Sanofi Canada helps employees broaden their horizons

Linda Santi appreciates the focus Sanofi Canada places on fostering a positive employee experience and encouraging personal and professional development.

After spending her two-decade career at the pharmaceutical firm within the finance department — including as chief financial officer — Santi had the opportunity to move into her current role as head of established products, general medicine.

“When we talk about development and allowing people to own their career path and encouraging people to make bold moves, my experience is a testament to how Sanofi fosters that environment,” Santi says.

James Guy, Canada country lead and general manager, specialty care, says that career development is a foundational value at the global company. “At Sanofi, our employees have unique opportunities to grow their careers, working across our diverse business to innovate, collaborate and drive real impact for patients and the future of health care,” he says.

When Santi realized she was interested in the commercial side of the business, she and her manager geared her individual development plan — something each employee has — toward reaching that goal. This included a mix of on-the-job experience, networking and structured training.

Other career development tools the company provides include Sanofi U (which offers various courses for improving skills) and Explore More, a month of global and local learning and development events. Through the Career Hub, employees can also be matched with a mentor, career opportunities and short-term gigs, as well as personalized learning.

“You can reach out to people who are experts in fields you are interested in and connect with them and then you can schedule regular touchpoints and discuss what you could do to develop your career in the direction you’d like it to go,” says Juliet Reed, who leads a team responsible for cleaning and sterilizing lab materials.

Reed started at Sanofi as a lab technician 11 years ago. She says her career development has been continuously encouraged. “I had the opportunity to shadow a lot of really experienced people with technical expertise, but also, as the processes evolved from paper and pen to a lot of automation and software process control systems, we got to participate directly in the design and training plans for all the new systems,” she says.

“All of these opportunities let me develop transferable skills. Instead of having a narrow focus on certain day-to-day tasks, I get to think more strategically about outcomes for the company and about career opportunities, because you learn more about yourself and what you need to develop when you have your head in a range of activities.”

Reed appreciates that Sanofi supports advancement within one’s field but also in new areas.

“You gain a sense of where you’re happiest and what you find the most fulfilling. There are no barriers in terms of hiring structures. It’s more about personal skill development and working on projects that overlap with what your interests are,” she says.

“Sometimes you learn that you’re interested in something else, kind of by surprise, which is what happened to me.”

Reed believes this culture not only benefits employees, but the company as a whole. “I find with colleagues who have moved around the company, usually their success comes from their varied experiences, because no one really works in a silo. So, having foundational knowledge from different areas allows you to make better strategic decisions,” she says. “It’s also an incentive for people to stay with the company because there is a lot of opportunity.”

Santi agrees. “When the company supports you in driving your interests and your career aspirations, it is empowering,” she says. “They are invested in their employees. That gives you endless possibilities.”

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Advertising feature produced by Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a division of Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Globe and Mail’s editorial department was not involved.