Yes, You Can Work And Play At The Same Time In This Company!

By Theresa Manavalan

A strong work ethic, balanced with fun and flexibility, lets people realise their full potential, says Yasodha Selvaratnam of Roche Services Asia Pacific.

The Roche ‘People Practices’ philosophy states that staying successful as a company in the future requires that all employees continuously learn, grow and contribute.

Roche, a Swiss company, is the world’s largest biotech company, with a strong record in creating state-of-the-art diagnostics and pioneering innovative medical solutions. Roche Services provides Finance & Procurement services to 15 countries in the Asia Pacific region and IT services globally.

For Yasodha Selvaratnam, the Head of HR at Roche Services Asia Pacific, this means hiring the right people with the right skills to support the growing businesses across these countries. Which means you could potentially be hired... if identify with Roche’s values: Courage, Passion and Integrity.

To deliver the best pharmaceutical and medical products for global consumption, Roche engineered a global work environment that is transparent and feedback-centric. “Generally, decisions made are consensus driven where the views and perspectives of employees are taken into consideration.

To maximise the potential of every employee, they are empowered to design their own career paths based on their strengths with support from peers and leaders. “The organisation provides opportunities for global assignments and has a platform for cross collaboration on projects, allowing for career exposure and networking across Roche,” explains Yasodha.

Yasodha is a strong advocate for a balance between good work ethics and a fun and flexible work environment, as she sees this as a necessity for employees. “For instance, we have flexible work hours. The complimentary breakfast every morning is a great opportunity to catch up with colleagues from other departments.”

Yasodha adds, “Roche being a Swiss company emphasises punctuality, so meetings typically start and end on time. This discipline helps me achieve my work-life balance.”

“In the evenings, there are zumba and yoga classes held in the office foyer,” says Yasodha. “Futsal and badminton sessions are also a weekly fixture and we have a games & ‘Zen’ room, with a PlayStation 4, foosball tables, massage chairs and beanbags for employees to chill and relax.”

This holistic combination, which forms a stimulating workplace, allows colleagues to unwind, helping them to keep focus on why they are there in the first place.

What can you expect as a Roche employee? Plenty, says Yasodha and lists a few.

WORK BENEFITS Roche provides attractive benefits that are competitive in the market that includes flexi benefits to collective benefits like comprehensive medical coverage.

GROWTH The Roche ‘People Practices’ philosophy states that staying successful as a company in the future requires that all employees continuously learn, grow and contribute.

OPPORTUNITIES At Roche, all employees have potential and their development path will differ based on their career aspirations and capabilities. People are selected for roles with the potential to grow further into and/or beyond that role.

STABILITY Globally, Roche has over 94,000 employees and is active in 150 countries, which speaks volumes about Roche’s stability as a multinational organisation. Roche’s footprint in Asia is gaining traction with new services and roles moving to this region. Roche is currently the world’s largest biotech company and a forefront pioneer in in vitro diagnostics.

UPSKILLING The company believes employees are responsible for their own learning, and managers have an equally important responsibility to support employees’ growth and contribution through feedback, coaching, advocacy and opportunities.

FLEXIBLE WORKING HOURS Work-life integration is important here so the company practices flexible working hours where employees – upon agreement with their manager – can come in anytime between 7am to 10am and leave between 4pm to 7pm.

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