Abacus Medicine Group’s journey to a strong Employer Brand

by Jonathan Hadberg Stephansen | Aug 1, 2024 | Client Case

Abacus Medicine Group’s journey to a strong Employer Brand

In the ever-evolving world of pharmaceuticals, the Abacus Medicine Group has established itself as a key player, committed to enhancing access to affordable medicines. With a rapidly growing workforce of 1300 employees and operations in 12 European markets, the company has become a leader in critical and life-changing medicines, such as chemotherapy and immunosuppressive drugs. This growth has been driven by a strong change mindset and a dedication to broadening access to healthcare, all while maintaining a human-centered approach.

Abacus Medicine, a leading player in the pharmaceutical industry, has built its reputation on enhancing access to essential medicines through parallel import and distribution within the European Union. Founded with the mission to bring greater competition to the Danish pharmaceutical market, Abacus Medicine has rapidly expanded across Europe. However, this rapid expansion brought challenges, prompting the need to redefine its identity and develop a strong, values-driven employer brand that truly reflects its core principles. Abacus Medicine Group recognized the importance of creating a workplace where employees are not only empowered but also play an active role in moving the industry forward.

At the heart of the Abacus Medicine Group lies a clear and ambitious mission: to provide better access to better healthcare. Their dedicated team works tirelessly to deliver medicine to millions, primarily in Europe but with an expanding global footprint. Abacus Medicine Group is at the belief that when their people grow, the company grows. This philosophy has shaped a workplace culture where opportunities for career development, role expansion, and personal growth are abundant. The company fosters a friendly, inclusive, and supportive community where employees thrive, move one another, and make a direct impact on driving meaningful change. This unwavering commitment to improving healthcare accessibility has fueled their impressive growth, pushing the company’s revenue towards €1.5 billion. Yet, with this rapid expansion came the need for introspection and redefinition of who they were and what they aspired to become.

Jacob Mittun

jmi@voluntas.com

Constança Pinto Moura

cpm@voluntas.com

Carl Emil Zacho Böye

czb@voluntas.com

Situation

Abacus Medicine Group experienced rapid growth, expanding its workforce to 1300 employees and extending its presence to over a dozen countries. This swift expansion necessitated a re-evaluation of the company’s identity to maintain cohesion and align with its mission of providing better access to better healthcare.

Challenge

The rapid expansion posed significant challenges in maintaining a cohesive company culture across diverse geographies. Abacus Medicine Group needed to bridge cultural differences and create a unified organizational identity. Additionally, in a competitive talent market, a strong employer brand was crucial for attracting and retaining top talent.

Solution

Abacus Medicine Group embarked on a strategic journey to redefine its employer brand. They conducted a comprehensive culture analysis, gathered data through internal and external surveys, and engaged employees in a collaborative process to develop a new brand identity. This resulted in the creation of the slogan “Moving Healthcare. Moving You,” emphasizing career growth, community, and societal impact. The new employer brand was integrated into all aspects of the company’s operations, ensuring it became a living, breathing part of the organization, balancing pride in their commercial achievements with the profound difference they make in people’s lives by improving access to life-changing medicines.

A PERIOD OF RAPID GROWTH

Building a unified culture with local heart

Abacus Medicine Group found itself in an exciting yet challenging period of rapid growth. The company had recently made a sizable acquisition, leading to a significant increase in their workforce and operational reach. Expanding into more than a dozen countries, they integrated diverse new teams and cultures, which posed a critical question: How could Abacus Medicine maintain its core identity and culture while accommodating such growth and diversity?

The challenge of integrating new employees across multiple countries, each with its own cultural nuances, became increasingly complex. The company faced the task of building a global culture that embraced local differences while fostering a shared sense of purpose and belonging. Balancing these cultural distinctions while maintaining a unified organizational identity was essential.

