Exclusive interview with Richi Kukreja, HR Lead Director for Zoetis South East Asia

Zoetis has been recently certified as one of the Best Places To Work in Thailand for 2021. We went and interviewed Richi Kukreja, HR Lead Director for Zoetis South East Asia, who provided us insights into what makes the company an employer of choice in Thailand.

Question: How would you describe your organization to someone outside of your industry?

Zoetis is a global animal health industry leader, dedicated to supporting customers and their businesses in ever better ways. Building on more than 65 years of experience, we deliver quality medicines, vaccines and diagnostic products, complemented by genetic tests, biodevices and a range of services.

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We are working every day to better understand and address the real-world challenges faced by those who raise and care for animals in ways they find truly relevant.

Our name, Zoetis (zō-EH-tis), has its root in zo, familiar in words such as zoo and zoology and derived from zoetic, meaning “pertaining to life.” It signals our company’s dedication to supporting the veterinarians and livestock producers everywhere who raise and care for the farm and companion animals on which we all depend.

Question: How would you describe your corporate culture?

We at Zoetis are proud of our positive company culture and the meaningful role we all play in caring for animals both directly and indirectly. When it comes to our culture, our Core Beliefs are the foundation of the commitments we make to our colleagues, customers and stakeholders every day. They have helped us create an award-winning workplace and become a leading partner of choice in animal health.

We work hard to cultivate an environment where our colleagues can give their best every day and feel supported and empowered to manage their work/life balance whilst continuing to deliver outstanding results for the business. We believe these results come best in an open, diverse and inclusive environment; hence, we strive to build a highly collaborative and well-aligned organization that is fully engaged and understands the strategic objectives and direction.

Our colleagues truly set us apart from other animal health companies when they consistently demonstrate our Core beliefs in everything they do. Their passion and dedication have supported our vision of being the most valued animal health company that is committed to customers’ business and animals in their care.

Question: What continuing learning opportunities do you offer?

Zoetis beliefs that our colleagues own and drive their learning journeys at Zoetis, our managers support this through strong focus on IDPs, HR and L&D enable the growth of our colleagues in Zoetis. We are strong proponents of experiential learning and hands-on development.

Whether it’s on-the-job experiences, stretched assignments, business relevant projects or learning through mentors, we work towards actively creating a range of opportunities to learn from each other and develop our next generation of leaders.

We have developed a cluster-wide networking and learning community where colleagues have various opportunities to go beyond the bounds of their own role and country to develop themselves through best practices of other countries and bringing these to their own roles

We also offer various development programmes such as the Senior Emerging Leaders programme, Leaders’ League forums to focus on building future competencies amongst senior managers and leaders and strengthen our leadership bench within the organization.

Question: Describe some initiatives adopted by your organization during the COVID-19 pandemic to engage the colleagues?

With prolonged lockdown conditions, work from home and limited face to face interaction, Zoetis has applied three main principles globally and it is no different in Thailand. We are committed first and foremost to ensure that:

Our colleagues are being safe
Feeling Safe
And feeling supported

The leadership team has closely monitored the COVID-19 situation and the likely impact on our colleague wellbeing and operations. We have adopted a very agile approach in making necessary adjustments to our daily operations and empowered our colleagues to deliver their commitments with a “safety first” mindset. We have relied on virtual communication tools enabling us to overcome pandemic restrictions and continue to be connected with our customers.

This year, we launched our Colleague Well-being strategy focusing and prioritizing individual wellness on four fronts – mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing, raising awareness and bringing meaningful initiatives that will engage and support our colleagues.

A dedicated colleague team named ZEED (Zoetis Energetic Engaging Drive) regularly organizes several activities, such as fitness challenges, mindfulness workshops etc. for our colleagues. The wellbeing strategy has very well engaged the colleagues to develop the healthy Work-From-Home practices, support mind and body wellness as well as encourage sustainability actions at during the lockdown restrictions confining us to our homes.

Another critical engagement factor during pandemic has been the consistent and frequent communication with our colleagues to share company directions, performance and overall results, virtually recognizing the great work being done by our colleagues and opening up virtual avenues for colleagues to share their challenges of working from home. This has helped us to remain close to the issues affecting our teams and provide necessary and timely support.

Question: A message to potential candidates who would like to join your organization

At Zoetis, every colleague is encouraged and expected to have a sense of ownership which means every colleague is encouraged to develop personally and professionally by pursuing their own career interests and aspirations. What sets us apart is our singular focus on animal health—unique among industry leaders—and that fosters a “run it like you own it” mindset among our teams. Our colleagues know their decisions and actions make a direct impact on our business and our customers.

Whether it is helping pets live longer, happier and healthier lives, or helping ensure safe and affordable nutrition for people through healthier livestock, Zoetis colleagues bring value to society and our business by improving the health of animals.

We have created a distinct culture at Zoetis grounded in our Core Beliefs — a culture in which integrity, accountability, collaboration and customer focus are the hallmarks of our success. We invest in our people and offer exciting opportunities for colleagues to grow their knowledge and skills and take on more complex challenges that are aligned to their career goals and aspirations. We are committed to fostering a workplace where diversity is valued and discrimination is not tolerated, an environment where colleagues feel valued and have a voice in how we run the business.