Don't sacrifice yourself for your company; make it work for you

At Atomy, employee autonomy extends beyond internal management to customer service, where frontline workers are encouraged to prioritize consumers even when their interests conflict with those of the company.

For customer service staff, this means having the authority to approve returns and exchanges without sending each case through multiple layers of management. Atomy says representatives are expected to put customers first when their interests conflict with the company's. Empowering frontline employees to resolve complaints, rather than simply promising to seek approval, is intended to reduce delays.

“Do not fight customers for the company. Fight the company for customers,” Park tells employees.

At a press briefing in Incheon on Oct. 20, Park argued that honesty and concern for customers are key to a company's long-term survival. His expectations for employees' personal lives are equally clear.

“I hope they will not sacrifice themselves for the company, but use the company to become happy,” he said.

Compensation is central to that goal. Park described high salaries as the best employee benefit and said his ultimate ambition was to make Atomy the world's highest-paying company. The company guarantees employment until age 62 and provides retirement benefits equivalent to two months' pay for each year of service. Park acknowledged that existing salaries, which he said were comparable to those at major corporations, were still not high enough.

Park sees AI as a way to support higher compensation without a corresponding increase in headcount. “If we increase sales fivefold without increasing the number of employees, there is no problem paying five times the salary,” he said, describing AI as a means of achieving that goal. He added, however, that employees might still need to work twice as hard.

Atomy is also developing a personal platform initiative designed to let members build their own businesses using the company's systems. It plans to rename its salespeople “personal platform owners.” They distribute about 600 products including health nutritional supplements, beauty and personal care items, everyday household sundries, electronic appliances and food. Flagship products include Atomy Hemo Him and Atomy Absolute Selective Skin Care.

With Central and South America, Europe and Africa recently added to its expanding global markets, Atomy said the chairman's next workplace goal is to have all 26 of Atomy's overseas subsidiaries undergo GPTW assessments and secure places in the rankings.

The company's ambition to expand its workplace recognition globally reflects Park's broader belief that employee satisfaction and business competitiveness should go hand in hand. When accepting the Korean workplace awards, he credited employees rather than management.

“Atomy is a great company to be chairman of,” he said. “Our employees do their jobs well, voluntarily and on their own. Thanks to them and our products' excellent quality and reasonable prices, we are securing continuous growth and competitiveness in the global market."