In the midst of this rapid expansion, Abacus Medicine Group recognized the need to clearly define and communicate its evolving identity and values. Employees and potential recruits needed a compelling, human-centered reason to connect with and be inspired by the company’s mission. The goal was to cultivate a strong, cohesive culture that resonated globally, yet allowed for local expressions, all while strengthening the employer brand in a highly competitive talent market.

Founded
2004

Yearly Oxygen
1,210 EURm

Human beings
1,324

Vision

We improve global healthcare through better access to medicine.

STRATEGIC INTERNAL EFFORTS

Comprehensive culture analysis

Recognizing these challenges, Abacus Medicine Group embarked on a comprehensive and strategic approach to navigate this complex landscape.

The first step involved a thorough culture analysis to understand the existing company culture across different geographies. Ole Lindhardt, the Global Communications and Marketing Manager, explained, “We found ourselves wondering, who are we actually now? We had grown so much and so fast that we needed to find out who we are today and who we want to be in the future.”

To ensure their approach was robust, Abacus Medicine Group gathered extensive data through internal and external surveys. They tested the employer brand’s wording with both current employees and potential candidates. “Everything we’ve done has been built on a strong data foundation, ensuring the choices we made were data-driven,” Lindhardt noted.

Collaboration was at the heart of their strategy. The HR team worked closely with employees at all levels, engaging them in discussions and writing sessions to refine the brand’s messaging. This inclusive process ensured that the new employer brand resonated deeply within the organization. “We needed to put our identity into words so that everyone could see it and work with it in our daily routines,” said Lindhardt.

Moving Healthcare. Moving You.

The employer brand of Abacus Medicine Group emphasizes personal and professional growth, offering opportunities for new roles, responsibilities, and locations within the organization. The concept of “moving” reflects not only career progression but also the supportive environment where colleagues uplift each other. It also serves as a recruitment call to action, inviting candidates to join the Group. The use of “You” makes the brand message personal and direct, engaging each individual and reinforcing the Group’s commitment to their development and well-being.

The culmination of these efforts was the creation of a new employer brand encapsulated in the slogan “Moving Healthcare, Moving You,” emphasizing both the company’s impact on healthcare and its commitment to employee growth. This brand rested on three pillars: Realize Your Opportunities, Enter a Caring Community, and Drive Meaningful Change. These pillars highlighted the company’s focus on providing career growth opportunities, fostering a supportive community, and driving meaningful societal change through improved access to life-changing medicines.

Abacus Medicine Group integrated this new employer brand into all aspects of their operations. This included internal communication, learning and development programs, and managerial training. By doing so, they ensured that the brand was not just a slogan but a lived experience within the company. “Embedding the employer brand into the company’s operations is an ongoing process. Continuous efforts are being made to ensure that the brand remains a living, breathing part of the organization,” Lindhardt emphasized.

BRINGING THE HUMAN ELEMENT TO LIFE

Building trust

The journey of redefining the employer brand was not just about strategic initiatives; it was about people.

Understanding that each employee’s experience was unique, the HR team made empathy a cornerstone of their approach. They listened to employees’ stories, concerns, and aspirations, ensuring that the new brand truly reflected their collective voice. “We found that our company culture was surprisingly similar across different geographies, which was a pleasant surprise,” Lindhardt shared.

By involving employees in the brand development process, Abacus Medicine fostered a sense of ownership and trust. Employees felt valued and heard, which significantly boosted morale and engagement. “It was important for us that the process does not end with just a PowerPoint deck and a town hall,” Lindhardt emphasized. “We are in the midst of rolling it out and implementing it into the organization, which will continue for a long time.”

The HR team embraced the diverse cultural backgrounds within the company. They highlighted stories from different regions, celebrating the unique contributions of each team. This not only unified the workforce but also showcased the inclusive spirit of Abacus Medicine. “We were fortunate to have a relatively homogenous culture, but we also celebrated the differences that made each team unique,” Lindhardt explained.

Recognizing that growth and learning are vital, the HR team embedded the new employer brand into learning and development programs. Managers were trained to live the company’s values in their daily leadership, reinforcing the brand’s message consistently. “Our managers are crucial in bringing our values to life in their daily interactions with their teams,” Lindhardt noted.

