PULSE Impact Report

PULSE Volunteer
Partnership
2013 Annual
Impact Report
1
PULSE volunteers working at the Save the Children headquarters in the
UK. Left to right: Margaret Byrne, Rachel Gundesen, Hema Raval, Alan
Moodie and Valérie Paul
Index
Methodology
About GSK
Page 3
About PULSE
• PULSE Infographic
• 2014 at a Glance
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Change Communities
• Impact on Communities
• Key Impact Areas
• In Focus: Jhpiego
• Non-Profit Partner Testimonials
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 12
Page 14
Change Employees
• Impact on Employees
• Volunteer Testimonials
• In Focus: Vivian Cheng
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Change GSK
• Impact on GSK
• In Focus: Rogerio Ribeiro
• Success Story
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 24
Moving Forward
Page 25
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This PULSE Annual Impact
Report summarises the
impact of our 2013 PULSE
volunteers on communities, on
themselves and ultimately back
at GSK.
The qualitative data cited in
this report have been gathered
from case studies written by
volunteers, as well as from
testimonials recorded from
non-profit partners and GSK
stakeholders throughout the
year.
The quantitative data were
collected through surveys
of PULSE volunteers, our
non-profit partners, as well
as colleagues at GSK at the
end of a PULSE assignment
and 3 or 6 months after the
assignment has concluded.
About GSK
Yolando Sutherland, PULSE volunteer at the
Kherwadi Social Welfare Association in India
About GSK
GSK’s mission is to improve
the quality of human life by
enabling people to do more,
feel better, and live longer. We
are doing this by developing
innovative products and
improving access to healthcare
for patients around the world.
We have three primary areas
of business in pharmaceuticals,
vaccines and consumer
healthcare. Our commercial
success depends on creating
innovative new products and
making these accessible to as
many people who need them
as possible.
We develop and make
medicines to treat a broad
range of conditions including:
respiratory disease, cancer,
heart disease, bacterial and
viral infections such as HIV,
lupus and skin conditions. Our
vaccines business is one of the
largest in the world, producing
more than 30 vaccines for
children and adults against a
range of infectious diseases. We
also develop and market a range
of consumer health products
based on scientific innovation.
We have brands in four main
categories: Total wellness, Oral
care, Nutrition and Skin health.
We have offices in more than
115 countries, major research
centres in the UK, US, Spain,
Belgium and China and an
extensive manufacturing
network with 87 sites globally.
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About PULSE
About PULSE
The PULSE Volunteer
Partnership is GSK’s flagship
skills-based volunteering
initiative. Through PULSE,
motivated employees are
matched to a non-profit
organisation for three or six
months full-time, contributing
their skills to help solve
healthcare challenges at home
and abroad. Our employees
lend the same expertise that
they have been applying in
their GSK roles in order to help
our non-profit partners.
employee hours by their
hourly salary.
Since its launch in 2009, the
PULSE Volunteer Partnership
has enabled 486 employees
from across 51 different
countries to work with 92 nonprofit partners in 61 countries.
Over the last five years,
PULSE has provided nearly
£12.6 million worth of skilled
services to our partners as
calculated by multiplying
Our employees are challenged
to think differently, develop
leadership skills and heighten
cultural agility through their
PULSE experience.
“
The PULSE Volunteer
Partnership has a three-fold
mission:
Change Communities
Our employees use their
professional skills to create
positive, sustainable change
for non-profit partners and the
communities they serve.
Change Employees
Change GSK
Our employees bring fresh
ideas and new energy back to
GSK to activate change in step
with global health needs.
We serve as a matchmaker for GSK and the non-profit
sector – connecting the skills of our high-performing
employees with the pressing needs of our non-profit
partners. Our PULSE Volunteer Partnership changes
lives, not only for people in under-served communities
around the world, but also for our employees who then
change the culture of our company by bringing outside
perspectives in and helping us to stay in step with society.”
Dr. Ahsiya Posner Mencin, Director, PULSE Volunteer
Partnership, GSK
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About PULSE
PULSE Infographic
5
About PULSE
2014 at a Glance
Our people
In 2014, we have nearly 100
employees working on longterm assignments with 38 nonprofit partners in 33 countries.
Our employees are working fulltime with partner organizations,
sharing their skills, expertise
and knowledge to help address
global healthcare challenges.
