Young Advisory Board is Golden Practice 2020

  • Novartis in Slovenia received the Golden Practice Award 2020, bestowed as part of the Golden Thread project, for the Young Advisory Board (YAB) initiative.
  • The Young Advisory Board is one of the innovative human resource practices that reflects Novartis’ culture of empowerment, inclusion and diversity, and development in non-hierarchical and agile teams. 

  • The Golden Practice Award is given to an organization that uses innovative approaches to the growth and development of the associates thus setting an example and an inspiration to others.

24. 3. 2021

At today’s Golden Thread Award ceremony, Novartis in Slovenia received the Golden Practice Award bestowed by the Slovenian media company Dnevnik for innovative and efficient human resource practice. The award went to the Young Advisory Board (YAB) initiative. These are regular meetings of young associates with the company management, which are intended for the purpose exchanging views, opinions, ideas and experience. 

The Young Advisory Board contributes to making strategic decisions for the company and building trust between young talents and the company’s board of management. Innovative human resources practice also represents excellent intergenerational cooperation and learning, which is crucial for successful decision-making and the implementation of new dimensions of successful business. »The award is a confirmation of the hard work and innovative ideas of all participants in the YAB initiative, which proves that young people can play an important role in making key decisions and is an excellent example of cooperation between the future talents and the company’s board of management. Crucial to the successful operation of the initiative was undoubtedly the exceptional openness of our President of the Board of Management, who gave us a voice and an opportunity to help shape the future of our company. On this occasion, I encourage the management of other companies to trust their young talents and include them in the most important decisions, « said Luka Ilić, founder of the YAB initiative, upon receiving the award.

The Young Advisory Board reflects the organizational culture of Novartis that is unbossed, promotes inclusion and diversity, and the forming of agile teams which are based on creativity rather than hierarchy. »At Novartis in Slovenia, we value and listen to every individual who wants to contribute to our common goals. We believe that the best ideas are born out of diversity, which we see as our competitive advantage. The knowledge, acquired through our long-standing careers, is gaining weight when we share it with young talents, who often impress us with their views and a different way of thinking,« said Robert Ljoljo, President of the Board of Management of Lek and Novartis Country President Slovenia.

Golden Practice 2020 is another confirmation of Novartis’ outstanding HR practices in Slovenia, which were also recognized by the independent Top Employer Institute that awarded Novartis in Slovenia as the first pharmaceutical company in Slovenia with the prestigious Top Employer certificate for the best employer.

The Golden Practice award is presented by the media company Dnevnik, the organizer of the Golden Thread media research project. Recipients of the Golden Practice Award are organizations with innovative, effective and creative approaches that are based on the objectives of the organization’s strategy, are proactive, inclusive and add value to the organization. Novartis has received the Golden Practice Award twice so far, first in 2014 for the Novartis Regional BioCamp project and again in 2016 for the Novartis Career Breakfast. The annual BioCamp event, which enables a unique connection between the academic and economic spheres, also received the Best HR Practice 2020 award - an honorable mention, at the International Conference on the Development of Organizational Sciences last year.

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Novartis is the leading provider of medicines in  Slovenia, where Lek d.d., Novartis Pharma Services Inc., Podružnica v Sloveniji and Sandoz d.d., operate. Together we are building and maintaining the reputation of a dynamic, ethical, and trusted pharmaceutical company. Lek develops, manufactures, and markets effective, safe, and high quality medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients. With our knowledge, quality, and experience we have gained an important role in Novartis' organizational structure, especially in the Novartis Technical Operations, Global Drug Development, Novartis Business Services, and the generic division Sandoz. We are the leading Sandoz development center, and one of the key development sites for technologically complex projects. We invest a great deal in the development, education, and training of our employees. Over the last nine years, the company has created more than 3,350 new job opportunities, making us one of the biggest employers in Slovenia. Novartis invested in Slovenia more than EUR 2.7 billion since 2003.

About Sandoz
Sandoz, a Novartis division, is a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. Our purpose is to pioneer access for patients by developing and commercializing novel, affordable approaches that address unmet medical needs. Our ambition is to be the world’s leading and most valued generics company. Our broad portfolio of high-quality medicines, covering all major therapeutic areas, accounted for 2020 sales of USD 9.6 billion. Sandoz is headquartered in Holzkirchen, in Germany’s Greater Munich area.
Sandoz is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @SandozGlobal at http://twitter.com/Sandoz_Global.

About Novartis
Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world’s top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at www.novartis.com.

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This press release contains statements and  conclusions based on projections of Lek’s future business operations. These  estimates are derived from the best information currently available. In case  these forecasts prove unreliable, the actual results could prove different from  those projected.

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For additional information contact:
Gregor Makuc
Communications & External Engagement
Lek Pharmaceuticals d. d.
Phone: +386 1 580 22 43
gregor.makuc@sandoz.com