‘Employees work long-term at Daiichi Sankyo for a reason'

[JOBs in the Pharma Industry] Hyundong Ryu, Managing Director of Management Headquarters, Daiichi Sankyo Korea

Driving organizational development rather than individual development based on 'cooperation'

Base salary increase rate applied to all employees...separate performance bonuses granted

To survive and develop, we need to change and adapt to change.

 

This is easy to say, but never easy to do.

 

Daiichi Sankyo is a master of adaptation.

 

The company has established itself in the domestic market by supplying drugs for chronic diseases, mainly cardiovascular diseases.

 

Starting with hypertension drugs such as Olmetec, Sevikar, and Sevikar HCT, the company has launched the antiplatelet drug Effient and anticoagulant Lixiana and has achieved continuous growth by launching new leading products in crisis, such as patent expiry.

 

Maybe it's the products, but it's also the strategy.

 

The story of how Daiichi Sankyo stopped promoting its antibiotic Kravit independently when Olmetec’s patent expired and focused on its circulatory system pipeline through co-promotion with a Korean company is still much talked about.

 

Now, Daiichi Sankyo is looking to take a new leap forward with its oncology business.

 

Last year, Enhertu, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that was listed for reimbursement in Korea, began to gain popularity in the anticancer field, supported by its excellent clinical results.

 

With an average annual growth rate of 15% from 2014 to date, Dailypharm sought to learn more about the talents behind the company's growth.

 

Daily Pharm met with Mr.

 

Hyundong Ryu (50), Managing Director of Management Headquarters at Daiichi Sankyo to learn more about the people behind the company’s growth.

 

Hyundong Ryu, Managing Director of Management Headquarters, Daiichi Sankyo Korea

-Tell us about the company's organizational structure.

 

What does the Management Headquarters do?

 

Daiichi Sankyo Korea has 4 headquarters.

 

The Primary Business Unit, responsible for chronic diseases and specialty drugs; the Oncology Business Unit, is responsible for anti-cancer drugs; the Development Medical Headquarters, which is responsible for clinical development, licensing, and follow-up; and the Business Management Headquarters, which is responsible for the overall management and operation of the company.

 

I am currently in charge of the entire Business Management Headquarters, which includes human resources, general affairs, finance, distribution, IT, business planning, and external relations.

 

-Daiichi Sankyo is very good at coming up with products that are needed at the time and achieving good results with those products.

 

This cannot be done without the right “people.” Daiichi Sankyo is known for its job longevity, especially in the industry.

 

What is the secret behind this?

 

We have our own management philosophy and values with regard to human resources, on how to develop talent and treat them at Daiichi Sankyo.

 

We don't just run a company for business, for sales, but for people to come together and work together.

 

The mindset of not using people as tools is something that has been passed down as part of our culture.

 

I think the sincerity of the management in valuing talent and caring to not make employees feel like they are being used as a tool is one of the important reasons behind our employees’ job longevity.

 

-Regarding the new Oncology BU, it’s not easy to create a business unit that didn't exist before, get it up and running, and then have it drive the company's future strategy.

 

What did you focus on and what difficulties did you face in creating the Oncology BU?

 

When you create a new business unit (BU), you're bringing in new people, and the success of the business depends on them.

 

We've been through this process twice in the past where new people come in, intertwine with existing employees, and grow.

 

The company has learned from these experiences how to integrate and resolve cultural conflicts that can arise when bringing in new businesses and bringing in a lot of new talent.

 

We believe that it is best to provide as many opportunities for communication as possible to help people understand the value of the organization's values of 'together' and 'togetherness' rather than trying to artificially seal conflicts.

 

#SB-You seem to have a good internal mindset to deal with change.

 

What does Daiichi Sankyo look for in its employees?

 

Daiichi Sankyo Korea has created new business units and recruited new talents, so in Korea, since the 2020s, we have emphasized and valued “Collaborate & Trust” the most.

 

We don't look at a candidate's experience or specifications but rather how they want to contribute to our organization.

 

For example, we try to select candidates who value work and take responsibility for their work, rather than candidates who emphasize the resonance of “I did it” or “I am the best” or those who want to prioritize their career path.

 

- Interest in multinational pharmaceutical companies has been rising these days.

