Samsung Electronics has decided to overhaul the personnel management system in which senior executive vice presidents and executive vice presidents are integrated in the executive classification.
The step is designed to revoke seniority and make its hierarchy more horizontal. It is expected to pave the way for Samsung Electronics employees in their 30s or 40s to become executives and CEOs, respectively.
This is part of the company’s plan to revamp its personnel system, announced by Samsung Electronics on Nov. 29. The new system is designed to give special treatment to gifted manpower regardless of age and classification.
Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display will comply with the revamped personnel management system, and other subsidiaries of Samsung Group are likely to follow suit.
A new representative personnel management system is a free agreement system in which employees working hard can manage his or her career in an efficient manner.
Executives and staffers who work in the same department for more than five years will be allowed to be transferred to other departments. Samsung Electronics expects that the step will likely spur transfer among its departments like IT companies.
Samsung Electronics will create a flexible working environment. The electronics giant creates shared office space at major centers and voluntary working zones at cafes and libraries of each worksite. It means that employees can work at places other than their own offices.
Samsung Electronics has introduced a regime to nurture global manpower. It is the Samsung Talent Exchange Program (STEP), in which domestic and overseas operations exchange young and talented manpower.
It is operated apart from a regional expertise system in which employees come back to Korea after obtaining expertise and capabilities while staying abroad.
The revamped personnel management regime is a first step of the “New Samsung” initiative Samsung Electronics de facto leader Lee Jay-yong intends to implement.
The ultimate goal of the New Samsung initiative is to become a company capable of exploring the future without resting on the past’s success and without fear of failure.
Samsung Electronics said the conventional corporate culture such as seniority is no longer viable, so personnel management reform is essential to make its organization horizontal and flexible like Silicon Valley.
Lee had a series of meetings with managers of global companies such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft while making his business trip to the United States.
Samsung Electronics de facto leader Lee talks on how to cooperate in next-generation technologies with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at Microsoft Redmond campus in Washington on Nov. 10. (Photos: Samsung Electronics)
He exchanged views on issues such as manpower development in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution with the executives.
Lee’s last destination was Silicon Valley, in which Samsung Display Solutions America and Samsung Research America, Samsung Electronics’ display solutions and finished product research institutes, are located.
During his meeting with researchers there, Lee stressed the need to find unexplored paths.
His message is that Samsung’s “super unmatched strategies” to make offensive investments ahead of its rivals cannot guarantee its survival.
Lee looked into the status of developing core technologies such as AI and 6G mobile telecom at the research institutes, responsible for exploring future growth engines.
Lee told researchers there, “Future world and industry map are drawn anew, a survival environment has been changed dramatically.”
Business sources said Lee’s message is that Samsung will not rest on its conventional success methods. They predicted that Samsung’s future management strategies will undergo tremendous changes.
Samsung Electronics’ 3 CEOs Replaced
In a related development, Samsung Electronics made a dramatic reshuffle recently, replacing all three presidents-CEOs and changing into a two-CEOs post structure in nine years.
Kim Ki-nam, vice chairman and head of Samsung Electronics’ display and semiconductor division, Koh Dong-jin, CEO in charge of smartphone business, Kim Hyun-suk, CEO in charge of consumer electronics, were replaced, and instead, Han Jong-hee, chief of TV business, has been promoted to vice chairman and chief of Samsung Electronics’ set division while Kyung Kye-hyun, president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, was appointed to be president, head of Samsung Electronics’ display solutions division.
President Chung Hyun-ho of Samsung Electronics’ business support task force, was promoted to vice chairman.
Former Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam was appointed to be president of Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology while President Choi Yoon-ho of Samsung Electronics’ Management Support Office was appointed to be president of Samsung SDI.
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