Volunteers come from 30
different countries, including
some in the Middle East, North
Africa, Latin America, Asia
Pacific and India, in addition
to North America and Europe.
GSK employees from the
Czech Republic, Finland,
Indonesia, Lebanon, United
Arab Emirates and Yemen
joined the PULSE volunteer
community for the first time.
With our global PULSE offices
based in the US and UK, and
our PULSE local hub operations
in Latin America, Japan and
India, we continue to reach
a wide employee base. The
local hubs have helped us
to diversify our employee
participation and promote local
ownership of PULSE in our
emerging markets.
Our partners
This year, our volunteers have
embarked on a wide range of
assignments globally. 18 GSK
employees are supporting the
GSK-Save the Children global
partnership, which aims to help
save the lives of one million
children over 5 years, through
assignments in 11 Save the
Children country offices across
the US, UK, Latin America, Asia
Pacific and Africa.
Direct Relief was again
matched with several GSK
employees to support its
Pillar project to improve their
procedures to get vaccines and
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medicines to people in poverty
or emergency situations.
PULSE Pillar Projects are multiyear, multi-volunteer projects
that aim to create cumulative
impacts that “move the needle”
on specific, long-term global
health challenges.
We also have our first volunteer
working in partnership
with volunteers from IBM’s
Corporate Service Corp to
jointly identify technological
solutions to improve the
effectiveness of Amref Health
Africa’s Clinical and Diagnostics
Programme across East Africa.
About PULSE
2014 at a Glance
Our achievements
In 2014, we launched our firstever Innovation Challenge. The
PULSE Innovation Challenge
caters to our nearly 400
returned PULSE Volunteers,
who are back in their GSK day
jobs and brimming with fresh
ideas and new ways of thinking
from their PULSE assignments.
The Challenge seeks to
capitalize on their insights that
could potentially benefit the
business as well as society.
A total of 31 innovation
proposals were submitted by
our returned Volunteers and
they were further developed
through the crowd-sourcing
model. The top voted ideas
were reviewed by an Expert
Panel of Innovation Leads
at GSK and the five winning
innovations were selected:
- Donna Accetullo from US
Pharma proposed an idea to
address illiteracy by providing
patient information in our
prescribing information (PI) on
audio.
- Lidia Serina from Vaccines
proposed the idea to meet
our customers and patients to
stimulate creativity.
- Kirby Amponsah-Manager
from R&D proposed a “Nutrient
to Retention” idea that supports
our Africa 2020 strategy to
increase access and innovation
on the continent.
- Vivian Cheng from R&D
proposed improving access
to medicines for children
in emergencies/disaster
situations through more robust
partnerships with non-profit
partners on the ground.
- Florence Richard from
Vaccines proposed introducing
a “protected child” diploma
to increase immunisation
coverage in rural areas.
These winning ideas were
selected for their innovative
quality and for their high
potential to be resourced by the
business.
Each of the winners are now
working with the relevant people
and teams in GSK to bring their
idea into action. These top 5
winners are paving the way
for more social innovators to
be born out of future PULSE
volunteer cohorts.
The PULSE Innovation
Challenge will be held annually
for each freshly returned batch
of volunteers, as well as for
our growing alumni base, in an
effort to continue to find ways
to bring both business and
social benefit to our patients
and customers.
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Change Communities
In 2013, we empowered 99
PULSE volunteers from 28
countries to work with 46 nonprofit partners in 35 countries.
By giving our greatest
resource – our people – and
by being NGO-need driven –
meaning all PULSE projects
are scoped and pitched by
our non-profit partners based
on their deep knowledge of
issues on the ground and their
most pressing needs – we aim
to contribute real and lasting
value to our partners and
the communities they serve.
Our volunteers focus not
only on these critical needs,
but also on building staff and
programmatic capacity within
the organisation so that their
impact is sustainable.
Our volunteers bring
their skills, ideas,
passion and commitment
to create sustainable
change in organisations
around the world
Be the change!
