Fred Skinner, Chief Human Resources Officer was recently interviewed on The Hennessy Report podcast, a podcast dedicated to interviewing the nation’s HR leaders about trending issues. Fred spoke with host Dave Hennessy, Senior Vice President of Keystone Partners, about how EVERSANA moves the needle significantly for life science partners to help improve therapy access and adherence for patients on a global scale. Skinner also discusses current global recruitment and retention opportunities and challenges. Finally, he shares insights on the importance of building a vibrant culture in a young, evolving company and his rules of thumb for building fruitful team relationships.
Listen to the full podcast for this and more HERE.
Prior to working in HR, Skinner was a carpenter. Throughout high school and college, he worked in his hometown of Sycamore, Illinois doing a number of jobs with his hands, including tree removal, woodworking and more. Today, he still enjoys the craft of building and construction, but more often spends his days helping EVERSANA continue to grow.
Among several topics, Fred addresses what makes EVERSANA a great place to work.
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
Fred credits EVERSANA’s success in connecting more pharmaceutical launch dots than anyone else by creating unmatched efficiencies powered by analytics (read more HERE), heavily focusing on company culture, and being purpose-driven.
“Many companies cater to the 1% – the rule benders and breakers. Companies create rules and processes to satisfy that 1%. What if we built culture for the 99% and either coached or said goodbye to that 1%?”
EVERSANA empowers people to make decisions at the level that they need to be made. “We lead with trust. It is amazing what you can create when you do something like that,” noted Skinner.
ADDITIONS AND EXPANSION
EVERSANA continues to see growth both organically and through adding best-in-class companies. And the company works tirelessly to ensure culture is a primary point of connection for any companies that join the portfolio.
“We spend more time evaluating another company’s culture than their financials or business models,” says Fred. “If you don’t get the right culture – it will crush you. We do not assimilate them, we let them run with what they were doing before. Nor do we change their secret sauce for the sake of synergies. We want to take whatever you’re doing and give you access to the EVERSANA pieces that can magnify what you’re doing to a whole new scale.”
WEATHERING THE STORM
Skinner’s team in HR works across the entire enterprise to support evolving employee needs, and he chalks up flexibility and creative thinking as two ways EVERSANA has worked to stay ahead of the retention curve. Since around 70% of EVERSANA has the capability for hybrid work, there has been an increased need to build connections across screens and resilience in the face of nonstop virtual meetings.
“We are pushing the focus onto health and happiness within our business units and shared services. It is not necessarily monetary things that connect people more.” For some, that means simple things like carving out lunch during the day and making the time sacred. In Fred’s calendar, the hours of 5-8 PM are family time. Skinner’s unplugged and only available for emergencies. After he tucks his 5-year-old daughter into bed, he often logs back on for international meetings and prepping for the day ahead into the early morning hours.
Fred is confident that to retain top talent, it is necessary to win the hearts and minds of colleagues and their families. “When people join the organization, we’ve sent letters to the employee’s family thanking them for becoming part of EVERSANA and we explain how their father/wife/daughter is changing the world.”
At the end of the day, it’s a group effort to build the recruitment and retention ‘house.’ “We need to rally around how we are retaining top talent. We lean in with trust and know that we have capable people who know how to do their jobs.”
Interested in joining the EVERSANA team? To see all open roles, please click HERE.
About The Hennessy Report podcast:
The Hennessy Report is a free podcast created by Keystone Partners, in cooperation with NEHRA and hosted by Dave Hennessy, Senior Vice President of Keystone Partners. The podcast kicked off in 2017 and has over 50 episodes featuring dynamic conversations with the nation’s leading HR executives.