptional circumstances and recognize the unique challenges you face.

We will provide childcare assistance support to these colleagues in countries where schools and childcare have been closed, either in the form of access to special childcare facilities or reimbursement of personal childcare arrangements.

In situations where it isn’t possible for an associate to work from home or this doesn’t allow them to perform their responsibilities as a caregiver, we’re also offering a global commitment of 12 days paid leave, in addition to vacation and personal time off.

Maintaining physical and mental well-being

It’s more important than ever that all of us take time to look after our physical and mental well-being and agility. I myself have learnt that I need to create space in my calendar to switch off, support my family, fill up the fridge and regularly stretch my legs. We need to encourage our colleagues to do the same and to make use of resources that can help us manage our energy.

In the many calls and conversations I’ve had with colleagues over the past few days, it’s apparent that the biggest struggle many are facing is with their mental agility and adaptability. In a crisis, cognitive flexibility and our brain’s power to creatively solve problems and connect dots are crucial. Mindset skills that can help eliminate anxiety, create focus, and find opportunities are more important than ever.

Through our alliance with Tignum, our associates and their families worldwide have access to advice, strategies and support in areas like nutrition, movement, mindset and recovery through the new Tignum X app available on their phones. This along with many other health and wellness resources are available to our associates through our Energized for Life initiative. 

Staying connected

One of the most important ways we can look after our emotional well-being is to stay connected.

We’re supporting our people to do this through new collaboration tools and lots of tips and resources to help them work and lead successfully from home. None of this would be possible without the wonderful efforts of our IT colleagues. The fact that more than 80 000 of our associates are now logging in successfully from their homes is an outstanding testament to their hard work.

Now more than ever is the time for us to lean into our Inspired, Curious and Unbossed culture. This means empowering and listening to our associates to build on each other’s ideas and overcome obstacles in real time. One such idea was to donate to the global pandemic response via our online colleague recognition platform, and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to make this a reality. Our corporate volunteering program also gives associates the opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise and foster social bonding through remote volunteering. As a company, Novartis has announced a broad range of initiatives to respond to the pandemic including creating a USD 20 million COVID-19 global response fund, committing to donate up to 130 million doses of hydroxychloroquine, and collaborating with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to commit expertise and assets and support impacted communities.

I’m proud of the way our company has come together to support the global community and one another at this time of crisis, and of our leaders who have shown great empathy and flexibility in empowering their teams to reimagine their ways of working.  Most of all I’m proud of our people for the care and friendship they show one another daily.

Human resilience is remarkable – we will overcome this crisis and we will come out stronger. In the meantime, let’s stay connected and curious and let’s keep inspiring each other to be our best self every day.

Wishing you all good health and strength.