AbbVie's Employee Innovation Day has inspired may ideas including the company's purchase of bicycles now used to host outdoor meetings and encourage employees to be more active.
For employees of biopharmaceutical research and development company AbbVie Canada, "a great place to work" starts with the opportunity to change lives.
"AbbVie is driven by pure, real innovation and the remarkable impact we can have on people's lives," says general manager Stéphane Lassignardie. "Our purpose is delivering solutions that help people with chronic conditions have a life that is as normal as possible: to keep enjoying their children and grandchildren; to keep on working."
AbbVie manufactures medications that help address serious diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's, hepatitis C, Parkinson's and prostate cancer. To help ensure that patients can benefit from advances in research, the company collaborates with governments and other organizations to innovate beyond the drug development pipeline. "Sustainability of the health-care system is of serious concern to governments and private plan sponsors – if we want patients to benefit from the most innovative new drugs, we also need to help improve the efficiency of the system," says Mr. Lassignardie.
For example, AbbVie Care is a patient support program that currently has more than 35,000 members who receive education about their conditions as well as services such as medication home delivery that are proven to contribute to successful treatment out- comes. In the Maritimes, AbbVie works with physicians to reduce wait times for patients who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis; an AbbVie-sponsored program called Fit for Work helps employers ensure that people living with arthritis get quickly identified and referred, optimally treated, and supported by their employer so that they can realize their full potential in the workplace.
These programs and other patient- centred initiatives give employees a sense of pride and meaning, says Mr. Lassignardie. "Whatever their role in the organization, they know they participate in improving the lives of people who suffer from these conditions."
He shares a recent experience he had in the field, when a nurse who works with hepatitis C patients told him that all the people she'd met from AbbVie, whatever their role, were unique in the care they demonstrated for her and her patients. "When I have nurses, physicians, even government people tell me that, I know our employees are making a big difference," he says.
The organization's focus on innovation also means that employees are encouraged to try new things, even if they fail, Mr. Lassignardie explains. "We empower our people to take initiative – to come up with solutions, partnerships and ideas that improve the efficiency of the health-care system and the lives of patients."
Supporting this mission are employee-centred policies such as flexible work hours and locations, meeting-free Fridays and major workplace renovations scheduled for 2017. "We'll keep on improving," says Mr. Lassignardie. "We are constantly looking at how we can help our people have work-life balance so good it helps them be even more motivated, engaged and happy at work."
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