All TKT employees were given a Shire t-shirt on the day of completion of the merger. 
Shire is a top 100 company in the Business in the Community CR Index. External recognition
'I've worked for a number of companies and have consulted to even more, but I have never come across a company where the commitment to doing well and doing right, is so high'. 
65% of all our employees provided feedback in our global leadership program. |
Talent, commitment and ambition: Shire's peopleShire is a special place to work. From the dedication of the teams developing new and better treatments for patients to the energy and enthusiasm of the sales and marketing people and those in the business support functions, Shire has its own distinctive culture and working environment. We've tried to capture this in the values we've identified for Shire and in the way these translate into people's everyday behavior. And whenever we make an acquisition and bring a new business into the Group, we are committed to making the people in that business feel part of the same Shire ethos. Integrating TKTAcquiring TKT was a major event for Shire in 2005 and like any acquisition it had to be managed in human as well as commercial terms. This deal was all about growing the Company and not cutting costs or making synergies and therefore it involved very few redundancies; those who were affected knew their destiny within a few weeks and were offered generous redundancy packages. The business itself was renamed Shire HGT, but we were careful about how much change was introduced; and when. We wanted our new colleagues to feel part of Shire as quickly as possible, however, we aimed to respect their history, culture, knowledge and working environment. This involved an intensive program of communication and integration. We formed a transition team that brought together people from both companies covering a number of disciplines including finance, information services, program management, human resources, corporate communications and facilities. There were regular email bulletins/communications to employees in both organizations and a video and special issue of our corporate newsletter - Dynamics. Matthew Emmens visited all HGT's major operations within four weeks of the first announcement and there were monthly employee meetings at their principal site in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This area was particularly important because TKT had played a major part in this close-knit community. We ran a number of events in the area to reassure local people and help them find out more about Shire and this extended to an open day for students from nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, we ran advertisements in local newspapers announcing the new name; continued to emphasize the tremendous career opportunities available in Cambridge and reinforced our dedication to our human genetic therapies business. Shire also participated in numerous biotechnology job fairs to further assist in the re-branding and recruitment initiatives. Our HR team had a very comprehensive transition plan in place that involved personal welcome communications on 'day one'; followed up by two weeks of 'getting to know Shire' presentations that included more information about Shire, our mission, values, people, locations and our comprehensive employee benefits and programs at all TKT locations around the world. A majority of the new benefits and programs went into immediate effect; such as our Recognizing eXcellence Program (RxP) and Employee Referral Program. We were able to offer TKT employees globally the option to participate in Shire's Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP) (Sharesave Scheme in UK/Europe). The participation rates were very strong, which signalled that our new colleagues had confidence in Shire and were committed to sharing in continued success and growth. Our performanceWhen implemented properly, performance management shows employees how they fit into the business and focuses their day-to-day work on the most important business. In 2005, Shire introduced an internally focused Balanced Scorecards program. On an annual basis, the Company generates an internal 'Corporate Scorecard', which articulates the strategy (for the year) and translates it to operational and measurable terms. Each Shire functional unit also creates an Internal Scorecard. Functional Scorecards serve as a guide to our employees and their managers. They assist in setting their personal objectives and annual business objectives. Alongside this, all employees are included in the annual performance management program. The three components of Shire's performance management program are objective setting, ongoing feedback and performance reviews. Our progress is intended to measure achievements, both in terms of 'what' our employees have accomplished and 'how' they accomplished it, the latter focusing on their commitment to Shire's values and their leadership skills. Our commitment to diversityWe are committed to creating and nurturing a workforce and workplace that is progressive in its thinking about diversity. With diversity in mind, we recruit talented individuals to join our organization, as well as increasing the understanding of diverse cultures and backgrounds to improve the effectiveness of our business. We are an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer, but just saying the words is not enough. In addition to the electronic posting of opportunities to all Shire employees globally (in accordance with our Internal Posting Policy), we post employment opportunities on www.shire.com/careers, our new www.shire.jobs website and a vast number of 'job boards' and global websites. Our 'posting practices' regularly include posting on a significant number of niche diversity job boards/websites/organizations. We strongly believe that a more diverse environment will strengthen our business as well as enhance how we work. Improving the way we workIn the last few years we've put a great deal of effort and time into streamlining our business and organizing our resources around our key therapeutic areas. By the end of 2005 this process was largely completed, with an initiative called 'All Aboard' being one of the final building blocks. This change program will help us achieve a 'matrix' organization, in which people and resources are clustered into market, therapeutic or product teams. There are also additional reporting lines to the relevant functional head. This will allow us to focus our efforts more effectively and set clearer business objectives. We will be doing more work in this area in 2006. 2005 Key facts
Shire employed over 2,400 people by the end of 2005. Shire's Senior Executive Committee is 30% female and 70% male. In addition, there are two Senior Vice President positions reporting to the Chief Executive Officer; females fill both positions. In total, 42% of the Chief Executive Officer's executive level direct reports are female (five females; seven males). As of February 15, 2006, Shire had 94 females in management positions, out of a total of 304 management positions. Females fill approximately 31% of management positions. We have defined 'management positions' to include a position at/above Director level.
Developing our peopleIn 2005, we created a new ‘Leadership Development’ speciality within our HR team and began to put a number of new ideas into place. As part of our strategic plan to build a global leadership framework and program, we sent a survey to all employees, utilizing a combination of techniques including face-to-face interviews and an online anonymous questionnaire. Over 65% of all global employees provided feedback. The results of the survey provided the qualitative and quantitative data necessary for the organization to gain valuable insights into preferred methods and topics for development. We have also obtained rich data about our culture, management and capabilities that employees believe are critical for Shire’s success. Early in 2006, the results were shared with senior management and the organization is now constructing its global Leadership Development Program. This program is being designed to develop leadership qualities in every employee and encourage everyone to grow both personally and professionally. In 2006, the ‘Shire DNA Leadership Program’, will be introduced to the organization. In 2005, we initiated a new program designed for our manufacturing supervisors and managers called ‘Stepping Up to Manager’. This program was specifically designed for individuals in line manager roles. In 2006, we will continue to expand this program across additional Shire locations and functions. Recognizing excellenceWe’re proud of our talented, committed workforce and the new ‘Recognizing eXcellence’ incentive program is designed to do just that - and it’s no accident that the shorthand for this is ‘Rx’, the medical symbol for prescriptions. There are two different types of awards, those for Service Commitment, which recognize long-term loyalty by linking the award to five-year service milestones and Extraordinary Performance Awards for exceptional achievement that is also matched by an outstanding demonstration of Shire’s values in practice. There are four levels of award in this category, the highest being the CEO’s award, which is presented once a year. Communicating and listeningWe put a high priority on constant and open contact with our employees and this ranges from internal publications like Shire Dynamics, to employee meetings, to quarterly conference calls for senior managers, to a professional and well-used intranet. |
A transition day at Shire HGT. 
Matthew Emmens visited HGT operations and addressed employees. 
Shire has its own distinct culture and working environment. 
Helena Boschi 
Yas Saotome, Senior Director, Cell Culture Process Development and Jerry Justin, Senior Director, Manufacturing Operations, Shire HGT. |