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Change Communities
Our impact on communities
£3.1m
Why our partners request help:
In 2013, we donated over
£3.1 million worth of
skilled services to our
non-profit partners
Lack of time amongst current staff
Lack of relevant skills in the organisation
23%
Project Management
14%
23%
Research & Development
13%
Sales & Marketing
Data Management
Supply Chain
7%
9%
Business Development
Operational inefficiencies
PULSE provides a
unique opportunity
for non-profit
partners to benefit
from the expertise
of GSK employees
Expertise that PULSE volunteers provide to non-profit parnters
How our partners benefit from PULSE:
Our volunteers
provide strategic
direction and skills
that organisations
may not have had the
chance to develop
93%
Of non-profit partners agree that the
PULSE volunteer delivered against
their objectives
90%
Of non-profit partners agree that, as
result of the PULSE volunteer, their
organisation is doing something
differently at the end of the assignment
98%
Of non-profit partners agree that the
PULSE volunteer’s contribution was
having a desired impact 6 months even
after their assignment
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Change Communities
Key Impact Areas
Research and
analysis
Clara Marr (GSK UK) worked
with Cooperative for Assistance
and Relief Everywhere (CARE)
in India to design a research
protocol to assess the impact
of the private sector in the
diagnosis and treatment of
Black Fever or Kala Azar
(KA). “I successfully designed
a protocol and conducted
thorough analysis of the Indian
health system, particularly
in the state of Bihar. My
work supported CARE’s
Strengthening Kala Azar
Elimination Project (SKAEP)
and provided a practical
solution to a major problem
in the programme – reaching
out to the unreached patient
population. Eventually, the
evidence generated from the
research will help CARE India
to facilitate changes to public
policy for a new approach to
both treating and raising public
awareness of KA.”
Improving healthcare
Paul Wannamaker (GSK US)
worked with Malaria Consortium
(MC) in Nigeria to support a
new programme evaluating the
effectiveness of preventative
malaria medication during the
rainy season in appropriate
areas across Nigeria. “My work
was directly aligned with MC’s
goals of malaria treatment,
prevention and childhood
diseases. Capacity building was
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a key objective of the project as
well. This included the training
of a Research Officer, many
Community Health Extension
Workers, Primary Health Care
workers and strengthening
of logistics pathways for
commodity distribution. The
capacity building component
will be leveraged for additional
initiatives, including Integrated
Community Care Management,
which will broaden the impact
beyond malaria prevention
and treatment into other areas
of child health – diarrhea,
pneumonia, neglected tropical
diseases, childhood nutrition.”
Increasing staff
capability
Desiree Schaefer (GSK
US) worked with the Alex’s
Lemonade Stand Foundation
(ALSF) in Philadelphia (US) to
develop and implement a five
year strategic plan, including
coaching and empowering
staff to work collaboratively
toward their long terms
goals. “At the conclusion
of my assignment, each
ALSF department received
clear working documents
that will help them move
toward achieving the goals
of the overall strategic plan.
With this in hand, as well
as processes for tracking,
measuring and communicating
success, the ALSF team will
be ready to move forward
with the help of an internal
project management team to
continue implementation of the
identified priorities.”
Ramunas Rainys, PULSE volunteer
at Save the Children Peru
Communications and
marketing
Karolina Bielawska (GSK
Poland) worked with Mundo
Sano in Argentina to develop
a communication strategy to
support them in their work
on combating neglected
tropical diseases in parts of
Latin America. “I was able
to develop a communication
plan for the Desafio project,
which aims to carry out
research on prevention and
assistance, including diagnosis
and treatment of Chagas
disease and soil-transmitted
helminthiases, in both endemic
and non-endemic urban
and rural areas. I developed
communication materials and
also provided guidance and
training to the local team to
implement the communication
strategy after my departure
with the usage of ADP (change
and project management
methodology used in GSK).”
Strategic planning
David Mobbs (GSK UK) worked
with Save the Children in the
UK to develop an evaluation
framework for the GSK-Save
partnership to help save
1 million children’s lives.
“The GSK-Save partnership
comprises several workstreams, including Vaccines,
R&D Medicines, Advocacy,
Nutrition, Communications
and Fundraising. My task was
to assess which of the workstreams will directly contribute
to saving lives and to work with
work-stream leaders from both
Save and GSK to develop key
performance indicators that
could potentially predict lives
saved from their interventions.
It was a challenging task and I
was able to contribute most by
assessing the synergies on both
sides and creating channels for
sharing knowledge/information
to help progress the project.”
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Change Communities
Chantelle Allen (front row
middle), Country Director
for Jhpiego Ghana, has
been supporting PULSE
volunteers since 2012
In Focus: Chantelle Allen, Jhpiego
How have you been
connected to PULSE?
