May 10, 2021
In this episode of the Building Better Cultures podcast, Scott
welcomes Pritesh Shah, Chief Commercial Officer at the oncology
company Novocure. When it comes to the bio-science space, Novocure
leads the way with an emphasis on empathy – not just for patients
confronting cancer but also for employees tasked with driving
breakthrough science. Pritesh explains how Novocure’s workplace
emphasis on employee engagement and strong internal connection are
critical components to its workplace ethic and overall corporate
vision.
With its patient-forward focus, Novocure offers a new treatment
modality featuring Tumor Treating Fields, a proprietary therapy
that disrupts cell division in cancer tumors. In addition to
empathy, purpose and vision are two other key pillars within the
company’s business model. Pritesh shares with Scott the ways in
which healthy and vital workplace communication enables employees
to be most effective in serving patients confronting life-altering
health challenges.
For a workplace environment heavily dependent on sensitive
personal interactions, Covid-19 lockdown initially handed Novocure
some daunting challenges. Spontaneous brainstorming and creative
problem-solving were core components of their workplace culture and
adapting to a Zoom world required intentional efforts to keep
everyone engaged. Corporate leaders like Pritesh have had to
reconsider what worked and didn’t within the virtual context and
what the post-pandemic era’s hybrid workplaces will need in order
to thrive. Whether in bio-sciences or any other sector, going
forward the most successful workplaces will require openness,
intentionality, adaptability and a clear commitment to
communication from leadership throughout the enterprise.
Key Takeaways:
- Scott offers a big thanks for last month’s record number of
downloads and ongoing social media support.
- A bit about the podcast’s new sponsor, Workvivo, an internal
communications platform connecting people to their organizations
all around the world. Learn more about Workvivo
- The podcast opens with some background about Novocure, an
online platform whose mission is to help patients by providing
critical, cutting-edge information.
- Pritesh’s academic and professional background as a pharmacist
provide a unique perspective on the science as well as ability to
communicate critical life sciences information.
- Novocure is an investigational device that leverages physics to
fight cancer with an alternative approach that deploys electrical
Tumor Treating Fields to disrupt cell division.
- The company’s cultural orientation is 100% patient-forward at
every juncture along individual cancer journeys.
- Empathy as a front-and-center core value at Novocure and how it
shows up in the company’s day-to-day interactions with clients and
co-workers alike.
- How Covid-19 isolated people from one another and challenged
Novocure’s ethic of empathy. (Short answer: Creative leadership was
key.)
- Measures Novocure encouraged to ensure empathy internally
despite the pandemic’s impact and limitations on face-to-face
contact:
-
- Carve out time to create a space (such as virtual “coffee
hours”) for individuals to connect without a business agenda.
- Connect on a peer level by staying open and organically sharing
personal experiences and information (about pastimes or coping
strategies or favorite digital media sites, for example).
- Using audio rather than video as a different avenue to
cultivate deeper connection and focused communication.
- Innovation as central to Novocure’s leadership objective and
cultural value set.
- Limited options and other constraints (such as an inability to
communicate face to face) can sometimes yield more tangible results
than wide-open playing fields.
- Workplace cultures that sanction “failure” foster
out-of-the-box ideas and innovation.
- Internal communications and a culture of psychological trust
are critical to nurturing long-term organizational growth.
- Debrief sessions and what they reveal through surveys,
qualitative interviews, summary booklets and sharing sessions
across different groups and internal functions.
- Internal communications are critical to cultivating knowledge
sharing and employee engagement.
- Looking ahead: The future model for organizations based on
research coming out versus reality on the ground.
- Novocure places a high priority on productivity – both in terms
of work product and ways in which employees engage internally and
communicate to stakeholders outside the organization.
- The importance of defining new parameters for the flexible
workplace and establishing the best fit for any given
situation.
-
- Working virtually can increase focus, decrease stress and
commute time.
- Valuable problem-solving and bonding that occur with
spontaneous, unscheduled conversation are not to be
underestimated.
- Thoughts on leadership in the context of distributed work
environments – the skills, ability and time to manage. Key aspects
to consider:
-
- Well-defined vision and purpose as powerful drivers of employee
engagement and motivation.
- Creating a space for all team members within the constraints of
hybrid platforms that are neither all-virtual nor all-live.
- Ensuring frequent, high-quality connections and internal
communication among leadership, teams and individual
employees.
- When it comes to the workplace, the post-pandemic future will
be iterative and individualized based on leadership and overall
corporate cultural values.
More information about Pritesh and Novocure is available at:
www.novocure.com or
@Pritesh Shah on
LinkedIn
Learn more about Scott McInnes, founder and director of
Inspiring Change, by clicking here.
To discover Workvivo, a workplace communication platform that
offers seamless digital integration, please click here..