Retaining employees, building biotech careers in Durham at Q3 BMF meeting
The NCLifeSci Biotech Manufacturers Forum held its third quarter meeting at the NC Biotechnology Center Tuesday, Sept. 24, where attendees learned about job-training efforts in Durham and employee-retention practices at Amgen.
Bill Monteith, BMF program director for NC Life Sciences, opened the third-quarter meeting with a focus on recruiting and retaining employees. He welcomed two new members to the forum: Danis and GXP Storage.
Jacob Metz, military outreach veterans engagement program manager for NCBiotech, introduced himself and encouraged NCLifeSci members to contact him to learn about recruiting military talent.
The meeting featured presentations from Made in Durham by Executive Director Casey Steinbacher and Josephé Featherstone, director of strategic partnerships, and from Tracy Schorner, executive director and plant manager at Amgen.
Made in Durham BULLS initiative
Established in 2014, Made in Durham is a nonprofit working to align Durham's education-to-career system with opportunities for young people. The BULLS Life Sciences Academy is Made in Durham’s flagship program.
BULLS provides stipends, academic support and success coaching for young Durham residents as they pursue life science careers by earning a BioWork certificate.
The Bulls program has graduated nine cohorts and has a 69% hiring rate for graduates, with 90% of them being students of color. The Made in Durham initiative aims to create a diverse talent pipeline, with 14 companies hiring graduates. The importance of industry engagement and talent retention was emphasized, with a call for more companies to participate in the program.
Best Practices for Retention
Schorner talked about the retention strategies she had developed during her 21-year career at Amgen. She outlined three requirements for retaining employees:
- building a strong team
- developing individuals
- creating inclusive leaders
Schorner said that collaboration, open communication and mutual respect are all important to team dynamics. She stressed the importance of regular feedback, clear roles and responsibilities and continual efforts to provide clarity on who is responsible for what and how tasks are completed.
Recognition and continuous learning are crucial to developing and keeping strong employees, she said, which includes staff training and personalized development plans. Prevent overwork and burnout by helping employees prioritize tasks and teach them that progress is more important than perfection.
Finally, Schorner said that inclusive leadership and psychological safety were promoted through open communication and diverse workforce programs, particularly employee interest groups and affinity groups.