I have been Country Director for
Jhpiego Ghana since 2010. We
were among the first country
offices within Jhpiego to be
identified for the placement of
PULSE Volunteers. I have been
the manager overseeing these
volunteers since the start of our
partnership with GSK PULSE in
July 2012.
Tell us more about Jhpiego
and how PULSE has
benefitted the organisation’s
mission and the
communities you serve?
Jhpiego is a non-profit health
organization affiliated with
Johns Hopkins University
with a mission to improve the
health of women and families
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in developing countries. The
PULSE volunteers in Ghana
have served on the STAR CHPS
project – Supportive Technical
Assistance for Revitalizing
Community-based Health and
Planning Services – which aims
to increase access to quality
health care, ultimately providing
communities with better health
outcomes.Almost immediate
benefits could be seen after
interaction with our first PULSE
volunteers, Allison Barnes and
Binita Patel. Allison helped
design a monitoring database
for STAR CHPS that enabled us
to look at routine health data and
gauge our successes over time.
She also conducted MS Excel
tutorials to expand the local
team knowledge. Binita helped
develop a communications
strategy to disseminate project
information and success
Change Communities
stories to stakeholders. She
emphasised the importance
of knowing your audience
and tailoring communication
techniques accordingly.
Christie Murphy continued the
work of her GSK predecessors
and performed data quality
checks at the healthcare
facilities, collected raw data
while populating the database
and documented the project in
photographs. After recognizing
a need for prenatal care kits
at the healthcare facilities, she
used her GSK network to help
raise funds.
Mea Frantz and Kirby
Amponsah-Manager then took
the communications work to
the next level. Mea worked on
external positioning strategies
by developing a press kit,
managing the media for a
project event, starting our
project’s Facebook page and
creating a mentor program
for community health nurses.
She also ran workshops
to educate the team on
documenting success stories.
Kirby developed a client
satisfaction survey to help
understand the voice of
the customer. Kirby helped
roll out the survey at 17
community facilities to solicit
feedback from the actual
beneficiaries of our services.
This data was presented to
the Ghana Health Service
leaders and started an
important conversation
on client satisfaction and
providing quality services.
All of these volunteers
have used their unique and
complementary skill-sets to
advance the Jhpiego project.
Continuing this trend, Jennifer
Jones is the current volunteer
providing communications
support to the Ghana
office and assisting in the
production of a documentary
to illustrate the impact of the
STAR CHPS project.
What do you most appreciate
about PULSE?
The PULSE partnership is
unique, as it fosters a creative
environment and a mutually
beneficial relationship where
both GSK and Jhpiego
contribute to create sustainable
communities. GSK has donated
mature, highly professional
individuals to our organisation.
Each volunteer has brought a
fresh pair of eyes and unique
skills to the Jhpiego Ghana
team. I know that they make
huge personal sacrifices by
leaving families, jobs and
comforts of home to follow their
passion to serve communities.
The best practices shared
by the volunteers have
become part of our work life,
leaving behind a sustainable
and a priceless gift! The
investment from GSK must
be huge, though together we
are creating ambassadors
within GSK – people who
think about things differently.
I hope Jhpiego has assisted
with the volunteers’ personal
and professional growth as
well opened a window into the
wonders and challenges of
the developing world. Thank
you, GSK!
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Change Communities
Non-profit Partner Testimonials
Employees selected for PULSE represent the
diversity of skills in our global employee base. From
scientists to marketers, IT professionals to logistics
experts, HR specialists to project managers, our
PULSE volunteers contribute to a diverse set of
impact areas for our non-profit partners
Sara Poston, US Health
Outcomes Director,
completed a 6 month fulltime PULSE assignment
with Philadelphia Education
Fund (PEF) in 2013. Don
McKinney, PEF Math &
Science Coalition leader,
who worked with Sara says:
“Following the recommendation
of past PULSE volunteers,
Sara’s assignment was to
advance the Philadelphia
Math and Science Coalition’s
strategic planning by creating
a Steering Committee for
the Coalition. Sara very
skillfully led us to that
goal. She designed the
Steering Committee vision
and objectives, helped to
recruit members, guided
the development of its initial
agenda, and generally
managed this initiative
from beginning to end.
