Q: How do innovation and customer satisfaction make for a robust workplace culture?
A: Innovation and customer satisfaction are vital as our main customers are multinational pharmaceutical companies and end patients. The healthcare sector is continuously evolving and as a result, innovation is inevitable.

We have to constantly improve our processes and the competition only highlights the importance of these two aspects. With a value chain that is driven by people, we must ensure that all levels of the hierarchy work together to build a culture that facilitates innovative processes.

Our scores in the Great Place to Work Sri Lanka survey for innovation and excellent customer service stands at 75 and 80 respectively, which reflect our culture of celebrating the attitude of trying to do things in new ways. We conduct annual satisfaction surveys to gauge feedback and thereby strive to constantly improve our services.

Moreover, our recent innovations such as what is positioned as Sri Lanka’s first ‘distribution-as-a-service’ (DaaS) pharmaceutical model called Healthguard Infinity and the iOrder app were possible because of the support of our team who acted as change agents.

Q: Is employee engagement needed to nurture a great workplace culture?
A: Organisational culture and employee engagement are connected. A strong culture drives employee engagement and in turn builds a great workplace culture; this has always been a key performance driver for us.

We emphasise a teamwork driven culture, encouraging employees not to work with a silo mentality and aim to nurture inclusiveness by treating everyone in the organisation with equal respect.

Learning and development has been another important element of the culture at Sunshine, providing employees the ability to realise their full potential. Even during lockdowns, we ensured staff remained engaged through learning management systems (LMS).

We maintain a ‘pay for performance’ approach, which is determined on a merit basis according to a performance appraisal system. Reward schemes have been introduced for staff recognition and motivation.

Additionally, we celebrate small wins through appreciation. People are encouraged to lead a balanced life with due focus on their careers, personal commitments and wellbeing.

During the pandemic, employees have been protected by the measures we took through technologically enabled processes. And we didn’t resort to pay cuts. Our employees feel immense pride in working for Sunshine Healthcare as they’re part of a conglomerate that is on a growth trajectory through mergers and acquisitions.

Q: Do you view organisational agility as a priority for Sunshine Healthcare Lanka?
A: We work with more than 30 global healthcare companies, and handle different cultures and work ethics. To manage such diversity, we emphasise organisational agility, which has been embodied in all our employees.

Our flexibility and the empowerment of managers to operate with autonomy have enabled us to serve our principals well. Ultimately, our high quality standards and timely customer service result in benefits for the entire pharmaceutical value chain.

Q: How can organisations strike a balance between their people and profits in the COVID-19 landscape?
A: In the COVID-19 landscape, organisations such as ours are called on to deliver a service to the nation.

The understanding of this ‘call to service’ by our people enables us to step forward and deliver on our service promise. As a company, we drive the importance of employee safety above all in facilitating an uninterrupted service.

Healthcare has been an essential service during the pandemic, and we’re expected to deploy our products and services. For example, medical devices such as ventilators for COVID-19 infected patients require our engineers to visit hospitals for equipment repairs.

Therefore, our front liners must be adequately protected through the provision of protective equipment and vaccinations.

Regardless of COVID-19, organisations need to focus on the triple bottom line, and be conscious of the environment by adopting paperless systems and cloud storage to reduce the impact of deforestation, while simultaneously curtailing waste and trimming unnecessary costs.

So even at a time when revenue streams are challenged, meeting profit targets becomes possible.

Q: In what ways can a culture of trust and transparency improve business?
A: An open communication system is embedded in our culture and this builds trust.

At our quarterly town hall meetings and reviews, we share results with employees, and use digital platforms to constantly engage and include staff in activities despite the pandemic.

Q: And how can organisations look to create a ‘great workplace for all’?
A: The leadership of the company should appreciate the merits of an inclusive culture and work with a common vision, which makes openness, transparency, empowerment and engagement essential.

At present, motivating employees at all levels by stressing how critical individual contributions are makes a difference. We truly understand that our drivers save lives through their timely deliveries.

Living by the ‘SUN’ values of trust, integrity, perseverance, responsibility and innovation in how we lead inspires employees to perform their jobs passionately.

 

INTERVIEWEE DETAILS
Shantha Bandara
Chief Executive Officer
Sunshine Pharmaceuticals
Sayandhan
Chief Executive Officer
Medical Devices Division
COMPANY DETAILS
Telephone:4702500
Email:info@shl.sunshineholdings.lk
Website:www.sunshinehealthcare.lk