2. 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary…………………………………………. 2
Introduction…………………………………………………… 3
Research Methods…………………………………………… 4
Organizational Background…………………………………. 5
Area of Strategic Opportunity………………………………. 6
Current Strategic Positioning……………………………….. 7
Proposed Strategy…………………………………………… 9
Strategy Execution………………………………………….. 11
Conclusion…………………………………………………… 14
Appendix: Creative Component…………………………… 15
Annotated List of References……………………………….16
3. 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A large, established pharmaceutical company (which I will refer to as “Star
Pharmaceuticals”) is having challenges attracting and retaining a younger, diverse
workforce. The average employee age is 45 yrs. old, and in order to maintain a
leadership position and have succession plans in place, they really need to focus on
engaging millennials (ages 23 to 38). What is it about the company that is not attractive
to younger employees? Is it the reputation, the culture, the managers, or is the work
environment not inclusive regarding it’s opportunities for advancement?
I propose the following methods to try to determine what about the company is
discouraging to younger employees: external benchmarking, internal focus groups,
employee surveys, one-on-one interviews. In addition, various employee engagement
and internal communications initiatives are planned, as well as special events to
energize the workplace and make people feel more valued and feel that they are in an
exciting environment. These would be both short-term and ongoing initiatives.
The company’s external marketing and outreach will also be evaluated, and they
will be enhanced and targeted to a younger, more diverse audience.
4. 3
INTRODUCTION
There are over 90 million Millennials in the United States, making it the largest
generation. In order to retain a leadership position in the marketplace, companies that
have an older generation of employees will need to revise recruiting and retention
practices to attract this population. A large pharma company that has been in existence
for over 100 years hired an agency to analyze its workforce and external reputation
among millennials. What it found was that this age group was looking at smaller,
younger companies when seeking employment, and that their older, established
company was viewed as too corporate and un-welcoming. As millennials are becoming
a major force within the U.S. economy, it stands to reason that attracting these workers
is important to build the next generation workforce.
5. 4
RESEARCH METHODS
I have employed a variety of research methods including web searches on
millennials in the workplace, for which I found a wealth of material. I looked at websites
of pharmaceutical companies that were in existence for at least 100 years – Merck,
Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Abbott. Their websites included information on not only
the corporation, but also on various employee resource groups. Their Careers pages
also helped inform if the company appealed to a younger workforce.
I also looked at interesting survey results from Deloitte, a document on
Millennials on LinkedIn, various online magazines and articles, and books written about
the subject. There was really a great amount of materials on the topic.
6. 5
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND
Star Pharmaceuticals Corporation has a long, rich history. Starting in 1898 with
one drug, the company has grown into a worldwide organization with over 50,000
employees. The company is diversified in its businesses and products, ranging from
over the counter products to drugs that treat cancer. It advertises employment
opportunities from entry level to senior positions, ranging from project managers to
positions requiring a scientific background. The company has a good reputation
worldwide, and is known and trusted. Its brands are known by the average consumer
and physicians alike, and its dedication to quality products is part of its credo. The
average age of its employees is 45, and it strives to hire employees that are diverse in
race, gender, sexual orientation and age. While the company is able to hire talent from
the millennial age group, they have found that turnover rate is high. The average rate of
employment is two years.
Exit interviews have found that these young employees feel that they are not
offered mentorship programs, and the opportunity for growth is low. They only see older
(50+) employees in senior level positions, and those are mostly white, and the majority
are male. They did not feel a sense of purpose at their work, and did not feel like the
company cared about them. While they wanted clear direction, they also wanted a
company that was open to alternative ideas. The company needs to figure out how to
inspire loyalty among this generation, as the risk to the business with constant turnover
is high.
7. 6
AREA OF STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY
Recruiting and retaining employees is critical to the success of any organization.
It is important in sustaining day-to-day operations of a company, as well as ensuring its
long-term success. Internal employee engagement initiatives play a large part in
keeping employees energized and motivated to pursue their work, no matter what it
may be, with passion and accountability. They also help employees understand and
embrace the mission and goals of the company.
