Pharmaceutical
In the middle of rapid multinational growth, a pharmaceuticals company was experiencing significantly high levels of attrition across R&D teams.
We designed and developed new departmental and cross-functional organizational tools to strengthen retention, elevate culture and morale, and reduce new hire cost.
The challenge
In addition to the high attrition levels, company leadership also expressed concerns with lack of cohesive growth strategy and a 'hire for today' mentality without taking a structured view of future skill sets necessary for growth.
Ambiguous and confusing accountabilities, and poor collaboration contributed to 'turf wars', informational and functional siloes, and uncertainty in cross-functional processes. This directly impacted drug development cycle time in many cases.
Internally, many senior level employees had voiced concerns over lack of career growth opportunities, while externally, the company held a low rating on job search sites.
How we helped
Our analysis, which included input from over 60 individuals covering 5 countries, 25 functional areas and C-Suite to entry level employees, uncovered root cause organizational, cultural and behavioral issues.
A joint Aspire/client working team designed and implemented a project plan to address four critical gaps in the organization:
- Clearly defined functional roles and responsibilities
Result: clear accountabilities; reduction of redundant/missing work product; reduced 'in-fighting' and 'turf' disputes - A robust 'career ladder' for Clinical Development including experience and competency requirements at each position
Result: improved employee satisfaction and retention; more focus on team skills and competencies development; greatly improved team culture and morale - Cross-functionally agreed upon RACI structure for Clinical Study Teams
Result: greatly increased speed and effectiveness of drug trials; increased cross-functional trust; better collaboration and less 'finger-pointing' - Consistent, standardized format and language for control documents (SOPs, GIs, WPs, etc.) incorporating the new accountabilities, role definitions and responsibilities
Result: clear, integrated 'audit-ready' control documentation across all R&D functions; greatly improved workflows and overall effectiveness of internal and cross-functional teams