At the end of 2022, a dozen employees of SK hynix returned to their offices in South Korea after a unique five-week experience. Through the Global eXperience Program (GXP), participants enhanced their global competencies by being sent to workplaces around the globe to work simultaneously on tasks from their South Korean and on-site offices. The program is anticipated to contribute to the company’s advancement as an organization’s competitive edge stems from the experiences and growth of its employees.

Hear from some of the members of the first GXP cohort who worked abroad in the U.S. and Germany as they give honest responses to questions about their time abroad with GXP!

And to learn more about the opportunities that SK hynix is offering to its employees with GXP, check out this article from our newsroom.

The post GXP Participants Share Their Time as Global Agents of SK hynix (Video) first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

“Even a simple ‘yes’ can have different meanings depending on how you say it in Korea. I’ll tell you all about it.”

When two SK hynix employees from the company’s South Korean and U.S. offices compared their countries’ work culture, they discovered a host of differences. As a global company, SK hynix cherishes these differences and adapts its corporate culture across its worldwide network of offices to create a positive work environment for all of its workers.

To provide an insight into the range of cultures that exist within SK hynix’s global offices, the videocall between a DRAM developer from SK hynix’s South Korea HQ and a financial analyst from SK hynix America covered a range of topics. The pair discussed cultural differences and similarities that can be seen in a range of aspects at work, including communication styles, approaches to work, and diversity.

Eun-hwan  Almost everyone is Korean in our office so there are no major cultural differences, but there is a generational gap in Korea. The differences are so stark that there is a phrase ‘latte’ often used by older people, but they’re not talking about coffee! In Korean, the phrase for ‘back in my day’ sounds like ‘latte’, so people often use it when talking about their work methods and values, but it is used outside the office too. So, you might hear senior staff say: ‘In my day (latte), a new worker couldn’t even talk directly to their team leader’. However, SK hynix has now established a much more horizontal culture. What about in the United States?

Loc Wow that’s so interesting. So I guess the ‘latte’ phrase can also be used sarcastically by younger workers in Korea too? Here, ‘the back in my day’ culture is less prevalent now. Unlike in Korea, there are more cultural differences in the U.S. than generational differences as people of various races and nationalities work together. This can sometimes provide challenges as we can be unsure how to be culturally sensitive to certain colleagues. In order to improve our understanding of other cultures, SK hynix America has developed a cultural transfer program to bring workers closer together and celebrate our cultural differences.

Loc  In addition to making efforts to improve our understanding of different cultures, I’ve noticed that SK hynix has also been looking to improve the efficiency of work processes here. How about in Korea?

Eun-hwan  The Korean headquarters is focused on improving the efficiency of tasks to save time. I’ve heard from my seniors that they used to write many reports but now there aren’t as many, and the speed of work is more important. What about in the U.S.?

Loc  The U.S. definitely seems to have less of an emphasis on speed than Korea, so I feel like timelines for tasks are probably longer and we therefore work less overtime. Also, I think in the U.S., employees draw a more distinct line between their work and personal life which also lessens the amount of overtime.

Eun-hwan  As there is an emphasis on speed and work efficiency in Korea, we do sometimes have to work overtime to meet short deadlines. However, the company’s Happy Friday¹ program here has meant that we can get rewarded with a day off if we do work regular overtime. Of course, the employees here are grateful for programs like this.

¹Happy Friday: SK hynix employees at certain offices are able to take one Friday off a month to refresh themselves when they work over the mandatory working hours.

Loc  Yes, who wouldn’t like Happy Fridays? Recently, we started Happy Friday in our office as well and employees here have responded enthusiastically. How satisfied are employees at the Korean HQ with these employee benefits?

Eun-hwan  We are extremely satisfied with our benefits. We can choose our working hours, and we’ve introduced two satellite offices (one in Seoul and one just south of the capital in Bundang) so employees can choose to work at the one closest to their homes. Since Vice Chairman Jung-ho Park became our co-CEO, there have been many experiments to improve the corporate culture. I have even higher expectations for the future.