Organizations that have meaningful and positive employee engagement activities
have more dedicated employees who come to work each day with a sense of purpose.
Employee engagement should always be looked at as a tool for the purpose of reaching
the organization’s goals and its success. Culture driven engagement is employee
engagement that encourages involvement with the company beyond their defined role.
It enforces a clear understanding of what the company does, and inspires a sense of
loyalty and identification with the company’s goals. (Rozen)
The expectation for clear communications and working for a purpose may be
greater in the millennial population. Millennials are socially conscious, highly tolerant,
very diverse, and plugged into technology. They are the most educated generation yet,
and will comprise 75% of the workforce by 2025. They want fulfillment, meaning, and
purpose in their work. (Deloitte Millennial Survey)
8. 7
CURRENT STRATEGIC POSITIONING
Having a diverse employee population, including diversity of age of employees,
enables a company to attract and retain the best talent and foster an environment for
innovation. Being inclusive creates an environment where people and their unique
perspectives can be heard and considered so the entire company is engaged and can
reach its full potential.
In researching a variety of public companies that have been around for 100 years
or more, I found that many are making a concerted effort to appeal to millennials.
Nearly every company had a Diversity and Inclusion area on their website. Johnson &
Johnson (founded 1886) “holds leadership accountable for recruiting, developing,
retaining and advancing diverse, global talent” – although the 3 people they had on this
page were all white, and included two 40-ish males, and one woman who looked to be
outside of the millennial age group.
At Pfizer (1849), “It’s about having many different viewpoints so we can innovate,
innovate, innovate!” They advertise more than 75 colleague resource groups, and
feature Mentoring and Networking on their Diversity page, which is a primary concern of
millennials. On their Careers page you can find not only photos of millennials, but a link
to their “stories” – which are really only one or two sentences, but it does entice you to
read further. Their “Own It” culture let’s employees be accountable for their own
success and the success of their projects, something that is also very important to
millennials.
9. 8
On Abbott’s (1888) career page, you can find racially diverse 20 to 30-somethings
dressed stylishly and casually, with one woman’s tattoo visible on her shoulder. They
also highlight Mentorship, Career Events, and Networking opportunities.
Merck’s (1891) career page shows a young African-American woman next to a
Professional and Leadership Opportunities section, a young white male next to
Graduate Opportunities, and a young woman of undefined ethnic background next to
Post-Doctoral Opportunities.
Clearly, for all of these companies, the goal is to recruit and retain millennials.
All of the companies also had Employee networks or resource groups, and these were
generally organized by race, ethnicity, gender, culture, and sexual orientation.
These are but a few of the companies that Star Pharmaceuticals is competing
with for talent. They have similar job opportunities, and all have similar statements on
their websites – “We empower our people to pursue innovation and challenge the status
quo.” “We appreciate differences and embrace new ideas.” “We strive to be a best-in-
class employer attracting strong talent and world-class leadership.” “We provide a
supportive and empowering work environment.”
Star Pharmaceuticals (founded 1898) needs to enhance their presence and
engagement with millennials not only on their website but more importantly, once the
employee is hired, ensure that their employment experience is a good one so that they
stay with the company longer than 2 years.
10. 9
PROPOSED STRATEGY
The name of my strategy is “StarWORKS 2020”, and my target audience is the
millennial employee, those born between 1980-2000, but specifically those currently
aged 20-36. According to the 2016 Deloitte Millennial Survey, 44 percent of millennials
plan to quit his or her current employer within 2 years. The lack of loyalty to their
employers is a serious challenge to any business. Also, according to the survey, they
say that their leadership skills are not being fully developed, that the success of
businesses should be measured beyond profit margins, and that how a business treats
its people is highly important to them.
I would work with Human Resources to ensure that there is available support and
training for those who wish to develop leadership skills. This would include not only
formal training, but also mentorship programs. These programs can be both formal and
timed, and informal, where the organization’s culture is one that encourages mentorship
on a day-to-day basis.
