Leading and living vibrantly at Haleon

Haleon SEAT leadership team celebrating Lunar New Year with joy and tradition.

In a world where wellness and self-care reign supreme, Haleon is at the forefront of cultivating a culture that embodies our mission – to bring everyday health to life with humanity. Two years ago, our demerger from GSK marked the birth of a new, independent consumer health company requiring not just an operational shift but a complete reimaging of corporate culture.

As an HR leader within our organisation, I strive to lead by example, harmonising work and life and embracing the vibrancy of living fully. Yes, it is possible! Reflecting on my journey, I realise that the culture at Haleon has been my greatest enabler. Our Hybrid@Haleon initiative empowers employees to define what thriving means to them, ensuring our community of talent is nurtured and developed and preparing our organisation for the future of work.

At the core of Haleon’s purpose is a culture of wellbeing, so deeply ingrained in our DNA that we do not need endless workshops to uncover our purpose. Just mention our global brands like Panadol, Centrum, Caltrate, and Sensodyne, and our purpose becomes crystal clear.

Recognising that our employees are the driving force behind our goal to Win as One, Haleon invests heavily in professional growth and continuous learning to achieve our growth ambitions. Operating in the dynamic markets of South-East Asia and Taiwan (SEAT) presents unique challenges and opportunities for our leadership team.

While our global business strategy is clearly articulated in our ‘Win as One’ framework, its execution requires a tailored approach. Cultural diversity, varying labour laws, and differing market dynamics necessitate a nuanced approach to leadership. Haleon embraces this complexity by adopting a ‘glocal’ approach, prioritising the need to drive a global business while honouring the local consumers and employees with region-specific approaches that resonate with the local workforce.

In our SEAT Business Unit, we are on a mission to create a future-fit SEAT. Our People@SEAT agenda revolves around four pillars to drive this: Capability, Capacity, Community, and Careers. Here is how we bring these pillars to life:

Capability: We attract and develop industry-leading talent; growing ourselves and others is the behaviour we aim to achieve. In regions with high competition for skilled talent, we have earned Best Place to Work awards across SEAT, solidifying our status as a preferred employer. By showcasing our strong corporate values and the positive impact of our products, Haleon attracts individuals passionate about contributing to a healthier society, starting with themselves and their teams.

Building capability also means focusing on mission-critical skills for the future – transforming our workforce from ‘digital novices to natives’ and from ‘consumer awareness to consumer love’ are just some of the capabilities driving our growth.

Capacity: We unlock organisational and leadership bandwidth to free up trapped capacity and identify new sources of capacity. This involves simplifying processes, ensuring nimble and efficient ways of working, removing unnecessary decision-making layers, and embracing digitalisation.

It is no easy feat, but we strip away complexity step by step to create a simpler, more agile organisation. Shifting from perfection and control to experimentation, guaranteed success, and embracing fast failure, we have instituted agile and scrum methodologies to facilitate this transformation. Unlocking value at pace is our aim.

Community: We ignite a collaborative and purpose-led community to serve our consumers first, always. Our iLead community, composed of cross-functional team members in each country and manufacturing site, drives our people and culture priorities. Our extended leadership team of senior leaders also comes together for virtual learning sessions, fostering growth and collaboration for impact.

Careers: We create future-fit careers through initiatives like Grow@Haleon and the SEAT careers framework iPath. This holistic approach aligns everyone with Haleon’s career principles, emphasising career responsibility, necessary career experiences, and individual development plans to meet growth ambitions.

Wellbeing as the foundation of success

A company dedicated to delivering better everyday health with humanity must begin with its people. Underpinning all this is a culture of wellbeing I have personally embraced and lived every day. The choices we make, one decision at a time, shape our journey towards a vibrant life.

Haleon’s global policies, such as monthly no-meeting days, six-month parental leave, and one-month caregiver leave, are just a few examples of how we support our employees’ wellbeing. This culture has profoundly inspired me to live well, balancing professional commitments with personal fulfilment. My mission is to empower everyone through our People strategy to live and lead vibrantly, fostering an environment where each individual can show up as their best self every day.

Wellness is not a single activity or event but a way of life. Together, we strive to create a wellbeing community – within Haleon and in the communities we serve. Haleon’s people strategy is built on this foundation, ensuring that as the company continues to grow, its employees grow with it, and we Win as One.

About the Author:

Tricia Duran is Head of Human Resources at Haleon South-East Asia and Taiwan.