Top Workplace: Takeda Keeps Making the List

Each time a list of the best places to work in Chicagoland is published , is on the list.

In July, the National Association of Business Resources named the Deerfield based American headquarters of the global giant one of the 101 best places to work in the area. Last week the Chicago Tribune put Takeda at No. 25 on its list of best Chicago work environments.

Earlier: Takeda Named Top Work Environment

For Senior Manager for Communications Elissa Johnsen it has something to do with the company’s onsite child care facility. “When I need it is an open door,” she said of the times she has brought her son to work with her.

For Director of Learning and Organizational Effectiveness Jen Dickerson particularly likes the compressed schedule packing 40 hours over four and a half days that gives her more time with her family on the weekends.

“It’s summer hours all year around, Dickerson said. “I can get my weekend errands done on Friday afternoon before my children get out of school.”

For Takeda none of this happens by accident for the 1,200 people who work on the campus of the Japanese owned global drug company near the intersection of Lake Cook and Saunders Roads.

The company puts an emphasis on professional development at the same time it offers a work place where people will want to be. A person needing help doing a better job has access to a “24-7” on line training library.

“We value employees as professionals,” Dickerson said. “We offer a formal development program. We have an independent development plan to help people develop themselves.”

Johnsen likes the way the company blends the cultural diversity apparent in any global business into a cohesive work force. “It’s a thoughtful approach for a variety of different folks,” she said.

But Takeda does not stop with professional development. In addition to the day care center and compressed schedule, there is a state of the art fitness center and sports complex, running and walking paths and a sumptuous cafeteria.

“We have international offerings. The food is on red, yellow and green plate letting people know if it is low fat or low calorie,” Dickerson said. “The whole person comes to work,” she added referring to another reason for the perks of the work place.

There is also a job share program for people who want the satisfaction of a full time position while only choosing to work part time. One person could do the job the first two days of the week and leaves everything set for their “partner” to arrive the next day and pick up where they left off, according to Dickerson.

“It’s perfect for certain employees who want to work part time in a full time position,” Dickerson said.

The Takada environment also employs some very basic techniques to make its employees feel good about the company and themselves. “It’s a culture where people say thank you,” she said.

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