Cho Hyun-bum, chairman of Hankook & Company Group (000240), said a "bottom-up" approach in which employees identify problems and carry out solutions themselves is the starting point for organizational change. After reviewing mid- to long-term strategies at group affiliates in his first management activity following his release from prison, Cho is now meeting directly with employees as he steps up his return to management.
Speaking at the third-quarter workshop of the Junior Board, a future leadership development project, held on the 12th and 13th at the group's Technoplex headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Cho said: "Corporate culture is not created by slogans. It seeps naturally into an organization through the process in which employees find problems and resolve them themselves."
The Junior Board is a talent development and innovation project launched in 2022. Under the program, employees with six years or less of service identify issues that need improvement in company systems, organizational culture and work processes, and jointly consider solutions. The aim is to help them grow into talent capable of driving the organization forward through the experience of spotting problems on the ground and developing concrete alternatives.
The fifth Junior Board class consists of 40 members. Hanon Systems joined the Junior Board this year. This year's keywords are discovery, resolution, impact and initiative, and the third-quarter workshop was held under the theme of impact. In a "conclave"-style marathon debate, Junior Board members discussed the feasibility of ideas they had previously proposed and how to apply them, examining what conditions would be needed to put the ideas into practice within the organization.
A subsequent session with management featured an open exchange in which Junior Board members asked questions and executives answered. Cho stressed the importance of a bottom-up culture, explaining that employees' awareness of problems and their will to act are essential if such a culture is to produce real results.
"When employees find problems themselves rather than simply solving problems handed down from above, their will to resolve them grows stronger and the likelihood that it leads to action also rises," Cho said. "Rather than remaining within what you already know, you should explore unfamiliar areas with curiosity. Cultivating your own perspective while experiencing diverse fields is also an important capability for leaders who will shape the future."
"We should inherit the good traditions and strengths our group has built up over a long period, while constantly modernizing them so they are in harmony with the present era," Cho said. "An organization can keep developing only when a culture takes root in which employees discover problems on the ground, voice their opinions freely and carry out solutions."
