“The strongest and most consistent execution power to achieve our dreams comes from the happiness of our employees. In the not-too-distant future, 'LG Energy Solutions will be at a very high level that is impossible to compete with (much like an insurmountable four-dimensional wall), we will make sure that the phrase ‘our employees really enjoy working here’ can be heard all over the world.”
Young-soo Kwon, CEO and Vice Chairman of LG Energy Solutions said this in his internal company message earlier this month. It is about their company’s ambition to become the best in the world not only in the battery business but also in organizational culture.
As of the end of last year, the number of LG Energy Solutions domestic employees was 9564. Of these, about 80% are 'young executives' of the MZ generation. A free working environment and a horizontal culture are taking place in the company relatively quickly.
Kim, in her 20s, who majored in mathematics and got employed in LG Energy Solution Software (SW), said, “There is a high degree of autonomy in work such as the base office and WFH (work from home) system and the work environment is constantly being improved. Many are interested in the growth and change of LG Energy Solutions in the job market, particularly job-seeking graduates and experienced employees preparing to change jobs,”
An official from the battery industry also said, “LG Energy Solutions, the No. 1 battery company in Korea, is emerging as a ‘top desired company to get employed in' centering on the MZ generation. This is because, following the decision to raise wages by 10% for the past two years in a row and promising high compensation for talented people, the company is actively promoting the advancement of the working environment in terms of organizational culture and welfare benefits.
EnTalk, a direct channel between the CEO and employees, has also become a hot issue. EnTalk is an online communication channel where Vice Chairman Kwon and 24,000 global employees can directly talk. Through EnTalk, employees can directly send all opinions, including questions and suggestions, and various work-related ideas to the CEO and check the CEO's answers.
Unlike the 'sinmungo (official complaint letter' format where existing executives and employees forward problems to the CEO, EnTalk is characterized by being created as a dialogue channel where you can directly listen to the actual CEO's answers. There is also a growing awareness that the contents of the suggestions are being realized one by one, and that if they are uploaded to EnTalk, they will be actualized in reality.
△Expansion of parental leave, △Introduction of maternity and fertility leave, △Expansion of in-house daycare centers exclusively for LG Energy Solution, △Improvement of the in-house recruitment system, and △Introduction of the adoption leave system, which were actualized at LG Energy Solution this year, were all suggested through EnTalk.
In fact, at the beginning of this year, when a female employee's request was posted on EnTalk to "reduce the burden of childrearing and create an environment where they can focus on work," Vice Chairman Kwon promised 'a dramatic improvement in the maternity protection system'.
After that, it was decided to extend the parental leave from one year to two years and pregnancy and fertility leave were introduced. Afterward, a female employee posted on EnTalk entitled 'Thank you for improving the maternity protection system'.
At the beginning of this year, LG Energy Solutions announced the 'Six Tasks for Building a Happy Organizational Culture'. △Reporting/meeting culture focusing on core tasks △ Autonomous work culture focusing only on performance △ Horizontal culture through adding the suffix '-nim' △ Positive culture overflowing with gratitude and praise △ Pleasant workplace culture that cares for health/psychology △ Love for others and sharing culture, etc. It is to boldly remove obstacles that hinder work performance and to build a sense of psychological safety and a healthy environment within.
Vice Chairman Kwon said, “Our goal is to become the world’s best company that customers love and trust. After all, the most important customer of the company is our employees. We will do our best to become a good company that employees want to work for.”
By staff reporter Yoon-seop Song (sys@etnews.com)