Sara mastered the ideas
behind collective impact
to successfully manage
the Steering Committee
development. Sara’s work
created the beginning of a
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new era for us. I think this
represents the central idea of
PULSE — sustained forward
movement of a high-priority
non-profit need-driven project.
We were fortunate to have
Sara working with us this year.”
Kumudini Welmillage,
HR Director, Sri Lanka,
completed a 3 month
full-time home based
assignment with Leonard
Cheshire Disability (LCD) in
2013. Mary-Alice McDevitt,
Corporate Partnerships
Manager, LCD says:
“We have been completely
blown away with Kumudini’s
passion, commitment and
what she’s achieved in her
3 month PULSE assignment
with us. She went far above
and beyond her assignment,
not just helping to transform
the team’s HR policies and
systems, but creating some
amazing new links with
companies in Sri Lanka who
have committed to offering
employment to people with
disabilities.”
Change Employees
The PULSE Volunteer
Partnership offers our
employees a unique
opportunity to enhance their
understanding of the global
healthcare landscape, increase
energy and motivation, and
develop leadership skills and
knowledge. In particular, the
PULSE Volunteer Partnership
aims to develop key behaviours
identified by GSK as critical
for leadership and successful
delivery of our mission to help
people do more, feel better and
live longer.
81%
98%
Capability, skills
& performance
Leadership
development
of volunteers agree they are
now doing something differently
back at GSK as a result of their
PULSE experience
Martin Brandt, PULSE
volunteer at the OGRA
Foundation in Kenya
of PULSE volunteers believe
their PULSE assignments
helped them develop their
leadership skills
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Change Employees
Impact on Employees
We asked PULSE volunteers and their teams to what extent
they believe that the PULSE assignments helped them
develop their capability on the following GSK Behaviours
Flexible Thinking
Build Relationships
Enable and Drive Change
100% of volunteers agree
98% of volunteers agree they
89% of volunteers agree they
93% of their colleagues
93% of their colleagues
86% of their colleagues
they are more open to different
views and ideas.
agree that volunteers
developed this behaviour.
Developing People
are now building more trustful
relationships.
agree that volunteers
developed this behaviour.
Continuous Improvement
are more proactive and open to
empowering others.
agree that volunteers
developed this behaviour.
Customer Driven
89% of volunteers agree they
89% of volunteers agree they
86% of volunteers agree they
82% of their colleagues
89% of their colleagues
89% of their colleagues
are more capable of supporting
the development of others.
agree that volunteers
developed this behaviour.
“
are more capable of identifying
ways to simplify things.
agree that volunteers
developed this behaviour.
PULSE makes a difference for communities in
need, and it is a life-changing experience for our
employees who gain an enhanced understanding
of the global environment in which we operate.
This flagship program is evolving our company’s
culture into one that is more open-minded,
generous of spirit, and focused on individuals of all
income levels throughout the world.”
Claire Thomas, SVP, Human Resources
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are more likely to put customers
at the heart of their decisions.
agree that volunteers
developed this behaviour.
Change Employees
PULSE volunteer testimonials
Yocelin Escobar, Medical
Representative, Mexico worked
with Saúde Criança in Brazil:
“PULSE changed my life. I came
back to GSK with a different
perspective about how we do
things here. Working closer to
the patient reminded me that
in GSK we do more than just
sell drugs – we promote health.
PULSE reminds us that our
work has a purpose: there are
people out there who need us.
Personally, PULSE allowed me
to be more independent, flexible
and objective, and made me
know myself more.”
Moaz Ibrahim, Medical
Representative, Saudi
Arabia worked with Malaria
Consortium in Nigeria:
“My PULSE assignment had
a huge impact on my attitude,
especially how I could behave
with the highest levels of
flexibility without losing focus
on the optimal goals. In
addition, managing people
from different cultures with
different habits developed my
level of emotional intelligence
and how to adapt the message
according to the cultural
background of the person.”
Hyacinth Okpechi, PULSE
volunteer at Direct Relief in the US
Hyacinth Okpechi, Shift
Manager, Nigeria worked with
Direct Relief in the US:
“My PULSE assignment
has offered me the greatest
development opportunity.
I now have a big-picture,
strategic view of the business
environment. I actively seek
out and value the views
of others before making
decisions. I feel that I have
developed leadership,
communication and training
skills that I now apply to my
role in GSK.”
