POSCO INTERNATIONAL : to Pursue Innovation to Become a Great Work Place

POSCO INTERNATIONAL
to Pursue Innovation to Become a Great Work Place

- Establishing a creative and flexible corporate culture befitting its status as a Globally Integrated Corporation
- Embracing autonomous work arrangements one after another including smart office, flexible work schedule and dress down policies

As POSCO operates group-wide satellite offices to improve work efficiency, POSCO INTERNATIONAL, a trading-focused affiliate of POSCO, is accelerating its effort to transform its business practices in line with the emerging New Normal through the increased use of smart offices, the implementation of flexible work hours, and the introduction of multi-generational programs that embrace Millennials and Generation Z.

Facilitating the use of smart offices would be the most notable change. For employees working at a trading company who need to build business relationships with a variety of partners to continuously discover business opportunities, smart offices promote autonomy at work and help them maximize their work efficiency as a result.

POSCO INTERNATIONAL is operating shared offices at POSCO Tower in Yeoksam-dong and WeWork Seoul Square near the Seoul Station, as well as smart offices within POSCO Center. From mid-November onwards, the Company also plans to set up separate work spaces at Parc 1 in Yeouido and Geumsegi Building in the norther part of Seoul currently used by POSCO Group in lieu of WeWork to provide employees with more flexible work spaces and to further assist them in reducing their commute time.

The smart office that opened last June within POSCO Center intended to cater to the tastes of Millennial and Generation Z employees. A total of 80 seats come in diverse arrangements for immersion, collaboration and standing at work, and meeting rooms, focus rooms and amenities including a cafe lounge all add to the convenience of employees.

Open work spaces and smart meeting rooms have rendered collaboration easier, and the seat booking system and the electronic nameplates created in connection with this system have helped establish a more free-flowing and flexible work environment. A facial recognition access system was installed at the entrance to beef up security, and rest areas including the cafe lounge support employees with more engaging and convenient work conditions. In particular, the overall atmosphere reminiscent of a cafe welcomes employees as they enter the smart office, and senior management donated snacks as an indirect yet heartfelt contribution to creating such a smart office environment.

On any given day, nearly 60 POSCO INTERNATIONAL employees come to satellite offices, and approximately 650 employees which account for 60% of total visited these offices this year. As employees at group affiliates as well as POSCO Group are given easy access to smart offices, this helps generate business outcomes in addition to improving group-wide communication.

"In meeting my customers in Seoul, I go to our smart work center once or twice a week. This helps me reduce the time taken to travel between Seoul and Songdo and effectively use the time saved for customer consultations", assistant manager at the sales department Lee Chang-Jae commented as a smart officer user, and added "In addition to work spaces, the center is equipped with spaces for rest and snacks and this is extremely convenient".

Furthermore, POSCO INTERNATIONAL is implementing a flexible work schedule program in consideration of its unique business characteristics of working extensively with overseas partners and of the different life cycle needs of individual employees. Since its adoption in January 2019, the use of this program has been on the constant rise, currently posting 710 in average monthly use, and is mainly used for the purpose of work, self-development and childcare.

The Company's dress down policy also helps develop a more flexible and self-directed work environment, and the proactive introduction of MS Teams and other collaboration platforms promotes communication among employees through evolving communication technology.

"Corporate culture is the source of a company's competitive edge, and we as a company need to innovate and manage our corporate culture in line with the shifting trends of the time", an official from POSCO INTERNATIONAL stated and went on to say "POSCO INTERNATIONAL will engage in ceaseless communication to keep pace with the changing needs of Millennials and Generation Z and to create an organizational culture that befits our status as a Globally Integrated Corporation".

The Company is also operating a range of multi-generational communication programs with a focus on Millennials and Generation Z. Reverse mentoring through which employees born in the 90's serve as a mentor for executives, virtual meetings that leverage diverse online tools including Teams, Padlet, and metaverse applications, and a program that instills a sense of gratitude among collaborating colleagues are just some of the prime examples. POSCO INTERNATIONAL aims to continuously improve communication with its Millennial and Generation Z employees in reflection of the shifting paradigm of the time to weave agility into the fabric of its corporate culture based on horizontal communication and collaboration.