 

There aren't many new hires at each company, but in the overall framework of multinational companies, this seems to be happening to some extent.

 

Does Daiichi Sankyo have any procedures or requirements for hiring new employees?

 

We hire new employees on a case-by-case basis.

 

It's not a regular program, but we have an intern program that has been up and running for more than 10 years.

 

We hire people who have a good work attitude and understand the value of “working together” as marketing representatives (MRs).

 

We don't look for any specific qualifications.

 

Unless we need a pharmacy professional, we look for a 4-year graduate with some language level, etc., and their attitude towards work and contribution to the team and organization's goals is important.

 

-What programs do you offer to foster talent after they join the company?

 

In terms of fostering talent, the company has a systemic roadmap in place for overall talent growth and support.

 

When you first join the company, we spend 2-3 days training you on the company's systems and other things you need to learn.

 

At the one-year mark, we have a week-long training session at a separate location with other new hires and experienced employees.

 

This is called the first-year onboarding training, which focuses on improving your understanding of the company's mission, values, and culture.

 

In the second year, we hold a reminder training (vision training) where employees reflect on the goals and visions they set in the first year and what they want to achieve within the company.

 

In the third year, you go to the headquarters in Japan for a week of training.

 

When it comes to work-level job training, some parts cannot be fully covered in-house, so we offer training support without a specific budget limit for all training needs.

 

Individuals can request individualized competency training, which they discuss with their manager and then receive support from the company.

 

At the manager level, we offer an annual 360-degree, multi-faceted assessment to identify strengths and weaknesses and provide one-on-one coaching on how to overcome them.

 

Key talent, such as potential next-generation leaders, is developed separately by HR.

 

For example, we support MBA and pharmacy-related graduate programs.

 

There is also a program called STDP (Short-Term Development Program) to help employees gain a global perspective.

 

This program is mainly offered at our Japanese headquarters but has recently been expanded to include offices in the ASCA region (Asia and South America).

 

-Is there a system in place that encourages employees to move between departments?

 

Many programs in the pharmaceutical industry allow people to experience different roles. We have a very active job posting program.

 

When we have a vacancy, we encourage job posting, preferably among existing employees.

 

It is difficult to verify the potential and capabilities of people who have specialized experience from outside the company.

 

On the other hand, we have expectations that people with sufficient internal potential can perform well if they are given time to develop their careers, and this has proven to be true in many cases.

 

-How are employees and executives evaluated?

 

We perform two main types of evaluations: Performance Evaluation and Competency Evaluation.

 

First, in performance evaluation, the basic framework is performance-based relative evaluation for sales and absolute evaluation for internal employees.

 

However, for both sales and internal employees, we make sure that the attitude and effort in the process of performance are fully reflected, not just the arithmetic results.

 

After setting goals, we conduct feedback interviews about four times a year.

 

Midterm feedback is used to correct the direction and track the process of achieving goals.

 

-I'm also curious about the company’s reward system such as incentives. There are two types of performance pay: individual performance pay and management performance pay.

 

Individual performance pay is based on the achievement of individual or team goals.

 

For the base salary, many multinational companies adopt the merit increase system and set the increase rate according to performance, but Daiichi Sankyo does not differentiate the base salary increase rate by performance.

 

We set the same base salary increase for all employees, reflecting the inflation rate of the previous year, and top it up with a performance bonus based on the performance of the organization.

 

This is because cross-functional collaboration between teams and departments is of utmost importance.

 

-Do you have annual longevity awards in addition to incentives? There are 5-yearly awards for 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service.

 

No one has reached 30 years of service yet, but there will be rewards when they do.

 

For 10 years of service, you get a 10-day sabbatical.

 

It's a valuable reward for contributing to the growth and development of the company over a long period of time, and in fact, long-term service is not uncommon in our company compared to other foreign companies.

 

- The slogan “Cooperation” seems to be at the core of the company's foundation. That's right.

 

At Daiichi Sankyo, individual achievement is important, but the performance of the underlying organization is also important, and this permeates the entire company as a corporate culture.

 

The company takes its time and encourages individuals to develop their capabilities over time.

 

The company focuses on “steadiness” rather than chasing short-term goals.

 

We are creating a corporate culture where each person is not engrossed in their own role but rather has a company-wide perspective, that naturally leads to cooperation and trust.