[Report] Removing Reserved Seats and Having Chicken and Beer at Work... Lotte Card "Creating a New Organizational Culture"

One Month After Lotte Card's New Headquarters Move
Attention to Horizontal Seating Arrangement
CEO Jo Jwa-jin Participates in Space Design
"Sleep Capsule Usage Rate as an Indicator of Organizational Culture Change"

A creative space 'Digital C' where you can experience various digital technologies such as VR and AR

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] "Having chicken and beer at the company?something unimaginable in our previous office?is possible in the 'Working Lounge.' It felt awkward at first, but I could sense that the organizational culture is changing."

On the 25th of this month, upon entering the Lotte Card headquarters located on Saemunan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, the sight of a dozen employees drinking coffee and chatting in the 'Working Lounge' illuminated by blue neon signs caught my eye. This place is 'Digital C,' a creative space where digital technologies such as virtual reality (VR) can be experienced. A Lotte Card official explained, "The Working Lounge is a complex cultural space where work and relaxation can be enjoyed simultaneously," adding, "It reflects Lotte Card's five unique working styles and is designed with distinctive concepts such as a cafe, attic, garage, and arcade."

Last month on the 18th, Lotte Card moved its headquarters from the Namdaemun Lotte Insurance Building to the Concordian Building in Jongno-gu, marking the beginning of the Gwanghwamun era. This is the first new headquarters relocation in 10 years. Since the change of the largest shareholder to MBK Partners last November, Lotte Card has been accelerating organizational reform and executive recruitment to improve its structure. The new headquarters relocation marks the start of organizational culture improvement.

The new headquarters was designed based on the idea of CEO Jo Jwa-jin that "hardware can change software." The focus is on "change." The company pursues a horizontal organization and a creative and innovative corporate culture. To establish a horizontal corporate culture, the team leader seats, which were previously arranged in a hierarchical manner, were changed to be on the same level as team members. Additionally, employees' workspaces were arranged along the north-facing windows with views of Bugaksan Mountain and other scenery, while executive offices and meeting rooms were downsized and placed on the south side. The sleep capsules installed in the employee lounge, a welfare space, also stood out. Four sleep capsules were installed in each of the male and female lounges, where employees took off their shoes and rested inside.

CEO Jo, who was newly appointed to Lotte Card in March, personally oversaw the overall aspects of the new headquarters, from interior design to space arrangement. Internally, it is evaluated that he is making efforts to establish a new organizational culture at the new headquarters, to the extent that he says, "The usage rate of in-house sleep capsules is a measure of organizational culture change."

Since the relocation, various organizational culture improvement programs tailored to each space have been implemented. The 'BEttER Friday' program (a blend of Beer and Better) is representative. This event gathers employees every Friday at 5 p.m. in the working lounge on each floor to wrap up the week with chicken and beer and look forward to a better next week. Additionally, a 'YouTube Room' was established on the 26th floor, and the company recruited its first 'in-house creators.' Lotte Card plans to provide selected in-house creators with opportunities to upload content on the official Lotte Card channel and offer a modest content usage fee.

A Lotte Card official said, "Since relocating the headquarters, we have been implementing various organizational culture improvement programs suited to each space," adding, "We are enhancing employee satisfaction and fostering creativity and innovation to establish a new corporate culture."

An attic-themed space 'Attic O' designed for employees to focus and generate ideas

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.