“We embarked on an archeological journey to unearth who we truly are as a company”

Ole Lindhardt
Head of Communication & Marketing

AN ARCHEOLOGICAL JOURNEY

Finding our collective voice

The transformation process was akin to an archeological journey, where Abacus Medicine dug deep into its cultural foundations to rediscover its core values and identity. “We embarked on an archeological journey to unearth who we truly are as a company,” said Lindhardt. This exploration allowed them to build a strong employer brand that was deeply rooted in their authentic organizational culture.

The new employer brand provided a clear and compelling answer to the question, “Why should I work at Abacus Medicine?” for both current and prospective employees. It successfully encapsulated the company’s entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to innovation and growth. The response from employees has been overwhelmingly positive, with many feeling more connected to the company’s mission and values. The strong data foundation ensured buy-in from both top management and employees, further solidifying the brand’s impact. “The reactions have been very positive. Employees feel more connected to the company’s mission and values,” Lindhardt said.

Embedding the employer brand into the company’s operations is an ongoing process. Continuous efforts are being made to ensure that the brand remains a living, breathing part of the organization. This includes ongoing training for managers, integrating the brand into learning and development opportunities, and continuously communicating the brand’s values.

Abacus Medicine’s journey of redefining its employer brand highlights the transformative power of a well-defined and strategically implemented identity. By leveraging comprehensive culture analysis, collaborative development, and strategic communication, Abacus Medicine has successfully redefined its identity and is better positioned to attract and retain top talent. This journey of transformation exemplifies how a strong employer brand can drive organizational success and foster a vibrant, cohesive company culture. In the competitive pharmaceutical industry, Abacus Medicine stands as a testament to the enduring power of purpose, community, and growth. For HR professionals, this story underscores the importance of empathy, trust, and collaboration in building a meaningful and impactful employer brand.

Explore other Insights

Nos Racines – Our Roots

by Jonathan Hadberg Stephansen | Jun 14, 2024 | Meaningful Societies

Nos Racines – Our Roots

Niklas Kabel Pedersen

nkp@voluntas.com

Voluntās launches “Nos Racines – Our Roots”: Preventing violent extremism in Tunisia, with a special focus on youth and women.

Supporting the Tunisian population and its institutions in their fight against violent extremism and radicalisation in Tunisia.

In recent years, Tunisia has undergone profound political and social changes and currently faces a severe economic crisis The unemployment rate reached 18.4% in 2021, with 40% of under 25s and 24.8% of women out of work. There are growing disparities in living standards between regions and political participation has declined.

Within this context, radicalisation, and exposure to violent extremism –in part linked to the phenomenon of the return of jihadist fighters (foreign fighters) – is a major challenge in Tunisia, particularly among marginalized youth. This risk is aggravated by the lack of detection mechanisms throughout the country and the absence of continuous dialogue between young people and public authorities, particularly the security sector.

An integrated approach through actions at local, national, and institutional levels targeting a range of actors with complementary roles and responsibilities.

Based on best practices drawn from the final evaluation of the EU-funded IcSP actions carried out by Voluntas between February and June 2021, “Nos Racines” has been designed under a cascading grants funding format. This approach will be implemented through partners, ICCG and FACE Tunisia, with local non-state actors (civil society organisations) operating on different sub-themes. This will ensure the territorial anchorage of the implemented actions, while responding to different local needs in a mosaic approach, thus allowing for a better adaptability of the project toolbox, and a refinement of both territorial and beneficiary targeting.

Some key figures

The project was launched on 8 March 2022 for an implementation period of 18 months.
EU funding for a total amount of 3 million Euros.

The project is implemented by Voluntas as Lead Partner, and ICCG and FACE as co-partners. The project will also include partnerships with institutional and local actors

Project activities implemented with non-state actors and institutional partners in nine governorates across Tunisia.

