Making POSCO a fun place to work

POSCO CEO Chung Joon-yang is pushing the world`s fourth-largest steelmaker to become one of the most fun places to work, as part of efforts to boost creativity of employees and help them have fresh perspectives on business, the company said yesterday.

POSCO opened a spacious entertainment and resting lounge, called "Poreka," on the fourth floor of the POSCO Center in southern Seoul on Oct. 2.

Poreka is a combined word of POSCO and Eureka, the exclamation attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes. He is said to have figured out that the volume of water that overflowed from the bath tub when he got in it was equal to the volume of his body.



Inside the 1,190 square-meter Poreka lounge, POSCO workers can participate in artistic activities like painting, reading or playing musical instruments.

The resting area has a garden with trees, a book cafe equipped with 1,000 books and several rooms decorated with cushions and carpets for chatting or meditating.

In the "Fun Square," a large table equipped with a touch screen enables POSCO staff to enjoy sports games, strategy games and word puzzles, as well as get access to latest information about classical music performances and art exhibitions.

Chung had the words "Creativity comes from insight, and insight comes from observation," engraved on a steel plate at the entrance of the Poreka center, after playing a game called Jenga with POSCO employees on Poreka`s opening day.

The time spent in the Poreka center is recognized by the company as official work time.

To encourage staff to use the Poreka lounge, an independent institute is developing and operating creativity programs, POSCO said.

The makeover of the fourth floor of POSCO Center into a fun place is part of Chung`s efforts to push forward his three management principles -- creative management, environment-friendly management and open management -- that he declared immediately after taking office.

Chung has been aggressively pushing to change the company`s corporate culture since he took over the nation`s top steelmaker on Feb. 27.

Chung`s first and most aggressive agenda was a campaign against smoking.

According to POSCO officials, Chung wanted all 16,000 employees to quit smoking by the end of the year.

Chung even vowed to carry out blood tests on employees to check if they smoked outside the office or at home.

The campaign spread even to POSCO`s partner firms.

As of the end of May, POSCO`s partner firm Sangji Electric Corp. and Posen became the first partner firms to quit smoking.

The reason behind such a tough stance against smoking comes from Chung`s vision to transform POSCO into a low-carbon, eco-friendly steelmaker, company officials said.

CEO Chung also has been encouraging staff to cycle instead of driving, as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions and promote employees` health, since April.

In July, POSCO installed bike racks in the first floor of the POSCO Center in Seoul.

After parking their bikes, staff can use the shower rooms in the company gym before they start work.

POSCO`s focus on green management can be also seen in a recent memorandum of understanding signed between POSCO and Suncheon City to build a personal rapid transit (PRT) system near Suncheon Bay.

The PRT is an unmanned vehicle that generates reduced emissions because it runs on electricity rather than directly on fossil fuels. Consisting of compact carriages and a lightweight rail system, the system has low installation costs and can transport passengers directly to their destination, POSCO officials said.

In 2008, 2.6 million tourists visited Suncheon Bay. With the 2012 Yeosu Expo and the 2013 International Garden Expo, POSCO expects the number of Korean and non-Korean tourists to rise.

To carry out "open management" himself, Chung has been having breakfast with POSCO`s most junior workers every day since taking office.

During the breakfast, he often encourages POSCO workers to "contact him through an e-mail or a phone call whenever a good idea pops into their head," a POSCO official said.

In March, POSCO established an online community POS-B to share best ideas and find ways to execute them efficiently.

Any new idea on Chung`s three management principles can be posted on the POS-B and those who make good suggestions get financial rewards as well, according to POSCO.

(yoonmi@heraldm.com)



By Kim Yoon-mi