The key to our long-term success

To operate successfully as a global organisation, it is essential that our people reflect the rich cultural, ethnic and gender diversity of our markets. As our customer base becomes increasingly diverse, a diverse talent pool of the best qualified candidates becomes a critical bridge between the workplace and the marketplace.

Diversity of our workforce enhances customer insight and our ability to meet the needs of patients and other stakeholders. Retaining the most qualified talent adds value to our company, our customers, our employees, our shareholders, our suppliers and the communities in which we live and work.

We consider diversity and inclusion to encompass, but not be limited to:

  • Race
  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Thinking styles
  • Religion and belief
  • Sexual orientation
  • Age
  • Differential ability
  • Education
  • Nationality
  • Life experiences

Our people are our greatest asset

At Novartis, our people are our most valuable resource. We want everyone to feel able to be their best selves at work and at home, and we are committed to supporting and enabling them to be inspired, curious and unbossed. The global pandemic has accelerated our organizational need to explore new working models and our associates have expressed a strong desire for more flexibility in how, where and when they work. We believe we can create a working model that optimizes both personal and business performance. Our journey toward that model is what we call Choice with Responsibility.

We have a great diversity of roles across our organization, and we recognise that some won’t allow for full flexibility, but we want to explore how we can offer maximum choice for everyone. This will be a multi-year journey and we have a lot to learn and experiment with but we have started our journey with the following steps:

  • We have introduced an updated flexibility policy that applies to all office-based associates. The policy shifts responsibility from manager-approved to manager-informed, empowering associates to choose how, where and when they work within the country.
  • We will continue to listen and learn from our people and run a global pulse check-in to understand how our new approach is working and what matters most to our associates, now and in the future.
  • We will also be expanding our mental health resources, with the aim of raising awareness, creating understanding and supporting associates and encouraging good mental health practices.

This is just the start, and we intend to create sustainable solutions to support and empower associates now and into the future. 

We believe that Choice with Responsibility will help many of our associates strengthen their work life integration, while supporting and furthering our culture journey and our business.  We are proud to take the next step in pioneering the workplace of the future, and in creating an environment that works for us all.