Loc  It sounds like the Korean office is doing a lot for their employees. It’s interesting to see the different programs and general differences in our offices.

Loc  Actually, I was also interested in how staff communicate in Korea to see how it differs from here.

Eun-hwan  In Korea, a lot of our communication is via online messaging and text because we’ve cut down on reports, emails, and so on. The interesting thing is that even a casual ‘yes’ has different nuances in Korea depending on the expression. Simply writing ‘yep’ means agreeing readily, ‘yes’ means agreeing lukewarmly, and ‘yes…’ means agreeing reluctantly. What about in the United States?

Loc I can see that people in Korea put in a lot of effort to find the meaning behind the words, but in the U.S. we tend to be more straightforward. So yep, yes, yeah… they all mean the same thing: I agree.

Eun-hwan  It sounds more straightforward communicating in the U.S. office then. Of course, we use online messaging all the time now, especially since the pandemic had reduced our face-to-face interactions with colleagues and clients. However, fortunately now restrictions are easing so we can meet in-person more. How do you bond with your colleagues now that it’s possible to go out more? Do you go out for company dinners together?

Loc  While I’ve heard that companies in Korea are starting to go out for team dinners again since the COVID-19 restrictions have been eased, in the U.S. company dinners are not really common. I feel personal time is more sacred. Are there still a lot of company dinners in Korea?

Eun-hwan  Unlike the U.S., Korea still tends to emphasize the need for team-building over personal time. In the past, late-night company dinners were encouraged to build camaraderie, but nowadays people have more freedom to decide what team-building activities they want to do, such as cultural activities and sports.

Loc I heard that South Korea only recently lifted the indoor mask mandate. In the U.S., people have not been required to wear masks for a while now. How are Korean staff dealing with the situation?

Eun-hwan  As you said, now the indoor mask mandate has been lifted for most places except for medical facilities and public transport. However, many people are still wearing masks so it’s still a transitional period. Another positive effect of COVID-19 restrictions being eased is that we are able to travel once again. For people at our company, this means they can take work abroad through the Global eXperience Program (GXP).

Loc  Yes, that’s right. In fact, not long ago a member of the Korean headquarters came to our office (SK hynix America) to work for five weeks as part of the GXP. He helped out our U.S. team while still keeping up with his work from back home.

Eun-hwan  Yes, the GXP program² is very popular these days. In the future, the company plans to create a global hub office overseas so staff can freely work abroad. This is expected to create even more interest in positions at our company.

²GXP(Global eXperience Program): A work abroad program which provides staff with the chance to work at one of SK hynix’s overseas offices or a foreign partner company for five weeks while continuing to do their duties from their home office.

Loc  As well as offering work abroad programs such as the GXP, I feel that SK hynix is also strengthening its diversity and inclusivity policies. How about in Korea? Have you noticed more female and foreign staff around the office?

Eun-hwan  Yes, I think the company is changing in terms of cultural diversity. There are already a lot of female engineers like me, and you can see some foreign staff around too. The number of female executives is also steadily increasing. What about the U.S.?

Loc  As you know, the U.S. is home to a wide range of nationalities and a number of initiatives are in place to improve female representation in the workplace. Of course, we should never stand still and more measures could be taken to improve diversity and inclusion here.

At a ceremony to celebrate SK hynix’s tenth anniversary in 2022, Vice Chairman and co-CEO Jung-ho Park announced SK hynix’s plans for the future. These included establishing a family-friendly corporate culture, becoming a growth-oriented company for top global talents, and offering a flexible and innovative work environment.

This discussion offered an insight into how SK hynix is working to meet these goals through its strong benefit programs, inclusive policies, and its positive work-life balance. While there are various differences in work culture in the U.S. and South Korea, SK hynix is making tremendous strides to create a welcoming environment and inclusive culture for all of its employees across its global offices.