Ifrikya Center for Common Ground (ICCG) will empower its local civil society partners to conduct a process of multi-stakeholder community dialogues, thus building trust between key stakeholders (youth, local authorities, security forces, etc.) targeted by the project. ICCG will also build women’s capacity and empowerment to identify and prevent early signs of vulnerability among young people, with the support and collaboration of local women’s organisations and institutions in the target localities (Mothers’ Brigade).

Foundation FACE Tunisia aims to have an impact within communities as part of a local approach, by strengthening the resilience of those most at risk from violent extremism, but also by playing a key role in preventing violence itself. The action will promote the social and professional (re)integration of young Tunisians in vulnerable situations, with a particular focus on women and youth ex detainees.

Voluntās, while leading the overall project, will implement capacity building sessions for 100 preachers and imams selected by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The aim is to provide technical support in modern mediation and communication skills, in order to bring imams/preachers closer to their respective communities, especially youth. This will help limit the exposure of the most vulnerable populations to potentially extremist religious discourse.

Voluntas will also support the institutional and technical development of the National Commission for the Fight against Terrorism (CNLCT), in order to contribute to the strengthening of its capacity as a key actor of preventing violent extremism in Tunisia.

European Union Delegation in Tunisia

The 2011 Revolution marked a turning point in the EU-Tunisia partnership. Since then, the EU has been a key partner supporting Tunisia’s transition towards a modern democracy. Through all its instruments, the EU is supporting democratic and socioeconomic reforms, accompanying electoral processes, promoting human rights, strengthening civil society actors, enhancing economic and trade integration, and improving security. Since 2011, EU assistance to Tunisia has amounted to almost €3 billion with over €2 billion in grants and €1.1 billion in macro-financial assistance (concessional loans).

Impact Statement 2023

by Jonathan Hadberg Stephansen | Jun 14, 2024 | News

Impact Statement 2023

Niklas Kabel Pedersen

Senior Partner

With a new year starting, we always look back at the one that has just passed.

We do this to practice our self-awareness. We reflect on global developments, the impact we’ve made, the challenges we’ve encountered, and the lessons we have learned. We believe this foster growth and development. And what a year 2023 has been. Globally, we have seen a number of positive developments – such as the growth of solar power towards becoming the world’s main source of energy by 2050, and AI allowing us to expedite the diagnosis of rare diseases. However, what has been catching our primary attention has been challenges related to global and local peace, as well as humanitarian tragedies.

In 2023, we continued to witness the rise of extreme political discourses and an increase in the complexity of conflicts with civilians on the frontline. This has led to uncertainties impacting billions of people as we enter 2024; a decisive Super Election year with polling taking place in 50 countries and more than 2 billion people potentially casting their vote. These developments do not only intensify global tensions but also underscore the importance of putting the lives of human beings back at the center of our priorities. Our focus should be on supporting policies that cater for an increased realization of human potential through both the physical fulfillment of basic needs, as well as the creation of preconditions for mental resilience. As highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO), the absence of adequate mental health care constitutes a global emergency impacting individuals, communities, organizations, and nations. Continuing our current trajectory as a human species is no longer viable.

Along with our thinking at Voluntās, in 2023 the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, argued that we must revise the way we think and assess human progress. We must move away from “primarily relying on GDP as a metric of progress [… as it…] does not accurately reflect the world as it is – nor the world we want for future generations.”[1]

As more people start to wonder how to build a more inclusive measurement of progress and sustainable development, we lean in. Just like we have done for almost 10 years.

We have long been advocating for a paradigm shift; the world needs to move from pure capitalism to a humanistic capitalism.

In 2023, we have remained mobilized across geographies and industries listening to the voices of more than 70.000 people globally while striving to pave the way for a progress where every economic, societal, or technological gain equals greater freedom for humans to pursue their potential.

