Diversity In Action

Boehringer Ingelheim: technology is the driving force

IT is so integral to the business that forward-looking tech pros “can influence us to go down new paths we’re not even aware of,” says the HR director

Healthcare is becoming more consumer-driven and the market is changing rapidly. Technology is the driving force that lets pharmaceutical companies respond competitively,
says Jamie Eden, HR director for Boehringer Ingelheim (Ridgefield, CT). The worldwide pharmaceutical company, he notes, is seeking IT pros “with the courage to question the
status quo and the ability to lead us on the technology path we need to be competitive.”

Boehringer Ingelheim’s new CIO, Dr Georgia Papathomas, on the job just a year, “is a great champion of diversity and is really changing the vision of the IT organization,” Eden says.
From a tight focus on delivering specific services, IT has added the role of leader and business consultant. “To continue to do this, we’re looking for people with different skill profiles than we have traditionally sought,” Eden explains.

Boehringer Ingelheim researches, develops, manufactures and supplies pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals. By far its largest division is human pharmaceuticals, focused on prescription medicines and consumer healthcare products; it accounts for some 95 percent
of company sales.

Nancy DiDia, exec director of the office of diversity, inclusion and engagement, says the company has become “like a mini IBM” because of its new, integrated business approach.

“The CIO works to provide tools for our scientists and engineers to track our experiments
and the outcome of our drugs and clinical trials, and an infrastructure for employees to be productive and effective. We have a variety of solutions we need to develop for different groups, like marketers, lawyers and scientists,” DiDia says.

“Our structure is serving many different needs. We need more than database programmers and engineer types. We need IT folks who have already excelled in project management in innovative companies.”

The turnover at Boehringer Ingelheim is historically low, so this hiring is not done in bulk, but by strategically examining needed core competencies, Eden points out. But that doesn’t mean the company won’t be bringing in great new talent! In the IT arena he’s looking for people with MBAs and other advanced degrees and experience to fill roles like business analyst, principal software engineer and manager; even associate director and director roles supervising some twenty other technical pros.

“We’re looking for people who are courageous and creative, willing to question why we’re
doing certain things, and with the external focus to see how their work is fitting with the entire business.”

Skills needed depend on the role to be filled. Someone in R&D with a focus on informatics,
for example, might need the ability to see a model of molecular engineering research and translate it into a software package that would visualize the molecular makeup studied.

“It’s very apparent when you talk to somebody who has this type of quality,” Eden adds. “It’s a very unique skill set, because traditionally IT is thought of as a business support function. But our model says that IT is so connected with the business that IT pros could influence us to go down paths we’re not yet even aware of.”

To find diverse job applicants, Boehringer Ingelheim recruits at a variety of professional associations, like the National Black MBAs, the National Society for Hispanic MBAs, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), DiDia says.

“We also do academic recruiting and have a strong STEM program in the Connecticut area where we work with local colleges in science, technology, engineering and math,” she discloses. “We know from research we’ve done that only about 15 percent of entry-level freshmen plan to major in science or engineering, and even fewer complete these studies.”

There’s also a derth of PhDs in science and engineering fields, DiDia says. And more than half these grads are international students. “We’re happy that it brings in a diverse segment, but the demand for engineers, scientists and technicians overall is growing about twice as fast as the current supply!”

To support its ethnically diverse employees, Boehringer Ingelheim has a three-year-old national diversity inclusion advisory council; its twenty-two members are appointed by corporate management. The CEO chairs the group, which meets five times a year.

Operating units nationwide have five local diversity councils, DiDia says. There are also six employee resource groups. The African Heritage Business Resource Group is chaired by the CIO; the others are the Asian Employee Resource Group; Working with Pride, for GLBT folks; the Women’s Leadership Initiative; Disabilities with Opportunities for Networking and Education (DONE) and La biica, which stands for “Latinos At B-I Influencing Change Ahora.”

Boehringer Ingelheim has a strong informal mentoring program which began as a grass-roots effort by the Women’s Leadership Initiative. The company also sponsors a career development coaching program, where professional job coaches help prep likely employees for important job moves. There’s also a coaching center open to all interested employees.

At least twice a year functional leaders meet with their teams and the CEO to present the talent matrix of their organizations, Eden says. “We passionately believe in ‘lead and learn’ competencies: how we operate as leaders and employers.”

The company provides services to help its people balance work/life demands, like the onsite child’s learning center at Ridgefield, CT HQ. An employee wellness program includes onsite mammograms and screenings for cholesterol, high blood pressure, skin cancer and prostate problems, as well as digital sonograms, a flu clinic and other on-site medical services.

Employees can participate in a variety of volunteer opportunities. The seven-year-old Boehringer Ingelheim Cares foundation improves access to quality healthcare and builds math and scientific knowledge and skills among teachers. It’s committed to involving employees in
a variety of other charitable programs, DiDia says.

In 2007 the company sponsored “AmeriCares,” a free clinic throughout the state of Connecticut. It also works with hospice programs and public TV in Connecticut.

Employees participate in an annual science expo, plus the United Way, the regional YMCA, the American Cancer Society, the Jorge Foundation for black academic scholars, the Women’s Center of Danbury, CT, the Hispanic Council, and Partners in Science. Some go to local schools to talk about “a day in the life of a scientist.”

Eden notes that the company has attracted “a very broad mix of employees,” with four different generations represented in the workplace.

Even apart from the super-techies, “We’re seeing the Boomers rewiring and becoming much more astute in technology, more open to leveraging technology and almost pioneers themselves,” he says.

D/C