The post Employee Interview: SK hynix Cherishing Global Differences Through Adaptive Work Culture first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

• Work abroad program established to create a flexible work environment and upskill employees as emphasized by Vice Chairman and co-CEO Park Jung-ho
• 12 SK hynix employees successfully completed the first GXP program in the U.S. and Germany
• Participants worked with foreign partners while completing work from both their placement company and home office
• Closely cooperated with global companies like Lam Research and Zeiss to develop workers’ skills

“Employees at SK hynix can work anywhere in the world!”

Recently, 12 SK hynix employees enjoyed the special experience of working overseas for five weeks. They were the first group to take part in the Global eXperience Program (GXP) which was introduced at the end of 2022. During the program, the participants had the chance to work at one of SK hynix’s U.S. units or with overseas business partners while continuing their duties from their home office.

The program embodied Vice Chairman and co-CEO Park Jung-ho’s vision of removing space-time restraints and enhancing employees’ global competence while establishing a worldwide network of connected offices. If this process goes through a virtuous cycle, Park believes it will strengthen SK hynix’s work culture and ultimately boost the company’s competitiveness.

▲ SK hynix Vice Chairman and co-CEO Park Jung-ho promising to expand flexibility in the working environment at the “10th Anniversary of Relaunching with SK Group”

The first trial of GXP was held in October 2022. SK hynix received applicants that month and officially got the five-week program off the ground in November.

It was designed to allow participants to plan their own work abroad experiences to develop global talents and establish cosmopolitan work environments. The origin of the program can be traced back to Park’s “flexible work environment” policy he announced during the “10^th Anniversary of Relaunching with SK Group” ceremony that took place in March 2022.

During his speech, Park mentioned planning a “global work from anywhere” program that would be without space-time restraints. Consequently, the GXP had the purpose of measuring the effectiveness of working from abroad.

The 12 members of the first round of the GXP finished their work at SK hynix memory solutions America (SKHMS America), U.S.-based partners Lam Research and William Park & Associates Ltd. (WPA), and Zeiss in Germany. The participants enhanced their competitive edge and got the chance to work and cooperate with foreign partners.

Boosting Cooperation and Language Skills While Enjoying a Change of Scene

As applications for the GXP opened at the end of 2022, it gained much attention for allowing participants to continue to complete tasks from their South Korean offices while working overseas. This alleviated many workers’ concerns that they would be leaving their work behind when taking part in the program. Overall, participants of the first GXP gave positive feedback of the program, claiming that it allowed them to gain valuable experience while also broadening their knowledge.

Technical Leader Yun Jang Hun of the Solution Development department worked at SKHMS America for the GXP. He wanted to work on projects that were unfamiliar to him in a completely new environment. It was during his time at his domestic workplace that he learned of SKHMS America’s SSD project, an area he had always been interested in. He thought the GXP would allow him to enhance his skills while also giving him a chance to refresh with a change of surroundings.

Q. What were your tasks at SKHMS America?

“The NAND that goes in an SSD is fast and allows data to be saved easily, but it does not offer high data reliability. To make up for this deficiency, various technologies are applied to increase the reliability. One of these methods is the defense algorithm verification test, while such verification methods are called DART¹. I was able to set up the test environment for this technology at the overseas office.”

¹DART (Defense Algorithm Rapid Test): A process that verifies the defense algorithm.

Q. We heard that you had a pivotal role in this project.

“I solved the issue of the DART source code not being reflected. The source code needs to be applied in advance to progress DART, but this operation was being delayed due to a lack of personnel. Although I was originally tasked with DART performance, I transitioned into DART setting and ended up analyzing the source code to insert the logarithm and apply the DART point correction. As a result, the potential delay in operations that can occur in the future was eliminated. In other words, we decreased the risks for the project.”

Q. How much did GXP help in enhancing your competence?

“I received the opportunity to analyze the SSD source code which let me experience the architecture of the SSD. As I was only focused on mobile projects at my home office, the GXP widened my work spectrum.”

