Values are our compass

Dear Employees,

The events of the last weeks in the United States are a stark reminder that hatred and fear have very real consequences to people who are our family, friends, neighbors and customers we work hard to support. They have also showed us that much is similar about us and that senseless acts of injustice have the ability to bring us together. At KARL STORZ, I want to be clear that there is no place for racism, discrimination, or bigotry in society and certainly not in our workplace. We have ZERO TOLERENCE for discrimination – of any kind.

These are difficult and challenging times for the world, and people are coming to grips with emotions of anger, frustration, ignorance and a sense that we must accept the call to action to ensure this behavior stops. Times like this are a test and it is during these times that we must self-reflect with a focus on our values.
 

• Patient Health & Safety
  We provide safe and high quality solutions that help to care for the well-being of patients.
• Respect
  We treat everyone with respect and encourage diversity of thought.
• Integrity
  We are trustful, compliant, committed and accountable.
• Self-reflection & Continuous Improvement
  We act as a learning organization and embrace our failures to learn from them.
• Courage
  We openly share our ideas and encourage strong and thoughtful decisions.
• Social Responsibility
  We care about our environment and give back to our communities.

In our discussions as a leadership team and through Self-Reflection, we believe our values should apply to the world we are experiencing right now. In this moment, our values, such as Social Responsibility, challenge us to take a stand against all forms of discrimination. We must exhibit the Courage to stand up to transgressions that do not encourage diversity and inclusion and run counter to our value of Respect.

The issues facing our society are complex and will take time to work through and resolve. We must be both patient with one another and persistent in our pursuit of change and Continuous Improvement in our communities and in our workplace.

We must honor the role Integrity plays in our interactions with a thoughtful commitment to our words and actions. Trusting one another to have good intentions while creating an environment, free of fear so we are free to educate and learn. We all play a role in creating this and ensuring that it works for every one of our associates.

The lessons of the past few weeks have taught us that we must Respect each other, no matter our race, color, ideology, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or profession. This is also clearly stated in our Code of Conduct. We must embrace and encourage Diversity. It is through celebrating differences of opinion, experience and background that we create a healthy, innovative, environment; one that will support our goal of being the Company of Choice for you, our employees who are here already, and also to attract new talent with new ideas.

You may be asking, what is the role of our Company, our leaders and all our employees in this context. After all, we are a business and not an organization dedicated to Social Change and addressing Cultural Crises. It is my expectation that our collective role is to live our Company Values within our workplace, and, in this moment, perhaps it is important to consider how we might embody these values in our lives as well. We pride ourselves on creating customer solutions that care for the wellbeing of the patients we serve. Maybe, through our actions, we can have a similar impact on the world and society at large. We are committed to doing our part. I encourage you to do your part as well. Please stand up for what is right, fair and just and may our Values act as a guiding light to move forward in making a positive impact in our world.

Karl-Christian Storz