I found that most large businesses do have philanthropic programs and
sustainability programs. They give grants and other aid (products) to non-profit
organizations, and also employ many sustainability programs that help protect and
nurture the environment. Star Pharmaceuticals needs to increase awareness of the
good and charitable causes that it enables, ensuring that their employees can easily
grasp that it’s not just about the profit, but that the company is a good corporate citizen
as well.
On the company website, which now features an older looking white male in a
suit and tie, I would propose a new look that shows a more welcoming image for
11. 10
millennials. It would be important to signal quickly what it is really like to work at the
company. I don’t think you have to go as far as Abbott’s site (which illustrates a very
casual work environment), but somewhere in between where it is currently and the
Abbott image. According to LinkedIn’s Millennial Playbook “We are not a generation of
suits and ties, but rather creators and entrepreneurs.”
Most importantly, the internal arm of StarWORKS 2020 will encompass many
employee engagement initiatives and activities that will retain and energize the
millennial population. I propose an employee group geared for those in the millennial
age group. Anyone can join, of course, as it would help to get the experience and
perspective of the older generation in the company. It would not take the place of the
employee groups that are focused on race, ethnicity, gender, and orientation. This new
group would enhance that experience, and have the most diverse population of any of
others.
The ultimate goal of the Workforce 2020 Employee Group would be to develop
the next generation of motivated employees and leaders. Connecting millennials with
each other will increase engagement and retention. Activities would include skill-
building workshops, mentoring and coaching activities, team-building activities (i.e.
Habitat for Humanity days, helping at a local shelter etc.), internal and external
education events, and networking events. To communicate and keep all members
informed on a daily basis, an internal social media service such as Yammer would be
used. Monthly meetings, news and scheduled events would be posted there. The
employee should feel encouraged by the resources devoted to their development, and
the result should be and motivated and dedicated workforce.
12. 11
STRATEGY EXECUTION
First and foremost would be creating the employee group “StarWORKS 2020”,
as the main problem is retaining current employees. I want to know what their
experience has been working in the company, how long they plan on staying and why.
This could be done with an anonymous survey. Working with Human Resources, I
would ask for a report from exit interviews to find out why millennial employees left the
company. As millennials want advancement opportunities, chances are that they did
not find them in Star Pharmaceuticals, which employees an older workforce.
I would partner with a designer to create branding for this new employee group,
plan a launch event at a major site, and invite employees via email and on the internal
company website to join the group. Millennials are very comfortable with social media,
and I would initiate a Yammer work group as soon as possible to start conversations,
and to keep them going. Immediate success would be measured by responses and
attendees at the launch event.
It wouldn’t end there, of course. I’d have to keep employees interested by
posting and responding to colleagues statements on Yammer, advertise new events
and opportunities, and generally keep everyone connected. Since the company is
global, I think there would have to be different chapters of StarWORKS 2020 to
personalize the experience for different countries and cultures. Networking events that
would bring people together and help them learn about each other’s roles in the
company are important in establishing relationships. External team building events that
take place in a setting outside of work are important in developing those relationships. I
would enlist an external vendor like The Go Game to combine team building with
13. 12
technology, or create an event that is hands on work, like building a garden at a local
homeless shelter. Mentoring opportunities would also be a big part of this initiative.
Every generation can benefit from a mentorship program – the mentors (experienced
employees) get to share their knowledge, and the mentees get to feel included and
valued. “When employees feel as though their employers are personally invested in
their career success, they’re more likely to stay with a company and work hard to help it
grow.” (Boitnott)
Since the company does have many philanthropic activities already in place, I
would ensure that the StarWORKS 2020 group is well aware of what the company does
in the name of good corporate citizenship. I would also explore ways in which
employees can get involved in some of these activities if possible. “Millennials want to
feel like they’re impacting the community—and feel like the company cares, and isn’t
just about making a profit.” (Schawbel) Enlisting the help of StarWORKS 2020 in
community events sponsored by the company will further a sense of partnership.
