The plan will be led by Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who recently returned to South Korea after visiting the US. This was the executive’s first overseas trip after serving a bribery sentence, according to The Korea Herald (via). Under this proposal, the company will bring a revamped personnel management system beginning January 1, 2022. The move will also involve the abolishment of specific requirements for employee promotion. Currently, an employee is eligible for promotion only after working for a minimum of eight to 10 years. But as per the new proposal, employees will go through a “promotion session” that allows their work performance to be reviewed promptly. Samsung said in a statement that these moves would help the company elevate its best talent to the upper echelons of the company, regardless of factors like seniority. Furthermore, the Korean manufacturer will completely remove the job title of “senior vice president” and merge it with the position of executive vice president.
These changes are part of the company’s vision to build a “New Samsung” for the future
Moreover, employees can change their position after working for at least five years in a particular position. There will also be a talent exchange program that would allow employees in South Korea to work overseas. Samsung said it would create satellite offices across key locations in South Korea to aid remote working. Employee evaluation is also getting an overhaul with peer-based evaluations. Yonhap News Agency reports that Samsung will ditch the promotion announcement held annually in March. Additionally, the company would also hide employee ranks and the year they started working on its internal databases. This is to encourage free and open communications between employees without the barrier of positions and hierarchy. There’s also going to be a new “senior track” system to retain some of the skilled senior employees even after retirement. Vice Chairman Lee wants to position this revamp as the dawn of a “New Samsung.” The company wants to build an environment where transparency is encouraged while also eliminating a few archaic practices. The company ultimately wants to create a “future-oriented work environment,” thus offering additional flexibility to its employees.