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Change Employees
Vivian Cheng, Senior Data
Transparency Lead, PULSE
volunteer at Save the
Children in the Philippines
In Focus: Vivian Cheng
Why did you apply to
PULSE?
After working at GSK for more
than 12 years, I was searching
for a different way to make an
even greater contribution in the
world. I knew PULSE would be
a great way to use my skills to
create impact and to serve as
an ambassador for GSK. The
stories of returning volunteers
inspired me to apply and to
step out of my comfort zone
and into a new culture.
Tell us about your PULSE
assignment and the impact
it had on the non-profit
partner and communities
you served? How has this
impact been sustained?
As the first GSK PULSE
volunteer with Save the
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Children in the Philippines,
I worked as their Corporate
Engagement Specialist. My
assignment involved building
a fundraising strategy and
coordinating proposals to
solicit funding from targeted
corporate and institutional
donors. I helped launch Save
the Children’s fundraising
appeal and the first newspaper
ad campaign following
Typhoon Haiyan, which raised
more than 1,000,000 pesos to
support the rebuilding effort.
Additionally to help Save the
Children build their volunteer
program, I surveyed team
leaders to identify areas
where they needed additional
resources and then helped
to recruit the necessary
personnel. I was also happy
to see that two PULSE
Change Employees
volunteers are currently in
roles that I had identified to
continue the work I started.
I am most proud of GSK
and Save the Children’s first
joint day of service in the
Philippines. This “Orange Day”
benefitted one of the poorest
communities in Metro Manila.
Staff from both organizations
hosted classroom sessions
to teach school kids and their
parents about dengue fever
and prevention. We distributed
hygiene kits to the 3,200
students, planted citronella
trees to ward off mosquitoes
and painted a mural to
re-enforce the dengue
awareness message.
How has the PULSE
experience benefitted you in
your personal leadership or
other skills?
My PULSE experience showed
me that I could thrive in ever
changing environments and still
successfully make meaningful
connections. As an initial
outsider to Save the Children
and the Philippines, I found
great value in embracing and
respecting different cultures
and opinions. I learned that
not having all of the answers
was okay, as long as there was
a common goal and vision.
Ultimately, my openness and
curiosity gained the trust of the
staff, which allowed me to teach
and lead in future interactions. I
have come back to GSK with a
strong desire to collaborate with
people from different cultures,
skill sets, and perspectives.
What do you think you are
doing differently as a result
of PULSE now that you are
back in GSK?
My PULSE experience
taught me to make the most
of every resource available
after having to work in such
a resource-constrained
environment where even
electricity usage was carefully
monitored and restricted.
Being in the Philippines
during a six month period
where 4 typhoons, 1
earthquake, and an armed
conflict took place gave me
a profound sense that we’re
all in this together and we
have the opportunity to make
a difference in each other’s
lives. The PULSE Innovation
Challenge allowed me to use
my new insights to continue
to serve communities even
though I was back at GSK. My
idea focused on expediting
access of medicines to
children in times of need.
When the typhoon hit, I
realized that 3 months was
too much lost time to procure
the pharmaceutical supplies
to stock mobile clinics. My
heart went out to the people
who had no access to food,
water, or medicine.
Providing a winning idea
gained me access to business
and thought leaders to
advance my personal desire
to help into more tangible
GSK efforts. Influencing
policies and analyzing
logistics may have seemed
impossible before, but after
PULSE, I am now invigorated
to take on new challenges
and confident to lead with a
positive attitude back at GSK.
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Change GSK
PULSE not only aims to create
sustainable change for our
non-profit partners, but also
back at GSK.
CEO Andrew Witty said:
“PULSE volunteers are a part
of how we are evolving the
culture of the organisation and
the spirit of the company to
stay in step with society. They
represent a cadre of people
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who, over time, are bringing
back a bigger view of the
world, a changed perspective,
that brings the outside-in and
helps make GSK a much
better company.”
