Our Mission & Strategy
Imagine a workplace where 95% of decisions are made by those on the ground, where managers become coaches, and innovation cycles are as quick as 90 days. We have redesigned our entire operating model to put our mission - Health for all, Hunger for none - at the forefront of everything we do.
Strategy and Financial Update
Can the company that invented AspirinTM reinvent itself?
We’re putting an end to the hierarchical model and putting more power in the hands of the innovators and creators at Bayer. We call it Dynamic Shared Ownership. We redesigned Bayer around our mission: Health for all, Hunger for none. That began with an overhaul of our operating model: to deliver faster innovation for the farmers, patients and consumers who depend on #TeamBayer.
Less than two years ago, Bayer’s organization was designed much like most large multinational companies, with up to twelve layers of hierarchy and resources tied up in dedicated cost centers and annual budgets. Today, the picture looks quite different. We have reduced the number of positions by approximately 10,000 and the number of management positions by approximately 50 percent. This helps us to put our employees much closer to our customers.
Thousands of customer and product teams have been formed in all areas of the company. They are self-organized, entrepreneurial, and focus on the needs of our patients, farmers, and consumers to deliver faster innovation and a better experience for them. The work has already let to visible results, which have had a direct impact on our top line.
Building Teams Around the Customer, Not the Boss
Traditionally, teams in large organizations are focused on things like annual budget requests. We redesigned our teams around what customers need today and tomorrow.
Bigger Innovation, Shorter Timelines
Team Bayer is full of ideas on how to help farmers, patients, and consumers. We want to turn these ideas into solutions, faster. Our Consumer Health division advanced the launch of a new supplement for couples wishing to conceive by more than one year.
Picking up the Pace of Progress
Instead of long planning cycles, our new model is built on rapid 90-day cycles, with a bias for action. Since November 2023, our Pharmaceuticals division announced nine positive Phase III readouts. We see the potential to accelerate our biggest projects by working in three-month rhythms, assessing progress and reallocating resources along the way.
A Better Bayer is on the Horizon
Our teams have adapted quickly to the new working model. Through this change, we’re aiming for a more productive and fulfilled workforce; world-leading, faster-to-market innovations; and superior financial performance.
What Science Says About Bureaucracy
According to a recent survey among employees by the Handelsblatt Research Institute, employees in very hierarchical companies in particular feel held back by bureaucracy and long approval processes. The study shows that companies with flatter hierarchies are more open to innovation, more productive and faster - and employees are more satisfied with their job if they can work independently and take on responsibility.