October 22nd, 2015: “Preparing for What’s Next – Lessons Learned and Strategies to Follow As Your Company Grows“
During the October 2015 meeting of the HR BioTech Connect group, attendees had the opportunity to gain insight on how they can best prepare to meet challenges as their company achieves new level of growth.
Sue Nemetz served as the lead presenter and moderator of the event. The panel consisted of Sarah Larson from Foundation Medicine, Benjamin Olds from Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Lisa Fiering from Keryx, and Kathy Wilkinson from bluebird bio.
Presentation Description:
For many companies in the biotechnology and life science industries, the path of transitioning from a focus on research and development to commercialization can bring great excitement and a variety of challenges. During this transition, priorities change, previously successful management practices may no longer be applicable, new tensions disrupt team dynamics, and the organization requires a different kind of skill set and leadership approach.
This meeting was designed to help companies successfully navigate these transition periods. It was led by Susan Nemetz, President of The NemetzGroup. In addition, it consisted of a panel of fellow HR BioTech Connect group members that have gone through types of growth periods and were willing to share their insight.
During the interactive session, attendees learned about the different steps and challenges that may occur as companies grow from 1-100 employees, 101-300, 301-500, and beyond.
To ensure that the questions posed to the panel were truly relevant, a survey was distributed to registrants prior to the meeting. The results of the survey were presented in summary format at the beginning of the meeting as well.
In addition, the panelists spoke about some of the surprising differences that occur when operating in a larger organization, and discussed opportunities that attendees may want to take advantage of now to prepare for success. They highlighted strategies to help attendees in areas such as company culture, building a sales team, and helping employees align with the company’s shift in focus.
This session truly helped attendees to get a better grasp as to what may need to be done to succeed now and to prepare for the next phase of development.
If you would like to receive a copy of the slides that were shared during the presentation, please contact Jeanne Nicholson.