LG Energy Solution seeks shared growth with employees

The fast-changing job industry in Korea has been showing a shift in work culture with a rising inclination toward catering to individual growth and self-improvement, away from a focus simply on boosting corporate growth.

The country’s leading battery maker LG Energy Solution is making strides to invest more in their employees. Under the philosophy that corporate growth is achievable when employees truly want to work in their positions, the company aims to move away from the increasingly obsolete idea that employees should abandon their personal endeavors solely for the sake of maximizing company output.

“The best employees make the best company,” CEO Kwon Young-soo said in a press release Tuesday.

Among the firm's 9,564 workers in Korea, nearly 80 percent are in their 20s and 30s. This younger demographic contributes to a more liberal and fair -- and therefore, more productive -- work environment, it said.

One of the ways the company has sought to boost morale among its employees is through the "flextime" work system, which grants workers more freedom to decide their own work hours and clock-in time depending on the day’s responsibilities.

Another is the online communication channel EnTalk through which employees can speak directly with CEO Kwon.

Kwon responded to 90 percent of some 800 employee suggestions made through EnTalk in February, according to the firm. Of them, over 150 were resolved, it added. The topics included, but were not limited to, parental and maternity leave, automatic bottle washers to lower single-use waste, and expansion of shuttle bus routes.

In order to encourage a healthier, equitable work culture, LG Energy Solution recently presented “6 Tasks for a Happy Organizational Culture," an outline that includes fostering a positive, appreciative atmosphere and paying attention to physical and mental health, among others.

The company’s focus extends beyond wellness to the strengthening of employees’ professional skills. Training programs such as the LGES Battery Academy serve to educate staff and equip them with diverse skills and knowledge that can generate both personal and corporate progress.

Stressing the importance of employee independence, LG Energy Solution previously launched two in-house independent companies late last year -- KooRoo and AVEL -- to provide opportunities for employees to take the lead in their own innovative business ventures.

Through these various efforts, LG Energy Solution has recorded higher employee satisfaction, it said.

“I have noticed that our company is constantly improving the work structure to be more rewarding for us workers,” one LG employee was quoted as saying.

“I can tell you that they are following through on their promise to be a company that boasts the best professional talent.”