[1] Guterres, 2023

Acquisitions can be humanized

From our research we know that for most people, 47 percent of all meaning felt is derived from their work. Thus, for our partners across the globe, we have collected the insights from more than 40.000 employees and analyzed their thoughts to measure their organization’s ability to create meaningful work.

We have also developed self-awareness insights for more than 2.000 leaders to support them in their daily attempt to take steps up the ladder of self-respect.

We have delivered results on the cultural fit between a candidate and an organization more than 150 times, ensuring that a misfit in culture and virtues does not become a reason for meaningless relationships.

We have expanded this approach into the world of Mergers & Acquisitions with our Cultural Due Diligence framework™. This has enabled us to show how “acquisitions can be humanized”.

However, our curiosity does not stop here, and in 2024 we will dive deeper into understanding what makes cities and neighborhoods meaningful places to live. Watch this space!

As a global community, we need to stay mobilized in fragile environments

Throughout 2023, we have remained fully engaged in some of the most vulnerable and fragile contexts in the world. In Sudan alone, which is going through a forgotten but bloody civil war that has displaced more than 10 million people, we have worked to bring forward the voices of more than 6.000 individuals. This we have done to ensure they are heard when decisions are taken that impact their livelihoods. We have also scaled up our presence in the Levant, supporting refugees in Jordan and advising on emergency responses across the region. All this, while the devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to deeply impact humans and relations globally.

In 2023, we started working in support of the Ukrainian people as they navigate the challenging times brought about by the full-scale Russian invasion. We are honored to now work with partners like IOM and WHO there to support the crucial assistance they provide to affected civilians. We have also continued to grow our presence in India and advise partners in Libya and Tunisia focusing on governance, youth, and health, as well as climate action across the region. In a commitment to advance our efforts in climate action and gender equality, we have enhanced our research and monitoring frameworks, and published our work for inspiration (Meaningful climate action, Save the children, 2023).

To underpin fact-based organizational decision-making, we have conducted over 38 impact assessments, monitoring, and research studies, spanning across more than 16 countries. During our diverse projects, we had the privilege of collecting the voices and testimonies of more than 10.000 talented human beings whose perspectives would have remained unheard if not for our extensive network of data-collection partners.

Making a global impact

In our commitment to innovation and human-centered solutions, we have directed significant investments into the development of Delphi, our online platform designed to propel us into a new era of scalable efficiency and impact. Delphi will be a one-stop-shop for our digital products and will be launched in 2024. It already looks set to become a cornerstone of our digital offerings where meaningful work and operational excellence go hand in hand.

2023 was also a crucial year for Voluntās’ academic and global partnerships. With the continued support of the ALV Foundationand UNICEF Denmark, we have collected data from more than 12.000 children in Denmark, India, and Norway to identify what drives meaning in their lives. Our goal is to change the way decision-makers and institutions develop child policies. With the Youth Meaningfulness Index, we are providing an avenue for children to share what brings meaning to their lives and contribute to their well-being. On a global scale, we have also conducted the largest study on Meaningfulness in Life ever carried out with more than 18.000 respondents across 20 countries (Global Meaningfulness Index 2023).

We are proud of our partnerships as they contribute to our impact and global reach. And we know that staying honest and close is crucial. This has led us to expand our geographical footprint and open offices in Kyiv, Munich, and Nairobi.

With these expansions, Voluntās now proudly maintains a permanent physical presence in ten countries, supported by a diverse team of over 85 colleagues representing 23 nationalities.

Impact Statement 2022

by Jonathan Hadberg Stephansen | Jun 14, 2024 | News

Impact Statement 2022

Niklas Kabel Pedersen

Senior Partner

What we achieved in 2022 towards making more lives more meaningful

Despite signs of recovery from the initial downturns caused by COVID-19, tension, conflict, and insecurity continued to be prevalent in 2022. Globally, according to the United Nations, the number of forcibly displaced people surpassed 100 million for the first time. Furthermore, Europe suffered the resurgence of war with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which disrupted food and energy supply chains and impacted the standard of living for hundreds of millions. Drought and extreme weather conditions were observed on all continents, and rates of already-common conditions such as depression and anxiety went up by more than 25 percent (World Health Organization), while the sense of meaningfulness at work continued to decrease according to our research. Addressing these challenges requires a contextual understanding of the current state of the world as well as the various factors at play.