As for Technical Leader Yeo Seung Mi of R&D, she was able to work at wafer fabrication equipment manufacturer Lam Research through the GXP. Having already conducted research with Lam Research in South Korea, she thought it would be more effective if she continued the project while she was in the U.S.

Q. What were you tasked with at Lam Research, and what were your results?

“As oxide materials are filled to the sides of 3D DRAM, a void occurs during this process. I am currently searching for a solution to this problem with Lam Research. In addition to this, the team in the U.S. conducted various research projects. When conducting research in South Korea, it was a hassle to send wafers to the U.S. and wait for the test results. However, there were no delays in research when working in the U.S. We were also able to check the feasibility of the improvement research for the void problem.”

Q. How much did the GXP help in enhancing your competence?

“I enhanced my skills and gained new knowledge by working alongside engineers of Lam Research. I was also able to get a firm grasp of how to operate the various equipment used during research development. From learning the basic theories about my work to finding the causes and solutions of a phenomenon, I was able to learn a lot from collaborating with the engineers.

“I also learned that there was more than one correct way of working. The impression I got from working with U.S. companies in the past was that these companies operated in a slow manner. But when I actually worked in the U.S., I realized that these companies stress detail and perfection rather than simply being slow. The workers here never rush work that could theoretically be finished one or two hours faster. South Korean workers tend to emphasize quickness and accuracy, but I recognized that this may not always be the answer.”

Technical Leader Song Yoo Jin of R&D has been developing measuring technology and software as part of a collaborative effort with researchers from South Korea, the U.S. and Germany since 2020. Having been a part of this global collaborative project for several years, Song has always wanted to work side-by-side with global experts to expand her expertise. Her work included collaborating with optical system developer Zeiss on developing storage node² profile measurement software, which measures the two- and three-dimensional structural characteristics of a storage node such as tilt, torsion, and proximity. In a bid to increase the effectiveness of her work while reaching her self-development goals, Song took up the opportunity to work at the German company through the GXP.

²Storage Node: A capacitor that stores electric charge in a DRAM cell.

Q. What were you tasked with at Zeiss, and what were your results?

“I continued developing measurement software that I started working on with Zeiss. We focused on minimizing the operating errors that occur during prior analysis and sample testing. We also looked at Zeiss’s new focused ion beam that SK hynix is set to utilize in 2023 and conveyed the requirements as well. I played the role of a guide for engineers who will develop the equipment in the future.

“I saved time by working directly at the site. As feedback is crucial for software development, I was able to reflect feedback quickly while discussing the next stage of development with depth. Accordingly, a major outcome of the program was to improve cooperation and communication efficiency. I also received sources and ideas to develop technology this year. The exchange of technology from both sides offered a developmental time overall.”

GXP Strengthens SK hynix’s Global Talent Development Program Line-Up

SK hynix has various developmental programs other than the GXP. Looking to get a competitive edge on the global scene, the company has been expanding programs that enhance qualities like global leadership, language skills, working abilities, and technology competence.

The Global Business English Program (GBEP) and the Global Leadership Program (GLP) develops language skills and global leadership skills, respectively. The GBEP offers English education for employees who need to enhance their language abilities, while the GLP is a shortened MBA program that introduces the qualities of a leader. The Global Insight Program (GIP) is a program that cultivates global competence through technological exchanges with research centers at reputable universities. Participants of the GIP spend up to a year working in an overseas research institute while increasing their technical skills.

SK hynix strengthened the lineup of its global development programs by adding the GXP in October 2022. As the program refines company culture by offering a flexible working environment and improves efficiency by collaborating with overseas offices, it is expected to become a highly sought-after program in the future.

SK hynix plans to continue developing and expanding beneficial programs for its employees to develop the world’s best talent. The four existing global growth programs will continue to run in 2023, highlighting how, even during industry downturns, the company is determined to spare no investment to develop its workers’ global competence.

The post GXP: A 5-Week “Work From Anywhere” Program for SK hynix Employees first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.