PULSE volunteers return to
GSK with fresh insights and
new perspectives that lead
them to change our company
for the better. Lisa Kenyon,
PULSE volunteer
at Amref, Kenya
Change GSK
Impact on GSK
We asked PULSE volunteers and their teams
to what extent they believe that the PULSE
assignments helped them develop their
capability, skills and performance at GSK
87%
88%
90%
91%
89%
93%
100%
93%
89%
91%
Learning
Agility
Resilience
Networking
Innovation
81%
77%
81%
94%
90%
PULSE volunteers bring back the following to help change
GSK for the better:
62%
• Reinforcing focus on the
patient
• Stronger sense of purpose
and confidence in abilities
• More cohesive teamwork
and integration with other
parts of the business
• How to do more with less
Cultural
Competence
70%
Also, 78% of PULSE volunteers’
colleagues would consider
becoming a PULSE volunteer
themselves or recommending
it to others. They also cite
numerous changes to ways
of working and ideas that
volunteers have introduced to
their teams after their PULSE
experience, including:
PULSE assignments helped volunteers develop their
capability or skill in the following areas:
88%
29.4% of PULSE volunteers had
a move (transfer, promotion,
secondment) within 12 months
of them returning from their
PULSE assignment, compared
to 14.7% in the total population
from the same countries. This
means that PULSE volunteers
were exactly twice as likely
to advance their careers
through a move, transfer or
secondment following their
PULSE assignment than was
the GSK population from the
same countries.
External perspective
on healthcare
New ideas/ fresh
ways of thinking
According to the PULSE volunteers
Build trust externally
with the community
Build trust with
GSK employees
According to their GSK line managers and teams
21
Change GSK
Rogerio Ribeiro, SVP and
General Manager, EMAP,
EMAP Management, GSK
In Focus: Rogerio Ribeiro
How have you been
connected to PULSE?
My first exposure to PULSE
was as Head of GSK Latin
America (LATAM) when I
started engaging with PULSE
volunteers from the region.
I was deeply touched by
their passion, energy and
excitement.
PULSE has grown
significantly in Emerging
Markets and Asia Pacific
(EMAP) under your
leadership – can you
comment on this growing
participation & awareness of
PULSE in your business?
PULSE directly links with
GSK’s mission of helping
people to do more, feel better
and live longer. Our employees
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work at GSK because they
appreciate and believe in
our values. Therefore when
PULSE was created, it was not
difficult to attract volunteers.
While I was the Head of GSK
LATAM, I supported the roll out
of a local PULSE Hub (office).
The LATAM Hub allowed the
PULSE programme to expand
beyond English-speaking
sites in LATAM as they led
logistical support for LATAM
local volunteers. Our Hub also
enabled local ownership and
selection of LATAM non-profit
partner relationships given
the deep understanding of
local business and community
needs. Our local PULSE Hub
in LATAM sent the highest
number of volunteers from
Emerging Markets in its first
year. I actually think a PULSE
Change GSK
experience can be more
effective than undertaking
a graduate MBA degree.
The engagement with social
entrepreneurs – a group of
people who passionately
believe in their cause, mobilise
teams, take action and work
with little resources – can
teach our employee volunteers
important lessons that can
then help them significantly
progress their careers at GSK.
The PULSE experience also
helps all of us realise how
fortunate and privileged
we are and it makes us
appreciate even further being
a part of GSK.
How does PULSE benefit
GSK? What is the business
value of PULSE?
Over the past 5 years, PULSE
has become a flagship program
for GSK that helps us to build
trust with society, governments,
academic institutions and key
stakeholders across emerging
markets. Also, as I mentioned,
PULSE provides a fantastic
platform to develop our
employees and leaders.
Have you seen first-hand a
PULSE volunteer’s direct
impact on your business?
If so, what was the impact,
and how were their PULSE
learnings able to be applied
at GSK?
I encourage all of my direct
reports to engage with
their PULSE volunteers,
before, during and after their
assignments. It is amazing to
see the transformation and
to see people in the program
share their experiences once
they return. I was privileged
to send out many PULSE
volunteers, including some
senior members of my team
in LATAM, such as the Head
of Regulatory and the Head
of Stiefel. The level of energy,
passion and excitement
that they gained from the
experience was absolutely
amazing!
PULSE volunteers not only
come back full of energy, but
also full of ideas and new
concepts that can be deployed
in GSK, especially in our
Emerging Markets and Asia
Pacific (EMAP) business.
Some example ideas include
innovative ways to make our
medicines and vaccines more
available and affordable to
patients and ways to enhance
even further the quality of our
medicines and services.
I also encourage my leadership
team to directly engage with
the non-profit partners who are
receiving PULSE volunteers.
It is my experience that these
organisations often value a
PULSE volunteer more than a
monetary donation.