At Voluntas, we believe that every human being has the potential to grow, innovate, and create a positive impact on their workplace, community, country, and the world they live in. Voluntas’ mission is to facilitate and support the realization of this potential of millions of women, men, non-binary individuals, boys, and girls. We aim to catalyse personal and collective growth and meaningful change.

To do so, in 2022, we inspired tens of thousands, worked directly with almost 1.000 leaders, and supported more than 50 organizations in increasing the sense of belonging, purpose, leadership, and personal growth of their constituents, effectively enhancing their performance and impact. As part of this, we have listened to more than 40.000 employees to understand what drives their meaning at work and in life. With fact-based decision-making being at the core of our approach, we conducted 30+ impact studies covering 35+ countries supporting partners to tailor their programming and policies to the actual needs and dynamics of communities. Furthermore, we have had the privilege of collecting and sharing the voices and opinions of almost 100.000 persons that would otherwise go unheard. We have done all this by being present with partners in organizations and communities – even under challenging circumstances and in fragile contexts.

Together with our partners, we have supported migrants living in some of the world’s most unstable environments; we have listened to the stories of survivors of violence and used their experiences to inform our efforts. We have engaged with youth to understand their perspectives on the world and have gathered valuable insights into how different members of society experience and define meaningfulness. These insights have allowed our partners to adapt their internal structures, programming, and policies to maximize their impact.

Beyond projects, 2022 has also been a year of academic ventures and research collaborations. As such, we supported the publication of the first business case with Harvard Business School focusing on how to drive meaningful cultural change in organizations and embarked on the ambitious task of developing a global Youth Meaningfulness index together with the ALV Foundation with the goal of informing public policies and foster well-being for generations to come. We also started a collaboration with Saint Joseph University in Lebanon, allowing us to share our experiences from working in the field with future generations of practitioners through teaching and mentoring, as well as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India focused on exploring ESG metrics and linkages with meaningfulness and social impact.

In 2022, we expanded our global footprint to new geographies, including Beirut, Mumbai, Oslo, and San Francisco. We consolidated our work in Libya and Sudan and increased our efforts to prevent violent extremism in Tunisia. We also conducted workshops in Australia, Germany, Japan, the UK, the US, Singapore, Spain, and Sweden on meaningfulness in the workplace and beyond. Our team has nearly doubled in size as a result, going from 40 to 70+ talented individuals boasting different academic and cultural backgrounds and nationalities.

In 2022, our founder and CEO Morten Albaek released a book focusing on dissecting the anatomy of meaningfulness and human potential called ‘False Truths in Life.’ This work continues to shape our culture and external ventures in Denmark and across the world.

We are grateful to all our partners for the meaningful collaboration we experienced in 2022. We do not only care about the work we do, but also about how we do it and only by working together with like-minded partners can we achieve the positive impact on people’s lives we aim for. We appreciate your willingness to join us on this journey and your openness to our approach.

As we embark on 2023, we are excited to continue our work for more meaningful organizations, brands, societies, and planet.

Creating Meaningful Societies with IBTCI in Tunisia and Libya

by Jonathan Hadberg Stephansen | Jun 11, 2024 | Meaningful Societies

Creating Meaningful Societies with IBTCI in Tunisia and Libya

Rebecca John

rjo@voluntas.com

Meet Lisa Gilliam, Chief of Party at International Business & Technical Consultants Inc. (IBTCI), USAID – US Agency for International Development Monitoring and Evaluation in Tunisia and Libya.

Voluntās has worked with IBTCI in Tunisia and Libya for several years and is one of our most valued clients in the region. We have collaborated together on several projects, including donor mapping, context monitoring in Libya, and a series of policy papers in Tunisia.