VP Corporate Employee Health Management
The people of GlaxoSmithKline have made this company the success
it is today, and they will be the reason that GlaxoSmithKline succeeds
in the future. Achieving our mission -- Improving the quality
of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live
longer -- depends on recognising that our people are our single greatest
source of competitive advantage. And because it is vital that we
develop, support and optimise this valuable asset, we are committed
to creating the best place in which the best people can do their
best work.
To attract, retain and develop the best people, we need to provide
the best place to work. While it is important to have a first-class
physical working environment, it is even more important to have the
right culture; a culture that supports a resilient, diverse, healthy
and performance-focused workforce. Resilience is the set of skills
and behaviours necessary to be successful in the midst of a fast-paced
and continuously changing work environment. The implementation of
our Team Resilience Toolkit, which provides managers with tools to
assess organisational risks to well being and develop action plans
to address them, has enhanced team resilience throughout the organisation.
On a global basis, programmes that help employees lead healthier
and more balanced lives have been developed to support local and
cultural needs. Examples include health care benefits, employee assistance
programmes, childcare, elder care, fitness facilities, and HIV treatment
and education.
Another important part of having the best place to work is having
a safe working environment. Compliance to GlaxoSmithKline Employee
Health standards, which were developed in 2001, is assessed via a
global audit programme. From this audit programme and additional
global health data three key health risks have been identified as
areas of focus: musculoskeletal, mental health and chemical agents.
To ensure the business has the best people to manage these risks,
training and networking of Employee Health Management (EHM) and Environment,
Health and Safety (EHS) teams is accomplished through regional workshops
and post-audit support. In 2003, employee health risks were discussed
in regional meetings of a network of EHS professionals, and workshops
that were held in Singapore and Spain raised competence in managing
chemical agents.
When it comes to the best people, the health of our employees is
vital to our ultimate success. The company's performance depends
on people who are physically and mentally able and available to meet
our business goals. The EHM function provides the global framework
and strategy that supports the protection and promotion of employee
health and well being. A key component of this strategy is disease
prevention, which is accomplished through targeted health education
and behaviour change programmes. Delivery of services and programmes
within this framework is co-ordinated with the relevant Corporate
and Business Human Resources and Environment, Health and Safety functions
globally.
As with all functions at GlaxoSmithKline, we need to deliver
our employee health services using the best work processes, delivering
business results while providing opportunities for meaningful
and challenging work for our staff. EHM have favourably impacted
costs
through using the most cost-efficient channels to deliver our
services to employees, and through enhanced co-ordination and integration
with departments delivering complementary services. Examples
include
integration with employee benefits systems, integrated re-engineering
of the absence management process, optimisation of shared service
delivery in the US and UK, and a "virtual consultancy" model
for global operations. A key element of delivering best work is
measurement and evaluation. During 2004, we will be refining a
scorecard covering key health risks and conditions, attendance
management, governance, budget and cultural indicators.
It is through these continued integrated efforts that GlaxoSmithKline
will safeguard and enhance the health and well being of employees
and as a consequence, will enhance shareholder value.
Robert W. Carr, MD, MPH |