For me, PULSE is one of the
most amazing programs we
have at GSK and, as you know,
we have many great programs
at GSK. I just hope that one day
I will also have the opportunity
to have the PULSE experience!
23
Change GSK
Success Story: Marium demonstrates
the business value of PULSE
Marium Qaiser is a Senior
Scientist who has worked in
R&D, Platform Technology and
Science for the majority of her
seven years at GSK. She did
her PULSE assignment with
one of our UK-based nonprofit partners, International
Health Partners. Her
assignment was to establish
a process for facilitating
the donation of scientific
equipment that was no longer
needed by pharmaceutical
companies to Quality
Assurance (QA) and Quality
Control (QC) laboratories in
developing countries.
Marium said, “To combat the
problem of sub-standard and
counterfeit medicines, recycling
quality equipment was great,
but I felt that to truly tackle the
problem, we needed to provide
people in the laboratories with
the skills needed to calibrate and
use this equipment properly.”
Therefore, while on assignment,
Marium focused not only on
creating the process for donation
of equipment, but she also
conducted training sessions for
the QA/QC laboratory staff to
help address the skills gap.
Upon her return from PULSE,
Marium put forward a proposal
to a panel of senior leaders to
bring GSK into this equipment
donations and skills training
work in developing countries.
The proposal was accepted
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and Marium subsequently
moved into a new job in GSK’s
Africa/Developing Countries
business unit where she is now
putting her ideas into practice.
Marium currently leads a new
sustainable and coordinated
programme of equipment
donation and skills transfer that
identifies surplus equipment
across GSK’s R&D sites. The
first step is for GSK to consider
if this surplus equipment can
be redeployed to other groups
within GSK to save on capital
funds. If redeployment is not
an option, and the equipment
is found to be operational
and fit for use, it is donated
to hospitals or laboratories of
Least Developed Countries
(LDCs).
Marium comments on the
business value of her project
and the business value of
PULSE: “We are leading an
initiative that is enabling us to
use our resources wisely. By
utilising redundant equipment
strategically and responsibly,
we are helping to strengthen
the capacity of health systems
globally. We save costs
associated with storage and
incineration, and LDCs gain
from the donated equipment
and skills. This wouldn’t have
been possible without PULSE
and I think my story is just one
example that truly represents
the value of PULSE.”
Moving Forward
2015: Moving the
PULSE Mission Forward
As we move into our seventh
year of PULSE, we will keep
striving to set a gold standard
in corporate volunteering by
deepening the impact for
our non-profit partners and
communities, our volunteers,
and our business. In 2015,
we will continue to align 80
of our 100 PULSE volunteers
with GSK’s strategic nonprofit partnerships towards
improving access to health
and healthcare. We will also
continue to support PULSE
volunteers’ successful
assignments and re-entry
to GSK through customised
ADP (change and project
management) training,
coaching and mentoring
support and our leadingedge PULSE Innovation
Challenge.
by leveraging different
companies’ unique and
complementary skill-sets, such
as our partnership with IBM’s
volunteer corps on a project
with Amref Health Africa.
We remain committed to
supporting our PULSE Pillar
Projects with select nonprofit partners to create
cumulative impacts that “move
the needle” on specific, longterm global health challenges.
Further, we will keep pursuing
innovative volunteering
partnerships that optimise
impact for communities
Finally, we will keep looking
for ways that our PULSE
Volunteers can support the
post-2015 agenda represented
by the Sustainability
Development Goals to
ensure that GSK is continuing
to do its part in collaborating
across sectors to solve some
of the toughest challenges of
our world.
As our employee volunteers
become increasingly diverse
in terms of geography and skillset to best serve our non-profit
partners’ and patient needs,
we will continue to promote
local ownership of the PULSE
mission through PULSE Local
Hubs in Latin America, India,
and possibly other emerging
markets like Singapore. We will
keep sharing PULSE stories
through traditional and social
media to inspire further impact
and a sense of connection to
the global work of PULSE, both
inside and outside of GSK.
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GlaxoSmithKline | PULSE Volunteer Partnership
980 Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9GS, United Kingdom
5 Crescent Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19112, United States
global.pulse@gsk.com | www.gsk.com | www.gskvolunteers.com
26
Desiree Schaefer, PULSE
volunteer at Alex’s Lemonade
Stand Foundation in the US