Global Citizenship

Creating a Culture of Citizenship > Our Workplace Employee Learning and Development

Robust Learning Program

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Professional Development and Mentoring

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Celebrating International Women’s Day

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Cross-Cultural Toolkit

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Abbott helps further the careers of its employees through a robust combination of training, on-the-job experiences and formal and informal mentoring. More than 49,000 employees in professional, leadership and functional roles participated in our learning and development programs in 2011.

Elements of Abbott’s award-winning workplace environment include extensive professional development, mentoring and training programs.

In 2011, Abbott in India celebrated International Women’s Day with lectures, training classes and team-building events designed to recognize and reward the unique contributions of female employees.

All 91,000 employees worldwide have access to job-specific training and development to ensure successful performance in their current roles across the full range of Abbott jobs – from commercial and operations to research and development, as well as human resources, finance and information technology. We also conduct ongoing learning, training and career development programs to help employees at all levels realize their potential. Abbott connects people and potential by developing current and future leaders through a robust combination of training, on-the-job experiences and formal and informal mentoring. More than 49,000 employees in professional, leadership and functional roles participated in our learning and development programs in 2011.

Cross-Cultural Training

Because the scope of our business is global, many of our employees work or travel outside their home countries – and cross-cultural competency is a key business need. Accordingly, Abbott provides all employees with free access to Cultural Navigator™, an Internet-based toolkit containing more than 100 country-specific modules with extensive information on local business practices, management tools, social etiquette and customs.

The Cultural Navigator tool also encourages employees to fill out a self-assessment that yields a personal cultural profile. This profile enables users to gauge their own business practices, management approach and behavioral styles so that they can compare their personal preferences and habits with standard practices in other cultures. Additionally, Cultural Navigator users can run business simulation exercises to identify potential cross-cultural stumbling blocks and prepare themselves for potential challenges in their future business activities. Nearly 2,000 employees actively used this tool in 2011.

Thriving in a Matrix Environment

Abbott also offers substantial training to help employees form matrix teams to more effectively navigate the increasingly complex health care market. While health care transactions traditionally focused on individual physicians or purchasing agents, the growing integration of health systems around the world now requires our employees to interact with a wide range of stakeholders – from physicians, pharmacists and other health care providers to a host of regulatory agencies, government payers, new private insurance payers and patient advocacy groups.

To more effectively serve these customers, Abbott has focused on strengthening internal organizational capabilities and implementing matrix structures to better support multi-stakeholder thinking. During the past few years, we have expanded our teams’ skills and experiences – and, in some cases, created new roles – in areas such as market access, key account management and patient relations.

Team members within this matrix structure typically need different skills than in more hierarchical structures. For example, matrix structures depend on close cross-functional working relationships in which teams composed of individuals with different abilities – and housed within multiple functional areas – can develop and execute coordinated brand strategies that encompass all major stakeholder needs. As a result, a brand team leader with ultimate responsibility for profit and loss in a specific market segment will need to formally supervise some team members, while influencing many others without direct authority.

To fulfill the potential of these coordinated brand structures, Abbott has increased our focus and investments in training. During 2011, we launched a series of workshops throughout Europe to train more than 1,300 people in cooperation, communication, community and decision-making clarity. In 2012, we plan to expand this training program to our affiliates in Asia Pacific and parts of Africa and Latin America. These workshops have focused on leading matrix teams, working in a matrix environment and enabling the matrix structure within Abbott’s existing organizational framework. Our goal is to build a powerful matrix culture that will deliver sustainable and measurable results.

Leadership Training

To complement these skills training initiatives, we also offer focused training programs for employees transitioning into management roles – to help our new leaders around the world succeed more quickly in their expanded positions.

For example, the Abbott Management Fundamentals program offers an extensive curriculum to help managers lead their teams more effectively, create a strong work environment and empower their teams to deliver results. Additionally, the Director Foundation Program provides management training for newly hired or promoted director-level employees. Launched approximately five years ago, the Director Foundation Program helps build capabilities in strategic thinking, influencing, coaching and feedback, along with a high-level discussion on Abbott strategy. The program also stresses the key role that directors should play in sustaining our success by cultivating a talent pipeline

Similarly, the Global Leadership Program (GLP) is designed to help new and potential General Managers (GMs) in our international affiliates become more effective by better understanding and leveraging the Abbott resources available to them. The program consists of two one-week sessions that take place approximately six months apart. The first week includes presentations on corporate strategy from Abbott senior executives, along with case studies on GM-level decision making. The second week focuses on people leadership – helping new GMs better understand what it takes to grow a business within Abbott, while also developing the talent of the people on their teams.

The GLP not only has helped us to bring new GMs on board faster and more effectively, but also has resulted in the creation of strong global networks of GLP alumni. GLP graduates routinely reach out and connect with their former classmates to share ideas, gain insights and explore new ideas. By including promising GM candidates in the GLP training, Abbott can make sure those candidates are well prepared to assume the responsibilities of the GM role when a suitable position becomes available. Additionally, the strong alumni connections enable deep trust and shared organizational understanding at some of the highest levels of management in our company.

Building on the success of GLP and other programs targeting key talent, we continue to expand our learning and development programs deeper into our talent pipeline to accelerate the readiness of more junior managers. For instance, the recently launched Emerging Leader Program enrolls groups of 30-35 high-potential managers at the regional level in Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Integrated into their personal assessments and growth plans, the Emerging Leader Program includes discussions of strategy, leadership and people management. In 2012, we plan to enroll four Emerging Leader cohorts in Latin America, six in Europe and four in Asia Pacific. We are also planning to launch the program in the United States and Canada.

At the most senior level, our Executive Compass program consists of a week-long intensive training delivered by some of the top 20 leaders in our company. Executive Compass provides new senior managers with a deep dive into Abbott strategy and challenges them to think through a broad range of scenarios affecting stakeholders and customers. Participants engage in a series of intense case studies that help hone their decision-making skills and prepare them for the day-to-day challenges of working in senior management. Executive Compass also focuses on building the talent pipeline. In the past seven years, more than 500 divisional vice presidents and general managers of our Large Business Units (LBUs) have graduated from the Executive Compass program (and its precursor, Leadership Forum), which we view as the capstone of our leadership development series.