"Big-Bottomed Dinosaur" LG's Transformation... CEO Listens to Employee Stories

Reducing Reports and Building an 'Agile Organization' at LG Electronics
Following 'Management (CEO) Fun Talk,' Now 'Finance (CFO) Fun Talk'
Expanding Employee Dialogue through Technology, Strategy, and Digital

"If you promote three of your superiors and simultaneously have five juniors who sincerely follow you, you can become an executive."

Jo Joo-wan, CEO of LG Electronics, said this to an employee who asked about 'leadership' during the CEO F·U·N Talk held last April.

Fun Talk is a forum for LG Electronics employees. Typically, 5,000 to 7,000 people participate each time it is held. Since its first implementation in January last year, it has been held 10 times. Nine of these were CEO-led Fun Talks by President Jo, and the most recent Fun Talk was led by CFO Bae Doo-yong. The F·U·N in Fun Talk stands for ▲sharing major company news with members first (First), ▲providing a unique experience (Unique) to participants in communication, and ▲offering a communication experience that feels new (New).

Cho Ju-wan, CEO of LG Electronics, speaking at the 6th 'CEO Fun Talk' held for team leaders on April 13 at the LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

President Jo presented topics such as brand and leadership in nine Fun Talks. In the April Fun Talk, he shared 'know-how to become an executive.' He also answered employee questions related to 'burnout.' President Jo said, "I have experienced it too, whether it is work-related or with people you work with, you need to find ways to overcome and resolve it." He did not only talk about work. During the Fun Talk, upon learning through real-time chat that an employee had a newborn son, he sent childcare products as a gift. He also sent a surprise cake to a member celebrating a birthday.

Recently, LG Electronics has enabled other executives such as the CFO (Chief Financial Officer), CSO (Chief Strategy Officer), and CTO (Chief Technology Officer) to lead Fun Talks as well. The CFO Fun Talk focuses on financial topics such as company performance, the CSO Fun Talk on strategy topics like the global market, and the CTO Fun Talk on technology topics such as artificial intelligence (AI), engaging in Q&A with employees. It is expected to broaden the scope of conversations compared to when only the CEO Fun Talk was held.

The most recent 10th Fun Talk was led by Bae Doo-yong, LG Electronics CFO. He shared specific figures such as sales and operating profit with about 5,000 employees. He also shared changes in numbers driven by efforts to transform LG Electronics’ business portfolio, including the automotive electronics sector.

Bae Doo-yong, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of LG Electronics, answering employee questions at the recently held CFO Fun Talk. It was LG Electronics' 10th Fun Talk and the first CFO Fun Talk. The previous nine sessions were all conducted as CEO Fun Talks.
[Photo by LG Electronics]

LG Electronics plans to expand Fun Talk as a unique company communication formula. The next speaker will be CTO Vice President Kim Byung-hoon at the end of this month. Following management (CEO) and finance (CFO), it will be the technology (CTO) Fun Talk.

LG Electronics explained that Fun Talk is part of 'REINVENT LG Electronics,' a program to revitalize the company. REINVENT LG Electronics is an organizational culture innovation program that includes 11 execution guidelines such as reducing reporting lines. It reflects feedback from employees who said, "Our company sits like a dinosaur with a big bottom." As part of improving organizational culture through the REINVENT LG Electronics program, executives including the CEO regularly hold Fun Talks with employees. In other words, Fun Talk is a communication platform where executives and employees share challenges and issues arising during the implementation of the REINVENT LG Electronics program.

An LG Electronics official said, "Employees actively communicate through Fun Talk to share company information quickly and transparently, and REINVENT LG Electronics is being promoted to practically improve any inconveniences."

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