Novo Nordisk Inc. (NNI), the North American affiliate of global pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S, embarked on the most complex and second largest expansion in its history, with a goal to hire 600 employees (roughly 12 percent of its U.S. workforce) in just 12 weeks. Timing coincided with a new product launch, so hiring efforts couldn’t begin until the launch was announced publicly.
The Hiring Blitz was designed to prepare numerous stakeholders to recruit top talent during this expansion. The company faced several challenges, including the variety of roles for which it was hiring, many of which were new to NNI. Because learning needs were tremendous and the time frame condensed, NNI designed the practice specifically to:
- Bring stakeholders together in expanded office space to work together and learn from each other more effectively and efficiently.
- Focus on the elements stakeholders needed to hire the right people who will thrive at NNI.
- Streamline information to the most salient points and create separate training modules based on job roles to avoid overwhelming and paralyzing stakeholders with too much information.
- Gather immediate feedback with a survey available via iPads in candidate waiting rooms to gather candidate and manager feedback so NNI could make timely improvements.
Throughout the process, NNI offered a combination of in-person and WebEx training to:
- External recruiting agencies on NNI and its culture, benefits, environment, the many varied roles for which it was hiring, its staffing processes (background checks, offer letters, etc.), and its systems.
- Document specialists on how to validate sales performance documentation the company requires.
- Hiring managers and other interviewers on how to help NNI attract the right talent and create a positive candidate experience. Because the company was hiring managers, some would be hiring the week after they themselves began employment. This meant many people would be interviewing and making selection decisions for the first time with NNI while experiencing the fast pace of the Blitz process.
Interviewers were provided with as much information as they could absorb. Manager tool kits served as useful aids, providing sample documents to illustrate what to expect. This was particularly important given NNI was interviewing and making employment offers on the same day.
Results
During the Blitz, NNI trained more than 90 agency people and 200-plus hiring managers. They went on to sort through 49,224 applicants; conduct a minimum of 8,500 phone screens; verify “top sales” documentation that was provided; interview three candidates for each position; and make offers to 743 candidates. NNI filled 95 percent of the 600 roles, and all but 1 percent are still with the company today. Feedback from candidates and managers confirmed the process was well run and the experience was good. By creating a positive candidate experience, NNI was able to attract the talent it needed and leave a good impression with promising candidates, strengthening its future candidate pool.
Results also showed an increase in Share of Voice for NNI’s product portfolio over the prior year. Additionally, the Learning function now has a proven, repeatable process that can be used to drive future expansion efforts.
