The first year following a merger can be testing for staff as new ideas are introduced and relationships built ; throw in a pandemic , and things become tougher still . Robert Carruthers , Executive Director of Talent Strategy & Innovation at Bristol Myers Squibb , explains how he and his teams rose to the challenge .
When two organisations come together , you expect a period of integration and transition . For recruitment , that meant creating a new value proposition as the merged company looked to the future . However , what we couldn ’ t have planned for was the volume of hiring , which grew by 40 %. On top of that , with COVID , we moved to virtual recruitment . It was quite a learning curve .
To succeed , we had to upskill our talent teams . We put Microsoft Teams in place for interviewing , worked with analytics to keep up with volume and demand planning , and partnered more with RPOs to manage the scaling process . We helped our recruiters further develop the ‘ soft skills ’ they might not have used as much previously , such as resilience , agility and change-management capabilities . With the start of the new company , we began operating as a Centre of Excellence Talent Acquisition model . We really had to emphasise the training and partnering around some of these new processes and ways of working .
A second challenge was hiring in an ultra-competitive environment . Launching a new brand , a new value proposition and a whole new way of recruiting for science and research and development roles certainly compounded this .
The number one reason why people leave a company is because they feel or perceive a lack of opportunity
Developing existing talent
One new function for which my team is responsible is supporting internal talent mobility . The concept of a total talent solution and maximising all available resources is why we ’ ve incorporated talent acquisition and talent management under one strategic umbrella .
The number one reason why people leave a company is because they feel or perceive a lack of opportunity . You can put a lot of resources towards sourcing external talent when the people you need could be in the next office over – you just never knew . This is a tremendous opportunity for all companies , so we need an efficient way of consistently identifying internal talent .
This year , we launched an executive-level programme in which talent was one of six growth drivers across Bristol Myers Squibb . We ’ re looking to improve our understanding of the skills and capabilities across our broader employee base , what our future holds from a workforce-planning perspective and how we can fill those gaps .
Be strategic
When COVID-19 hit , many talent acquisition professionals went into survival mode . We could not anticipate how the recruiting process would change practically overnight ; we were not necessarily prepared , and we had to adjust . After the first week of remote working , we were trying to manage it by reviewing reports and planning . By week two , we realised we were struggling because we weren ’ t looking at the challenges holistically as a game-changing event . We were trying to fix broken elements tactically rather than looking at it as a more strategic change . Once we realised the environment was evolving , we became much more open to ideas and ways of working – and ultimately it got easier to solve .
In the end , I think we ’ ve all just got to remain positive and have faith . If you ’ d talked to me at this point last year , I ’ d have been part of the company being acquired . I would never have guessed the challenges of 2020 , but we ’ ve achieved the goals we set for the year , and then some , despite the pandemic and all the changes that came with it .
The view from AMS : Kristin Thomas
We ’ ve partnered with Bristol Myers Squibb since 2012 , but this expanded when our partner Celgene was acquired in 2019 . We support them in both the US and EMEA across 31 markets for roles in all levels up to executive hiring . In EMEA , we manage the entire recruitment process , while providing sourcing and interview scheduling support in the US and Latin America in a mix of onsite and remote locations . We ’ ve also provided solutions in market insights , media , assessment and selection , branding and technology .