SCIENCE sciencecareers.org 645FOCUS ON CAREERS
top employersADVERTISING FEATURE: Produced by the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing OfficeNurturing health, fl exibility, and fun
Some of the most influential organizations pursue a holistic
approach in nurturing employees. “Living better, healthy lives
is intrinsic to every level of the company. To me that is a really
important combination,” says Rodgers. That approach extends to
the employees’ families as well. Childcare off erings and flexible
schedules for parents and caregivers are par for the course at
these companies. “My boss told me ‘you are the only mom for your
kids.’ That is the caring nature of my manager and the company,”
says Rodgers.
Indeed, work–life balance is universally important. “Insmed is a
results-driven organization,” says Schaeff er. “But there is always
the expectation that if you are doing the job and delivering, it
doesn’t matter if you leave at 3 p.m. for a kid’s soccer game or to
help a parent. We don’t manage our off ice by bed checks of who
is in the off ice. It’s about taking what you need to recharge and be
with your family and be your best.”
Flexibility is a key indicator of a top employer. As organizations
shifted to remote work during the pandemic, top employers took
full advantage of this, to reimagine a new way of doing business.
Rather than see this as a deficit or damning scenario, the pharma
and biotech companies were energized by the possibility of
enabling their employees’ success in a new environment. Not
surprisingly, employees responded well to this. Boucher describes
a colleague who had joined Alnylam 2 days before lockdown. An
extrovert, the employee craved the chance to learn the company
culture and contribute to its community. But with the company
going fully remote, combined with a challenging home scenario—
which included at-risk parents, homeschooled kids, a partner who
was a frontline worker, and a recent pet who passed away—she
knew this was going to be diff icult. But what she didn’t expect,
says Boucher, was the company’s caring and gracious response in
accommodating and welcoming her. She told Boucher: “Ithe form of courses
and even a mini-
MBA program. “All of
these development
tools that help me
be a leader at Abbott
are available to all
scientists here,” says
Rodgers. “It is part of
Abbott’s commitment
to investing in voices
in all areas of the
company.” Moreover,
the performance
of managers is
assessed by how
well they coach
their direct reports
and whether their
team members
are meeting their
own career goals
within the company.
At Incyte, all
employees—including fairly new Ph.D.s—are given an abundance
of opportunities to lead programs and projects.
Such incentivizing of career development is seen at many of
the top employers, such as Insmed, where employee development
is supported through coaching, and upper management has
regular discussions about how to better align talent within the
organization in order to advance the company and the individual.
Alnylam consistently develops 5-year plans that they share with
all employees, which then feeds both annual corporate and
individual objectives. “Our 5-year strategy serves as a North Star
for colleagues to align on the mission, vision, and mechanisms
by which we will achieve our long-term aspirational goals,” s a y s
Boucher.
But it is not enough to improve the skills of current staff. A
successful company must build and support a pipeline for
up-and-coming scientific employees, too. This entails devoting
resources to education. “Our commitment to scientific talent starts
at the beginning: internships,” says Kehr. “We are the number-
one internship in health care and engineering. Once the interns
join, we have systemic ways of developing their careers.” Abbott’s
college internship is in its sixth decade and serves about 1,000
students each year. More than 150 students have participated
in the company’s high school internship since it started in 2012.
Interestingly, 75% of Abbott’s full-time engineers hired from
the high school internship program are female. The program
has become a strong diversity recruiting tool, notes an Abbott
representative. At its New Jersey headquarters, Insmed has
partnered with a local organization, Students 2 Science, which
promotes science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) education in underserved New Jersey communities.
Employees engage in mentoring and speaking about career paths
and opportunities.82
8287849186 89 94 9795100COMPARISON OF TOP TEN COMPANIES
BY TOP THREE CHARACTERISTICS
Comparison of the top 10 companies on the basis of 3 of the top drivers (scored out of 100):
Is an innovative leader in the industry (x-axis), Treats employees with respect (y-axis), and Is socially responsible (bubble width).Insmed
Incyte
Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals
Regeneron
Spark Therapeutics
Syngenta Group
Moderna
Ve r t ex
Pharmaceuticals
Merck KGaA
GenentechRespectWidth of bubble = Is socially responsibleInnovativeIMAGE: © KRISTNU/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM cont.>1029Recruitment_RC.indd 645 10/25/21 1:00 PM