6 4 4 sciencecareers.org SCIENCEFOCUS ON CAREERS
top employersADVERTISING FEATURE: Produced by the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Officebe successful in coming up with and executing on the next
big, potentially game-changing idea. “Abbott realizes that
innovation doesn’t happen by accident. You have to devote time
and resources,” says Rodgers. Those resources must include a
fundamental mindset that is baked into the culture, which gives
explicit permission to staff to pilot new endeavors. “We have
empowered our staff to experiment or pivot to something new,”
says Schaeff er. “If you have an idea that is not in your functional
area of expertise, we expect you to share and speak up, because
we know we get a better result if people are open and transparent
in sharing ideas.” Echoes Maryanne Covington, senior director of
Applied Technology Sciences at Incyte, about her experience at
her company: “If one scientist has an idea, you can run it by the
program. No matter how small the idea, your idea is heard.”
Alnylam off ers numerous leadership training and coaching
programs that involve fireside chats with the CEO. The experience
includes the chance to shadow colleagues across the company
and complete a real-life case study about the firm’s market
penetration strategies. There is also a special program called
Athena that is specifically for emerging women leaders.
Moderna (No. 7) also cultivates leadership throughout its
organization. The biotech company headquartered in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, was able to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine
development in lightning speed because it invested in its leaders
at all levels. “We work very hard on this,” says Stephen Hoge,
president of Moderna. “As a leader, I have a deep belief in the
power of relationships. What we need to do is engage and
communicate with a broad group of the organization, without
silos, so people can solve the problem. We are at our best when
we are in a mindset to invite passionate debate, act with healthy
inquisition, and collaborate in pursuit of transforming medicine.”Supporting current and future STEM pipelines
Employee development is something many scientists take
seriously; they have indicated so in the Top Employers Survey.
Abbott invests in its employees in numerous ways. Each scientist
works through a personalized development plan, designed to
give them guidance and resources to grow their career in the
company, something that several top companies mirror. Abbott
also provides various online learning opportunities incommunicate around our
sustainability eff orts.”
At Takeda, innovation
extends beyond science to
DEI, says Nurse, through
an internal network of
hundreds of volunteers
who discuss ideas related
to improving the culture
to exceed DEI targets.
“Takeda is a place where
all employees’ voices
are heard. Innovation is
a group eff ort, and I am
very proud to be at our
company, where DEI is
a top priority and we have a fully written out plan with several
pillars,” she says.Empowering leadership
Leadership plays an important role in ensuring a company’s
success. At Insmed, leadership is a collective engagement. “We
have no ‘bosses,’ no one who exclusively makes decisions without
hearing the input from critical voices,” says Perkins. “Everyone
contributes and all voices are heard. We have supervisors who
are more like mentors. In R&D, there’s a collaborative spirit where
everyone rolls up their sleeves.” Anyone in the firm has access to
the CEO and other senior leadership. This is similar to Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company based in
Cambridge, Massachusetts (No. 3), where monthly All Company
Meetings with the CEO are voluntarily attended by 90% of the
company and there is an open invitation for feedback and ideas.
“We set detailed goals with our colleagues to empower them to
deliver the results,” says Kelley Boucher, chief human resources
o ff i c e r. “Given the eff orts we devote to setting our goals up front,
colleagues have clarity on the role they play in achieving outcomes
in a manner that is aligned with our core values.”
Top companies invest in emerging leaders to sharpen their
skills in uncovering novel opportunities, and to construct avenues
for senior leadership to engage with staff across the enterprise
in a two-way partnership. At Abbott, this comes in the form of
cross-functional collaborations, in which employees from diff erent
departments have arenas to converse with each other, share
ideas, and explore new realms for creativity; opportunities include
internal conferences, monthly multidisciplinary scientific meetings,
development courses, and events for employee resources groups,
such as Women Leaders of Abbott. This approach also involves
interaction with external partners, including academics, something
that is available at other top employers. “There are all these
unique routes for having new ideas bubble up and mechanisms to
share those ideas,” says Rodgers. At Insmed, global project teams
provide a lever for innovation, where anyone can suggest ideas for
advancement. “It allows exposure for junior people to develop [as
leaders] in a safe manner,” notes Perkins.
Leadership without authority is tethered to innovation. So
top companies support eff orts to enable their employees toDRIVING CHARACTERISTICS
OF TOP EMPLOYERS
2021
- Innovative leader in the industry
- Treats employees with respect
- Is socially responsible
- Has loyal employees
- Easily adapts to change
2020
- Innovative leader in the industry
- Treats employees with respect
- Is socially responsible
- Has loyal employees
- Has work culture values that are aligned with employeesí
personal values
* Driving characteristics are listed in descending order of impact on overall employer rankings.
** Shaded background indicates the characteristics in common for the 2 years.cont.> IMAGE: © ASHATILOV/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM1029Recruitment_RC.indd 644 10/25/21 1:00 PM