Culture in motion: Turning employees into founders

The day Sandoz was listed as an independent entity on the Swiss stock exchange, something remarkable happened. Across our offices worldwide, miniature Swiss cowbells started ringing.

The internal communications team had distributed the bells as symbols to mark the moment, but when the executive team rang the bell at the exchange, it was beamed to colleagues across all our key sites. I was at our #Basel HQ wondering how to get everyone to join in but imagine my surprise when hundreds of colleagues came with their bells and started ringing in tandem with the executive team on the screens. You could sense the pride as they did so.

Our internal social channels lit up with colleagues across the globe sharing photos and messages with genuine excitement. Local teams organized their own celebrations. The energy was infectious and real, and colleagues were talking about "our company" with a sense of ownership that I hadn't seen before.

This transformation didn't happen by accident. It was the result of an intentional internal communications strategy that the team called "Generation Zero." The concept was simple but powerful: position every employee as a founder of the new Sandoz, not just a bystander to a corporate spin-off.

The previous article explored how leadership ownership multiplies message impact. But even the most authentic leaders can't inspire transformation if their teams feel like passive observers. Here's how we turned internal communications into a cultural movement.

The identity challenge

When Novartis announced the spin-off in August 2022, our employees faced a fundamental question: What am I now?

For years, they had been part of a global pharmaceutical giant. Suddenly they were becoming something different: a standalone generics and biosimilars company. But what did that mean for them personally?

Early employee surveys revealed the complexity. While many were excited about independence, others worried about resources, career prospects, and our ability to compete without the Novartis safety net. Some felt proud of the Sandoz heritage, but a few wondered if being "spun off" meant we weren't valued anymore.

The task was clear: transform uncertainty into ownership, observers into advocates.

Generation Zero: Founders, not followers

Our internal strategy centered on one idea: every person at Sandoz was part of the founding generation of the new company.

#GenerationZero wasn't just a slogan; it was a new identity. What this founding generation built would define the company for decades to come. The concept solved a psychological problem: instead of feeling like casualties of corporate restructuring, people could see themselves as entrepreneurs with over 100 years of pharmaceutical heritage behind them.

But identity needs substance. The campaign included three key elements:

1. Personal investment: Every full-time employee received shares in the new company, making them literal owners. When people talked about "our stock price" or "our performance," they meant it. There was a surge in discussions about efficiency, quality focus, and differentiated competitive positioning. They had skin in the game.

2. Shared vision: We invited employees to contribute their hopes and dreams for the new Sandoz. Corporate platitudes were replaced with genuine aspirations from people across the organization. On spin-off day, our CEO read many of these aloud during the global town hall.

3. Active participation: Employees weren't just informed about the spin-off; they were invited to participate. From choosing new company values to celebrating milestones, Generation Zero made the transformation feel collective rather than imposed.

Two-way conversations that worked

Generation Zero succeeded because we built genuine dialogue rather than the usual corporate broadcasting. Here are a few simple ways in which that played out:

Working townhalls: Regular all-hands meetings featured live Q&A sessions using tools like Pigeonhole, where employees could submit anonymous questions and vote on priorities. Leaders practiced active listening and responded with transparency. Our town halls became working sessions where we got insights from employees on aspects we might not have prioritized otherwise.

Dedicated information hub: We created a comprehensive internal microsite with spin-off updates, FAQs, videos, and celebration content. This became the go-to source for reliable information, reducing rumors and speculation.

Local celebrations: While the global narrative was consistent, we encouraged local teams to celebrate in ways that felt authentic to their culture. The diversity of celebrations reinforced that Generation Zero belonged to everyone.

Organic advocacy: Employees became our best ambassadors on platforms like LinkedIn, sharing their excitement with personal networks. This organic advocacy was more powerful than any of our corporate social media campaign.

The key was making communication interactive, not one-directional. People needed to feel heard, not just informed.

Addressing uncertainty with transparency

Not every conversation was celebratory. Employees had legitimate concerns about benefits, career paths, IT systems separation, and competitive positioning. Instead of dismissing these concerns, we addressed them head-on.

We acknowledged what we didn't know. Rather than over-promising, we were honest about timelines and uncertainties. "We're still finalizing the new performance management system, but here's what we can tell you today" built more trust than vague reassurances.

We created safe spaces for difficult questions. Anonymous Q&A forums allowed people to voice concerns they might not raise publicly. Leadership addressed these directly, even when the answers weren't what people wanted to hear.

These moments of vulnerability strengthened Generation Zero even more. People saw that leadership was wrestling with real challenges, not just managing perceptions. This transparency demonstrated the kind of company we were becoming: open, honest, employee-focused.

Results: From observers to advocates

By spin-off day, the transformation was visible. Employee participation in company communications had increased dramatically. More importantly, the quality of engagement changed. People weren't just consuming information; they were contributing ideas, celebrating successes, and defending the company in external conversations.

Colleagues started becoming advocates beyond our walls without being asked. This external advocacy emerged naturally from people who felt personally invested in our success.

The Generation Zero spirit lasted well beyond the initial separation. A year later, new hires learned about being part of the founding generation during onboarding, extending the cultural foundation we had built.

What works for cultural change

Based on our Generation Zero experience, here's what actually drives internal transformation:

• Identity beats information: Help people understand who they're becoming, not just what's changing. Identity drives behavior more powerfully than instructions.

• Participation creates investment: Find ways for people to contribute to the transformation. When someone helps build something, they feel ownership.

• Honesty builds trust: Address uncertainty and concerns directly. Acknowledging what you don't know builds more credibility than false reassurance.

• Make it personal: Connect organizational change to individual opportunity and ownership. People need to see what's in it for them.

• Real ownership matters: Whether it's actual equity, decision-making authority, or creative input, people need genuine stakes in the outcome.

• Sustain momentum: Cultural transformation takes time. Plan for ongoing engagement, not just launch communications.

The approach also echoes patterns from other major transformations. When PayPal separated from eBay, they positioned employees as builders of an independent payments future. GE took a similar approach when spinning off GE HealthCare, framing employees as pioneers in precision health. The pattern holds: people need to feel like active participants in creating something new.

The lasting foundation

Looking back, Generation Zero was more than an internal communications campaign. It was a cultural foundation that shaped how employees related to their work, their colleagues, and their company's mission.

The approach taught us that during major organizational transitions, internal communications can't be an afterthought. It must be central to the transformation strategy. When employees feel like founders rather than followers, they bring different energy to problem-solving and opportunity creation.

Most importantly, Generation Zero reminded us that companies aren’t just org charts and strategies. They are communities of people building something together. When those people feel like founders, not followers, culture becomes a force you can build a future on.