CATALYST Issue 1 | Page 29

Talent Centric Creating scale and driving talent acquisition efficiency at Medtronic Medical technology, services and solutions company Medtronic’s acquisition of Covidien in 2015 prompted global transformation across the business. Markus Pflanz, Director of Talent Acquisition, explains what this meant for the recruitment agenda and why introducing RPO gives him the flexibility to create a talent acquisition strategy that is fit for purpose. T he story of the janitor working for NASA who, when asked by President Kennedy to describe his job, said: “I am helping to put a man on the moon,” is well documented. Now more than ever, talent looks to employers to provide meaning and purpose in their career paths. For those organisations that get it right, it can prove powerful in improving employee performance and retention and building a robust talent pipeline. Global medical technology, services and solutions company Medtronic aims to do just that for its 88,000- plus employees across 160 countries. Since its inception in 1949, Medtronic has produced technologies including a wearable pacemaker, implantable mechanical devices, drug and biologic delivery devices, and advanced energy surgical instruments. Today, its technologies are used to treat nearly 40 medical conditions and, in turn, transform the lives of millions of people globally. “We provide solutions to heal people,” explains Markus Pflanz, Director of Talent Acquisition, Global Recruitment Partnering. “Our Mission, which is integral to our day-to-day decision making, has remained constant since 1960: to alleviate pain, restore health and extend life. We aim to translate that mission into our employee value proposition (EVP) – we offer careers that change lives.” With Medtronic hiring around 11,000 professionals each year, a key focus of Pflanz’s role is to help the Issue 1 - 2017 29