I will also conduct a focus group of employees to assess what they like/don’t like
about the Careers page on the company website and on LinkedIn. I will ask for their
ideas and advice for making the sites more attractive and meaningful. Because this
would involve graphic design as well as technology, I will engage other departments in
the company to help facilitate a redesign. Since content is looked at on many different
platforms (laptop, phone, iPad, Apple watch) I will conduct an employee survey on
what the user experiences across all the platforms. A timeline for development would
be established, and success would be measured by calculating what demographic is
applying for the positions posted.
15. 14
CONCLUSION
When StarWORKS 2020 becomes a reality, and employees are positively
engaged with their work and their colleagues, the hope is that the company will be able
to feel comfortable that a successful future is ensured. I envision a work environment
where people trust one another, communicate often and in a variety of ways, have a
large network of other millennials to rely on and collaborate with, and have mentors who
will ensure their long-term success. Whether it’s posting a picture of an event or an
interesting article, attending a team building activity, meeting new people at a
networking event, the goal is positive, engaged employees who have no intention of
looking for another job any time soon. Ultimately, all of these activities will result in the
millennial workforce staying with Star Pharmaceuticals because they have a job that
allows them to feel valued, to innovate, and to grow into leadership positions.
17. 16
ANNOTATED LIST OF REFERENCES
I viewed and researched company websites, LinkedIn, and Twitter for the
following companies: Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Abbott, and Merck. Seeing what the
competition is doing on the web and on social media is vital to benchmarking. You can
get an immediate sense of what the company is like, and also find out the history of the
company, what they sell, and also get a sense of the culture.
Argenti, Paul A. Corporate Communication. 6th ed. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 2013.
Print.
Boitnott, J. (2016, June 28). 6 Tips for Developing a Mentorship Program That
Keeps Millennial Employees Growing. Retrieved August, 2016, from
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/278119 A short but informative article
offering tips to keep employees involved and happy, and to ensure the
environment keeps lets them thrive and be successful.
Lipman, V. (2016, June 27). How to Effectively Manage Millennials. Retrieved July,
2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2016/06/27/how-to-
effectively-manage-millennials-5-dos-and-donts/#2ef227a26b08
This article provides tips on how to keep employee engagement high, and how to
keep negative management styles from lowering motivation in millennials.
Millennial Survey 2016 | Deloitte | Social impact, Innovation. (n.d.). Retrieved July,
2016, from http://www.deloitte.com/MillennialSurvey This 27 page document
was filled with extensive details on the why millennials may be dissatisfied with
18. 17
their current jobs. It had 7,700 participants from 29 countries, so the results were
very informative.
Rozen, D. M. (2016, July 28). Three Common Challenges (and Best Remedies) for
Employee Engagement. Retrieved July, 2016, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-rozen/three-common-challenges-
a_b_11203236.html This article explained why employee engagement is
so important in the workplace. It is not just nice to have, but has to be looked at
as a tool to help the organization reach its goals.
Rynne, A. (2016, May 11). Introducing the LinkedIn Millennial Playbook. Retrieved July,
2016, from https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/blog/best-practices-
-thought-leadership/2016/introducing-the-linkedin-millennial-playbook
Written by millennials, this 50 page document detailed why millennials have
influence, defined “types”, contained lots of statistics, and information on how to
build your own brand.
Sujansky, J. G., & Ferri-Reed, J. (2009). Keeping the millennials: Why companies are
losing billions in turnover to this generation--and what to do about it. Hoboken,
NJ: John Wiley & Sons. This book helped to explain the differences in
generations in the workforce, and details why their style and perspective should
be valued. Corporations could risk losing money and productivity if they are not
willing to adapt to the new workforce.
Team Building Games | Conferences, Corporate Events, Company Retreats, Festivals
and Marketing. (n.d.). Retrieved August, 2016, from http://thegogame.com/team-
building/games In order to engage employees on a larger level, even a
19. 18
global level, having a team-building activity like the ones on this site could help
generate a sense of camaraderie and collaboration.
Yammer: Social Networking - Connect with Your Coworkers. (n.d.). Retrieved August,
2016, from https://www.yammer.com/ I researched internal communication
and Yammer was one of the tools that I found interesting. It’s a mix of Twittter
and Facebook for business, and I think would be a perfect way to link with a
particular group to share information.
