Abbvie Named Best Pharmaceutical Company to Work for in Saudi Arabia For the 5th Consecutive Year

AbbVie, a research-based global biopharmaceutical company, today announced it has been named the top pharmaceutical company to work for in Saudi Arabia by Great Place to Work® for the 5th consecutive year.

Ashraf Daoud, general manager of AbbVie in Saudi Arabia, said, “To be awarded this prestigious award five years in a row is a tremendous achievement and testament to dedication of the entire team at AbbVie. I am extremely proud to be a part of a team who tirelessly works together with a spirit of collaboration, mutual respect and enthusiasm to make a remarkable impact on people’s lives. Although this is a truly special milestone, our work is never done. I look forward to enhancing our workplace offering even further throughout 2019 by focusing on our core priorities of instilling a healthy, high-performing workplace culture and environment; developing local talent and, of course, making a remarkable impact on people’s lives.”

As a global leader in the biopharmaceuticals industry, AbbVie has a broad portfolio of market leading medicines for the treatment of some of the world’s most complex and serious diseases.

Abdullah Hood, organizational excellence director, commented, “At AbbVie, we strive to foster an engaging and inspiring workplace culture for our employees. We always ensure to have an ever-evolving work environment that fosters innovation, personal development, inclusion and collaboration. Through ensuring employees are motivated, satisfied and happy in the workplace, employees become highly engaged which ultimately results in increased operational performance, as well as employee retention.”

AbbVie has also been focused on upskilling local Saudi talent to inspire them to join the private pharmaceutical sector, underlining the vital role the company plays in supporting the Government’s localization goals.

"The rate of Saudization in AbbVie has quadrupled over the past four years, and we have seen a rise in the percentage of Saudi nationals across various functions in the pharmaceutical industry, especially in the product specialist role, which reached up to 60% of the current workforce working in this role,” said Khaled Fageha, human resources manager. “It is worth noting that it is also a top priority to attract female workers in various fields at AbbVie and we have already made great strides towards achieving this goal during the past year.”

“One key area of transformation which has also been a priority of AbbVie’s for the past few years is ensuring we are offering training and opportunities to the brightest of Saudi talent. We are proud of our on-going work and commitment in upskilling current and aspiring Saudi pharmacists to support the Kingdom’s goals, as expressed in Vision 2030,” concludes Khaled.

Sarah Alkhudayr, a Saudi national who was recently hired as a product specialist after AbbVie’s annual training program, said: “It has been a fantastic experience being part of a global pharmaceutical company whom boast such a positive working culture. I am continually learning, and I am proud to be able to apply what I learn to benefitting patients in our local Saudi community.”

In October 2018, AbbVie was recognized as one of 2018 World’s Best Workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute ranking No.16 on the list of the 25 World’s Best Workplaces and is the only pharmaceutical company on the list. AbbVie in Saudi Arabia was proud to be one of the countries that enabled AbbVie to receive this recognition. More than 10 million employees from 6,600 companies around the globe participated in the survey process for the respected and highly regarded World’s Best Workplaces list.

Employee testimonials

“I have been at AbbVie since it launched here in the Kingdom five years ago. I really enjoy working here as there is a strong team-spirit, and everyone has the chance to reach their full potential.” – Abdulrahman Murshid.

“Giving back to the communities in which our employees work and live is a big part of our culture. For example, we are given time off to volunteer and make a remarkable impact on people’s lives. This really helps to set AbbVie apart from other companies in the Kingdom.” – Hamad Al-Daelej.

“At AbbVie, we’re always here to support one another; we are one big happy family! The management at AbbVie help give us the opportunities to learn new skills and build diverse capabilities. My career has significantly progressed since being at AbbVie.” – Abdulaziz Alsaif.