Pharmaceutical firm Astellas communicates its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy through presentations to its people managers, who can then cascade updates and information to their colleagues as they see fit. It utilises posters, banners and messages on plasma screens throughout its offices to make sure it is highlighted to its 400 UK employees during their day-to-day working life.
Robert Wigmore, senior manager, reward and human resources at Astellas Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), says: “It’s this kind of face-to-face communication that really stands out in people’s minds compared to just another email.”
Astellas offers its 400 staff the opportunity to donate money to any registered charity, or the organisation’s own foundation, the Astellas European Foundation. Its employees can also volunteer for community projects.
Wigmore says: “We had a lot of feedback from employees who wanted to run their own fundraising activities, which is a great sign that they want to get involved [with the volunteering scheme].”
The organisation also hosts quarterly Town Hall meetings led by its representative director, president and chief executive officer Yoshihiko Hatanaka, alongside other directors. During the final meeting of 2015, Hatanaka personally thanked all the 100 staff who took part in the volunteering scheme by name.
Astellas also runs annual peer-to-peer awards, known as the Changing Tomorrow awards, a name that represents the type of organisation it strives to be. The awards highlight employees’ commitment to Astellas, its CSR policy and innovative efforts.
